How many days a week do you lift? (Page 2)

I've got the same idenity crisis:  started with football, moved to rugby, tore ACL, and now I'm going for my first Tri.

After talking with my swim coach, he's recommended that I simply switch from 7 reps @ X-weight to 20 reps at half X-weight (essentially triple the reps with half of the weight).  I've found carrying around small dumbells more a challenge with the mind than anything else.  My workouts are essentially the same: Chest, Back, Legs, Core, Arms and Shoulders, each on a seperate day followed by either a run or time on the bike.

I think that as I near a race, say 2-3 weeks out, I'll drop down to 2-3 weight training sessions focusing on multiple muscle groups, giving more time for s/b/r-related training.

HALF weight?  Wow,  that's rough on the ego.  I like the idea though--I've been periodically doing sets of bodyweight bench press to exhaustion, and that tears me up.

I know what you mean about the ego hit.  I've lost about 30 lbs (a lot of muscle loss), and though I think I've maintained strength pretty well, I no longer look like a serious weight lifter.  Guys don't even ask me for spots anymore if they're benching over two plates!!  I'm realizing that lifting was a big ego thing for me; it was important to stand out in the gym--I'm sure I wasn't the only one.  Now I look like a runner who lifts, not a lifter who runs.  Its healthier, I'm sure, not to be vanity and ego driven, but that doesn't make it much easier.

As a result, I try to lift 4-5 times per week for only 30 minutes or less.  I think such a short time in the gym helps me think of myself as a triathlete(-in-training), not a lifter.  And, for what its worth, I always have that day-after-lifting pump... 

Mon, Tues, Wed, and some times Thurs. I do Specific muscles on these days. 2-3 days a week at night after my cardio depending on my time or energy level I do a modified version of the 300 work out. With push ups, box jumps, dead lifts, clean and jerk, floor sweepers, lat lifts, and crunches. I am working on getting a pull up bar so I can add that to the routine.

Right now I just lost a lot of weight so I am working on getting my body to were I want it then I will lighten up on the work outs but right now I do try to increase my max every 2 weeks.

I train two different ways:

1. Heavy load, 12-15 reps to muscle failure for strength
--I train the heavy load in a superset format for extra calorie burn.
--Monday is Back/Bis, the pull muscles.  Wednesday is Chest/Tris, the push muscles.
--I do 4 supersets with 2 exercises in each (8 exercises each session).  Each superset has 3 sets of around 12 reps each.

2. Light load, high repetitions to muscle fatigue for endurance
--Once per week, I teach a conditioning class which is a full body, core intensive, weight and drill based class.  We do every major muscle group, lots of compound movements and plios.  We do about 25-35 reps for each body part.  If you can walk out of class, you didn't work hard enough
--Twice per week, I teach a class that is purely weight training without the compound movements or cardio element.  Again, we're doing every major muscle group, around 25-35 reps each.

I find this to be an incredibly effective and balanced weight routine.