If you’re keen to improve as a runner, there’s something you might like to consider trying to see how it ups your game – and that’s interval running. Quite simply, this is just when you run fast over a short distance and then slow yourself down for recovery time. Then you do it all over again.
This will really help increase your levels of fitness and before you know it, you could be setting all sorts of personal bests. It depends on what your goals are as to the kind of training that’s right for you, but if you want to increase your speed, intervals can prove really beneficial.
It can be hard to stay motivated and really push yourself to run as hard as you can, so finding a running buddy can prove really useful for intervals because you can make it competitive, which is sure to see you really putting the effort in.
Really want a baptism of fire? Read up on Tabata-style training, which involves working at maximum intensity for 20 seconds, with a rest of ten seconds, repeated for eight rounds. Apparently, following this kind of training for five days a week for six weeks can lead to a 28 per cent increase in anaerobic fitness and a 14 per cent increase in aerobic fitness!
It should take around four minutes but you’ll definitely be feeling the burn. Build it into your running routine and see what impact it could have on your fitness levels.
For beginners, try setting yourself short intervals of between 100m and 400m. This will help you increase your power, speed and ability, while improving stamina at the same time.
Do you think you need running rehab at the moment? Get in touch with FixMyRun.
