Archive for the ‘Running Tips’ Category

One coach is fed up with the way kids feel about running, and he’s not going to sit back and take it any more. Rick Karboviak, a cross-country & track coach in northwest Minnesota, has been struggling with the reasons why a majority of kids don’t want to run for competition, and even training for competition. "I think the mindset of today’s kids is that you have to run 5 to 6 miles or more per day when you go out for the sports of track or cross-country." Nothing could be further from the truth, Karboviak says. He feels that the current marathon-based principles used to train young kids aren’t working, and its keeping kids away from joining. "Kids hear horror stories of cross-country runners going on 10 to 12 mile runs, when the most that they run is 3.1 miles in a fast-paced race. It is these horror stories and legendary tales of past running methods that keeps today’s mostly inactive kids away from the sport." Karboviak feels that kids can run less mileage, do it in a high intensity, short duration format, and still improve fitness levels. He feels that coaches need to know of these proven methods of short burst, high intensity training, and how to apply it to today’s multi-sport athlete. "In most regions of the country, there aren’t many pure runners out there, many of them do the sports of track or cross-country as a complement to their other sports. Long distance runs at slow levels may actually hinder their performance in other sports, so taking this high intensity approach is more akin to their other sports they play." The result? Karboviak recorded a 20% increase in race-pace fitness levels, based off of an athlete’s 1000m pace times in their races during his cross-country team’s season in 2005. "The most any kid ran during the season was about less than 25 miles in a week. We had purpose behind our training, not just logging a bunch of endless miles in the hopes of getting faster. We trained fast to get fast, period."

He’s now written a book on his unique training method, called "Endure!". It covers his low-mileage philosophy & reasons why he applies it. There’s also interesting chapters on strength training methods for runners, such as using the new kettlebell style of training for improved running power & control.

Already since it’s launch this summer, coaches in the US, Canada, and even France have purchased the book, making an international impact in it’s first month. The training methods he uses in the book are being chronicled on a weekly series of articles during the cross-country season on a membership-based sports training website, Sportspecific.com.

The website for the e-book is http://endure.speeddialcoach.com. Karboviak’s independent training website for his day job as a fitness coach is www.speeddialcoach.com.

Rick Karboviak is a coach for cross-country and track programs at Thief River Falls Lincoln High School, in Thief River Falls, MN. He’s also started his independent training company, Speed Dial Coach, found at http://speeddialcoach.com.

Much of the activity of running requires less effort than you think. One of these is the leg swing, a movement that makes up a considerable amount of the action. Many runners use a kicking action to bring their foot forward for the next stride yet this use a tremendous amount of unnecessary effort. Once your foot is off the floor it requires no effort at all for it to swing through. Try the following exercise to appreciate how to run more efficiently.

1. Sit on the edge of a table so the whole of your upper legs down to the knees are in contact.

3. Let alternate legs swing with minimal effort (just give them a little nudge) and think of each leg as a pendulum. If you are experiencing the need to make them swing by using your hamstrings or quadriceps, think of the space at the back of your knee joint and let go from there.

The same applies to using the shoulders and arms when running. Let’s try a similar experiment with your arms.

1. Stand and think of a line from the tip of your shoulders through the biceps, down the arm to your thumbs. Or just think ‘long arms’.

3. Now let your arms bend at the elbow; place your thumb lightly on your index finger, keep your fingers relaxed and again swing your arms without the shoulders lifting. Your hands should be relaxed, nether clenched into a fist or fingers held straight.

These actions of your limbs will help to propel you forward whilst running but require less effort than most runners use. More information can be found by clicking Running technique

About the Author

Roy Palmer is a teacher of The Alexander Technique and has studied performance enhancement in sport for the last 10 years. In 2001 he published a book called ‘The Performance Paradox: Challenging the conventional methods of sports training and exercise’ and is currently working on a new project about The Zone.

If anyone has decided to embark on a diet and fitness programme, please read my article on my personal experiences in this area and feel free to use this in any other articles. Modern life results in many factors which can cause depression and anxiety in the normal person, life pressures, work, relationships, image and general well being all come into context. Today we are barraged within the media by articles and glossy altered images of beautiful people designed at making us buy products or by into a certain lifestyle manipulated by marketing corporates. Everyone to some effect are manipulated by advertising in the media, if not we would all buy the same products and look the same. I myself embarked on a diet and fitness programme many years ago and now run my life by this programme with the odd day off for good behavior.

A few years ago I decided to take fitness seriously as the benefits included relieving stress and anxiety which at the time was becoming an issue in my personal life. I firstly took up running, at first this was extremely hard going only being able to run for about five minutes at any one time. I decided the best route to take was to write down my distances and time and log these for reference; a routine then developed in my running and before long I was up to twenty minutes in a session. I then made significant progress in the following months as part of a personal goal objective and quickly made an average of forty minutes running in a session. What I found as a result of this exercise was that I felt so much better in myself, my stress levels reduced and my anxiety dropped considerably. I also found that running first thing in the morning made me feel good for the rest of the day, it is documented that that early morning runs are the best time to burn fat as you run on an empty stomach and the body uses fat as fuel.

When I run in the morning I find this clears my head for the rest of the day, any bad feelings are gone by the end of the session giving me a positive outlook. I also run in a local royal park which the early mornings holds many beautiful sites such as wild animals and birds sharing the same environment of me virtually undisturbed. I always ensure that I complete a full stretch exercise before running paying particular attention to the legs and thigh muscles, if you do not stretch then this could result in soreness and could tear important muscles as they have not had the time to get a good blood flow within the muscle groups. I would recommend stretching everyday even on the days when you don’t run as this will prevent fatigue and soreness which is very important. It also very important to refuel the body with good quality carbohydrates in within the hour after the exercise as this will give the body the required nutrients and energy. I would strongly recommend running as an exercise which benefits the body aswell as the mind.

About the Author

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My name is Victor Lensora and have been running for many years, from my years of experience, through this article and through my blog and its associates, I will provide you with running tips and running articles that will help improve your speed, strength and performance, taking seconds or even minutes off your p.b’s!

So today it starts: My first tip of advice is aimed more at the beginners out there, but can also be applied to more experienced runners. Set yourself realistic and achievable goals, both long term and short, write these goals down, for short term goals, plan how many miles you would like to do that week, if your an experienced runner, it may be as high as 60/70 miles including 2 runs on one day, whereas for a beginner, it may just be a gentle 2 mile jog 3 times a week. For long term goals, for more advanced runners, pick a race that you’d like to enter in a few months time and set a realistic target time e.g. 34 minutes in a 10km race. For beginners, it may just be to complete the race. I advise you keep a diary of your runs, this allows you to analyze how you have improved over the past months of training and you will find it helps keep you motivated and gives you pleasure as you see your improvements!

If you set yourself realistic goals in the short term and the long term, it will help you keep motivated and will lead to success, the secret is slowly building up, if you set yourself goals that are far fetched, and increase’s intensity and distance too quickly, then your on a fast track for injury!

In conclusion, set yourself realistic goals, this gives you motivation and also allows you to keep a record of your improvement as you achieve your goals and continue to set higher and higher goals till you reach your pinnacle!

Good luck everybody, happy running!

Treadmill running differs from road running in a number of ways and this should be considered when training. The first obvious difference is the lack of wind resistance when running indoors. Another difference is the surface. Although experts differ on this issue a smooth moving surface underneath your feet is not the same as an uneven stationary road. Most runners agree that running on a treadmill feels different to road. This should be taken into consideration when training. Is running on a treadmill better than the road? This comes down to preference. Many prefer being outdoors whereas others have environmental, climatic or personal safety concerns making treadmill running an ideal choice.

Firstly let’s look at the psychological factors of running on a treadmill compared to the road. Unless you have a large room for your machine you will most likely to be facing a wall or window within a few meters. Research has shown that runners on treadmills take shorter paces that may be due to the proximity of a barrier or fear of falling off. It does take time to learn how to run on a moving surface and even when confident many runners will tighten their lower backs, again possibly a psychological reaction to staying on the machine.

When comparing physical technique, research has found that when the foot lands on the belt the foot, ankle and shin, become temporarily part of the belt and move backwards from the centre and mass of the body at the same speed. This means the shinbone of the leg landing is not as upright as with normal running and has a greater range of motion. Treadmill running can be useful for injured athletes, using a mirror can be a good way to observe your technique (although it must be recognised that it is not the same as training on the road).

Whether using a treadmill or road you will need to vary your running program for two reasons. Firstly, if you continue doing the same distance and the same speed you will get less and less benefit as your body adapts. Secondly, you can soon become de-motivated by the same thing week in, week out. Alternating between shorter faster runs and longer distances at a slower pace will help to condition your body and improve endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular function. It will also provide you with variety and a different challenge for each session.

I usually recommend runners to use one or the other exclusively, because I see them as different activities.

About the Author

Roy Palmer is a teacher of The Alexander Technique and has studied performance enhancement in sport for the last 10 years. In 2001 he published a book called ‘The Performance Paradox: Challenging the conventional methods of sports training and exercise’ and is currently working on a new project about The Zone. More information about his unique approach to training can be found at http://www.fitness-programs-for-life.com/treadmill_running.html