excellent form of cardiovascular exercise, and doing more of it
will allow you to become better at running,
up to a point.
Unfortunately when we ONLY run, improvement in running slows
down, possibly stops altogether, and sometimes chronic injury
patterns develop.
There is a critical need to cross train, or to following a
well-organized strength program designed to ENHANCE your running
mechanics and muscles, and in a very specific way in which your muscles are
used as a runner (see video below for specific examples).
Here's some of the ways Adventure Boot Camp can help you improve
your running ...
Overall strength and fitness improvement. Cross-training will help
you reach a higher level of overall fitness when compared to
ONLY running. Many runners suffer in the latter stages of a
race because they lack overall strength, as well as
activity-specific strength. Too many non-professional athletes
focus primarily on their sport or activity of choice, resulting
in weak arms, shoulders, neck, back, and core. No one sport or
activity can work all the muscles equally, but by adding a
variety of strength activities to your training, you can
optimize your whole-body conditioning.
Increased aerobic conditioning. Cross-training maintains and
improves your overall cardiovascular endurance. Cross-training
activities develop and strengthen muscles that running doesn't.
Doing intervals like a Tabata (combining hard/easy alternating
intensity levels) provides a NEW stimulus to the cardiovascular
system, and allows runners to break through plateaus to become
faster and more efficient runners.
Injury prevention and recovery. Many runners have used
cross-training when they become injured because they are forced
to do so if they want to continue exercising. However,
cross-training when you are healthy is the KEY to prevent future
injury. Cross-training allows you to rest one set of muscles
while working the other, and low-impact training gives the
joints, muscles, tendons and ligaments a needed rest from the
high stress of running.
Balance and variety.
Any athlete who is one-dimensional is at a disadvantage among
those who practice more than one activity. As you strengthen
non-sport specific muscles, a more balanced overall level of
fitness is the result. And although you may love your
sport/activity of choice, variety helps prevent boredom and
increases your appreciation for your primary activity.
Cross-training keeps you fresh mentally and physically, and
teaches you about your strengths and weaknesses, while
increasing your confidence as an athlete. Cross-training is
especially beneficial as we age because we need more recovery
time after longer, harder training sessions, allowing us to
engage in active recovery - still exercising, but not stressing
the same muscles day after day.
Basic Movement Patterns of Running.
The core of the
body is "command central" during all human movement, especially
running. The CORE controls the rotational mechanics between the
upper and lower extremities (running efficiency and stride
frequency) and the force production of the lower body (stride
length).
With that in mind, runners are well served when training the
body in a way that enhances the basic movement patterns of
running. These include:
-
Incorporate single leg training (e.g. the Bulgarian Split
Squat or Super Skater movements done at Adventure Boot
Camp).
-
Train in diagonal patterns - opposite hip to opposite
shoulder - just like we run (Diagonal Power Chops, Lunge
with core rotation - both coming up soon in camp).
-
Emphasize the transverse (i.e. rotational) plane of motion -
it dominates running. (Bicycle Crunches, Russian Twists,
Reach Arounds, Windshield Wipers).
-
Focus on "pulling," not "stomping" or "pushing" power for
improved stride length (the Partner Manual-resistance
Hamstring, Reverse Leg Raise, Glute Raise).
-
Focus on foot-plant balance and stability to minimize "power
leaks" at foot plant (again, the Bulgarian Split Squat or
Super Skater).
-
Focus on power and metabolic conditioning (Think Suicides,
Metabolic Finishers & Tabata here!)
-
Focus on initiating and controlling running from the core of
the body downward.
What does this all mean? It means an increase in core strength
and power, and a longer, more efficient stride! Employing these
movements allow you to become a healthier runner, free from
injury while improving your performance and providing critical
single leg power, stability and balance.
And, all of this is beneficial EVEN if you don't consider
yourself a runner. A mom that totes a child around on her hip
(just one example) will notice significant improvement in the
day to day activities that she's challenged by, through
following a balanced full body workout routine. :)
