Core + Cardio circuit for Runners

Welcome to the latest edition of workout Wednesday, when each week I share a running or runners-specific strength training workout. This week we are covering core plus a burst of cardio all in less than 10 minutes. 

This is a great workout to fit in before your run. Runners will benefit from a strong core and this workout has a hip abduction move to help build needed hip strength in lateral movements. 

Core + Cardio circuit for runners

ELBOW PLANK WITH ALTERNATING CRAWLS

Begin in a forearm plank position. Position your elbows on the floor and your shoulders directly over your elbows. Your body should be in a straight line parallel to the floor. Engage your core while breathing normally. Be careful not to sink your hips or raise them in the air. If you need to rest, break it up into 15 second increments. More on proper plank form in this blog post Bring your knee out to the side and up towards your elbow. Repeat on other side and continue for 30 seconds. 

SIDE PLANK WITH HIP ABDUCTION

side plank with hip abduction

With a straight arm, lift yourself up into a side plank. Be sure that your wrist, elbow and shoulder are stacked in a straight line, so your arm is not angled. Perform leg lifts with your top leg for 30 seconds. Repeat on other side for 30 seconds. 

ALTERNATING MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

This is the cardio part of the workout. In a straight arm plank position, bring in your knee to your elbow and quickly alternate between the right and left sides. Move as quickly as possible while maintaining proper form.

STRAIGHT ARM PLANK WITH ALTERNATING LEG LIFTS

In a straight arm plank position, make sure your wrists, elbows and shoulders are aligned in a straight row. Brace your core while breathing normally. Lift your left leg while engaging your glutes (butt muscles) and slowly lower. Lift your right leg and lower. Continue to alternate sides for 30 seconds. 

Complete the circuit three times through with little to no rest between exercises. Rest for 30 seconds to one minute between circuits. 

Give this a try before your next run and let me know how it goes.

Need help with strength training for runners? I am taking on new clients in Fort Worth, TX. 

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Pro Pointers on Proper Positioning for Prone Iso Plank (How to Hold a Longer Plank)

Welcome to another edition of Workout Wednesday. I think my finger got stuck on the P key when I came up with this blog post title. Say that five times fast.

PRO POINTERS ON PROPER POSITIONING FOR PRONE ISO PLANK

In other words, tips from yours truly on proper form for planks, what not to do, and how to hold a plank longer. 'Prone Iso' means to face down with your stomach towards the ground. Iso is short for isometric which means to hold the muscles under tension instead of doing repetitions. 

The plank is a fantastic exercise for core strength and muscle endurance which is essential for runners, but it is important that you perform the exercise correctly in order to get maximum benefit from your hard work. 

my favorite skull leggings and pizza Yoga mat. 

PROPER PLANK POSITIONING

Position your elbows on the floor with your shoulders directly over your elbows. Your body should be in a straight line parallel to the floor. Engage your core (this means brace your stomach like someone is about to punch you). Hold it tight. Squeeze your glutes (butt muscles) and hold. Be careful not to sink your hips or raise your butt in the air. Do not clasp your hands in front of you. Keep your neck neutral. Now set a timer and see how long you can hold it. 

I can tell you what to do, but sometimes it is more effective to tell you what NOT to do. 

Tips on proper plank form (what NOT to do)

TIPS TO HOLD A LONGER PLANK

Planks are hard. If you've never done them before or have taken considerable time away from planks, it is can take some time to build up your core strength and endurance. Be patient and consistent

1. Get in a plank position and do a quick check to make sure you are not making any form mistakes.
2. Brace your abs like someone is going to punch you in the tummy. Hold it tight.
3. Squeeze and hold your butt muscles while in plank position. This helps release tight hip flexors also.
4. Set the timer on your phone but immediately turn your phone over so you can't see the screen and how much time has passed. So much of this is mental. Staring at the timer can make 10 seconds feel like 10 minutes! 
5. While bracing and holding, take a deep belly breath in through your nose and mouth and breath out. Count breaths in and out. See how many breaths in/out you can do while staying in plank position. Counting breaths instead of seconds also helps distract your brain.
6. Keep track of your time, but each time you plank try to meet or beat the number of breaths in/out that you can do while maintaining the plank position. 
7. If your lower back starts to hurt then stop for the day and try again tomorrow or the next day.

Good luck! Give it a try and let me know how long you can hold it! Keep working at planks until you can hold for one or two minutes max. There is little benefit to holding longer than two minutes. It's ok to start slow and build up over time. If you work at it consistently you may surprise yourself at how fast you progress.

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THE STOPLIGHT RUNNING WORKOUT

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday when each week I share a new running or strength for runners workout! Want to receive workouts like these right in your email every week?  

This week I want to remind you that running is supposed to be fun. Yes, fun! Most of us aren't elite athletes that run for the prize money when we win marathons. We run because either on the surface or somewhere deep down inside we really enjoy it.

Remember when we were kids and we would race our friends to the end of the street or chase our screaming little brothers around the block? (My brother could bench press me these days.) Somehow in our adulthood, we forgot how to have fun. Sometimes we even try to make the fun activities too serious. We can't take a walk in nature without tracking our steps on Fitbit, go for a run without analyzing our paces and heart rate or even run a race without putting crazy pressure on ourselves to perform well. I am as guilty as any. 

Sometimes running is just supposed to be fun. That's why I love this stoplight workout. We can mix up the paces and have fun with it without putting too much pressure on ourselves. It reminds me of those childhood games we used to play in the old neighborhood under the street lights, when our parents had to yell for us to come home in the days long before cell phones.

Now, I wish I could be there with you while you do this workout so I could yell out "GREEN LIGHT!", "YELLOW LIGHT!", "RED LIGHT!", "GO!" but you'll just have to use a trusty timer and your imagination, like back in the old days. (I just had a birthday and I am really starting to sound like an old lady with all this good 'ol days talk.)

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link in this post and make a purchase, I make a small percentage of the sale with no additional cost to you. No one is getting rich here, it just helps with the running (pun intended) of this blog. Thanks, as always, for your support.

THE STOPLIGHT RUNNING WORKOUT

This workout can be done on a treadmill or on the street or track with an interval timer or simple stop watch. I use this interval timer from Gymboss with my runners and at my bootcamps.

Download a printable PDF of the Stop Light Running Workout

RUN BY EFFORT: THE RPE CHART

This workout is based on the RPE chart, which is ideal for a workout you find on the internet. RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion and is based on your own effort, not assigned paces. Why? Because it can be dangerous and irresponsible to follow arbitrary paces on the internet. If you try to follow a pace that is beyond your fitness level you could injure yourself. If you follow a pace that is too easy, you won't get the maximum benefit of the workout. If you work according to your own fitness levels and progress only when you're ready, you will improve your running skills while reducing chance of injury. (Coach rant over.)

You can learn more about the RPE chart here

Your RPE can be determined by the talk test.

RPE:1 No effort. You are probably sitting.
RPE:2-3 Light effort. Breathing is extremely easy. You may be walking at this effort.
RPE: 4-6 Moderate effort. You are working a little harder, maybe a jog or an easy run, but you can carry on a full conversation at this pace without gasping for air between words or sentences.
RPE: 7-8 Hard effort. You can speak a sentence or two at a time before having to taking a gasp of breath.
RPE: 9 Extremely hard effort. You can get out a word or two but breathing is labored and talking is challenging.
RPE: 10 Maximum effort. You are completely out of breath and unable to talk. You would only be able to hold this pace for a very short time.

RED LIGHT | YELLOW LIGHT | GREEN LIGHT EFFORT

RED LIGHT | HARD EFFORT | RPE 7-9
YELLOW LIGHT | MODERATE EFFORT | RPE 4-6
GREEN LIGHT | EASY EFFORT | RPE 3

THE SUNDAY DRIVER

After a proper running warm up, like the one shown in this blog post, get ready for your workout with four minutes of a brisk walk or light jog. This should be an extremely easy effort. 

REV UP YOUR ENGINE

Let's start getting our body ready for faster paces. Run for 30 seconds at a hard effort and then recover for 90 seconds at a moderate or easy effort until your breath is recovered. Repeat a total of four times

THE SPEED DEMON

Now we are getting into the fun. Start off with one minute of easy effort, followed by three minutes at a moderate steady pace. You should be working but not so hard that you can't maintain it for three minutes. Recover for two minutes at an easy pace before picking it back up at a hard pace for two minutes. The most important point here is that you find a pace that you can maintain for two minutes. If you go out too hard, you'll never make it two minutes. Your pace should be steady, yet hard for the two minute interval. You have one minute to recover before one last hard interval of one minute. This is your last one, give it all you got for the last minute. 

COOL OFF

Walk or jog for three minutes to bring your heart rate down to normal before finishing up workout. It is generally a good idea for most runners to finish up with some stretching.

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Dumbbell Compound Exercises for When You Don't Have Time to Work Out

Welcome to the latest edition of Workout Wednesday when each week I share a new strength training or running workout. These dumbbell compound exercises are great for those busy days when you don't have time to work out. 

I've been writing this blog for over two years now (time flies when you're having fun) and I realized that I have not yet shared a workout using dumbbells. Since I use dumbells in my own workouts, I thought it was about time I put together a quick and effective dumbbell workout you can do at home or in the gym.

This is the perfect workout for when you don't have time to workout because it incorporates compound exercises, working multiple muscles in each move. It is faster, more efficient and burns more energy (calories) than isolation movements. When you combine movements you can quickly move through your workout and get on with your day.

Working out with weights helps us build and maintain lean muscle. This is a good thing, especially if you are trying to lose weight. You want to make sure you are losing fat and preserving your muscle mass so that when you lose weight, you don't also lose muscle.

You don't have to spend all day at the gym. Incorporate strength training workouts two to three times a week to maintain and build muscle. Runners who strength train are stronger, faster and less prone to injury. Strength training is time well-invested for runners.

DUMBBELL COMPOUND EXERCISES FOR WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO WORKOUT

I recommend moving through each exercise for the number of reps assigned, then moving to the next exercise without rest in a circuit fashion. One you complete all four moves, rest for about a minute and repeat the whole circuit one or two more times. 

dumbbell compound exercises for when you don't have time to work out. 

TRAINER TIPS

Perform each move slowly while paying attention to proper form. This is not a race against the clock. Choose a dumbbell weight that challenges you to complete the assigned number of reps. If it is very easy to complete the reps trying going up in weight. However, the weights should not be so heavy that you can't complete the assigned number of reps. It may take some experimenting to find the right weight for you. 

As you get stronger your body will adapt to the exercises which will make them feel easier (YAY) but that also means they won't be as effective (BOO!). You have to constantly challenge your body as you get stronger. After several weeks you can do this by adding additional reps; instead of 8 reps, perform 12. You can also increase the number of sets by running through the circuit four times instead of three. You can increase weights as you get stronger and/or decrease rest times. All of these things will challenge your body in a new ways so it can grow even stronger. 

Give it a try and let me know how it goes. Have any questions? I'd love to help!

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