Running bestows a broad range of health and fitness benefits, but those benefits are limited when you run the same way every single day. For instance, if you always run on a path, at the same speed, listening to your MP3 player, at the same time of day, on the same slope, in the same shoes, for the same distance...well, you are robbing yourself of some of the benefits you could be getting from all that valuable movement time.
There are many variables that affect the benefits your run can give you, and we rarely take the time to think about it. So, to help you spice up your running efforts and make sure that you reap the full rewards from each run workout, here are some ways to make your run workout more challenging and beneficial.
10 Tips to Enhance Your Run
- Vary Your Terrain
- Run Somewhere New
- Run In a Group
- Stop and Smell the Freakin' Roses
- Wear Different Shoes
- Run Tech Free
- Try Multi-tasking
- Carry Something
- Vary Your Speed
- Run More Often
Let's explore each tip in more detail.
1. Vary Your Terrain
There are 33 joints in each of your feet and when you run over rocks, roots, slopes, dips, and bumps each one of those joints deforms your foot (in a good way). This deformation creates load in those parts of your foot and that loadbearing makes your feet and ankles stronger, more resilient and healthier in general. But if you always run on man-made surfaces, there is nothing there that will destabilize and mobilize these joints. So you are missing out on some real run benefits by limiting your terrain.
Whenever you can, add hills, slopes, and textures (dirt, gravel, sand) that will challenge your ankles, heels, and toes in ways that just don’t happen on flat, paved ground.
2. Run Somewhere New
Running in familiar territory can automatically change your responsiveness, both cognitively and physically, and can allow you to fall into a movement rut. Let's face it, mindless robotic running is not our goal.
Do anything that will help shake you out of being a dull running machine and into being an enthusiastic running human.
To minimize this issue, choose different routes, surroundings, directions, and distances. If you simply can’t mix it up, at least run that same route in a different direction so you get as many surprises as you can. Do anything you can that will help shake you out of being a dull running machine and into being an enthusiastic running human.
3. Run In a Group
Running with others can often force you out of your "comfortable pace" and that change of pace can result in working your body in different ways. Not only will running at different speeds widen your cardiovascular response to the workout, but it also engages different muscles, a different geometry of your limbs, and makes you a more well-rounded runner in general.
Running in a group also means being social and that can change your mood for the better. It’s easy to focus on how tired you are or how much you "want this run to be over" when you are alone, but when you are engaged in a conversation or some friendly competition, the time can really fly by.
4. Stop and Smell the Freakin' Roses
Staying in your "running pose" for the entire run isn’t as beneficial as breaking up that repetitive movement with some counter movements. This can be a simple as taking a short walk break where you shake out your arms or deliberately take larger steps to release your hip flexors. But to really make the most of your full range of motion, you can throw in some squats, walking lunges, side gallops, jumping jacks, burpees, or even drop and give me 20.
Or, if you are out for a pleasure run (rather than a specific training run) why not actually stop running and examine those berries growing on the side of the trail? Or give that friendly dog a chin scratch? Or, literally, stop and smell the roses?
5. Wear Different Shoes
When I was a serious runner and was putting in over 100 kilometres per week, I had four pairs of shoes that I cycled through. A minimalist pair that helped me build and maintain foot strength, a cushioned pair for my longer runs, some racing flats for my speed work, and another pair that I just liked the look of and wore to the gym.
Shoes with a narrow toe-box can reduce how much you use the muscles that allow your foot to widen as you put weight on it. When you do this, your toes should naturally splay away from each other. If they aren’t allowed to make this movement, at least some of the time, you could develop some foot issues.
Also, a large heel-drop on a shoe can change the range of motion that your ankles go through. Believe it or not, this affects your knees, hips, spine, and all the way up to your neck and head.
6. Run Tech Free
Wearing technology every time you go out running can intrude on your mind's ability to give itself over to the body, which is when you really experience that feeling known as the "runners high." Plus, leaving your devices behind occasionally can free you from any preconceived notions you have of how far, fast, and long you are able to run.
It's easier to be aware of your head position, arm swing, knee drive, and footfall when you aren’t mesmerized by the mad rhymes of the Beastie Boys.
Leaving your MP3 player behind can occasionally be helpful too. Learning to pace yourself using just your footsteps, the sound of your breath, and the feeling of your stride is a great way to perfect your pace. It is also easier to be aware of your head position, your arm swing, your knee drive, and footfall when you aren’t mesmerized by the mad rhymes of the Beastie Boys.
7. Try Multi-tasking
On the other hand, if you can run farther or more often while getting something else done while you run, then let yourself indulge in some tech every once in a while. Mixing work-time and run-time is a great idea by taking a meeting on the run using some bluetooth headphones. Listen to an audiobook while you run (or a podcast) can help you learn something new. There is even some dictation software that could allow you to write the next great novel while you run.
Figuring out ways to be productive while you run means you may be inclined to make more time for it, and that is never a bad thing.
8. Carry Something
Grab something moderately heavy right now. Hold it in front of your torso and make note of how that feels. Now hold it over your head. Feel that? Every way that we hold an object requires that we balance and rebalance with a particular set of muscles. When we change the position of what we’re holding we also change the muscles being used.
The same is true for the loads that we carry when we run. Backpacks, ankle weights, wrist weights, weighted vests, even the devices we carry or strap to our arms and wrists change the muscles we are using and how we use them. If you never carry anything when you run, give it a try. If you always carry your phone in your right hand, use your left. If you have access to ankle weights, try doing some short runs or sprints with them on. This isn’t an everyday type of idea but mixing it up occasionally can make us better runners and movers.
9. Vary Your Speed
We touched on this a little bit earlier but not only will running at different speeds widen your cardiovascular response to the run, it will also engage different muscles.
New runners often go out for every single run at what is referred to as a "tempo" effort. They basically try and go as hard as they can, for as long as they can, and as often as they can. Not only is that not a lot of fun and not helpful for becoming a well-rounded runner (or mover), but you will also hit your performance ceiling pretty quickly.
One of the aspects that we avid runners struggle with is the idea of running easy on our easy days and hard on our hard days. Running truly easy seems like a waste of time and running truly hard is—well—truly hard. So, instead, we remain in that middle ground and go stagnant. Don’t let this happen to you. Vary your speed, pace, and cadence during one particular run and also from one run workout to another.
10. Run More Often
If you always run once a day, most days of the week, and then spend the remainder of the day being sedentary, you are limiting your fitness, health, and general well being. Breaking up the repetitive geometry of being sedentary has actually been shown to change things like arterial function, muscle length, and mood. While those extended long runs do bestow some positive health outcomes, there are still more benefits that you are missing out on due to the fact that you are doing all your movement in one go.
Running to a yoga session is a great way to arrive warm and ready to be flexible.
Try breaking up your run into smaller chunks and intersperse them throughout your day. Or try running to your swim class and then jogging home. Running to a yoga session is a great way to arrive warm and ready to be flexible. Also, running is a great way to commute to and from work.
Finding creative ways to both indulge your running habit and also expand its effects on your body is a worthy endeavor.
I hope you are feeling inspired to get out there and mix up your running routine so that you'll enjoy running for many more years to come.
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