Have you ever been in a situation while running in some sort of running event, all proud of yourself giving it your all, and all of a sudden some person without even breaking a sweat is striding right by you; they even have the audacity to wink at you. Does this make you wonder, as your arms are swinging forward and backward like an awkward dance move, how’d they get so fast? Well, if so, read this and become the winking speed demon!
There are two roads you can go down (running pun). That all depends on what your goal is. Are you looking to improve your distance running, or your sprinting times?
Go The Distance
In regards to distance running you need to run…a lot. If you want to improve your race times, you need to push yourself and you need to eat a lot of carbs. When I would train for boxing, after my heavy bag work I would run for an hour on the treadmill. When I started, 6 mph was difficult. Over time my cardio and endurance improved to the point as if I were walking! As a result I upped it to 7.5 mph. So, from experience, if this is your goal, you just gotta put in the time…and carbs!
Get Explosive
In regards to sprinting, this is a matter of recruiting all of your mechanical energy by way of muscle fibers. Compare a sprinter to an endurance runner and you’ll see a big difference in their physiques. To be a good sprinter you need muscle! So, in this regard you need to hit the weights! All of your work will be by way of power, not strength. While Strength training involves lifting the heaviest weight you can with just the intention of lifting the weight, Power involves explosive movement. The take away here is, for every exercise you perform you need to be explosive with the portion that requires your effort to move the weight. To do this with the squat for example, you un-rack the weight and slowly descend into the squat and explosively lift to the starting position.
With these and any form of training there are two important factors to understand; that is the time needed and keeping your training challenging. This stuff will take time. It will take time for your body to adapt and overcome new difficulties. People quit when they are bored. People are bored when they are impatient; be patient, results will come. Also, don’t ever let your training sessions become easy. When people aren’t being challenged they become bored. So, be consistent and keep your training sessions challenging.
With time and effort you will notice vast improvements across the board. You will be able to run harder, faster, and longer – that’s what she said. All joking aside, you will definitely be an improved athlete because you put the time in and you put the effort in. Now get going to that event and pass everybody, and don’t forget to wink as you pass people bye…you sly devil you.
There are two important factors to understand; that is the time needed and keeping your training challenging.
- Athleticism
- Muscle Size
- Recovery
- Weight Training
