An Exercise Routine to Go With Your Running

Most runners just run- and that's great.

Its good for cardio fitness and general health. The only problem with running, especially if its your only form or exercise- is its repetitive nature. Running 5, 10km, half marathons and marathons is just the same moves over and over again- Using the same muscle groups continually ..meaning toning and strengthening those muscles but also meaning using them a bit too much, and often far to much- which can often result in overuse injuries.

However, there is a great way to solve this issue- keep running, but on your non running days (and you should all know by now that you do need non running days- 2-3 a week- work on your non running muscle groups.

Runners who run long distance (5km or more) generally work the back of their legs- so hamstrings, calves and glutes..so on non running days you should aim to rest those muscles and strengthen the opposing muscles- like quads, core and even the upper body.

I stumbled on this selection of exercises that were put together by scientists, they claim it is the perfect exercise routine, where you work all muscle groups in a certain order, for 30 seconds each (yes that is the best bit, only half a minute), you need to do them in the exact order with 10 seconds rest between each-The exercises should be performed in rapid succession, while, throughout, the intensity hovers at about an 8 on a discomfort scale of 1 to 10

The exercises are designed in a certain order, so that there is a balance between upper and lower body and the cardio or strength component of each- the exercises go in this order-Diagrams are Below
Jumping Jacks
Wall Sit
Push Up

Abdominal Crunch
Step up onto Chair (so high step Up)

Squat
Tricep Dip on chair or bench
Plank
High Knees Running In Place
Lunge
Push and Rotation- alternating sides

Side Plank- alternating sides for 15 seconds each

I tried it out with my runners at a Lazy Gym Session- the session normally takes 45 minutes and as you can figure out this session only goes for 7mins- I know we could of done it and then gone for a coffee, but I decided to repeat them for one minute each- which was a tad harder, but achievable. The next day (and two days later) I really felt it..it was like I had had a great all over workout- I felt it in my abs, legs, arms, butt...I was surprised how something so simple could have an effect.

I think the proper version- 12 exercise X 30 seconds with 10 seconds break or up the ante like I did with 1 minute of each..would be a great add on to your run- before or after or on your non run days..give it a go