I’m excited to partner with Wayne Helms, owner of Elite Training in Bryn Mawr, PA, to bring you some awesome fitness articles! Wayne will be working with me to present the topics that YOU want to read about . . . so make sure to leave comments on this post about the fitness topics you’d like to read about, or you can contact Wayne directly (see contact info at the end of his article).
Because I know that many of my readers are runners, Wayne’s first series is about training to improve your running. This series will be released every few weeks over the next month or two. Enjoy!
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Wow! It’s already that time of year when it’s getting colder and when it’s getting darker earlier. Which means that this is the best time of year to train and improve your running. However, this means that you will not be running outside on the streets or on a track to improve your running performance, nor will you be training inside on the treadmill, elliptical or bike. Get where I am going with this? No? Read on.
As a Sports Performance Coach and Personal Trainer, I tell my athletes this all the time: You will never get better at your sport just by playing your sport. Sounds crazy, I know. But it’s true. Running a lot, and just running, doesn’t allow you perform better as a runner. You will quickly hit a plateau and get stuck. Your PRs will stay the same. It will be a struggle to add on more miles. Of course this leads to frustration, burnout, injuries and quitting. If you want to get better at your sport, you need to work on the muscles that you will be using for your sport in order to allow them to develop and strengthen. During this series of articles I will address four areas that I believe are the most important in developing a safe, fun and year-round training cycle. They are: training cycle, flexibility, balance and core. Please understand that there are other areas that need to be worked, but I picked these four as I believe that they are the most vital. In my explanations, I will be using plain English and staying away from technical and scientific terms so that you can easily follow along.
First, change your mindset. How do you do that? Simple. It starts with what you call your run. Do you say, “I am going for a workout?” Or do you say, “I’m going for a run?” “I am going to the track?” “Going for a jog?” Or do you say, “I am training!” This last statement is the mindset that will help you succeed. Here’s why it works. Training implies a plan. A system. A training cycle with peaks and valleys. An end or attainable goal. Working out is open-ended. No vision, no plan, no training cycle. Kinda like spinning your wheels in the mud. You try your best to get ahead, but in the end, you’re stuck. Your time and energy is limited. So you can’t waste a minute of your valuable time not getting the most out of your training time and program. If you don’t have a plan and goals, you’re on the road to burnout, injuries and quitting.
Don’t get me wrong, running is great. It clears your mind, works your heart, improves muscular endurance and gives you some alone time after a busy and stressful day. Running is a chance to decompress. That’s why it’s more important than ever to take a break from it. Here’s what I tell my very dedicated athletes: If you don’t choose your rest time (or planned rest time in a training cycle), your body will choose it for you. For example, you may get sick, or a minor injury could turn into a major injury. You don’t want this to happen at a time when you’re feeling an urgent need to run for your mental and physical wellbeing. If you’re a team sport athlete, you don’t want to peak at the wrong time or not at all for your state tournament or playoffs.
Training Cycle
Now that you have changed your mindset, set a goal with a date. There’s nothing like a deadline to keep you on track and focused. Your goal can be a 1-mile fun run, 5k, 10k, triathlon, etc. The best thing you can do is register and pay your money for the event. Now you’re motivated. Or, if you are just running for fitness and fun, simply choose a goal date. This is the date when you’ll know that you’ve done all that you can and that it’s time to take a break and change gears. In addition, pick a start date to get back to it. Write this information down and post it on the mirror or refrigerator so that you have a constant reminder of your goals and start dates. Your break should be at least 1 week and up to a month long, depending on your goal and the intensity of your training cycle and event schedule.
My suggestion for a recreational runner’s training cycle is this: November, December, January and February are the best months to train for running. March and April are when you should slowly build your mileage and intensity. May, June and July are when a lot of events take place, so work on drills and tempo runs during this time. You will get a lot of miles if you run a full schedule. August, September and October are usually a great time of year to run because of the weather. That being said, as school starts, a lot of fall sports kick into gear and life gets busy, so this is a great time to take a break from running and rest instead. Please understand that this is a loose guideline based on my own training cycle. Your own event schedule will dictate your unique training cycle. Just make sure that you have peaks and valleys with rest in there, too.
I hope that you have enjoyed this article and found the information useful, as well. I would love to hear from you, and I welcome suggestions for other training topics you’d like to read about on Defining Wellness. You can email me at Wayne@elitetrainingsports.com. If you’d like to sign up for my newsletters, which contain fitness training package specials and tips on training and performance, visit my Web site at EliteTrainingSports.com.
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About The Author
Wayne Helms is the owner of Elite Training. Wayne has trained many men and women who are looking to get fit, feel better and enjoy pain-free daily function in their lives. He has been coaching a variety of male and female athletes, many of whom have won full athletic scholarships to top colleges and universities, for over 16 years. Wayne is a former high school (Upper Darby High School) and college wrestler at National Power House Delaware Valley College, where he was a two-time Conference place winner and Academic All-American. Currently, he is training for both the Philadelphia Triathlon and the Philadelphia Irish Pub’s distance cycling event that take place this summer.
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