Lower-Body and Core Workout for Runners

This Lower-Body/Core HIIT workout is perfect for runners. A HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout doesn't take much time, but gives a lot of bang for your bucks. The workout consists of 6 exercises-3 core and 3 lower-body. Complete each exercise for 20 secs moving from one exercise directly into the next exercise, taking no rest in between. After completing the 6th exercise, take a 1-minute rest break, then repeat the HIIT in the same fashion for a total of 5 rounds. The whole workout takes only 20 minutes. This format jacks up the heart rate ramping up your metabolism. The exercised selected in this workout target the core and all the major muscle groups in the lower body. The only equipment needed is a mat (or carpeted area) and a medicine ball. Don't have a medicine ball? No problem, use a large detergent bottle or fill an empty 1-gallon milk jug with water to use as  your weight. Give it a try! Tomorrow I'll post an Upper-Body/Core HIIT for Runners, so check that one out too! Check out my other workouts for runners on YouTube.

Running Nowhere Fast? Try These Tips for Increasing your Pace

Seems like if you want to get faster, you'd just pick up your pace. Sounds like a simple solution, but like many things in life, what seems simple often is not. Many runners have come to the studio saying, "I just can't seem to get past a certain pace. I try to pick it up, but nothing happens or worse, I begin to slow down."

To increase pace two things need to happen. 1. Increase VO2Max  2. Build endurance. VO2Max is your body's ability to utilize oxygen at the muscle layer at maximum exertion. Your muscles have a network of tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that carry oxygenated blood to the muscle. If your runs are pretty even and you don't vary your pace too much, your network will be more like sprawling country roads--few and far between. To increase your pace, you need a metropolitan network of highways. Good news is that you can build those new highways of capillaries. How? By doing various types of speed work on a regular basis.

Adding one speed workout to your regular weekly running routine will start the construction process. When you consistently add those workouts, your brain will realize that you're not going to stop this. It wants your body to work as efficiently as possible, so your body will actually begin to increase the network of capillaries in your leg muscles to help meet the new energy production demands. The more capillaries you have in your muscles, the more oxygenated blood will reach the muscle. The more oxygenated blood in the muscle, the more potential for energy production.

As the network of capillaries grows your body will also increase mitochondria (the energy-making power houses of the muscles.) Mitochondria use the oxygen to create energy. So, now with the increased network of capillaries and increased number of energy-making power-houses, your body will be able to meet the energy demands to get you going faster.

It takes commitment, consistency, and hard work to create that metropolitan highway network. It may be tough at first. Expect soreness and fatigue. Anytime you increase the intensity level of your workouts, your body will react. This is called the gain threshold. Your fitness level may even dip for a few weeks. That's when most people give up. They're not seeing results fast enough and they get discouraged. "I feel worse that before I started. Why am I doing this?" But, like I tell my runners, "Trust. Believe. Conquer!" It varies from person to person, but anywhere from 4-6 weeks you'll notice that you're stronger and faster than when you started.

The gain threshold is the reason why it's not a good idea to add new intensity just before a big race. You're body will not have time to acclimate and it may hurt your performance.

The Workouts:
I like having my runners do two types of speed workouts. One type is shorter, but more intense. Intervals are a great example of this. Don't worry, for many interval-based workouts, you don't need a track. The second type is a fast run but incorporated into a longer distance. Progression runs and Tempo runs are great examples.

Below is plan to help you ease into adding speed work into your running routine to help you run faster and longer. This is just a suggested plan. You'll need to increase or decrease running days based on your experience as well as your schedule. If you're having to rearrange the runs to better suit your schedule, remember to never pair two hard runs back-to-back. Always follow the Easy/Hard/Easy rule. The workouts listed on the schedules are described at the bottom of this post.

Easy Run with 3 Fartleks:  "Fartlek" is a Swedish term for "speed play." Take one of your regular weekly 3-6 mile runs and add in 3 bursts of speed. The first week keep the burst of speed at 2-minutes for each fartlek. Remember to space the fartleks out. Do one fartlek in the first third of your run, the one in the second third and then one in the last third. Between fartleks, be sure to slow the pace back down to your original easy pace. During your second week, try increasing the fartlek duration to 3-4 minutes.

Interval Workouts:
Mona Fartleks: Mona Fartleks are a great interval workout that you can do anywhere. You don't need a track. You'll need a stopwatch or sports watch with a timer. For the workout do a 1-mile warm-up run, then run...
15 seconds fast/15 seconds slow/15 seconds fast/15 seconds slow
30 seconds fast/30 seconds slow/30 seconds fast/30 seconds slow
60 seconds fast/60 seconds slow/60 seconds fast/60 seconds slow
90 seconds fast/90 seconds slow/90 seconds fast/90 seconds slow
That's 13 minutes of fast/slow intervals. Take a 2-3 minute walk or easy jog break, then repeat for a second 13-minutes of fast/slow intervals. Follow-up the workout with an easy 1-mile cooldown.
Timed Based Pyramids: This workout is similar to the Mona Fartlek, but for this workout you'll increase the time increments and then come back down. Before the workout, do an easy 1-mile warm-up run. Then for the Timed Pyramid workout run...
30 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
45 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
60 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
90 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
60 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
45 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
30 seconds at high intensity/1-min at low intensity
Walk or easy jog  for 2-3 mins and then repeat.
Follow-up the workout with an easy 1-mile cooldown run.

90s/60s: Do a 1-mile warm-up run. Then run hard 90 seconds /Run Easy 60 seconds. Repeat 5 times. Then walk or do and easy jog 2 mins then repeat the 90/60 workout again. Follow-up the workout with an easy 1-mile cooldown run.

Progression and Tempo Workouts:

Progression Run: "Thirds," involves doing the first third of the run very slow and working into an easy pace, the next third  at your regular "in-your-groove" pace, and the final third increases until you're  finish the last 3rd around your 10K race pace—roughly 80 to 90 percent of maximum heart rate. Increases in pace are not "step-wise" but gradual. Basically start really slow. Slower than you normally run and gradually increase pace until the end of the last 3rd, you're coming in pretty fast.
Tempo Run: Begin with a 1-mile warm-up run and end with a 1-mile cool-down. The miles in between are run at a pace about 30 secs slower than your 10K race pace.

Tempo Interval Run: Begin with a 1-mile warm-up run and end with a 1-mile cool-down. For the miles in between, alternate running 5 mins at a pace that's about 30-sec slower than your 5K race pace and 5-mins at an easy pace. Cycle through as many of these fast/slow intervals until you reach your cool-down mile.

Keep in mind that during the fast portion of the runs, you should be reaching a pace that's non-converstional. In other words, it should be hard to talk in more than one- or two-word sentences. Be careful not to go so fast that you can't catch your breath or that you can't maintain the interval pace. Initially start conservative with your increased paces and then as you begin to acclimate, start to up the pace. 

Following this plan for 5 weeks will help you see results in achieving a faster pace and pretty much get you through that gain threshold. Keep at it and you'll continue to see even more progress. This is a great primer for a 5K or 10K race. Start about 12 weeks in advance of the race. If you're not planning on racing any time soon, after the first 5 or six weeks, you can keep just one speed workout or tempo/progression run in your weekly routine until you're ready to kick it up a notch for a race.

Hill Workouts--Learn to Love 'Em!

Hills. You either love 'em or hate 'em. Most hate 'em. I tend to be in the minority and actually look forward to the hills in a run. Granted a flat course is great for a PR, but my body actually tends to fatigue quicker on a flat course. I think I need those hills to activate different muscle groups while giving the "flat-road-running muscles" a break. Sometimes a well positioned hill is just what I need to pull out of a running funk. Of course, you need to be conditioned to those hills, so when they appear they'll be a help and not a hindrance. I think it's many runners' avoidance of hills that make them dislike them so when the come upon one. Their bodies aren't ready for the physical demands of running a hill.

There are a variety of hill workouts that are great to sprinkle into your training mix. Actually, even if you're not in training for a race, adding some hills to your regular routine can really do wonders to your endurance and pace. It can also jack up your metabolism and help you avoid that extra weight gain that often comes with constant low-intensity mileage. Running hills involves all the leg muscles--calves, glutes, hamstrings and quads. When running the hill, you repeatedly fire all these muscles with basically no rest until the walk back down the hill. This builds speed and muscular endurance. It also involves activating some muscle memory so during a race when you come upon that sudden hill, your muscles won't be shocked that you're asking them to run up the hill at full force.

Google "hill workout" and you'll get a zillion different versions. I have three that I like to use with my runners--short hill repeats, intermediate hill repeats and long hill staggered intervals.

Short Hill Repeats:
Find a hill that has a 5-10% grade that's about 100m. (Not sure how long that is? It's a hill that takes about 30-45secs to run.)  Before the workout, do a 1/2-mile to 1-mile easy warm-up run to get your heart rate up and warm-up your muscles. (Never hop out of the car and charge a hill. That's a hammie pull just waiting to happen.) After the warm-up, position yourself at the bottom of the hill. Run to the top as fast as you can. Think 5K-race pace. You'll be running in or close to an anaerobic state instead of an aerobic state, so you're lungs may feel like they're burning and your breathing will be pretty rapid. Try not to let your breathing rate get out of control. Even though you'll "feel the burn" your breathing should consist of good deep inhales and exhales. Once at the top of the hill, turn and walk back down. This is your recovery period. Once at the bottom of the hill, turn and charge back up. A 4 x 100 workout would mean you're doing four 100m uphill repeats (doesn't count the walks back down). I recommend starting with the 4 x 100 and work your way up to a 10 x 100.

Intermediate Hill Repeats: 
This workout is basically the same as the short hill workout but it's done on a longer hill. Not a steeper hill, but one that has about a 6% grade and will take you about 90 secs to run (about 200m). Begin with the warm-up described in the short hill workout. After the warm-up, position yourself at the bottom of the hill. Your pace will be fast, but not quite as fast as the short hill repeat workout. Think 10K-race pace. Once at the top of the hill, turn and walk back down. This is your recovery period. Once at the bottom of the hill, turn and charge back up. Don't forget to use a good strong arm swing as you run up the hill. Arms bent at 90 degrees, swinging beside not in front of the body. A 4 x 200 workout would mean you're doing four 200m uphill repeats (doesn't count the walks back down). I recommend starting with the 4 x 200 and work your way up to a 10 x 200.

Long Hill Staggered Intervals:
This is a tough but awesome workout. Find a long steady hill that's about a 1/2-mile long. The grade can be about 5-7%. Before the workout, do the warm-up described in the short hill workout. After the warm-up, position yourself at the bottom of the hill. Your pace will be fast, but not quite as fast at the short hill repeat workout. Think 10K-race pace. Run up the hill for 30 seconds, then turn and walk back down the hill for 30 seconds. Because you're walking, you won't make it back down to where you started. After the 30-sec recovery-walk down the hill, turn and run fast back up the hill for 30 seconds. Repeat this staggered interval process until you reach the top of the hill. For the first workout, one trip to the top of the hill will be fine. Eventually work up to 2 or 3 total hill climbs.

One hill workout a week is plenty, especially if you're doing other quality workouts such as a tempo run or long run. Hill workouts are pretty low impact, especially as compared to downhill running. However, people still often get injured doing hill repeats. Usually this comes from having weak hamstrings or glutes. It's a great idea to do some leg conditioning exercises to build some leg strength before adding hill workouts to your plan. Squats, hamstring leg lifts, lateral lunges, and step-ups are great exercises for building posterior leg strength.

The Anytime Anywhere Speed Workout

This completed the second week working with my intermediate running group. Most of the participants are running 3-5 miles and they're ready for the next level. The 12-week program introduces the runners to a variety of "quality workouts" such as warm-up drills, fartleks, hills, and tempo runs. We meet twice a week and begin each workout with a 10-exercise core workout followed by a warm-up and some running drills, followed by the featured "quality workout" for the week. This week we did landmark and timed fartleks.

After Friday night's workout, I went home to feast on a crock pot of beanie weenies (turkey franks) that I fixed earlier in the day. I must have been really hungry, cause I ate two large bowls with two hunks of cornbread. The dining experience gave a whole new meaning to the term "fartlek." It had its benefits though, because for some reason I found myself enjoying the solitude of the family room later that evening. Sitting in front of the wide screen with the food network blaring, I soon drifted off to lala land where I dreamed that Rachael Ray had discovered my Rice-n-Bean Burrito recipe and was coming to the studio for a visit. This was one of those dreams so realistic that when you wake up you're not sure if it really happened or not. Of course the fact that Rachael Ray was coming to visit me should have been the immediate clue that it was just a dream, but one can be delusional if he wants, just for a little while, right?

Back to quality workouts and fartleks. Fartlek is a Swedish word for speed-play. Basically a fartlek is an informal interval thrown into a regular run. Sounds complicated, but all you do is speed up for a certain amount of time or distance during a regular run. They can be short (200-400m). They can be long (800m or 1/2mile). You can throw them in at the beginning, middle, or throughout. You can use landmarks to determine when you start and end the fartlek (i.e. run to the next block, or the next mailbox) or you can time them (run easy for 5 minutes and run fast for 1 minute). You're in control.

The other great thing about fartleks is that you don't need a track or a hill. No special location needed. The street right in front of your house will do. It's the perfect anytime, anywhere speed workout.

So why fartlek? Adding bursts of speed during a run is a great way to help increase your overall pace and endurance. It helps to increase your VO2Max (your body's ability to utilize oxygen at the muscle layer to make energy) and push out your lactate threshold (the point when you feel that burn in your legs). Also, if you've stagnated in your running and just can't seem to go faster or further, adding a weekly fartlek will soon have you out of that rut. Another cool outcome to a run with fartleks is looking at your time after you finish. You'll be amazed at how fast you just ran your usual 5-miler.

So, give it a try. Add some fartleks to one of your weekly runs. Who knows, you may even dream about Rachael Ray afterwards, or maybe that has to be in combination with a pot of beanie weenies.