I have always noticed that most runners' mantra is more running. Want to lose weight? More running. Want to get faster? More running. Got an injury from running? More running. It's as if running was their way to Mecca or make them reach nirvana. Running. And when you are sick of running, more running.
I know this better than anyon
e else. After all, I was a hardcore runner for years. More specifically an ultra-marathon runner.
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| But like alcoholism, you realize you have a problem and then you trying to fix it. I have been a triathlete and recovering runner for two years now. I'd like to thank group. |
Today's particular post is dedicated to the perfect, injury free running program. Typically I tell people that the secret to being a strong runner is cross-training. But since everyone reading this is probably sacrificing a goat to Hermes, we'll focus on just the running.
Your basic program of running should consist of 3-4 days of running. I saw 3-4 because I strongly urge you to have one of those running days be some other form of cardio. Be it swimming, biking or stairmill but still using the same template of training that would have otherwise been done for running that day. The other three days are two days of strength training and a day of stretching and/or easy yoga.
Tuesday
Let's say that your first day of running starts on a Tuesday (I'll explain why Tuesday later on). On this day you will be doing a moderate intensity run of moderate distance. Rather than thinking of this in terms of distance, think of it in terms of time. Do however many miles in 45-60 minutes, including your five minute warm-up and warm-down. The objective here is not to burn out on this run but rather to "get the miles in." And when I say moderate intensity, I mean your heart rate.
If you don't have a heart rate monitor, now is the time to get one. It is an indispensible tool for all of your running days. In this particular run, you want your heart rate to be at 75% of your maximum heart rate. Don't know what this means? Take 220 and subtract your age off of it. What that yields is your absolute maximum heart rate. Meaning if you go beyond that number, you're joining the Jim Fixx Club.
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| Look at that sloth: just a heart attack waiting to happen |
Multiply that maximum number by .75 and that is the heart rate at which you're doing your moderate-moderate run.
Wednesday and Saturday
The day after your moderate run, you're doing strength training. Assuming you're a beginner, you should be doing light weight with reps of 20. Address all of your larger muscle groups first.
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| Flat Dumbbell Chest Press |
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| Bench Press |
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| Machine Chest Press |
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| Push-ups |
Hit bench press/dumbbell chest press/pushups/upright chest press for the pectorals. There should be no reason to do more than one of these exercises. All you as a runner need to do is keep the chest strong so that it's not just dead weight. A useful muscle is strong and burning calories at rest and is not atrophying and ruining your posture.
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| Clockwise from Top: Pull-ups, Pull-downs, Seated Row |
For back, do pull-downs/pull-ups
and seated rows/prone rows/T-bar rows.
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| Reverse Flies |
For added benefit, burn out the lower trapezius immediately after either of these exercises by doing bent reverse flies with no weight to failure. This is less a weight exercise and more for posture. You're doing a lot of running. To avoid those annoying aches and pains in your shoulders and upper back (you know those), this exercise should actually be done everyday. But immediately after the major back exercises, this postural exercise is very beneficial.
For legs, do squats/lunges/step-ups/Bulgarian split squats or leg press. Do not let leg kick outs, seated leg adductor/abductor or hamstring curls be your bread and butter for legs. Those particular exercises are single joint movements, meaning they do not involve all the muscles as part of a compound, strength movement. Leg curls and extensions are isolated exercises. Since you're a runner, you need to train your legs in a more functional way, meaning multiple joint movements.
You're also thinking, "I don't need to do leg work - I have strong legs because I run all the time." You have officially killed me. How do you like that? My mom is going to cry because of you.
Your legs are not strengthened through running - they are conditioned. Don't believe me? Get on to the back squats and see how low you can go and for how many reps. You'll be surprised. Running works your endurance muscle fibers. Weight training day is devoted to strength muscle fibers.
Now you're probably thinking "Well if I need well-conditioned legs for running, then why do I need to do strength training?" Congratulations - you've revived and killed me again. But in all seriousness, strength training is how you fix muscular imbalances. If your hamstrings are stronger than your quads, this makes you more prone to injuries such as pulled muscles. If your glutes aren't strong and/or integrating into your running stride, you're not running efficiently. Weak glutes are also the number one cause of knee and ankle pain.
The point of loading the muscle with a contraction and extension with repetition is meant to "wake up" muscles, encourage better posture and work your core. If you can hold good form under a load, you'll be able to at no weight for long distance running. You'll also be able to recover faster from your long runs because strength training makes your body more efficient at converting metabolic waste into energy. And of course, weight training strengthens tendons and bones. This means less injury which equals more running. You strength train so you can continue to train.
But I digress. After legs, hit shoulders. Do this with either military press, overhead press or lateral raises.
After all of this, you can do what I call the "spot work." I'm a vain person, so I always do my biceps and triceps during this time. These aren't really important muscles for running but they look nice. If you're so inclined, like me, do some sculpting and isolated strengthening on your glutes with some weighted bridges. For quadriceps, do the leg extension machine and for hamstrings do the seated or prone hamstring curl machine. Alternate between single and double leg for these exercises.
If you don't know whether or not you should be doing leg curls or kicks outs, think back to the day after a long run. Which muscles hurt the most are your weak links. If it was your quads, then those need extra attention. Strengthen them with leg kicks outs. If the hamstrings were a bit tight it's time to add leg curls to your routine.
Finnally, end the work out with some calf raises. The trick with these is going slowly, doing many reps (20-30) and not going past the horizontal. I stay on the floor for these. Reason being, the calf's range of motion does not fall below this particular point. Any excess flexing and extending of the muscle is only going to aggravate the Achille's tendon. And believe me, you need that shit strong if you expect to be pounding your feet for hours at a time on pavement. Nothing is more enfuriating than having something miniscule like the Achille's tendon tear on you, keeping you out of the game for 6 months. Everything counts. Your calves are what hold all your weight. Take care of them. Stretch, strengthen and foam roll. They're the wheels on your car. If something happens to them, you're SOL.
Thursday
Probably the most important day of running for you: lactate threshold day. This day of running is meant to be as intense as a Sam Kenison stand up routine. It's not long but it is on par with a Crossfit (sadistic) aerobic workout.
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| This one goes to 11. |
The name of the game of lactate threshold training is quite simple: 5 minute warm-up, 20 minutes of balls-out speed, 5 minutes warm-down. Remember that 220 minus your age equation I mentioned earlier? For this run you're aspiring to stay at 95% of that number. I'm not exaggerating when I say you should be on the verge of vomiting. This is the run that you should fret the most in your week. The idea is to do more and more miles within this 20 minutes each time you do it.
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| Yes, something like that. |
Take care to have a very easy warm-up. The perfect warm-up is not stretching. Do that after the run. A good warm up for running is easy running - a jog if you want to get technical.
Friday
Friday is interval day. Whether it is hill or speed interval (alternate each week on this), the idea is the same: 5 minute warm up, sprint for a certain amount of time and then recover for a much longer time. Use the chart below as a guide.
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| The rules are flexible. I switch every week. |
The faster or more conditioned you become, add more intervals. Once this becomes too easy, shorten both intervals and up the intensity of the spring. Rest intervals should be at a pace that is slow enough for your heart rate to get back down to 65%. Don't be ashamed if you're shuffling your feet at 1mph; this should be all you can do if you're really sprinting your hardest. Rest period should always be twice as long as the sprint for optimum recovery.
For this workout, I recommend a treadmill. It is difficult to find a uninterrupted straightaway when you're on the street. You've got other pedestrians, crosswalks, stop lights, and, worst of all, children. It's also impossible to keep track at which speed you're staying. The idea is to get faster. If you don't know your speed or keep having your sprints interrupted, you're not going to see the benefits of interval training.
Sunday
Long run day. Take this one at light-moderate intensity. If 65% is to easy, take it up to 75%. The idea of this one is to keep a pace that you can go for twice as long as you're running. Rather than seeing this work out in terms of distance, think of it like the moderate run: time should be your constraint. Distance is too variable. The first mile of your run is going to be a lot shorter than the last mile. So instead of building these runs up by 5-10% by distance each week, increase it by time. Example: If you do an hour and a half run one week, do your next long run at 1h35m-1h39m.
As you are increasing over the weeks, be sure to taper the long run every fourth week. Here is a chart to show you what I mean:
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| Wax and wane, my friend. |
This is to avoid injury and also to give yourself a little recuperation. It's hard enough on the body to keep with this program. Doing it every weekend is going to burn you out. Doing a taper lets you rest and re-energize you for your next longer run.
As a personal anecdote, as I was training for my 50 mile ultra, I would do a long run (about 30 miles) one weekend and then only a one hour run the next. I finished that race in 16th out of 400.
Monday
Recovery. Don't worry, exercise junky, this doesn't mean you need to sit around and do nothing. You can get your fix through something easy like a walk, stretch or yoga class. You should sleep in this day or go to bed early the night before. Take it easy, carb up, engage in coitus, smoke a doob - Whatever! Just relax. This is something most runners skip on, even though this is, believe it or not, where gains are made.
Recovery is when the muscles have a chance to take in some amino acids, repair and become stronger. Feel free to even make this your diet's cheat day. I recommend a pint of frozen yogurt.
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| Look at those gains being made! |
Apply these types of training to running or other forms of cardio. Biking, stairmill and swimming all require hill and interval training just as much as running. As I will discuss in the future, everyone also needs strength training. Get creative and you will get fitter.
P.S. Check in next week for my companion article to this one, already titled "Long Runs: How to Make Them Bearable."
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