Use these four steps to run with a purpose: building lean, powerful legs
By: Hers Staff
Most of us hate to do cardio for one reason: It's boring. What's so exciting about a screen with red dots tracking your speed and distance, whether it's on a stair-stepper, stationary bike, elliptical trainer or treadmill? Though these machines can certainly improve your fitness and burn calories, nothing is quite as soul-stirring as the breeze against your face as you run with powerful ease. ❡ Hate to run? Get winded easily? No problem. On the following pages, our experts reveal the secrets to making running enjoyable and how to gradually and progressively improve your stamina. Whatever your fitness level, get ready to release the great runner inside you.
Step 1: Set a Goal
Not only will your training regimen differ depending on what you want to accomplish by running, but the motivation of running a mile or completing a 10k, for
example, will also help keep you going. Some sample goals could be:
>> Running a 5k or 10k race
>> Weight loss
>> Shaving a minute off your current best mile time
>> Improving your running form
>> Becoming a good recreational runner
An ideal goal is measurable and specific, so if weight loss is your objective, break that down into a goal of running for, say, 30 minutes three times a week. You can build on that goal as you progress: Once you're able to run for a solid 30 minutes, set incremental goals to shave time off your mile or shoot for 40 minutes. When you've constructed a solid running base, it might be time to run competitively, taking advantage of the many organized runs throughout the country.
Step 2: Build a Base
Many people who claim to hate running merely aren't properly conditioned. They go for a run and end up wheezing, nauseous, sore and ready to collapse. If this sounds familiar, don't despair!
Running requires a tremendous physiological adjustment that occurs gradually and progressively, so don't worry if you can't sustain your speed for very long. Start from where you are, advises Terry Crawford, track and field director at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. If you can't jog for an extended period, walk instead. Then add short bursts of jogging to your walks.
"Let's say you're able to jog 20 minutes a day and that's your limit in terms of comfort," Crawford says. "Start by tacking on 10 minutes of walking at the end, so you do 30 minutes total, without facing real discomfort. Then trade that in for five minutes more of jogging and five of walking." This increases the amount of time you're putting in progressively and gradually.
If you intend to do any kind of sprinting or stair work, you need to build a base of distance first. Break your workout time into smaller chunks so a 30-minute bout of exercise seems more attainable. Walk for five minutes, run for five, walk for another five and so on. As you progress, trade more of your walking time for running. Always begin by warming up, and set a moderate, comfortable pace rather than attempting to run at breakneck speed.
The more time you can devote to running, the more progress you'll make. To advance, run at least four times per week. "People who run only 1-2 times weekly often get so sore they can't deal with it," Crawford says. "And that's when many of them give up." If four (or even three) days a week seems unattainable, consider making running your primary cardio activity. As a bonus, incorporating high- intensity sprint, hill and stair work into your program will eliminate some of the time you should devote to leg training.
Step 3: Form
Just as there's proper posture for weight training, running has its own set of good-form guidelines. "There are some key things you need to realize," Crawford explains. "One of the most important is to minimize the rotational forces in your head, shoulders, waist, hips, knees and ankles when you run." She notes that women often have trouble reducing waist rotation, as they may be used to swinging their body as
they walk. "All good running should be done from your hips down. The straighter your hips are, the better," she adds.
Good runners power their performance from their centers, or cores. Crawford notes: "Everything should be balanced from that point out in terms of your arm action, how you place your feet in a straight line just off that center of gravity, how you track your legs through, and how you move your hands and arms in the same straight line as your rotational forces move."
Proper form can help make you a more efficient runner, but even more important, it can help prevent knee injuries. "In running, the knees are supposed to track straight, so if you get big rotational forces in your knees, you're asking for trauma," Crawford cautions.
All in all, your movements should become rhythmic and smooth: "When you run, think of yourself as a puppet," Crawford explains. "The hands and arms move in conjunction with the opposite legs on a puppet, and that's exactly how you want to think in terms of running."
Step 4: Progress
Once you've constructed a base of distance work, a variety of options are available to improve your speed, stamina and strength. "Instead of saying, 'Well,
I just have to push myself harder at the end of every run and go into that discomfort level,' change your training regimen," suggests Crawford. Try to add the following
to your running.
>> SPEED One of the easiest elements to incorporate is fartlek, a Swedish term meaning "speed play." In this unstructured workout, a runner will speed up for a certain distance or time (a minute or two), then slow down and recover for the next chosen speed bout. Fartlek will condition your cardiovascular system to handle greater stresses. In addition, notes Crawford, "It starts to develop your musculoskeletal system to handle a faster rhythm, a faster effort of work, so your muscles, ligaments and tendons are conditioned to handle that kind of speed or effort."
>> SPRINT Sprint intervals are great for improving your conditioning, and endless combinations can keep you challenged.
A track is ideal for sprinting because 100-meter distances are clearly marked
(a standard track is 400 meters; four times around the track equals 1 mile). Try
alternating days of 100-meter sprints with 200 and 300 meters, running at 70%-80% of your maximum speed. After each sprint, recover for a couple of minutes with a light jog or fast walk. Preface each sprint workout with an extended warm-up.
>> HILLS "To really improve your running style while you strengthen your legs, run hills," Crawford states. She recommends hills at or below a 30-degree grade.
"Ascend the hill at maybe half speed, then walk back down. Oftentimes we'll run
a 100-meter hill four times, jog down it, then take a break for a couple of minutes by jogging on flat ground."
>> STAIRS Running stairs at a stadium will increase your power and stamina and give your legs a killer workout. Try this sample routine: "Begin with a 1-mile warm-up, then do singles and doubles (two steps at
a time). You can run up, jog over, jog or walk down, and so on. Or do singles on the way over and doubles on the way back. At the end, take a couple of cool-down laps and stretch." Stop when you get tired or notice your form beginning to slip.
>> DISTANCE Once you have your distance base, you never want to give it up; laying off will just make you lose it. But why should you have to run distance if you're trying to sprint and get cut muscles? To maintain your speed, you have to have stamina,
and stamina comes from running distance.
Include 1-2 distance days each week.
Once you have a planned running week and want to push your training to a new level, Crawford advises reserving one day
a week for an extended effort. Whether it's an interval workout or a steady tempo run, push to a level of some discomfort near the end. This effort will improve your stamina and allow you to make new gains.
The Payoff
It may take several weeks or months to get past the beginner's stage and develop your base, but once you do, watch out: You may become hooked. You'll surpass your previous times and watch your body become more elongated and explosive. Hers
Beth Saltz, MPH, contributed to this article.
