10 Workouts For Runners

Running itself is one of the greatest exercises that one can do, consistently, to keep fit. It has countless benefits; improved cardiovascular health, improved muscle growth, leaner body, better mental health, improved skin health etc.; the benefits are endless. However, let’s suppose that you see Usain Bolt run that 100m final. He does it in record time; 9.58 seconds. Now you’re inspired to run as fast as him to bring that gold medal home.

However, the best you do is 11 seconds. Now you’re determined to take 2 seconds off of your time. For those who do train professionally for athletics, it is known that taking even 0.5 seconds off the clock is a Herculean task, and it requires hours of training and fitness. Usain Bolt may have run just 1 minute in his entire athletics career, but he trained hours for this minute. Let’s analyze the different exercises that runners can do to improve their speed.

1. Strength training: There is no doubt that we need to run fast. But without strength, your body will not be able to sustain your efforts. Strength is a vital part of taking time off the clock. You need to train enough in the gym to develop muscle and then you can push yourself more to run faster. Strengthening your core also means better stability while running on the track. A leg day at the gym is very important, but overall body strength is also very necessary.
2. Speed training: After strength, of course, you need to train for greater speed. You need to train to make your legs move faster without thinking. You need to have better coordination between your hand and leg movement. To achieve this, you must do hurdle exercises, coordination exercises. Jumping up and down on stairs develops a lot of muscle and improves your speed.

• Flexibility training: Of course, you cannot achieve greater speeds without free movement of your body. It must be flexible enough to move without any resistance. There are stretching exercises every athlete must do to open up muscular movement and enable freer movement.

1. Stamina training: Even if you’re sprinting a short distance of 100m, maximum exertion can take a toll on you, and maximum exertion is what 100m is about. You need the stamina to keep you going. At least once a week, you must run a large distance i.e.: 6km or more to increase your stamina. With greater stamina, you can exert yourself more in these 100m and hope to take time off the clock
2. Endurance training: After every training session, an athlete is prone to illness that set back all the effort made. Therefore, endurance training is also very important to tune the muscles and prevent them from facing injuries. It helps keep the athlete going, and make him capable to push himself more without fearing setbacks in the form of injury.

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