Conditioned to Run
Good running mechanics and technique is the first thing to consider when training for running. It is then important to reinforce good running mechanics, so that they can be performed subconsciously. For any sport or activity it is important to have a good, general strength and conditioning foundation to work off. This can help improve posture, mobility, movement patterns and a greater tolerance to exercise. When the body can cope with consistently landing on one foot for a desired length of the time, then the body is conditioned to run.
Principles of training
Physical training simply comes down to progressively and consistently stressing the body enough to invoke physical adaptations to a specific environment or situation. When training for running or for any goal we need to apply five key principles of training, which are:
Specific - the training that we do needs to be specific to what our goal is. There is no point just doing sprints when you are training for a marathon. The body is very good at adapting to stress however this stress needs to be specific to what we want to achieve. So if our goal is a trail running race we need to have elements of our training on trails. If our goal involves running up mountains then our training needs to involve running up mountains. There are however a number of exercises that are not directly related to the movements of running but will still be important to build that general strength and conditioning foundation.
Progressive - the body needs time to develop and adapt. This is very important because if the stress of training is too great then the body won’t be able to adapt to the stress, in order to become stronger. When training, your body is becoming weaker; when recovering, your body is becoming stronger. The secret to a good training program is getting the right balance between stressing the body and letting the body recover. Recovery time can vary from a number of different factors but the three main factors are sleep, nutrition and previous conditioning.
Overload - the body needs to be put under enough stress in order for it to develop. If you don’t run fast in your training then you are probably not going to run fast in your race. If you don’t go for long runs during your training then you will probably struggle towards the later stages of a long race. Having said that, you are probably not going to frequently train by running ultra marathons for an ultra marathon race. Again it comes down to getting the right balance between stress and recovery.
Reversibility - consistency is very important, it is like the old saying “if you don’t use it, you will lose it”. Just like the body adapting to stress placed on it, the body will also quickly adapt to inactivity and you will lose all your training gains. In my experience aerobic fitness tends to go more quickly than strength. Within two weeks of inactivity I have lost a substantial level of aerobic fitness. With strength having a slower depreciation, and can be maintained with only one to two strength sessions a week.
Tedium - although specificity is important for training, keeping motivated and not getting bored with your training is also very important. This ties in with the reversibility principle, because if you become bored and unmotivated to train then your training will reduce along with the positive effects of that training. Good ways to avoid tedium is to set goals and vary training stimulus that will still have a positive influence on your goal.
Conditioning your body
With running there are a few key areas that you need to focus and work on, to get the body conditioned to run. These areas will provide the foundations to build off in order to improve your running:
Mobility
Core
Foot
Aerobic
Muscular
Mobility conditioning
Mobility is the ability to move freely and easily. Having good mobility can make running feel more effortless. It allows energy to be easily transferred through the core and to the rest of the body, making running a lot more efficient. Having poor mobility can affect your running mechanics and increase the risk of getting injured. The three main areas to address are your back, hip and ankle mobility. Lack of back and hip mobility will affect good posture, resulting in poor movement patterns. Power is generated through our hips and a lack of mobility in the hips can reduce the potential power generated. A lack of mobility in the ankles can cause plantar fasciitis, which is pain on the foot when walking or running on it.
Mobility can be easily trained by increasing the movement and range to the targeted area. The range of motion for people throughout the day is very limited. A lot of people's days just consist of sitting down and a bit of walking. Sitting down a lot can reduce hip mobility because the muscles become shortened. If you don’t use your full range of motion you will lose it. This is why yoga is very good for improving your mobility because it is getting you to move in a range of motion that you wouldn’t normally do.
Mobility exercises - Click here
Core conditioning
When talking about core strength, must people only think about their abdominal muscles, however your ‘core’ actually refers to all the muscles around the centre of your body. These include your glutes (bum muscles), hip flexors, back muscles as well as your abdominals. When we move energy is transferred from our core to our arms and legs. Therefore having a stronger core will develop more powerful movements as energy will be lost through a weak core.
The core can be developed through sit-ups, back raises and the plank but more effectively through big compound exercises such as squats, overhead squats and deadlifts. It is important when performing these exercises to maintain your midline stability (reducing eccessive movement through your back) and activate your glutes. This can be achieved by adopting the brace position. The brace position involves taking a deep breath in pushing your belly out and squeezing the glutes. This creates an increase in pressure within the thoracic cavity thereby reduces movement of your midline when performing the exercise.
Core exercises - Click here
Foot conditioning
When running, your feet bear the full impact of the body from each strike. As covered in a previous blog, when running, your feet absorb up to three times your body weight on each strike. Your feet therefore need to be able to consistently cope with the impact of landing. If your feet are unable to cope with this stress then there is an increased risk of getting injured. The ligaments in the arches of our feet need to be strong enough to prevent them from collapsing.
A good and easy way of getting your feet conditioned for running is just walking around barefoot or wearing minimalist shoes. To avoid runners getting injured, many modern shoe companies provide additional heel cushioning to allow runners to run with a heel strike. The main issue with this is that it is reinforcing bad running mechanics and is not solving the main issue. They also provide arch support to prevent your arches from collapsing. However the main issue with this is that your arches never develop and become stronger. It would be the same as keeping your arm in a brace when broken and never taking the brace off. The answer is to slowly and progressively condition your feet to walking and running barefoot without getting injured.
Checking the alignment of your feet when standing or walking can help improve better movement patterns. When standing or walking we want our feet to be facing forwards as this is the most stable position for your feet. By continuously realigning your feet you will slowly start reinforcing this for when you are running.
Ballet dancers have incredibly strong feet as they are required to constantly jump and land on their feet and toes. So it would make sense to copy some of the exercises that ballet dancers use to strengthen their feet. For example, exercises that involve jumping and landing barefoot will strengthen your feet, ankles and calves to help your feet become conditioned to running. Also working on single leg exercises can help develop your balance, stability and proprioception of your feet. Climbing is another good sport that will help develop the strength of your feet, as they are needed to stay strong when pushing off rocks.
Foot exercises - Click here
Aerobic conditioning
We produce energy with oxygen (aerobic) and without oxygen (anaerobic). Producing energy anaerobically is very inefficient and only lasts for about a minute. Whereas the aerobic system is what we use all the time and is very efficient. Aerobic conditioning consists of training the body to optimise the use of oxygen as an energy system. It involves increasing the supply of oxygen to the working muscles so that they are able to work at a higher intensity and still be using the aerobic energy system. There are two values to consider with aerobic conditioning, which are VO2 max and anaerobic threshold.
VO2 max - This is the total amount of oxygen your body can consume. It can be affected by genetics, training, age, body composition and gender.
Anaerobic threshold - This is the intensity at which you can work at before switching to your anaerobic energy system. Elite marathon runners anaerobic threshold is very close to their VO2 max because their bodies are so efficient at using oxygen. This is why they can run at such a high intensity for a long period of time. For training we can use a value called Functional Threshold. This is the intensity at which you would be able to maintain for about an hour. It can be measured by pace (FTP) or by heart rate (FTHR).
Aerobic conditioning can be trained through long, low intensity runs or workouts. To put less stress on your joints, muscles and ligaments exercises such as swimming, cycling or cross country skiing are still good forms of aerobic conditioning. Developing good efficient breathing mechanics by getting as much oxygen in the lungs as possible can aid your aerobic conditioning as well. Doing more intense intervals or tempo runs will help you improve your anaerobic threshold so that you are able to run at a higher intensity while still using the aerobic system. Varying between intervals, tempo and continuous runs will differ depending on your goal.
Aerobic exercises - Click here
Muscular conditioning
Muscular conditioning involves addressing the three elements of strength, which are maximum strength, muscular power and muscular endurance. All three elements work closely with each other and the importance of each one will be determined by your goal.
Maximum strength - can be defined as the maximum load you can lift or push. It probably has the most crossover to the other elements. An increase in your maximum strength will improve your muscular endurance and muscular power. It is also important for developing a strong core. Maximum strength can be developed by performing heavy 1-6 reps with big compound exercises such as squat, deadlift or bench press. The more reps you perform the more you start relying on muscular endurance. Maximum strength training will also improve muscular activation so that more muscle fibres are recruited for specific movements.
Muscular power - can be defined by moving a great load over a short period of time (Power = Work / Time). Muscular power is something we need to generate muscular elasticity for when our foot comes into contact with the ground. This muscular elasticity can be considered as free energy, as it requires less muscular work. It can be developed by jumping and landing exercises to create that muscular elasticity. Exercises that are fast and provide glute activation such as cleans, snatches and kettlebell swings will help improve your muscular power. This is because we generate the majority of our power from our hips and glutes.
Muscular endurance - can be defined by muscles’ repetitive contracting against a force over an extended period of time. This is important to avoid your muscles fatiguing. Muscular endurance becomes even more important for longer distances and hilly or mountainous sections. It can be developed by running at the pace (or faster) that you are looking to race at. This will condition your muscles to run at this pace. It can also be developed through hill sprints and high reps with light weights in the gym.
Muscular exercises - Click here
Summary
If we address the conditioning of our mobility, core, feet, aerobic and muscular systems by using the principles of training then we can condition our body to run. The most important thing, is to get the right balance between stressing these areas enough and letting the body recover to become stronger. If we can achieve this then we will be able to run faster, further and injury free.