29 Sep Shape Up: The Adventure Run Workout
Often times when it comes to running people want to know “How far can you run without stopping?” or “How fast can you run a mile?” or “What’s your average pace?”. Sure, it’s a great to increase your mile time or run a little longer, but who ever said you can’t stop and mix up your running routine a little bit? Sometimes when we head out for a jog we go in with one-track mindset of running the entire time. But why not break up your run and throw in some other exercises to help you get fit and stay fit? Today, our friend and resident fitness coach Dr. Hunter Vincent is going to take your standard daily run and show you how to go the extra mile to turn it into a total body workout. So let’s lace up those running shoes and embark on what Hunter calls The Adventure Run Workout!
The workout below is only 45 minutes, so let’s get after it. And for all you non-runners out there… Don’t worry. There’s more to this workout than just running…
Warm Up Jog: 10 minutes
Start warming up your muscles with a 10-minute jog. Just stay at a nice, steady pace to get your blood flowing and your muscles ready for your workout.
Walking Lunges: 25 each leg (Walk out 50 steps)
Find a safe area, maybe a grassy park or even the beach (if you really want a challenge!). With your hands on your head, take a big step forward, making sure to keep your knee behind your toe. Lightly touch your back knee to the ground. Then step up, bringing your back leg up towards your chest, take another big step forward with that same leg. Then, of course, repeat. Shoot for 50! And then let’s keep running…
Faster Jog – 5 minutes
Here’s a pacing tip: Try to run fast enough that you would feel out of breath if you were having a conversation with your friend. You could do it, but you’d rather just run in silence. That’s when you know you’re at the right pace.
Single Leg Wall Squats: 20 each leg
This exercise can be done on a wall or really any flat vertical surface—maybe even a light post or back of a park bench. Start by balancing on one foot with your heel approximately one foot-length away from the wall. Then, do a mini squat on that leg until your butt touches the wall. Of course, the deeper the better! Just start small and work your way up. Once you feel balanced and stable, you can start going faster. And remember, always keep your knee behind your toe.
Faster jog – 5 minutes
Try running the same pace you ran on the last 5-minute interval. You can do it!
Squat Jumps – 40 reps (2 sets of 20)
Alright, now we’re working hard. You get what you give on this exercise, so squat low and jump high. Keeping the hands on the head (because it’s way harder this way), sit down into a deep squat, so that your knees are almost at 90 degrees, then jump as high as you can. These will be hard if you’re doing it right!
Easy Recovering Jog (Back to warm up pace) – 5 minutes
After the last two legs exercises your legs will need to cool off, so take this next jog easy: Slow your pace a little, and get ready to finish strong.
Then, give yourself a big pat on the back… Because you’ve just finished Hunter’s adventure run workout! It’s a tough one but it will go by quickly since you’re changing up your moves every few minutes.
Here are a few tips from Dr. Vincent to help with your adventure run:
1. Run in a loop so that you don’t finish a couple miles from your home and have to jog back (unless you want to of course!).
2. Try using songs versus a stopwatch as a different way to time yourself. For example, two songs may be about 10 minutes, which is perfect for the warm up section.
3. Don’t feel like you have to complete the adventure run as quickly as possible. We planned breaks in the run for a reason. So get the maximum benefit from the exercises we added! Take your time and do them right.
4. This adventure run has about 30 minutes of running. That’s about 3 miles if you’re running at 10 minute/mile pace (or 6.0 on the treadmill). If that is significantly more than what you are used to, then you should start with a shorter distance. Adjust the running interval times so that this routine works best with your running experience.