Do you feel like you're running and not getting closer to your fitness goals at all? Now, I'm not talking about running in place on a treadmill. But if you feel like you're running without results, see if this description matches your running routine...
Our bodies are strange things. Once your body does an activity, it puts muscle memory into practice, meaning your body begins to recognize things you do repetitively. In an effort to prove its efficiency, your body even tries to cheat and find an easier way to do it than it did it last time. Guess what? That means, the awesome workout that you started doing two years ago doesn't give you the same calorie expenditure today. You've got to change it up to see results, and you've got to keep your muscles guessing.
Here are just three simple things you can do to bust the rut of your regular running routine:
1. Add an incline. Yeah, that's the other set of arrows next to the speed on the treadmill. Select a new number to try everyday. You may have to adjust your pace, so be patient with yourself. Don't expect yourself to be able to run up a hill as fast as you can take a flat path. Also, don't stay on the steepest hill for an entire run. Especially when you first begin experimenting with incline, stay at a number for a few minutes, and then change it. (And as an added bonus, interval training can really help keep you in your fat burning zone.)
2. Change the type of run you do everyday. Instead of coming to the gym and running for the same amount of time and at the same pace each day, experiment with each of these types of runs. You will find that you can push your body differently everyday, and you will start seeing changes in your body.
* Foundation run - A steady run at a comfortable, moderate aerobic pace
* Strides - 20-second relaxed sprints with 40-second jogging recoveries
* Long run - A long run done at the same pace as your foundation runs
* Hill repetitions - Uphill running intervals done at near maximum intensity with two-minute jogging recoveries
* Fartlek run - Foundation run with scattered 30-second bursts at one-mile race pace (i.e. the fastest pace you could sustain for five to seven minutes)
* Tempo run - Steady run at a threshold pace (i.e. between 10K and half-marathon race pace) sandwiched between a long warm-up and cool-down
* Speed intervals - One-minute running intervals done at speed pace (one-mile race pace) with three-minute active recoveries
* Lactate intervals -- One-to three-minute running intervals done at VO2max pace (i.e. 5K race pace) with jogging recoveries of equal duration
3. Take adequate time to recover between runs. Running is a high impact exercise, so you should treat it like one. Just like you give your muscles a day to recover between weight training, you shouldn't do two maximum intensity runs on back-to-back days. Maybe if you an hour of hill repititions one day, the next day you could do a foundation run on the next day. Even if you are training for a race, there should be between 1-3 days per week that you give your joints a rest from running completely.
You get to the gym, and you hop on YOUR treadmill. (You know you run on the same one every time.) You set your iPod to your favorite running playlist, and hit the start button. You warm-up for the recommended time, then you punch the speed up to your usual number, and you run for your normal time. When you're done, you cool down, wipe your sweat, and leave the gym. Successful? Maybe. But maybe not.
Our bodies are strange things. Once your body does an activity, it puts muscle memory into practice, meaning your body begins to recognize things you do repetitively. In an effort to prove its efficiency, your body even tries to cheat and find an easier way to do it than it did it last time. Guess what? That means, the awesome workout that you started doing two years ago doesn't give you the same calorie expenditure today. You've got to change it up to see results, and you've got to keep your muscles guessing.
Here are just three simple things you can do to bust the rut of your regular running routine:
1. Add an incline. Yeah, that's the other set of arrows next to the speed on the treadmill. Select a new number to try everyday. You may have to adjust your pace, so be patient with yourself. Don't expect yourself to be able to run up a hill as fast as you can take a flat path. Also, don't stay on the steepest hill for an entire run. Especially when you first begin experimenting with incline, stay at a number for a few minutes, and then change it. (And as an added bonus, interval training can really help keep you in your fat burning zone.)
2. Change the type of run you do everyday. Instead of coming to the gym and running for the same amount of time and at the same pace each day, experiment with each of these types of runs. You will find that you can push your body differently everyday, and you will start seeing changes in your body.
* Foundation run - A steady run at a comfortable, moderate aerobic pace
* Strides - 20-second relaxed sprints with 40-second jogging recoveries
* Long run - A long run done at the same pace as your foundation runs
* Hill repetitions - Uphill running intervals done at near maximum intensity with two-minute jogging recoveries
* Fartlek run - Foundation run with scattered 30-second bursts at one-mile race pace (i.e. the fastest pace you could sustain for five to seven minutes)
* Tempo run - Steady run at a threshold pace (i.e. between 10K and half-marathon race pace) sandwiched between a long warm-up and cool-down
* Speed intervals - One-minute running intervals done at speed pace (one-mile race pace) with three-minute active recoveries
* Lactate intervals -- One-to three-minute running intervals done at VO2max pace (i.e. 5K race pace) with jogging recoveries of equal duration
3. Take adequate time to recover between runs. Running is a high impact exercise, so you should treat it like one. Just like you give your muscles a day to recover between weight training, you shouldn't do two maximum intensity runs on back-to-back days. Maybe if you an hour of hill repititions one day, the next day you could do a foundation run on the next day. Even if you are training for a race, there should be between 1-3 days per week that you give your joints a rest from running completely.
