Like any skill, however, a little work can make the experience (and the results) even better. Do you want to be more competitive with yourself or others? Have you been stuck at a pace and wondering how to improve your time? Maybe it’s time to check-in and make sure you can keep up a respectable speed.

The 8-minute mile is a high-performance standard. Sustaining that pace for a marathon would complete the 26.2-mile feat in just under three and a half hours, which puts you in the top 25% to 30% of runners. For non-competitive context, the majority of military and law enforcement organizations require fitness tests which include a one and a half or two-mile run. An 8-minute mile pace would score you squarely in the middle of the pack.

No matter your reason, it’s a significant goal to aim for. Here’s a training plan to help you get there.

• Weekly Plan to Get an 8-Minute Mile
• Improve Your Form, Improve Your Speed
• Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of Distance Running
• Frequently Asked Questions

Weekly Plan to Get an 8-Minute Mile

It takes a detailed program to start running more efficiently and improve your running time. Here’s a plan to start shaving time off your run and keep your body balanced and healthy.

Monday

Strength Training

Even one day of focused weight training can build strength and functional muscle when the total training volume is sufficient. (1) A full-body workout can help runners build their legs, upper body, and core — all essential parts to being a strong runner.

“There is usually an improvement in time when a period of training is devoted to strength training,” says Yusuf Jeffers, a coach with Mile High Run Club. “Compound lifts like barbell back squats and unilateral work like lunges are good for developing muscles in the legs. Not just the quads, but also hamstrings and glutes. Muscles don’t work in isolation.”

“Core strength workouts are also of great utility. The trick is to integrate improvements in leg strength and have it expressed as power. Core strength helps with maintaining posture, all of which ultimately leads to faster times.”

Sample Strength Workout

• Back Squat: 3 x 8-12
• Walking Lunge: 3 x 8-12 (per leg)
• Pull-Up: 3 x 8-12
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 x 8-12 (per arm)
• Shoulder Press: 3 x 8-12
• Dip: 3 x 8-12
• Push-Up: 3 x 8-12
• Cable Woodchopper: 3 x 8-12
• Scissor Kick: 3 x 8-12

Tuesday

Speed Workout

Run 400 meters for four to six sets with two minutes rest between each run.

Use a submaximal stride, meaning you work just below the anaerobic threshold and not at full capacity. Each run should be difficult but you shouldn’t be completely breathless.

Wednesday

Active Recovery

Active recovery is a hybrid between a day of serious training and complete rest. It can be a 30-minute walk, slow jog, or other light cardio activity at a comfortable pace. Also spend time working on flexibility, such as long, deep stretching or a Yin yoga class.

Thursday

Tempo Run

A tempo run is a distance run performed at a tempo, or speed, you can maintain for the entire duration. Start with two or three-miles at a consistent speed. As your running improves, work toward a quicker tempo and eventually increase up to five miles.

To hit the 8-minute mile pace, many runners will need to reach 180 steps per minute, or three steps per second. Consider that as an eventual target.

Tip: To stay on tempo and keep a steady pace, try listening to the Running Tempo Mix playlist on Spotify by Nike Women. You can also search many music streaming services for BPM-specific playlists depending on the speed and pace you need.

Friday

Active Recovery

Take another active recovery day for restorative work. Perform another 30-minutes of light cardio followed by more flexibility work.

Saturday

Endurance Run

This should be your longest run of the week to build overall endurance and push your physical and mental limits. Keep your speed between the “active recovery” speed and the “tempo” speed. You should be able to speak in sentences during this run. Start with three miles and increase your volume each week, eventually up to 20 miles.

Sunday

Rest

No training, no running, and no lifting. Take the day off, eat some nutritious food, and recover for the upcoming week.

Improve Your Form, Improve Your Speed

Achieving an 8-minute mile pace is a respectable achievement for any non-professional runner. It’s a sign that you’re starting to bridge the gap between recreational and specialized performance.

Even if you’re not a dedicated runner, allocating some training time to improve your running will boost your aerobic conditioning base, which can be beneficial for everything from high-rep sets of weight training to running the bases in your local rec-league softball game.

Like any exercise or skill, improving your technique can lead to better results and a lower risk of injury. Most people will invest time and energy learning how to deadlift properly because it’s seen as a relatively complicated exercise that requires coordination between multiple muscles.

However, many of those same people would simply take off on a run with minimal attention to factors that can have a significant effect on how the run feels and, more importantly, how your body responds to all those miles. Here are some of the most important cues to run more efficiently, which will shave down your time and reduce wear and tear on your joints.

Cue 1 — Drive Your Knees Forward

Many people focus on kicking their legs back as they move. Instead, focus on driving your knees forward on each step. This improves stride length and helps to activate the hip flexors and core, which are essential for optimal performance.

Form Tip: Incorporate standing high-knee drills and marching in place during your general warm-up to reinforce this type of knee-forward movement.

Cue 2 — Make Contact with the Balls of Your Feet

When striking the ground during a run, think light and quick. You don’t want to slam your foot into the ground. Most modern running teachers no longer teach a heel strike. Hitting your heels on the ground can be slow and lead to foot and ankle issues.

Instead, they teach runners to strike the ground with the balls of their feet. Have a friend watch you run or set up a camera to record your form. If you are striking back on your heel, take the time to move forward on your foot.

Form Tip: While you’re reviewing your form, check to see if you pronate or supinate your feet. If you’re shifting to the big toe-side of the foot (pronating) or the pinky toe-side of the foot (supinating) instead of remaining in a neutral position, you may be at risk of foot and ankle problems down the road. You can also check the wear patterns on the bottoms of your sneakers as an indicator.

Cue 3 — Run with Your Upper Body

Running doesn’t just happen by moving your legs. Your entire upper body needs to be involved if you want to perform well. As you start your run, think about leaning forward with your hips, chest, and ears in front of your ankles.

Keep your head and chest up by looking 50 to 100-feet ahead of you. Swing your arms like pendulums in sync with your legs. Keep your forearms passing by your sides, not across your body, and keep your arms bent about 90-degrees.

Form Tip: Keep your posture tall. Don’t allow yourself to bend forward at the waist. If your upper body starts to collapse, your overall running form will suffer and speed will slow down.

Cue 4 — Keep Your Core Engaged

Your core is essential for keeping your posture upright, as well as keeping your breath strong. Focus on keeping your core engaged and lifting up out of your pelvis.

Maintain tight enough abs so you don’t wobble side-to-side or over-rotate while you run. If your shoulders are tilting or turning significantly as you run, it’s an indicator that your core may be too relaxed and not fully engaged.

Form Tip: Practice breathing in tempo without losing core tension. Count your steps as you breathe in and breathe out, and work on breath consistency in your pacing. Start slow and determine your individual optimal number of steps per breath.

Running Mistakes to Avoid

Running may seem easy because, technically, anyone can do it anytime. However, to improve your time and become a better runner, you need to follow a structured routine. Running without a plan can lead to pain, injury, slow times, and wasted energy. Here are the most common issues to avoid.

Running Too Much

This isn’t so much a technique issue as it is an enthusiasm issue. When it comes to improving your running, some people think it’s better to just do “more” and somehow any issues will sort themselves out along the way. This isn’t true.

To become a better, faster, and more efficient runner, you need a balanced running program — like you would for any other fitness goal.

Avoid It: Follow a well-planned, structured running schedule (like the sample plan laid out earlier in this article). A comprehensive plan should include training time, varied distances, and cross-training days to build skills, balance training and recovery, and avoid injury.

Skipping Recovery

Trying to get better without rest and recovery can set you backwards in your training. Your body needs recovery days to allow your muscles to repair, your cardiovascular system to adapt, and your nervous system to refresh.

Trying to be “all gas, no brakes” won’t get you to your goals any faster and can potentially put you on the sidelines if you rack up an injury along the way.

Avoid it: Make sure your training schedule includes rest days and recovery methods, including flexibility training which can reduce soreness and improve your range of motion. (2)

Benefits of Running

Running has definite benefits, both physiologically and psychologically. Those benefits become more pronounced when supported by proper recovery and other forms of exercise.

Cardiovascular Health

Running is an aerobic, cardiovascular activity that forces active work on the heart and lungs. This work strengthens the heart and lungs and can lead to a lower resting heart rate and higher blood oxygenation. In all, this leads to better cardiovascular health and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. (3)

Psychological Health

A “runner’s high” is often considered to be a post-run endorphin rush, where your brain releases feel-good chemicals in response to the almost-meditative blood-pumping exercise you just completed. There’s actually an abundance of science that connects running with improved mental health. Some research even suggests that running consistently can be as beneficial as pharmaceutical intervention. (4)

Additional studies have linked a regular running routine with improved sleep, citing that some people have a significant deep sleep improvement and a reduction in insomnia with as little as two short runs per week.

Note: Avoid any interference with your current doctors’ orders. If you are on prescription medication when starting or improving your running routine, let your doctor know and monitor your results.

Fat Loss

Cardiovascular exercise is a reliable method of fat loss. Many times, a simple walk can be an effective starting point. However, running has been shown to contribute more significantly towards fat loss and improved body composition than walking. (5)

A running program not only burns calories during the run, it has also been shown to suppress one’s appetite, making it easier to stick to the type of calorie-restricted diet necessary for fat loss.

FAQs

Why do my feet hurt after running?

It may be due to running too much and/or too quickly for your foot and ankle structures to adapt, or it may be as simple as running on worn-out shoes that offer no protection from repeated impact. Typically, running shoes should be replaced after you’ve put them through 400 to 500 miles of work. Even well-built shoes begin to breakdown at that point and they no longer offer the same level of cushioning and support as intended.

It is really important to pay attention to your feet, especially foot pain. Foot pain can lead to a very painful condition, called plantar fasciitis, which can affect foot function for years to come. Have a professional check your form while you run and help you with any stride corrections. Get a pair of shoes specifically made for running. Many specialized shoe stores can analyze your gait and help you find the right shoe.

What is a side stitch and why do I get them?

There are several possible factors that can cause side stitches including the timing of your previous meal, your breathing pattern, and the tightness of the ligaments around the diaphragm.

In general, stay hydrated before, during, and after a run; work on developing a breathing pattern in sync with your strides while you run; eat a light meal two to three hours before your run; and if you have pain during a run, stop and massage the area until the pain subsides instead of trying to run through the discomfort.

Ready to Run?

Are you inspired? Good. Lace up and get going. Just remember that overdoing it is not going to set you ahead. If you want a goal to really get yourself in gear, find a local 5K and sign up. Then mark it on your calendar, follow the plan, refine your technique, and pick up your pace to start shaving your time down.

References

1. Ralston, G.W., Kilgore, L., Wyatt, F.B. et al. Weekly Training Frequency Effects on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med – Open 4, 36 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-018-0149-9
2. Sands, William & Mcneal, Jeni & Murray, Steven & Ramsey, Michael & Sato, Kimitake & Mizuguchi, Satoshi & Stone, Michael. (2013). Stretching and Its Effects on Recovery: A Review. STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING JOURNAL. 35. 30-36. 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000004.
3. Lee, D. C., Pate, R. R., Lavie, C. J., Sui, X., Church, T. S., & Blair, S. N. (2014). Leisure-time running reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality risk. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 64(5), 472–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2014.04.058
4. Oswald, F., Campbell, J., Williamson, C., Richards, J., & Kelly, P. (2020). A Scoping Review of the Relationship between Running and Mental Health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(21), 8059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218059
5. Williams P. T. (2013). Greater weight loss from running than walking during a 6.2-yr prospective follow-up. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 45(4), 706–713. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e31827b0d0a

Special thanks to Yusuf Jeffers at Mile High Run Club. If you’re entering your first (or next) marathon, consider their specialized marathon training program.

Featured Image: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A / Shutterstock

The post How to Run an 8-Minute Mile Pace appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Among all things tech-lovers, data junkies, or sports science nerds like myself can track, running cadence is one that can be easily monitored on a GPS device. A 2016 study showed that using a commercially available watch like a Garmin is a reliable, valid way to track cadence, among other factors. ^1,9

The Definition of Running Cadence

We’ve known for years that many running injuries are related to the forces going through the body as it impacts the ground with each step.

Cadence is the number of steps a person takes per minute. The reason we’ve started paying attention is that a few years ago, research showed it correlates with how much impact goes through the legs with each foot strike.

Higher cadence means more steps per minute, which means less loading or impact on a run. Kind of cool, eh?

Increasing your cadence can also help with over-striding. While opening up your stride is a great thing for sprinting, it’s not efficient for distance running. This is why Usain Bolt doesn’t run marathons. Most people who over-stride land with their knee locked, slamming their heel into the ground at the point of impact.

It’s a braking motion, causing a choppy stride. This puts a lot of excess stress on the joints, and compounded over time can lead to injury. Think how many times your leg hits the ground on a 5, 10, or 15-mile run.

Changing Your Cadence

A recent study on healthy runners who ran with increased cadence by 7.5% for 8 weeks showed a decrease in their loading rate (force of impact) by 18-10%.⁸

These runners maintained their new form for a month after. If you don’t have an injury, there’s no need to increase your cadence. Unless you’re over-striding, that is.

If you do have an injury, changing your cadence may help. Studies have shown this helps with issues such as stress fractures and lower leg injuries like shin splints.^5,8 Increased cadence has also shown an increase in glute muscle activation.⁵

Better use of these muscles during a run can help with biomechanics linked to other injuries like IT band syndrome.^3,10

Increasing Your Cadence

The first thing to do is to find your cadence. Count how many times your right foot hits the ground in 30 seconds. Multiply that times four to get the total number of foot strikes per minute.

You may think, “But I read on social media, or a friend told me, or a famous running magazine wrote that I should run at a cadence of 160-180. And more is better, so I’ll shoot for 180!”

The media suggested a cadence of 160-180 because of studies that were published on cadence a few years ago. In them, participants averaged a cadence from 165-185. But I’ve been lucky enough to hear the author present their research.

They’re always quick to note their results are based on increasing each runner’s individual cadence by 5-10%.^4,8 The mean of their subjects was at 165-185, but there was a wide variability of all the participants in the study.

If you’re at 140, try 147 (5%). Once you get comfortable with that, try 7.5%. If you’re still over-striding or having pain, try 10%—and see a PT or other sports medicine specialist.

To all the overachievers out there, you don’t need to increase your cadence past 10%. More than that will put a large hurt on your running economy, which is basically how much oxygen or energy you need to hold a pace—so you’d be running less efficiently.

The trick is to find a sweet spot for your form, enough that you aren’t “braking” with each stride, but not so quick that you’re struggling to turn over your feet.

Use Your Phone to Track Your Running

Metronome apps can help you put your new, improved cadence into action. I’ve had good results with Run Tempo and Pro Metronome. There are other versions that can even sync up your music to your pace, which is great, because who wants to hear generic thumping for 5 miles?

If you’re changing your cadence, be patient. It will seem horribly awkward at first to run with a quicker turnover. Use intervals at first. If you do listen to music, start with one song “on” and two songs “off.” Then try two on and one-off, and increase the “on” time from there.

Reduce Your Risk of Injury

Recent research has looked at reducing vertical oscillation, or how much bounce a runner has.¹ Decreasing this not only reduces ground reaction forces, but it also has an effect on lowering your cadence. So instead of all the counting, try thinking about keeping your body as low to the ground as possible.

Focus on running “softer” and not bouncing. This is also trackable on some wearable devices. When we talk about keeping your body low to the ground, we aren’t talking about slumping or slouching. Keep your shoulders upright and your hips with a slight forward lean.

You can also try to increase your stride width versus your stride length. Research has found that stress and load through the shins are influenced by step width. Basically, when your stance is more narrow, the lower leg has more stress going through it.⁷

Don’t try all these methods at the same time. It’s hard to maintain all those changes over the miles, and you won’t know which factor is actually helping. If you have a question, schedule a gait analysis with a run expert to pinpoint exactly what will help your individual needs or training.

Lastly, remember to manage your training load or workout intensity. Your cadence or form won’t matter if you’re constantly overworking your joints and tendons. If you have race goals, ramp up your mileage appropriately. There’s a fine line between too much and too little.

The Bottom Line of Cadence

Cadence is linked to how much stress or impact goes through the body while running. If you have an injury or have had one in the past, increasing your cadence may be an option for your training.

Find your individual cadence. Not everyone should be running at 165-185 strides per minute. There are other options for reducing your impact or risk of injuries, such as increasing your stride width, changing your training load, and reducing your vertical oscillation or bounce.

References:

1. Adams, Douglas, Federico Pozzi, Anthony Carroll, Andrew Rombach, and Joseph Zeni. “Validity and Reliability of a Commercial Fitness Watch for Measuring Running Dynamics.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 46, no. 6 (2016): 471–76.

2. Adams, Douglas, Federico Pozzi, Richard W. Willy, Anthony Carrol, and Joseph Zeni. “Altering Cadence Or Vertical Oscillation During Running: Effects On Running Related Injury Factors.” International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy 13, no. 4 (2018): 633–42.

3. Fredericson, Michael, Curtis L. Cookingham, Ajit M. Chaudhari, Brian C. Dowdell, Nina Oestreicher, and Shirley A. Sahrmann. “Hip Abductor Weakness in Distance Runners with Iliotibial Band Syndrome.” Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine 10, no. 3 (2000): 169–75.

4. Heiderscheit, Bryan C., Elizabeth S. Chumanov, Max P. Michalski, Christa M. Wille, and Michael B. Ryan. “Effects of Step Rate Manipulation on Joint Mechanics during Running.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 43, no. 2 (2011): 296–302.

5. Lenhart, Rachel, Darryl Thelen, and Bryan Heiderscheit. “Hip Muscle Loads During Running at Various Step Rates.” Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 44, no. 10 (2014).

6. Lenhart, Rachel L., Darryl G. Thelen, Christa M. Wille, Elizabeth S. Chumanov, and Bryan C. Heiderscheit. “Increasing Running Step Rate Reduces Patellofemoral Joint Forces.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 46, no. 3 (2014): 557–64.

7. Meardon, Stacey A., and Timothy R. Derrick. “Effect of Step Width Manipulation on Tibial Stress during Running.” Journal of Biomechanics 47, no. 11 (2014): 2738–44.

8. Willy, R. W., L. Buchenic, K. Rogacki, J. Ackerman, A. Schmidt, and J. D. Willson. “In-Field Gait Retraining and Mobile Monitoring to Address Running Biomechanics Associated with Tibial Stress Fracture.” Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports 26, no. 2 (April 2015): 197–205.

9. Willy, Richard W. “Innovations and Pitfalls in the Use of Wearable Devices in the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Running Related Injuries.” Physical Therapy in Sport 29 (2018): 26–33.

10. Worp, Maarten P. Van Der, Nick Van Der Horst, Anton De Wijer, Frank J. G. Backx, and Maria W. G. Nijhuis-Van Der Sanden. “Iliotibial Band Syndrome in Runners.” Sports Medicine 42, no. 11 (2012): 969–92.

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Can you feel it? I do. It’s the sound of giants thundering down the hallway, a team that has slaved together on the field and in the training hall. They are titans. Football is America’s favorite pastime and a dream come true for many. Today, we’re going to talk some programming for you diehards out there. Fasten your seatbelts. It’s game time!

It Starts From Within

An athlete isn’t your average Joe aiming to scale the top. It’s someone with determination, drive, and passion. As D-lineman coach, Arthur Pollard explains, “Kids (I think) lack desire. So many things get their attention. It’s difficult for them to focus (even on the simple drills), but as a coach, we have to help reach their potential and stay realistic.”

It’s learning how to take the raw material (a child, or even an adult) and help them to “evolve their talent,” or what I like to call their latent ability. Pollard further explains, “Lifting with sport in mind is a challenge, it’s like trying to ride a bicycle and a play musical instrument at the same time.”

Lifting, from my experience as an athlete, was always prescribed to me based on what the strength and conditioning coach at Clara Barton High School had planned for track and field. Working with strength coaches was also a big part of my training at NYU for fencing and rugby.

During the season, my training was as exacting as Arthur expressed, “a challenge of focus.” As an aspiring professional bodybuilder, I often need to reign in my desire to lift the whole gym worth of plates on a squat or bench press for the sake of focusing on a bodybuilding program.

Someone I look up to in that regard is two-time Mr. Olympia Breon Ansley. According to his blurb, football and track were his focus from the age of seven. And he adds “I played basketball and baseball as well but they were left at the wayside.” His is a tale of focus and determination as he progressed into becoming a bodybuilder.

Inch By Inch, We Strive

Arthur expressed that his “love for the game and wanting to leave more of an impact…to do it on a bigger scale” is what led him to teach youth. He played college football in Kentucky “and never left.” His words for anyone starting are: “keep showing up (to practice) and try to improve every day. It’s not an easy game but its vastly rewarding and putting yourself through it is the only way to get through it.”

It depends on the time you have, how you set your priorities, and “no matter your physical gifts, it’s about slowly building confidence (through practice) and training your mental,” says Arthur. I couldn’t agree more. It takes a strong-willed person to pursue sport and train so rigorously. I’m truly honored to have met a great friend like Arthur. Let’s keep striving, my friends, we have a lot of work to do!

Intro to Football Programming

Conversations with me regarding programming typically go like this, “Blah blah blah. Eh, but it depends though.” My clients can attest to this. (I’m shocked I haven’t been dumped with a bucket of water yet.) Programming is a fancy word for workout methodology over time. Every athlete, whether they have the physicality or skill, will have to be “pressed, wrung out, and folded.”

Training begins with the basics: squat, deadlift, press, bench, and power clean. However, we must not forget that mobility and flexibility work to help us become more functional, according to Pollard. Strength is vital but so is functionality. If you develop a strong lifting foundation your force output will inevitably increase.

According to Tudor Bompa, PhD, almost all physical activities incorporate speed and flexibility including, maximizing quickness and frequency, overcoming resistance, and maximizing range of motion and coordination.” In my own studies I have found that balancing between bodybuilding, power training, strength training, and integrated training works best for anyone starting out.

Bompa goes on to explain that team sports typically have two prep phases and strength training is done anywhere from 2-4 times per week. This is despite the long competitive season lasting anywhere from 28-36 weeks. For football, strength-speed should dominate and if you’d like to learn more, read Advanced Sports Nutrition by Dan Bernadot for how to optimize nutrition with your training.

For the average gym-goer, this means if you aren’t training at least three days per week you may want to improve your conditioning for at least another three months at higher intensities at a minimum of three days a week

Your training should have a balance between endurance, strength, and speed but be within reason, such that you recover adequately. A training split such as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with active rest days between training days is best. The fourth day should be used to work on weaknesses and technique.

Bodyweight Training to Master

I believe that most people are soft and building a stronger, less fragile body is of utmost importance. That being said, we will start with a sample of bodyweight training that must be mastered.

1. The Push-Up: Master a plank, then move onto going up and down on your hands, isometric holding the top position and repeating. The second is utilizing an incline to increase repetitions. The third and final step is including variables such as military push-ups, diamond push-ups, push-ups with a medicine ball (to work on stability), reverse hand position push-ups (to engage the bicep), and advancing to the Hindu push-up (for shoulder engagement).
2. The Dip: Master the tricep press down, face pull, dumbbell tricep extension, and tricep push-ups (sphinx push-ups). Lastly, start using the assisted machine or a resistance band. This is crucial in order to gain pressing power in the bench press—which is used in the NFL combine as a measure of strength and endurance.
3. The Squat: Master your range of motion, hip angle, and improve mobility. Most people go directly to the barbell squat without fixing key issues such as lower cross syndrome or improving mobility first. Variations that prove useful are the Sumo squat, box squat, hip banded squat, and counterbalance squat
4. Hip Hinge and Lateral Hip Mobility: I highly suggest doing the glute bridge and its modifications. Use the Bosu ball to learn how to overcome instability and engage the hamstrings and glutes to a greater degree. This will allow you to engage these muscle groups at will in order to move appropriately in the deadlift, Romanian deadlift, squat, barbell row, lunge, box jump, vertical jump, broad jump, etc. In my humble opinion, learning how to hip hinge is such an underutilized and underappreciated aspect of bodyweight and weight training. Lateral mobility includes side-stepping and learning how use a side lunge, thus allowing movement along the frontal plane.

Plyometric Training to Master

Plyometric training is another critical training aspect and is very beneficial because it can be done weighted or non-weighted. This kind of training most closely resembles sport and embodies athleticism therefore, as a patron of football, these might be worthwhile to add to your arsenal.

Disclaimer: Do not attempt these if you are injured and do not practice these with improper form.

1. Vertical Jump: Jumping straight up teaches one how to improve power in the sagittal plane. Furthermore, it teaches thoracic extension and emphasizes stability throughout the body.
2. Broad Jump: This is a lateral jump executed for the sake of increasing power similarly to the vertical jump. This is also called the frog jump/leap or rabbit jump in other practices such as martial arts.
3. One-Legged Hop: Promoting unilateral stability and coordination, this jump can be executed over a hurdle or a line depending on the level of stability of the participant.
4. Plyo Push-Up: This is a push-up done on an incline (preferred) by which the athlete initiates a push-up in a normal fashion but continues doing push-ups in an extended and very rapid fashion without returning to the starting position. This teaches reaction time, neural drive, and priming for explosive movement of the upper body. Clap or power push-ups are great alternatives here also.
5. Box Jump: This is a variation of a vertical leap that affixes a height and certain level of aptitude in the ability to explode from a squatting or standing position.
6. Power Pull-Ups: I believe these are just as important as power/plyo push-ups because pulling and pushing should be equally emphasized in sports. A muscle-up is not a necessary requirement because, unlike CrossFit, this movement is rarely ever tested.
7. Chest Pass with Lateral Step-Up: This is a chest pass and lateral step-up combination that teaches upper and lower body coordination and power. Utilize a sturdy box and have a partner that will pass the medicine ball to you. This works both the frontal and sagittal planes simultaneously.
8. Squat Twist to Throw: This teaches the use of the transverse plane and requires an understanding of how to squat and twist without hunching or using torque from the hip in order to generate force for a throw in the opposing direction.

Free Weight Movements to Master

Free weights provide a great opportunity to teach coordination, stability, mobility and emphasize both power and strength. As discussed by Pollard and Ansley, the barbell squat, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, and power clean are your bread and butter.

To add to this arsenal I would suggest the rack pull, one-arm row, push press, Pendlay row, Anderson squat, Anderson deadlift, weighted walking lunges, Bulgarian split squat, split jump (weighted), and squat jumps with dumbbells.

Learning to put these exercises into your regimen is a daunting task and learning to balance cardio with all this training seems to be even more problematic. Coaching can be helpful, as previously discussed. A good start to any form of programming/periodization is to start with a month to month plan then slowly gravitate toward a plan for every three months, then every six months, then yearly.

Below is an example.

Some things to keep in mind:

• Drills can be anything from agility ladders to technique-based drills (such as throwing or catching) to mini scrimmages where plays are practiced.
• Spaces are left intentionally for clarity of reading and notes from your coach about eating and or energy systems.
• Create another sheet or utilize a notebook for reps sets and weights used.

Get Started On Your Training

For those who have an interest in coaching with regard to football, you can always begin with recreational clubs or leagues in your city. For children, start with a reputable children’s program and continue with age-appropriate weight training in order for them to build a foundation.

Consider pursuing training and coaching for children seriously in middle school as it can help them prepare for high school sports. The NCAA will give you a good guideline about what’s required and provides a standard.

For most, going to the NFL is a dream and a very ambitious goal. It requires a lot of sacrifices and making connections with the right people (even more so than your training alone). Learn from others who have foundations in weightlifting and powerlifting to develop a good foundation for yourself. Learn from sprinters or middle-distance runners to maximize stamina on and off the field.

Lift with love my friends!

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Obstacle course racing (OCR) used to be a novelty. Running up a mountain, parading through the woods, and rolling in mud was out of the norm and considered “crazy.” Now OCR is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Companies like Spartan race and Tough Mudder have no problem drawing crowds of thousands of people every weekend.

With the high demand, the sport has evolved. There is a massive competitive element to OCR, and it has changed what participants consider success. It’s no longer enough to finish the race. Athletes want results.

We now have regional and world championships for professional and age group divisions. The podium is no longer reserved for the gifted athletes. Anyone who wants to train hard has a shot at glory. The shift from completion to competition also changes race-day preparation. To perform your best, you need to have a plan that systematically leads you to improvement. In this article, you will learn how to periodize your OCR training to lead to big results.

There are three crucial elements when training for OCR: running, compound lifts, and grip training. These common threads will be present in all phases of your training. To build your fitness for OCR, break your training into three phases: base, intensity, and race-specific.

Base for Running

Build a base for 8-16 weeks. During this time, your focus is to increase volume. Much of your time during the base phase will be spent running long and easy miles. Building a base improves your work capacity for the later phases. If you are new to running, start with three days a week of easy miles including one “long run” per week. A good rule of thumb from the running world is the 10% rule: do not increase your miles by more than 10% each week.

Running is infinitely scalable. You can always get faster or run longer. This is why it is the most crucial piece of any OCR plan. An epidemic running wild in OCR is racing too often and not allowing time to build a base. It is difficult to improve without adequate time to prepare for your race and training season.

Base for Strength

Your base strength will improve your power output, joint stability, and muscle recruitment. Compound lifts will be the keystone of your strength movements. Incorporate squats, deadlifts, lunges, and pressing. Linear progression is time-tested when it comes to strength. Try methods like 5-3-1 or 5×5 to see improvement during your base phase. A good base of strength can be done in two days a week for 8-12 weeks.

Base for Grip

Use your base phase to find a baseline for your grip strength. During this time, test your grip with different hand and arm positions.

During an OCR competition, test your max dead hang, bent arm holds, and chin over the bar holds. From here, you can work on stand-alone workouts for your different grip variations to build on strengths and improve weaknesses.

Try the following:

• 3 x max dead hang
• Tabata bent arm hang
• Bent arm shoulder taps
• Towel hangs

Once you complete your base strength, you can crank up the intensity. Begin your intensity phase with a baseline race or time trial. You’ll want to quantify improvement during this phase.

Plan your intensity phase for 4-8 weeks with a “down” week every 3-4 weeks.

Running Intensity

In OCR, you will run flat, uphill, and downhill. So, you need to work on all of these elements. The workouts can stay the same across the ups, downs, and flats for simplicity sake.

Try the following:

• 5 x 3 minutes at sub 5K effort
• 2-minute rest between sets

You can easily do this workout on flats or uphill. Increase your pace or duration each week for 3-4 weeks. Downhill intervals are logistically difficult, but a slight downhill is better than no downhill. Increase the number of reps to meet the desired volume.

Strength Intensity

Your strength intensity workouts will look a lot like your typical metcon. These workouts will include compound lifts that will tax your muscular endurance and aerobic capacity. Your strength intensity phase will prepare you for fast transitions between obstacles, switching stimulus at a high level while improving muscular endurance.

Classic CrossFit workouts like Helen, Jackie, and Fran are good examples of strength intensity for OCR.

Grip Intensity

Your grip intensity builds confidence when approaching race obstacles while fatigued. These workouts help your grip endurance under fatigue.

Try this:

• Tabata-style dead hang
• 20 seconds of hanging followed by a 10-second rest
• As many rounds as possible

Grip Metcon:

4 rounds

• 15 burpees
• 20 shoulder taps
• 15 jumping lunges
• Max pull ups
• Rest 1 min

Race-Specific Running Phase

During an OCR, you will run up mountains, through mud, across creeks, and through thick brush. All these elements will break your rhythm, so you need to prepare. The purpose of these runs will be to handle a switch in stimulus and find your home base effort.

Run workouts:

Hills + Tempo – run hills hard followed by steady state tempo

3 rounds

• 3 x 60-second hill repeats
• 7 minute at marathon pace after the third repeat
• Rest 3 minutes

OCR Tempo Runs:

• 30 minutes of continuous work
• 5 minutes at half-marathon pace
• 15 jumping squats
• 10 burpees
• 15 jumping lunges

Race-Specific Strength Phase

These workouts will focus on your carries and high-output obstacles like walls and hurdles.

Carry workouts will be blended with running or another low-impact, high-output activity like rowing or the assault bike. During this phase, you will be able to work on heavy high-output activities while fatigued.

For example:

5 rounds

• 30-second assault bike at 95-100%
• 30 seconds heavy farmers walk
• Rest 1 min

Sandbag Hill Intervals:

• 2 min run at threshold pace
• 2 min sandbag carry
• 2 min run at threshold pace

Race-Specific Grip Phase

Your grip workouts can be worked into a longer workout with compound moves and running. Stretch the duration of your grip workouts by adding running, rowing, or assault bike intervals. Do your best to come off of the previous movements fatigue to simulate race-day conditions.

3 rounds

• 500m row
• Towel hang pulses

Race Simulation Progression

Three weeks from the race, pick a day to have a race simulation. Your race simulation can be up to 75% of the duration of the race. If your competition is roughly 60 minutes long, then aim for a 45-minute workout where you incorporate all of the elements of running, strength, and grip.

10 minute warm up then 5 rounds (no rest) followed by a 10-minute cooldown:

• 5 min at half-marathon pace
• 2 min carry
• 20 shoulder taps
• No rest between rounds

Plan Ahead

To achieve your best results in OCR you need to have a plan to lead you to success. The phases of your training plan are crucial. Your base will give you a strong foundation, your intensity will make you fast, and your race specificity will teach you what to expect on the course. With the development of a smart progressive program, you will find yourself in podium contention.

The post Build an Effective Obstacle Course Training Plan appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Gearing Up to Run

Running is the easiest of the disciplines when it comes to gear. Ultimately, you only need a good pair of shoes, the rest is bonus. Regardless, let’s take a moment to walk through some gear that will set you up for success.

Shoes

Shoes are undoubtedly the most important aspect of running gear and this section could truly be its own article. In an internet era, I strongly suggest you go against the flow and head to your local running store to get some assistance. The professionals there will be able to analyze your gait and put you in the shoe that best fits your needs. Running shoes typically fall into one of three categories depending on your biomechanics: neutral, stability/motion control, and maximum support/cushioning. Sorting that out on your own, while doable, can be a total pain.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Running shoes are usually good for around 300 miles of running. While you can continue running in them past that point, and some shoes last longer than others, it is common for pain and tightness to start to creep in. It’s better to change them before they sneak up on you and cause problems.
• Use your running shoes solely for the purpose of running and workouts. This helps you better track the mileage on the shoe and get more miles out of them. Everyday use wears them down more quickly and sets you up for overuse injuries.
• Rotate your shoes (if it’s in the budget). A study noted that rotating your shoes may reduce your overuse injury risk by up to 39%. Plus, spreading the love over several pairs of shoes likely helps your shoes last a little longer, too.

Socks

It might seem like an unimportant area, but arming yourself with great socks makes a world of difference. As I said in my article for weak cyclists, Swiftwick socks (I am not associated with Swiftwick socks in any way other than absolutely loving their product) are some of the best out there. They are incredibly comfortable, last forever, and go a long way in the battle against unwanted friction and blisters. Outside of that, as you consider socks, look for non-cotton socks that will wick well and buffer any hot spots.

Run Shorts

If I would deem any one item essential other than shoes and socks, it would be a good pair (or two) of run shorts. Run-specific shorts can make your life a whole lot easier. The biggest difference from regular athletic shorts? They tend to be lighter weight, shorter length, and have a built in liner so you can skip the underwear which, while it might seem odd, helps eliminate any chaffing issues you may have. A definite win if you ask me.

Run Tights

These, again, are not an essential but tights are incredibly helpful in the colder months. If you dread the treadmill (or “dreadmill” as some of my clients like to call it), they can be a total life saver. Look for a pair that has fleece on the inside as these will tend to keep you warmer.

Tops

Another non-essential, getting some good running shirts can save you some headaches. While there certainly are plenty of run specific shirts (sleeveless in particular), you don’t have to go all out here. Try to find a synthetic (non-cotton) shirt that is lightweight and will wick well. Fabrics that wick will keep you cool and not hold onto as much moisture, keeping them lighter throughout a run. If chaffing is a concern, look for shirts without any screen printing on the chest as it can lead to painful nipples.

Coats

For the colder, rainier months, a good coat can keep you running outside. Typically a lightweight shell will go a long way (down to 30 degrees), whereas heavier weight soft-shell jacket will take you beyond that (but may hold more moisture).

Hat and Sunglasses

Keeping the sun off your head and out of your eyes is important, especially in the middle of the summer. You don’t need anything fancy here, but for the gear enthusiast in the audience there are plenty of run-specific options to whet your appetite. Again, wicking fabrics reign supreme for hats, as well.

GPS Watch with Heart Rate

For those who like to track their training so they can get the most out of what they put in, a good GPS watch that tracks (at least) heart rate and pace is crucial. I have a couple recommendations here:

1. Go with a chest-based heart rate strap instead of a wrist-based monitor. It will prove more accurate.
2. Check out Garmin. While there are plenty of competing options, I think Garmin does it best (again, not affiliated). They have plenty of options to fit a wide range of budgets, too.

Improve Your Running Technique

Now let’s move on from gear to the actual act of running. Focusing on your form is, by far, one of the easiest ways to get better quickly and reduce injury. Smooth, efficient, forward motion is the name of the game. As you think about running and look through the drills below, I encourage you to search for the areas of your stride that inhibit effective forward motion. Let’s start with where your foot is landing in relation to your body—misalignment here is one of the most common pitfalls for newer runners.

“Putting on the brakes” is the term that applies to your foot landing in front of your center of gravity (COG), and often shows up as a heel strike (but not always). This wreaks havoc on your forward motion. Putting on the brakes works against your forward momentum because there is a slight resistance to the forward motion that resumes once you roll onto your toes and begin to move forward again. You don’t want that. Instead of landing out in front, you want to aim to land underneath your center of gravity. Easier said than done, especially if you have years of ingrained running habits. Let’s talk about how to shift away from a reaching stride to one that falls beneath your COG.

Lean

Your lean is the cornerstone. Without it the right lean, you’ll struggle to find your form. It is ever so slight, but good running technique features a forward lean that allows your feet to land underneath of you. It creates this concept of a continuously controlled fall that you will often hear about. This controlled falling is what allows your body to take the vertical forces from gravity and convert some of it into forward motion. If you are too upright, it is very difficult to do this and you end up fighting gravity instead of working with it.

There are a few ways to practice what the lean feels like. The first, and easiest, is to find an open area that gives you at least 10 yards of space. Stand tall on both feet and lean, from the ankles not the hips, until you have to pick up a leg to catch yourself. This is typically pretty close to the kind of lean that will get you that “controlled fall” action in your run.

Another option is to practice the lean by running in place with an exercise band attached to your waist (see video below). All you have to do is lean into it slightly as you run in place. Again, do not bend at the hip. This is a great drill to focus on picking up your foot, as opposed to reaching out in front for your stride.

Finally, in similar fashion to the band drill, you can grab a friend and have them do the same kind of function by standing in front of you with their hands on your shoulders. Just lean into them gently and run in place to get a feel for it. Keep a tight core and bend from the ankles to ensure proper technique.

Cadence

How quickly you turn over your legs (cadence) plays a huge role in running well. Low cadences and over-striding go hand in hand. Conversely, increasing your cadence up to 170-180 rpm makes it much easier to land under your COG and much more difficult to over-stride. If you need help with this, many Garmin watches have a metronome feature built it, or you can grab a free metronome app for your phone to help you get the timing down.

Head Over Foot

These next two points interrelate. Running is essentially alternating single leg hops. With that in mind, try to pick up one leg without shifting your head overtop of your weighted foot. What happens? You fall over! Your head naturally slides over to balance you, and that’s a wonderful thing. This counterbalancing opens up your body to use some bigger muscle groups in your torso which can help you run more powerfully, and efficiently. Better yet, you can take the head over foot concept and use it in your strength training.

Rolling Rib Cage

The last piece is something I like to refer to as rolling rib cage. An often heard bit of advice for runners is to “drive with your arms,” which is entirely counter-productive unless you are all-out sprinting. As mentioned above, the real beauty of landing head over foot is that it creates the opportunity for you to bring the lats and obliques into your form. Including these big muscle groups not only opens the door for more power, it also helps you stay balanced throughout the gait cycle, and it efficiently spreads the work out over more muscle.

To practice this, stand on one leg and hop forward 2-3 feet, landing on the same foot. What happened? You coiled your spine to generate more power before you leaped. Repeat this several times, and switch legs. Then, once you have a sense of what it feels like to use the rotational power to hop, try it out on a run. Instead of focusing on driving your arms, think of rolling your rib cage forward on your unweighted side. Alternatively, you can think of driving the elbow back on the weighted side (side note for the sprinters out there, this is a better cue for you, too).

Drills for Success

Try incorporating some or all of the drills/exercises below to work on your run game.

Engage your arms while doing the drills below as if you were running (so opposite arm moves with the opposite leg). Also, it’s easiest to get your feel for a midfoot strike by practicing in your bare feet initially.

Pony Drill

Start in a normal standing position with good posture. Then, bend your knees slightly and come up onto your toes/front portion of your foot on one leg. The other foot remains flat. After that, switch positions with the flat foot transition into the upright position with the other foot returning to flat. Do this for 20-30 seconds, being mindful of the sensations of the front portion of your foot contacting the ground first, followed by the heel.

Single Leg Hops

After you do the pony drill, shift your weight over onto one foot, unweighting the other leg and lifting your foot from the ground. Don’t lift or drive your knee forward so much as pull your foot towards your butt with your hamstrings (this is key). In this moment, pay attention to how your weight has shifted to the loaded leg. Notice how your head is over your foot to create balance. This is the position we are drilling. From here, hop gently on your weighted foot, paying attention, again, to the sensations of landing on your fore or midfoot with the heel following. Experiment with this on each side. Try to do 30-60 seconds on each leg before progressing to the next drill.

Alternating Single Leg Hops

Take the last drill and begin to alternate between legs. Start with 4-6 hops on each side before switching. Gradually decrease it down to two hops between transitions, and finally try alternating every time. Keep your hops quick (set a metronome to 180 beats per minute if you want) and focus on picking up the foot and having a quick contact with the ground. Do this for 30-60 seconds (more if you like).

Add the Lean/Running

This is really a continuation of the last drill. Once you are alternating every hop, lean forward slightly and let yourself “fall” forward, being mindful of picking up the foot with your hamstrings as you hop. This will cause you to start moving forward in a slow run. Keep it going from here, focusing on a quick turnover. As you gain momentum, notice how you are not driving your legs out in front of you, or reaching out in long strides. Instead, you should feel the length of your stride extending behind you.

Take It to the Grass

Now that you’ve got a feel for it, either take your shoes off and go to a grassy area or put on some minimally cushioned shoes and hit a softer surface like a track or a running trail. Running barefoot on grass is a great way to reinforce what you just practiced. All the wonderful nerves in your feet will light up and you will be able to feel your foot strike exceptionally well. You’ll find that it’s hard to heel strike like this. Run like this for short bouts of 50-100 yards for 3-5 minutes to better reinforce all these new habits.

If you are doing this as a pre-workout or a warm up for your strength routine, try minimalist shoes on a treadmill for 3-5 minutes for a similar effect.

How to Build Your Run Fitness (and Not Get Injured)

So, you’ve done some drills and have a feel for how to run with good form, now what? This is the part where many folks go wrong. It’s natural to be excited about running better and set some goals for yourself. The problem is that most people set too big of a goal too soon. Trying to ramp up running miles too quickly is the number one reason for injuries, and I would attribute that primarily to two things:

1. Your muscles develop more quickly than your bones and connective tissues (tendons, and ligaments). This means your muscles may feel good after a tough week of running, but your other tissues may need more recovery before jumping up into increasing mileage. In a sense, your motor is too strong for it’s frame. This is especially relevant to those moving towards more minimal shoes. Give those little bones and tissues in your feet time to adjust to more impact.
2. Most of us are starting of with imbalances and mobility restrictions that need some work. Jumping into a big running volume before working on how you move can just lead to poor motor patterns, and exacerbation of your existing imbalances. Movement is a skill, and it’s easy to gloss over the skill aspects of running because we “feel fine” and running is just something we know how to do. The trouble is that we lose touch with correct running from all the time we spend sitting. And these problems aren’t something we typically notice upfront unless we know where to look. They don’t crop up quickly, they tend to happen over months and years before we are stuck with an annoying injury.

Build Gradually

This won’t be you, though. You’ll be a healthy, durable runner. All you need is a few tools in your toolbox to approach running in a smart, intentional manner.

Form First

We worked on this above. Practice a lot up front. Nail the form. Then, work on stretching out the distance gradually. Your number one goal and focus is on keeping good form for the entirety of your runs.

Work On Flexibility and Mobility

Moving well starts with ensuring that your tissues are sliding correctly across each other. When they aren’t, you end up with tight, stiff areas that may even cause pain some pain. Worst yet, your movement quality will begin to suffer, and you can begin to ingrain poor habits unless you take some action. To counteract this, make sure you have some mobility and flexibility work in your routine. Running can especially do a number on your muscles, so try to make time for your mobility practice 3-4 days each week. It doesn’t have to be much. In fact, if you focus on the common troublemakers for runners, you can get a lot done in 5-10 minutes, which fits nicely before a workout.

If you’re new to the idea of mobility, I strongly suggest you pick up a copy of Ready to Run or Becoming a Supple Leopard written by Kelly Starrett. These two resources are both incredibly thorough, and great places to start.

If you need some specific stretches for runners, try this flexibility flow to hit some of the common culprits (hips, hip flexors, hamstrings, calves, IT bands, low back):

Get Strong and Durable

This part pairs nicely with your mobility work. Once you have worked to get your muscles moving well, it’s time to strengthen them. For runners, try to spend the majority of your time doing unilateral work (e.g. single leg exercises). This helps uncover, and correct weaknesses and imbalances. Bilateral movements (squats, deadlifts, etc.) have their place as well, and are great for building overall strength and power.

Slowly Increase Your Mileage

This section is especially important if you are switching to more minimal, zero drop shoes. This point should be ringing through pretty clearly by now: moving well is your number one priority. This means you need to start as small as necessary. If you are coming off the couch, that may mean you are running for 2-3 minutes at a time, alternating with some walking. If you are relearning your running form, it may mean you start out at 1-2 mile runs and build from there. Take it slow, and try to be mindful of how it feels relative to the drills you’ve been doing.

The process takes time, but it is worth it and it gives your body ample time to adjust. When I changed my running form years ago it took me nearly six months to transition down to more minimal shoes and build my runs up to 6-7 miles (from 1-2). The old adage of increasing by no more than 10% each week is a great rule of thumb both for your longest run and your total volume (the number of miles/time you are running each week).

Turn Off the Tunes

I know, I know—that’s half the fun, right? It makes it way less boring to be running to your jam, but here’s the thing, it disconnects you from what’s going on. Being mindful of the sensations of running, especially as you are learning, or adjusting, is one of the most helpful tools you can have. It will literally accelerate your progress to dial into how your body is feeling as you run. You don’t have to disconnect for every run, and you don’t have to do this forever; just try it out for the first few months as you learn.

Determine the Appropriate Training Load

So what is reasonable in order to reach your goals? It all depends on what you’re training for. Within triathlon, you can use the guidelines below to get you started:

• Sprint– regular runs: 1-2 miles – long runs: 3-4 miles
• Olympic – regular runs: 2-3 miles – long runs: 5-7 miles
• Half – regular runs: 3-7 miles – long runs 8-12 miles
• Full – regular runs: 3-10 miles – long runs: 12-20 miles

Don’t Run Every Day

Take days off during the week. You will need 1-2 days, maybe even 3, to recover and benefit from your efforts. Also, consider swapping out a run day for strength day as an alternative to all the impact.

Take Recovery Weeks

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you are taking regularly scheduled recovery weeks. It is during these weeks of less running that your body actually recovers and better adapts to allow you to improve. If you are younger, or fairly fit, try doing one every three weeks or so. If you are older, or just getting started, you may want to try a recovery week every two weeks.

The post The Weak Runner’s Guide to Starting Triathlon appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

When I was a kid, the old school hamster homes with the tubes and the hamster wheel were all the rage. Being neat freaks, my parents wouldn’t let my brother and I have one, but the idea of the hamster structure still made an impression.

It looked like the hamsters had it pretty good to me—one of those water droplet tubes any time they were thirsty, plenty of bedding to rest in, and of course the main attraction, the hamster wheel. I’m not sure if kids these days still covet hamster homes, but nowadays the human hamster wheel is unquestionably the king of all fitness equipment.

If there is one piece of equipment that many people have at home, it’s likely a treadmill. Treadmills are frequently the most popular and sought after pieces of equipment. Over 44% of gym goers regularly use one when they go to the gym. I worked for a HIIT training company for years where we used treadmills as one of the stations in our exercise classes and the vast majority of our patrons always rushed to use the treadmills first.

The treadmill reigns supreme for good reason—it replicates the most basic of all human movement patters, walking (and/or running). Plus, treadmills are super-efficient. Why head to the gym for an hour or more of weights when you can work up a better sweat banging out 30 minutes of hard running on the treadmill? Whether it’s a time or calorie burn, compared to going on a long bike ride, heading over to the pool for a swim, walking 18 holes of golf or playing a few sets of tennis, the treadmill is the king of efficiency.

I’m not going to lie. Like a lot of you, I am semi-addicted to the treadmill. I’m on that damn hamster wheel at least twice a week, if not more. I use it to warm up for my lifts, I use it for indoor training runs, and I use it for interval training and running sprints. A treadmill is a super handy companion, but it’s also not without its downsides. When it comes to the treadmills, there are the do’s and don’ts.

Treadmill Do’s

Use the treadmill when you’re injured. When you’re running on a treadmill the cushion of the tread is absorbing some of the impact that your body would otherwise be absorbing outside pounding the pavement. Furthermore, some manufacturers, like Woodway, make anti-gravity treadmills that allow for partial weight bearing where you’re only putting part (50% or even lower) of the impact on your body. Ironically though, the repeated stress patterns of a treadmill can also potentially cause injury, so rehab wisely. Once you have stabilized your injury and have built up your foundation, get back outside where you can strengthen your body through more natural and randomized movement patterns.

Run intervals using the treadmill. The very best thing about the treadmill is the instant feedback and ability to change your speed and incline metrics instantaneously. When you’re outside on a five mile run you can’t always control the timing of when you might encounter some incline or decline. It can be cumbersome to constantly check your fitness tracker or watch for feedback, but on the treadmill, it’s all right there at your fingertips.

Use the incline feature. I don’t want to hear that it hurts your knee and hamstrings to run with incline. If you can run, then you can run with incline. Besides, just how do you think you’re going to strengthen your knees and hamstrings anyhow? I have news for you, outside in the real world there are hills. That means, theoretically, at some point you will have to run (or walk) up and down them. Training on the treadmill without incline is like riding a spin bike without any resistance (which plenty of people also do, incidentally). The truth is it’s the resistance and incline that makes you stronger, so use it.

Use the mirror to check your stride. Have you ever wondered why there are mirrors in gyms? Hint, it’s not to check yourself and others out or critique cute outfits—they are there so you can check your form. Some basic running cues are as follows: look straight ahead (as in at the mirror), your shoulders and hands should be relaxed, keep your elbows at 90 degrees, use short and quick strides with your head and chest upright, and foot strike in line with your knees. It’s utterly amazing to me how many people have terrible running form with arms and feet flailing about and yet they seem completely oblivious to the fact. If you don’t know whether you are running correctly or wearing the right shoes it would be a good idea to have a gait analysis and/or hire a running coach—your knees, hips, shins, and feet will thank you.

Treadmill Don’ts

Never use the treadmill as your main training modality when you’re training for an event. Here’s the thing, with a few random exceptions, they don’t hold races on treadmills. Whether you’re training for a 5 k, half marathon, or ultra-distance, the majority of your training should be done outside to best prepare for your race environment. Lots of swimmers run into problems because they tend to train only in the pool (versus open water) and come race day, they feel like a fish out of water. The same logic applies with running—do the distance and road work outside, run your intervals inside.

Don’t use the treadmill when it’s a nice day. I live in Colorado where the sun shines over 300 days a year. I am absolutely dumbfounded how often people are inside at the gym on a nice day pounding away on the when treadmill when it’s nice out. What is wrong with you? Get outside and get some fresh air. The vitamin D and scenery will do you some good. Furthermore, studies show that exercising outdoors is “associated with greater feelings of revitalization and positive engagement, decreases in tension, confusion, anger, and depression, and increased energy.”

Don’t use it like you’re on a leisurely stroll. It kills me to see people just hanging out on a treadmill walking like they’re taking a Sunday afternoon nap. The whole point to the treadmill is to use the speed and incline to efficiently maximize your workout. Not every city or suburban neighborhood has sidewalk that are conducive for running, but those sidewalks sure are made for walking. If you’re planning on just strolling, do yourself a favor and get outside. Let someone have the treadmill who will actually use it for training.

Please don’t be an a-hole and hog the treadmill at your gym. Here’s a little newsflash, if you’re on a treadmill that isn’t at your house, it isn’t yours. You should look around when you’re on a treadmill at the gym and ask yourself “is the gym and equipment around me full?” You might be thinking that it isn’t your job to keep track of the cardio machines at your gym, but it is your job as a decent human being to be respectful. If the gym is packed and you’ve been on for more than a half hour, it’s time to get off.

Make sure you’re not an idiot on the treadmill. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were over 24,000 treadmill related injuries treated in hospitals last year. Use the same precaution as when driving your car. Avoid talking on your phone, texting, and posting on social media— you or others could get hurt. You’re on a moving belt, after all, so be mindful.

The Treadmill Gets the Job Done

Until virtual running and aerobic imagery becomes the next fitness craze, the treadmill isn’t going anywhere. For most of us, we’re grateful to have access to this super-efficient and calorie burning training tool. That said, running isn’t just meant to be a mindless hamster wheel. There’s scenery to see, fresh air to breathe, and races to run. The treadmill is one of those companions you should see casually like a work acquaintance—a relationship that helps you perform better at your real job and helps you gain fitness and health while learning how to move your body better.

The post The Treadmill Is More than a Hamster Wheel appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

So you’re a runner and you want to spend a little bit of time in the gym while the weather is bad getting stronger. You’re hoping that strength will translate into running somehow, and since you’re a runner, you can figure out exactly what you need to do. You devise a periodized plan that involves lots of heavy lifting, a few bodyweight exercises, and some core work, because everyone knows you should work your core. You follow the plan exactly as it’s written out, never missing a day (as a runner, you know how to follow training programs). You figure next season will be full of PRs and age group victories. You excitedly set up for your first 10k of the season after three months of carefully following your program only to find yourself barely faster than you were at the end of last season. What should you have done differently?

Runners love numbers. Strength training is a very numbers oriented activity, with set and rep schemes, percentages, and a general fixation with “how much” instead off “how fast?” So it makes sense that runners would gravitate towards improving overall strength during the off season.

However, while strength is definitely important and should be part of any runner’s off-season programming, so is the ability to develop power away from the ground. Power is defined as work/time or force x velocity ¹; strength is measured as a function force output. Strength and power are related, but are not the same thing, but both increasing strength and power have been shown to improve running economy through strength training and plyometrics.²

First, Define Plyometrics

Plyometrics are exercises that utilize the stretch-shortening cycle by an eccentric movement followed by a concentric movement.³ Remember, eccentric movements are lengthening the muscle under tension and concentric movements occur when the muscle shortens under tension. When you jump, for instance, you bend your knees and squat down a little bit first, eccentrically loading the muscles that are going to propel you upwards.

Conveniently, when you run, the thing that enables you to have the force to transition from one foot to the other is the stretch-shortening cycle.⁴ It begins to make sense why plyometrics training translates to improved running efficiency—you are training the very thing that propels you forward.

Now, before you go do that standard endurance athlete thing and program one hundred box jumps into your next gym workout, it’s important to note that the introduction of plyometric exercises requires adequate tissue tolerance. Basically, all of your tissues need to be ready to withstand the loads that come along with jumping. This also means maybe starting with box jumps isn’t the best idea, and definitely don’t start with 100. Start with sets of three or four (I will discuss this in more detail a little bit later).

Okay, so how do you ensure your tissues are ready for plyometrics? By doing introductory plyometrics, or what I like to think of as preparatory plyometrics. Things like skipping, bounding, jumping rope, and hopping are great preparatory plyometric exercises. They prepare the tissues for higher level jumping exercises and get you used to leaving the ground in a more dynamic manner.

“But wait,” you might be thinking, “I am a runner! That is plyometric in nature. I leave the ground in a dynamic manner all of the time.”

True, running differs from walking in that both feet are off of the ground during the swing phase of gait. And while this it technically dynamic in nature, those of us that have run for many years are probably less dynamic than we think, since efficiency decreases with age unless we work on it.²

A few of you may know that researchers believe increasing step rate or cadence decreases ground reactive forces, which basically means there is less load on the lower extremities.⁵ In order to maintain this step rate, you have to be kind of bouncy; if you don’t practice either running with a metronome or activities that require your feet leaving the ground quickly, it’s going to be extremely difficult to increase your step rate in a way that feels like it can be maintained.

One final note about tissue preparedness before I dive into how to incorporate plyometric work into your training during the off season: in order to jump or bounce well, you need good ankle mobility. You also need strong (but flexible) feet and hips that coordinate well with ankle and foot motion, plus a fairly strong core to stabilize and absorb the motion from the ground. Otherwise, you are going to either sound like a bag of bricks dropping into the floor or you will feel a complete lack of control when you leave the ground. When you look at jumping (including basic jumping patterns, like hopping), they are the last motor pattern infants learn to do, and for good reason. They require strength and coordination. If you are missing the basic foundation to hop and jump successfully, work on the basics first.

Preparatory Plyometrics

Remember the preparatory plyometrics I mentioned earlier? Let’s return to those in order to build a base.

The first thing I want you to do right now is stand up and hop on one foot, ten times. Now switch sides. How did that go?

If you felt heavy/uncoordinated/lost your balance/felt it in your knees you need to start with preparatory plyometrics before you move on to the more dynamic moves, and you need to start with low reps. You are not trying to set a PR in jumping; you are trying to use jumping to improve your running. Less is more.

If you have ever sprained an ankle, chances are high the two sides felt different while you were hopping. They may have felt different anyway, and that’s okay. Single leg hopping work will improve overall coordination and get you more comfortable on the less coordinated side.

Twice a week, on days that aren’t back to back, add 3 minutes of preparatory plyometrics into your program. Hop on two legs or one. Skip. Bound. Jump rope. Set up obstacles that you leap through or to. Remember those agility drills you used to do when you played high school sports? Incorporate them into your life, just twice a week. You might even find yourself having fun while developing a little more responsiveness.

After one week, add one more minute of drills. After six weeks, you will be at eight minutes, twice a week of plyometric drills. You will feel stronger, more coordinated and, if you are running at all, maybe a little lighter.

Incorporating More Powerful Movements

Once you have built a foundation of plyometric training, you can begin exploring more challenging plyometric movements. Remember, the goal still isn’t a PR in plyometrics. You do not need to do one hundred box jumps to achieve positive benefits; in fact, working to the point of fatigue during plyometric exercises can be counter-productive. It leads to higher risk of error, and error can result in injury. Less is more.

Back to incorporating more dynamic plyometrics. A few of the jumping variations most people are familiar with include broad jumps, depth jumps, and tuck jumps. There is technique involved in landing that allows your tissues to absorb the load in an integrated fashion. Using your arms becomes extremely helpful when performing these movements (notice I said arms, not neck), and keeping the arms close to the body helps with efficiency. This is not unlike the running gait pattern, where the arms swing close to the body rather than flailing out in space. For dynamic movements to be performed well, efficiency matters and flailing limbs use more energy than limbs that are kept a little bit closer to the torso.

If you haven’t performed these types of jumping patterns since your senior year in high school, they will probably be awkward, so be patient with yourself. Pick one jumping exercise, try two repetitions, take a break, and then try two more. Perform a total of 4 sets of two, once a week for a month. See if you can figure out how to land as softly as possible, and make sure your knees are bent when you land, so the force is absorbed from your feet all of the way up into your hips. Begin to notice how your feet land. What way do your toes point? Do your feet go completely flat upon landing? What happens to your knees? Do they cave in or point out to the sides? Maybe they point straight ahead. Observe these things and see if you can find ways to make the landings feel like they aren’t jarring in any way.

In the meantime, keep up the preparatory plyometrics once or twice a week. This crazy thing will start to happen as you practice. You will feel lighter. You will begin to land a little more softly and you will feel like you have a little more control.

There is a Feldenkrais lesson I do once every six weeks or so where the instructor discusses how pushing into the foot moves the body up. She correlates this to the running pattern. When you land during the gait cycle, the foot that lands pushes into the ground, moving the torso not just forward, but vertically upwards as well. Jumping patterns reinforce the idea that pushing the feet into the floor springs the body up into the air. It’s a sensation that’s often missing in long distance runners. We get so fixated on the forward momentum, we forget running is an oscillatory movement.

If you train for running events and/or consider yourself a runner, it’s easy to get caught up in PRs, interval training, and long, slow distances. However, conditioning the body for the act of running and learning how to be lighter can make not just the act of running more enjoyable, but more efficient as well.

You might also like:

• A Simple Plan For Stronger Running
• Weight Training Basics For Runners
• 9 Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Running
• The Single Secret To Becoming A Better Runner

References:

1. Sapega, A.A., & Drillings, G., (1983). The definition and assessment of muscular power. The Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 5(1).

2. Midgley, A.W., McNaughton, L.R., & Jones, A.M., (2007). Training to enhance the physiological determinants of long-distance running performance. Sports Medicine, 37(10).

3. Davies, G., Riemann, B.L., & Manske, R., (2015). Current concepts of plyometric exercise. International Journal of Sports and Physical Therapy, 10(6), 760-786.

4. Komi, P.V., (2000). Stretch-shortening cycle: a powerful model to study normal and fatigued muscle. Journal of Biomechanics, 33(10), 1197-1206.

5. Heiderscheit, B.C., Chumanov, E.S., Michalski, M.P., Wille, C.M., & Ryan, M.B., (2012). Effects of step rate manipulation on joint mechanics during running. Medicine Science of Sports and Exercise, 43(2), 296-302.

The post Off-Season Plyometrics for Running appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This set of drills is a quick and easy supplement to any run, warm-up or strength workout you may have on your schedule. You can do them just about anywhere without any special equipment or much space at all. In fact shoes are even optional!

This set of drills is a quick and easy supplement to any run, warm-up or strength workout you may have on your schedule. You can do them just about anywhere without any special equipment or much space at all. In fact shoes are even optional!

What’s the Benefit of Running Drills?

In a word? Efficiency. Running will come to you far more quickly and easily when you spend time mastering the technique. Efficient running helps you run faster, improves endurance, and reduces injury risks.

These drills are designed to develop your sensation of an efficient foot strike. They progressively take you through the sensations of a forefoot or midfoot strike so that your body knows what to feel for as you mix it into your actual running.

Landing on your mid or forefoot with a forward lean and a high leg turnover (about 90 repetitions per leg per minute) is the easiest way to keep you foot strike underneath your center of gravity which reduces  landings that hinder your forward movement. In fact, it is a very effective way to take the vertical energy of gravity and translate it into forward motion (a controlled fall). Running is essentially a transition from a good position on one leg to the same position on the other. These drills help reinforce and drill into your nervous system these positions on each leg.

How to Perform Foot Strike Running Drills

Quick note upfront – try to engage your arms in these drills as if you were running (so opposite arm moves with the opposite leg). See the video to clarify.

Pony Drill

Start in a normal standing position with good posture. Then, bend your knees slightly and come up onto your toes/front portion of your foot on one leg. The other foot remains flat. After that, switch positions with the flat foot transition into the upright position, and the other foot returning to flat. Do this for 20-30 seconds, being mindful of the sensations of the front portion of your foot contacting the ground first, followed by the heel.

Single Leg Hops

After you do the Pony Drill, shift your weight over onto one foot, unweighting the other leg and lifting your foot from the ground. Don’t lift or drive your knee forward so much as pull your foot towards your butt with your hamstrings (this is key). In this moment, pay attention to how your weight has shifted to the loaded leg. Notice how your head is over your foot to create balance. This is the position we are drilling. From here, hop gently on your weighted foot, paying attention, again, to the sensations of landing on your fore or midfoot with the heel following. Experiment with this on each side. Try to do 30-60 seconds on each leg before progressing to the next drill.

Alternating Single Leg Hops

take the last drill and begin to alternate between legs. Start with 4-6 hops on each side before switching. Gradually decrease it down to 2 hops between transitions, and finally try alternating every time. Keep your hops quick (set a metronome to 180 beats per minute if you want) and focus on picking up the foot and having a quick contact with the ground. Do this for 30-60 seconds (more if you like).

Add the Lean/Running

This is really a continuation of the last drill. Once you are alternating every hop, lean forward slightly and let yourself “fall” forward, being mindful of picking up the foot with your hamstrings as you hop. This will cause you to start moving forward in a slow run. Keep it going from here, focusing on a quick turnover. As you gain momentum, notice how you are not driving your legs out in front of you, or reaching out in long strides. Instead, you should feel the length of your stride extending behind you.

Take it to the Grass (Optional)

Now that you’ve got a feel for it, either take your shoes off and go to a grassy area or put on some minimally cushioned shoes and hit a softer surface like a track or a running trail. Running barefoot on grass is a great way to reinforce what you just practiced. All the wonderful nerves in your feet will light up and you will be able to feel your foot strike exceptionally well. You’ll find that it’s hard to heel strike like this. Run like this for short bouts of 50-100 yards for 3-5 minutes to better reinforce all these new habits.

If you are doing this as a pre-workout or a warm-up for your strength routine, try minimalist shoes on a treadmill for 3-5 minutes for a similar effect.

You might also like A 5 Minute Set to Improve Your Run Technique.

The post Under 5 Minutes Drill to Improve Running Performance appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. It’s something I say all the time, in reference to a news story, or a Darwin Award candidate. But since my last race weekend in May, I’ve been saying it about myself.

The sad story begins as far back as the fall of 2015, when I played a stupid game called “run a marathon with inadequate base training.” I had shattered my collarbone in June, and the ensuing surgery and recovery set my training clock back to zero.

Undeterred, I hastily rewrote my training program to cram 24 weeks into 14, culminating in a single, ugly 18-miler, two weeks out from the race. The stupid prize I won was that I had a fantastic marathon for about 18 miles, then the wheels fell off in a big way, and I limped home the remaining eight.

I followed that with another stupid game, this one dubbed “come back way too fast after you destroy yourself.” I attempted a recovery run just three days after my marathon disaster, and got back to track work the week after that.

When you finish a race healthy, that’s a fine plan, but that’s not where I was. Three weeks post-marathon, I thought I felt well enough, and raced a local 15k. The race went great, and I was very happy with my time, but I went straight to the airport afterward for a flight to Utah for work.

By the time I disembarked in Salt Lake City, I could barely walk, the pain in my right knee had gotten so bad.

Getting Stupid

Of all people, I should know better, right? My wife (my first athlete and the most wonderful woman in the world) will tell you that I’d never let her do something like that.

But sometimes advice is easier to dispense than take, and so I found myself sidelined at the end of 2015 for the better part of 10 weeks. Sobered by the experience, I vowed to make 2016 my year of running happy, and wrote a conservative training plan for the whole year.

Purposeful runs, gradual mileage buildups, injury prevention work, and no unnecessary volume.

Oh, and daily doses of naproxen to keep my knee pain under control. Every time I cycled off the anti-inflammatory, the pain came back, and I couldn’t run (or squat) again.

Visits to the ortho and an MRI showed that my meniscus damage from an ACL injury in 2009 had slightly worsened, and I was developing a little arthritis, but nothing that should stop me from running. So I didn’t stop running, and twice a day I opened the little white bottle to keep me going.

You can see where this game was getting a little stupid. The thing was, it was working. I was running strong and healthy, setting PRs everywhere, and having a great time doing it.

I ran my first 100-mile month in May. I did a track meet in June, and set my best mile time ever. I ran relay races with my team in September and October, and had the time of my life doing it.

For the first time in my (admittedly short) running career, I was feeling strong, fast, and bulletproof.

The fall of last year saw me crush my half marathon PR, then crush it again, and even return to that 15k that left me broken the year before.

But by Thanksgiving, the anti-inflammatories were losing their magic, and my body was just tired from all the training and racing. No big deal, I thought. Just take a few weeks off over the holidays, and you’ll be good as new.

The Flying Pig

My opening headline event for the spring of this year was the Flying Pig Marathon’s 3-Way with Extra Cheese (no really, it’s a thing), an event that sees participants racing a mile, a 5k, a 10k, and a half marathon, all within about 36 hours.

With the overall goal of getting into marathon race shape by the fall, the buildup to the Flying Pig would be just the thing to send me into summer with a great training base. I wrote a plan and started running again in mid-January, steadily building miles and trying to go easy when my knee said no mas.

I also knew that it was time to see if I could get off the naproxen. Sure enough, a few weeks after cycling off, my knee pain returned. I went to see a sports medicine specialist, and he recommended knee injections that became their own rolling disaster.

Confusion and poor communication with the insurance company meant that the injections we agreed upon in January weren’t ready until mid-April. The Flying Pig races were the first weekend in May. See where this is going?

Every qualified professional was telling me that the pain in my knee didn’t necessarily mean I was causing further damage. In their defense, that is also exactly what I wanted to hear. While my training went well enough, I was subconsciously altering my running form to favor my cranky right knee.

Just as I entered the taper for the Flying Pig, I developed a little ache on the inside of my right shin. No matter, I’d take it easy through the taper, race at the Pig, and then take a little time off to heal up and let the knee injections do their thing. Cue the foreboding music.

Ignoring the Ache

My shin was still achy as I warmed up for my mile on Friday night, but the pain seemed to subside after some time on the Compex and about a half mile of warm up drills. Gun went off, I ran my brains out, and knocked a few more seconds off my mile PR. Dinner, home, bed.

Saturday morning started with the 10k. I was up early, fueled, and started to warm up. The shin pain was marginally worse than the day before, but again seemed to subside once I got moving. Not all the way, but mostly.

Gun went off, I felt great after the first mile, and banged out a big 10k PR. An hour later, it was time for the 5k, and I felt pretty smoked, but good enough to cruise through. My shin complained the whole race, but I reasoned that it was just a 5k, and all I had to do was survive.

But by that evening, I knew things were getting serious. The mile and a half walk from our hotel to dinner was a limping, teeth-gritted affair. But I wasn’t about to skip my last remaining race, the half marathon, and miss out on my medal for the weekend. I had my ankle taped, iced everything, and went to bed just hoping to survive the next day.

The best thing to happen to me on Sunday morning was that Jackson, my teammate, found me in the crowd just after the start. We ran together for the first half of the race, which took my mind off the pain, and helped me enjoy the experience.

At the top of the climb to Mt. Adams, his hangover subsided and he picked up the pace, and I was left to gut out the last several miles by myself.

The finish at the Flying Pig half marathon is one of my favorite race experiences, anywhere.

You fly downhill for the entire final 5km stretch, hook into downtown through throngs of cheering spectators, and cross an impressive finish line feeling like a total hero. That is, of course, unless you’re in excruciating pain with every step.

I finished with a grimace, fully seven minutes off of my projected time. Instead of the exhilaration of completing such a challenging weekend, all I could think about was collecting my wife (who PR’d her own half marathon), and the daunting trudge back to the hotel.

Learning from Experience

Going into that race weekend, I was taking what I understood to be a calculated risk. I honestly believed my recovery from the weekend would take a few weeks, and then I would resume training for my full marathon in October without much trouble.

But now, almost three months later, I’m still waiting for my leg to give me the green light to train again. The stupid prize for this misadventure? Now there isn’t time to be ready for a full marathon this year, which means putting off that goal for at least another season.

There are those who believe that there is no excuse for injury in an amateur athletic environment, and given my own experience, it’s hard to argue that point. But it is equally true that growth occurs through challenge, and you won’t learn a thing if you never approach your limits.

The balance between those two concepts can be a difficult one to strike, particularly if you’re as ambitious and hard-headed as yours truly.

The overall lesson I’ll take from this season’s stupid game is that I need to pay closer attention to my biomechanics.

I allowed one injury to drag me into another, and that has cost me a lot of time and several races. My time on the bench has allowed me to reprioritize a few of my training goals, and I will pay more attention to my prehab and self-care, moving forward.

As you’ve seen, this May wasn’t the first time I played a stupid game and won a stupid prize, and I won’t pretend that it’ll be the last.

I am peculiarly drawn to events that have the potential to shatter my body and warp my mind, and I don’t see myself getting off that train any time soon.

But I will continue my effort to never make the same mistake twice, and hopefully, a few of you can use my story to avoid mistakes of your own.

The post Don’t Play Stupid Games appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

How Heart Rate Holds You Back

If I say to you I want you to sprint 400m, you will sprint. It will be hard, and you will recover, and with enough sprint training you will get faster. If you do the same thing following the numbers on your monitor, you will slow down to stay in the zone. You are holding back, when you could be doing better. Doesn’t sound very productive to having a stellar race season. 

Another example of a heart rate monitor letting you down is when you’re tired or aren’t feeling well. The monitor says you need to pick it up to stay in the zone, but you just can’t. Next thing you know, you are ignoring that your body is telling you that you need to rest, and pushing yourself hard to get into or stay in zone, and now you are injured.

What Does Your Body Say?

Before monitors were invented, there was a thing called rate of perceived exertion (RPE). It’s free, pretty basic, and easy to use. The RPE scale is an excellent tool. You can use a simple scale of 1 for easy and 10 for all-out effort. With my athletes, I tend to use percentages in the upper range of 70-100%, or words like easy, hard, sprints, time trial effort, or all-out effort.

For base training, go slow and easy when starting out in your program, then train at a perceived exertion up to 70% effort. After a month or two, when you feel like you are into the swing of it, then it’s time to open the throttle.

One of the great things about ditching the monitor is that you smash through plateaus by pushing harder. The fitter you become through quality over quantity training, the more you can push and blow through your old PRs. It also adds longevity to your programming. You can use the same training program year after year, because it is based on your exertion, and not judging you on your fitness level. Just remember to leave your ego at the door, and be honest in your assessment of your training effort.

Give it a try. Repeat one of your track workouts, and base it solely on how you feel. Of course you will track your time, but I want you run based only on how you feel. Be honest. Then write down your results and compare. It also works for the bike and the swim. It’s time to get away from the chain keeping you from kicking some serious butt on the race course. 

The post Break Free From the Tyranny of Your Heart Rate Monitor appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The hallux plays a key role within dynamic and static activities. For example, without a correctly functioning hallux, static balance is compromised, as seen in an experiment using a specially designed splint to restrict the function of the hallux.¹ During movement, this becomes more pronounced and more dangerous if one doesn’t possess adequate foot structure or strength.

The Role of the Big Toe in Running and Walking

Starting with a walk, human walking gait is described as an inverted pendulum.² Walking is low impact, meaning that a human may use a heel strike at the onset of each step. Body weight travels from the heel, across the outside of the foot as the center of mass passes in a sagittal direction over the foot.³ Bodyweight continues and falls inward (or pronates in) over distal ends of the metatarsals, and here is a critical point. The hallux needs to control this pronation to guide bodyweight forward, and it does this by pressing into the ground. The hallux controls pronation of the foot.

Pronation is sometimes described as destructive or an injury risk factor. However, you need some degree of pronation in order to fully utilize the foot. Pronation causes the foot to deform and absorb kinetic energy in each step. It’s even stated that this ‘windlass mechanism’ returns as much as 17% of the energy generated with each step.² During human running gait, the forefoot will land first, as the impact would be too high for a heel strike, and more suited to a wider base of support.³ Now the hallux must continue to control pronation to allow the correct loading of the plantar fascia, or ‘windlass mechanism,’ as the heel touches down onto the ground.

It is when the hallux becomes misaligned, termed hallux valgus, that we see over-pronation of the foot which can shift the direction of bodyweight from the sagital plane onto the frontal or transverse plane,³ leading to a host of injuries, specifically ACL damage in female athletes and runners. In order to reduce these outcomes, the hallux must be abducted away from the second toe (see Fig. 1 right). Here, the hallux is at a much stronger mechanical position to halt this pronation and direct bodyweight in the correct plane. This function is unlikely with hallux valgus, also seen in Fig. 1 (left side).

Fig. 1: Hallux valgus versus the correct position.⁴

For sports which are running-based, it may be advised to take this into consideration within the context of the sport. For example, asking basketball players to train barefoot on the court may not be optimal, as they play in shoes. However, including a barefoot warm up along with specific foot strength and structure training may be enough to decrease the numbers of ACL injuries within the sport. 

How can you wake up your weak feet?

Unlock Power and Performance With a Golf Ball

References:

1. Chou, Shih?Wei, Hsin?Yi Kathy Cheng, Jen?Hua Chen, Yan?Ying Ju, Yin?Chou Lin, and May?Kuen Alice Wong. “The role of the great toe in balance performance.” Journal of Orthopaedic Research 27, no. 4 (2009): 549-554.

2. Bramble, Dennis M., and Daniel E. Lieberman. “Endurance running and the evolution of Homo.” Nature 432, no. 7015 (2004): 345-352.

3. Wilkinson, Mick, and Lee Saxby. “Form determines function: Forgotten application to the human foot?” The Foot and Ankle Online Journal 9, no. 2 (2016): 5.

4. Shu, Yang, Qichang Mei, Justin Fernandez, Zhiyong Li, Neng Feng, and Yaodong Gu. “Foot morphological difference between habitually shod and unshod runners.” PloS One 10, no. 7 (2015): e0131385.

The post The Real Function of the Big Toe appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

But like so many other areas of life, I’ve found that most people hate running because it’s so foreign to them. For an activity that is so undeniably human, our culture has done a remarkable job at segregating it from our normal lives. Kids are discouraged from running almost as soon as they learn to do so. After all, they might fall down or break some precious, inanimate object. Never mind that learning to fall without injury is a fundamental and useful human skill, and that none of the things that your kid will break when they bump into the coffee table matter at all, when compared with their health and physical development.

But I digress.

We have decided as a society that running is for football players (six seconds at a time) and Olympians (once every four years). For all others, running is something you do only when being chased by a bear. If you choose to run with any regularity outside of those circumstances, you are a weirdo, a pariah, and possibly a psychopath.

Even Athletes Hate Running

Don’t believe me? Go ask your next CrossFit class if they’ll join you to train for a 10k. I bet I will hear the groans all the way from Ohio. Better yet, gather any group of friends together, and I bet you can replicate the following situation:

• “I think you would all do well to get out on a bicycle a couple times a week.”
  (Pleasant smiles, nods all around.)
• “Everybody would probably benefit from incorporating some sort of daily yoga practice.”
  (Thoughtful stroking of chins, general murmurs of agreement.)
• “Picking up and moving heavy things is really good for you.”
  (Shrugs from the cyclists, broad smiles from the weightlifters and CrossFitters)
• “And it’d be great to engage in a running program a few days a week, too.”
  (Knives and pitchforks appear from nowhere, more angry shouting than a political convention.)

Look, I get it. In a lot of ways, I hate running too. People are surprised when I tell them I hate 5ks, and that running a fast one is just as painful today as the first one I ever did. Running is hard, takes a lot of time to do correctly, and can hurt a lot when you do it wrong. Just like every other sport.

I am a running convert. I openly and vehemently professed my hatred for running for years, so I can speak with intimate familiarity to the reasons most people hate it. I can also tell you why those reasons are totally illegitimate.

“Running Sucks!”

From weightlifters to cyclists to yogis to couch potatoes, the biggest complaint I hear is that running just “sucks.” By that, they mean that it doesn’t feel as good as their chosen fitness regime (especially if that regime is doing nothing at all).

Let’s address that last group first. Running is going to suck if you don’t do it until you absolutely have to. Most people who tell me that they hate to run sound like a 4-year-old who says they hate broccoli, when they’ve never tried it. Teaching your body to run is a lot like teaching your kid to eat stuff. They’re going to hate it at first, and kick and scream and throw things on the floor. But you know better than a toddler what is good for them, so you make them keep trying stuff anyway, and eventually they like it.

Likewise, you are going to have to try to run a lot of times before it starts to make sense to your body. The longer it’s been since you ran with any regularity, the longer it might take for you to become acclimated.

The good news is, you’re somewhat smarter than a toddler now, which means you can be taught. If your parents and teachers didn’t bludgeon you with “walk don’t run!” when you were a kid, there’s a chance that natural running mechanics have followed you into adulthood. For you, learning to run will be a reasonably short and possibly pleasant process. For the rest of us, we will have to spend a lot of time re-learning the correct movement patterns and skills so we don’t hurt ourselves.

In short, running sucks because we suck at running. While there is no denying that our bodies were designed to run, and run a lot, our years of neglecting the skill mean that we must be reeducated. The vast majority of new athletes who walk into my gym must be taught proper squat mechanics; a process that can sometimes take months. Running is orders of magnitude more complicated than a squat, and requires all the same phases of neuromuscular reprogramming to do correctly.

This is where many of our scholastic coaches are missing an opportunity. After being told that they must walk in every other situation, kids show up to practice and are told to just “go run.” No warm up, no mobilization, and certainly no instruction on proper running form or mechanics. In fact, in most sports, running is the punishment for any and all imaginable infractions. Dropped a pass? Go run a lap. Show up late? Three laps. Get caught dogging it in the weight room? Run until your legs fall off.

Is it any wonder we hate running as adults? We’re forbidden from doing it, aren’t taught the skill, and are then handed piles of it as punishment. So yeah, running sucks, but only because it’s been made to suck every time it was presented to you for your entire life.

Start With a Clean Slate

The first step to fall back in love with running, the way you were as a little kid, is to drop all of your existing mental associations and expectations. It won’t be easy, or simple, or joyful right away, but it will become so if you choose to put in the effort. You will not be able to run very fast or very far for a while, but that’s okay. You have the rest of your life to get this figured out.

The next thing you have to drop is your previous approach. Up to now, you’ve treated running the same way you treat your diet. You wait until a few weeks before your fitness test or that charity 5k your office mates talked you into, and then you panic and run yourself to death, six days a week, so you don’t embarrass yourself on the big day. When it’s over, you limp back to your house, vengefully toss your running shoes into the back of the closet, and vow to never, ever do that again. (I may or may not have a decade of experience with that approach.)

Running must be approached with the same patience and methodical progression as any other athletic endeavor. You wouldn’t enter a weightlifting competition after a few weeks of randomly moving a barbell around, and neither should you take on your first half marathon without engaging some sort of qualified instruction. If running on your own isn’t working, find a club in your town and ask for their help. Most cities have one or more clubs sanctioned by USATF or RRCA, and these will provide a wealth of knowledge and experience, in addition to guided workouts and general camaraderie.

Which brings me to the last thing you need to let go of before you can stop hating to run. You’ve hated it to this point because of how you choose to do it: head down, alone, huffing and puffing, running out and back at a constant pace on a bland bike path, listening to the same tired Lady Gaga remix that pumped you up that one time six years ago.

If you want to fall in love with running, change everything. Run with people. Run with your head up, and take in the world around you. Get out on a trail, unplug your headphones, and soak up the sounds and smells of nature. Engage in a program that will develop all of the requisite skills of running, instead of shuffling along as fast as you think you can go, for as long as you think you can manage. Set goals, and think about hiring a coach to help you reach those goals safely and effectively.

Running Is Everything You Let It Be

Once you change your preconceptions of what running will be, you will find out what it can be. I find it so fulfilling today because it checks so many boxes. It can test your cardiovascular capacity and endurance; it can measure your strength, and challenge your balance and proprioception; and it can improve your movement economy on a global level.

But the benefits of running are even more psychological than physical. When it is short and intense, running is a triumph of will over the vociferous protests of the body. It can be peaceful and meditative; a way to escape stress and distraction and find peace by yourself. Or runs can be collaborative and relationship building, as some of the closest friends and best people in my life have been those I met on the track or trail. A run can even change your life, as anyone who has successfully completed a marathon (especially when the odds were long) will tell you.

Let this be the year that you conquer running. Go get a good pair of shoes, get a coach, get with some friends, and get out there. You are the only thing stopping you.

Don’t let the naysayers rain on your parade:

Running a Marathon Is the Best Thing You Can Do

The post No, You Don’t Hate Running appeared first on Breaking Muscle.