Love running but get bored with the same old routes and routine?
Here are three easy (and enjoyable) changes you can make to your regular runs to burn more calories, get stronger, and boost your fitness levels.
Why Running Is A Great Form Of Exercise
For most people, running is a useful addition to a fitness routine.
It doesn’t need much kit, it can be done any time and anywhere, and you don’t need to learn how.
Obviously, if you have a biomechanical reason not to run, this advice won’t be for you.
For everyone else, running is a great way to:
– Burn calories to help weight loss
– Build lower body strength
– Get outside in the fresh air
– Find time in the day for yourself
– Explore your local area whilst getting fit
– Improve bone density
–Have fun and take a mental break
Make Each Run Count
Doing the same routes at the same pace will get boring after a while, and it won’t do much for your fitness either.
You need to give your body a new stimulus if you want it to respond.
Here’s how to do that with running…
Hill Reps
Why Do Them: Hill sprints are a fantastic way to make your runs burn more calories and build power in your lower body.
How To: Find a steep hill and run up it as fast as you can for around 30 seconds each rep. Think about powering up using arm drive and fast legs.
Try This: Warm-up run for 10 minutes, sprint up your hill 6-8 times (jog or walk back down), cool down run for 5-10 minutes.
Sprints
Why Do Them: Whether you add a few sprints to a regular run, or dedicate a session to them, they will boost your basic run speed and fire up your metabolism.
How To: Use a park, off-road trail, or stretch of pavement between 100m-200m.
Try This: Warm-up and then do 8-10 x sprints, really going as hard as you can.
Double the amount of time for your recovery.
Alternatively, add 4 or 5 short sprints in the middle of a longer run.
Speedwork
Why Do This: Speedwork is a catch-all name for any faster running such as fartlek or pace work.
It’s a great way to push yourself out of a plateau, get fitter, and improve your general running speed.
How To: There are a number of ways to use speedwork as part of your running training…
Try This: Choose a run route that has one or two moderate hills, and power up the hills without dropping your pace.
Or aim to run the second half of your run faster than the first.
Or run longer sections (800m or 1 mile) at a slightly faster pace (maybe your 5K pace) within longer runs.
Add at least one of these options to your weekly cardio or running schedule and you’ll soon see the benefits in fitness, power, and motivation!
Give it a go and let me know how you get on.
Until next week, keep on running!
Coach Joseph Webb.
‘The number one rated Personal Trainer In Henley and Oxfordshire’
