“Instead of training “for” a race, with the pressures and constraints of the specific requirements of that race and a looming end date, we now have a chance to train to be better runners, wherever that may take us”
With the Coronavirus pandemic, many of us have had races cancelled and have had to cut back on training.
But staying fit during this difficult time is really important, both for your physical and mental health.
It may seem like there aren’t many options for keeping your fitness up during this time.
But that’s not the case.
There are lots of ways in which you can exercise at home.
This blog outlines:
Should you exercise during this time? - What to think about if you’re considering exercising
How to mentally approach this period - Including making a plan and focusing on aspects of training that you normally wouldn’t do
Some ideas for working out at home - Including links to other useful articles and sources with specific routines and guidance
That’s not to say this is going to be easy.
Working out at home over such a long period of time will require more disciple, more flexibility and more focus than ever before.
But if you do it right, you could use this difficult time in a positive way.
And you just might come out of this global problem a better runner than ever before!
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Should I Exercise During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Before we get into the detail of the options available, it’s worth looking at whether you should be exercising at all.
Dr Megan Roche is a running coach, medical doctor, and epidemiology researcher. So she’s one of the most qualified people out there! She gave her thoughts to Strava recently.
On the one hand, exercise is good for a number of reasons - “It can help manage stress, boost the immune system, and improve energy levels”.
And, in normal circumstances, performing some of your workouts at a high level of intensity would help you get some significant performance improvements too.
But, on the other hand, Dr. Roche suggests being a bit more cautious at the moment. That’s because “overtraining and/or rapid increases in training volume can burden the immune system”.
That means that there is a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of the intensity of exercise that you do and whether you’re helping or harming your immune system.
Too little is bad. And so is too much. Moderate intensity at the moment is probably ‘just right’.
This is termed by some people as the ‘J-Curve’. Which Podium Runner explains in more detail in an article which also includes practical advice on how to train and eat to boost your immunity from Coronavirus.
In summary, exercise should be good for you during this time.
But it’s worth being more cautious than usual with the intensity that you’re training at
“Typically, I suggest that athletes with mild cold symptoms back off intensity and duration of exercise. In our current situation, in the event of any symptoms, I suggest that athletes be more cautious”
If deciding that you can exercise, there are some basic rules that you should abide by in this time:
Don’t socialise if you have any symptoms - In the situation we’re in right now, there’s no need to risk socialising if you have even the slightest of symptoms. As people who exercise regularly, we’re probably not the ones in most danger. But our relatives and friends are. Don’t be the person who could pass it on to someone who is in an at-risk group.
Stick to the rules in your country/ region/ state/ county - If the law is saying that you shouldn’t go out at all, then don’t go out. if it’s saying don’t go out in groups, then go for a run alone.
Avoid gyms - Although not strictly enforced everywhere yet, this seems like a very basic, sensible thing to do at the moment. Places where people come together in groups, sweating and panting over each other indoors, probably isn’t the best place to be right now.
Avoid all bodily contact - High fives, hugs and body contact can probably be skipped for the time being. The general advice seems to be to stay as far away from people as possible, if outside. At this point, nobody is going to be offended if you swerve them when running past. And if they are offended, who cares! If you need to celebrate, it’s a better time than ever to give a virtual Kudos on Strava.
Have higher-than-usual hygiene standards - Wipe down your equipment, even if it’s your own home gear. Wash hands regularly and thoroughly. Especially when preparing food (although I can’t believe we’re having to give that advice! Weren’t people washing hands properly before this all happened?!?!)
How to Mentally Approach Your Training During Coronavirus
So, as long as you’re not sick, it’s probably a good idea to exercise. But how do you go about doing it, especially if you are forced to work out indoors?
The temptation will be to just throw yourself into anything.
And whilst it’s true that something is better than nothing, it’s worth taking the time to think about the best approach.
1) Create A Vision and goals
What progress would you like to make during this time?
Normal goals, like completing a new race distance or setting a PB, probably won’t be what you’re looking to achieve.
But what about improving your strength? Improving your speed? Improving flexibility? Or focusing on the psychological or nutritional side of things?
A lot of these aspects of training get neglected in the panic and intensity of training for an event.
So now is a great time to think about them.
Once you’ve decided what you want to improve, set yourself a goal. Just like you would with a race or event.
And it will be very important to have a goal that is realistic.
You might not be able to exercise as much as usual. So a goal to set a new PB quickly, or to lose huge amounts of weight, might not be the most realistic at this point.
2) Have Some Structure
Next, it’s time to create a plan. Just like you would when you’re training for a race or event.
Set aside specific times during the day and week when you can train.
And, just like a normal training plan, make sure that each session has a specific goal.
If you were planning for an event and that got cancelled or postponed, you can treat the next few weeks like an off-season. Then start a new training cycle.
This PodiumRunner article has some good advice if your goal race has been cancelled.
The main take-out from the article?
You can’t just continue your training at the same intensity as it will lead to injury and burnout.
So it’s time to create a new plan.
“Never-ending training cycles lead to mental burnout and a fitness plateau”
Related Article -> The Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Own Training Plan
3) Track Yourself
Us runners love data.
But it’s probably going to be harder than usual to upload our latest Strava segment.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t track how you’re improving over time.
Whether that’s how much weight and repetitions you’re doing. Or whether it’s tracking your nutrition. Or measuring how effective you are at mastering the psychological techniques you’re learning about.
Tracking yourself will allow you to see how well you’re doing. And it will help you keep accountable to yourself.
4) Prepare to Be Flexible
As we’ve experienced so far, the situation with Coronavirus is changing rapidly.
And as regulations and advice evolves over the next few days, weeks and months, you too will have to be ready to change and evolve your goals and your plan.
Not everything is going to go perfectly. And you will have to be comfortable with that.
This is going to be a great lesson for racing. Because nothing ever goes perfectly to plan in races either.
It’s also remembering that you won’t lose all of your fitness, just from a few weeks, or even months, of not training at your normal levels.
“Your training will not be wasted; it will provide a springboard to an even better training cycle later in the year”
And, of course, it’s absolutely fine if you end putting on a little weight or anything else during this time. Nobody is going to judge you. So don’t judge yourself.
5) Get Others Involved
With schools cancelled in the UK and me working from home for the foreseeable future, I will be with my two young daughters and wife more than usual.
And I can’t wait for it!
This is going to be an opportunity to be together as a family. And it’s an opportunity that we might never get again.
I’ll be thinking about how I’ll be getting our daughters involved in keeping fit and healthy too.
We already have plans to try new things. Like children’s yoga and running.
And if you live on your own or with people who can’t exercise, try to find a community online who can help you stay motivated, connected and on track.
There are lots of PT’s now on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube who are giving free fitness classes and routines at regular times during the day.
Specific Ideas for Working Out At Home
Depending on the goals that you’ve set yourself, there are a range of options available to you.
The Treadmill
Good For - Maintaining or improving general running fitness. And you can also use it to focus on speed and your strength, by incorporating some hills and higher speed workouts
Ideas for Workouts:
Keep it Simple - Just run like you normally would, at your normal pace, for your normal distance or time. When treadmill running, a lot of sources says that you should have the incline set to about 1%. This is to replicate the feeling of running outside.
Get Stronger - This is a great opportunity to work on an element of running that most runners forget. Hills! Hill repeats are great for building strength in your legs without lifting the dreaded weights. You can structure these sessions in a few ways. One way is to do a lot of short, sharp hill repeats. Set the incline high for a short period of time and get to a high intensity. Make sure to have adequate recovery between each rep. The second option is to have a long, slower drag. This is where you set the incline at a gradual level, but do it for a long period of time. Or a third option is a mixture of the two. Set the incline at a fairly big level and for a long duration… And you can practise your power-walking. Something that is neglected by ultra-runners, but is critically important for the later stages of races. Here Runner’s World shows gives three hill workouts for the treadmill. Remember that all routines should include an easy warm up or warm down.
Get Faster - Treadmills are a really great option for practising speed work. Because you can easily set the speed and distance that you want to train at. There are lots of options for creating a speed work session. You could do many repeats of a very short distance, at high intensity (for example, 6 - 10 repeats of 400 metre sprints. Or 6 - 10 repeats of 3 minutes at higher speed). Or you could do longer, ‘tempo’ workouts. This is where you work at a slightly lower intensity than sprints, perhaps your goal race pace, but you work out for much longer. Runner’s World gives 4 sprint workouts here, which can also be applied to the treadmill.
Related Article -> Improve Your Ultra-Running with these 5 Shorter Sessions
The Exercise Bike, Stepper, Elliptical, Rowing Machine, etc
Good For - If you don’t have a treadmill or don’t want to run on a treadmill, then one of the other aerobic machines will provide a great workout.
These are also good if you’re recovering from injury and can’t stand the hard impact of running.
Ideas for Workouts - Much the same as on a treadmill. You can either keep it simple and just exercise. Or you can mix it up by doing higher intensity repetitions.
Cardio Sessions Without Equipment
Good For - If you’re still looking to get some training in to improve your cardio, but you don’t have any of the equipment above, there are still options!
Us runners have a habit to go in one direction constantly… Forward.
Naturally, that is the most specific form of exercise for us and we should focus most of our time on running.
But there are lots of different variations of cardio sessions that can force us to move our bodies in different directions and improve overall fitness. This can improve form and strengthen weak areas.
Ideas for Workouts - Circuits are a great way of forcing us to move differently.
These are where you think of a number of different exercises that you perform in repetitions for a short amount of time. You then move through these different exercises throughout a session.
A really basic routine could look something like
Think of 5 - 10 simple exercises - with or without weights
Do the first exercise for 20 - 30 seconds at a at a high intensity. Then move to the next one. And repeat for all the exercises.
At the end of a complete round, or ‘circuit’, of all exercises have a rest.
Then do another circuit.
You can do 3 - 5 of these circuits in one session
These are great because they keep you engaged, motivated and you can track your progress easily.
Plus, you can change exercises whenever you want.
Here is one example of a cardio session you can do easily at home - The High-Intensity Cardio Workout You Can Do In Your Living Room on YouTube.
Strength & Conditioning
Good For - Strength and conditioning work can help you improve form, make you more injury resilient, improve power, strength, endurance and speed.
But, just like hill repeats and speed work, it’s something that is often neglected.
So now is a great time to create a new habit and add it to your training routine.
Ideas for Workouts - As with any new type of exercise, if you’re doing this for the first time, make sure to ease into it.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that you don’t have to lift heavy weights, or weights at all, for this to be effective.
Many people, myself included, use their own body weight in these workouts.
The key with any strength and conditioning routine is to focus on form, rather than the weight you’re lifting or how many reps you’re doing.
There are loads of people and companies offering strength and conditioning workouts that you can do in your own home.
Here are the two that I’ve used consistently and love
The Nike Training App - I’ve used this free app for a long time as it has an excellent selection of workouts. You can filter by workout type, the time you have available and the equipment you have available. My favourite workout? - The 20-minute ‘Glute and Hip Strength’ workout and the 30-minute ‘Burpees, Bounds and Bridges’ workout. You don’t need any equipment for either
Fitness Blender - Similar to the Nike Training app, in that it has a huge selection of free workouts, covering many different types. There seems to be more workouts, but, unfortunately, there is no actual app, just a website. Which makes it slightly less accessible. Still, Fitness Blenders is a hugely popular and great site. My favourites? - The 50-minute ‘Lower Body Active Static Strength Workout’ and the ‘10-Minutes Abs Workout’
Les Mills - This website has opened up hundreds of workout videos for people during the Coronavirus pandemic. There are lots of high quality videos on here, which you normally pay a premium for - Take advantage here - https://watch.lesmillsondemand.com/at-home-workouts/
improve your mobility
Good For - Runners are known as a particularly inflexible bunch. And so now, confined largely to our homes and smaller spaces, it is a great opportunity to change that.
Improving mobility and flexibility is another of those things that gets neglected.
But one that can have a huge positive impact on running when done correctly.
Ideas for Workouts - One of my favourite mobility exercises is yoga. And there are loads of options for runners out there.
A simple Google for ‘Yoga for Runners’ turns up thousands of results.
My favourite resource is the free Nike Training App.
In particular, the 20-minute ‘Lower Body Strength Yoga’ workout and the 43-minute ‘Ultimate Strength Yoga’ workout.
And here are a range of other articles giving you different routines and exercises for improving your mobility:
5 Hip Mobility Exercises - from Polar
5 Ways to Engage Your Glutes - from PodiumRunner.com
6 Exercises to Improve Your Upper Body Running Posture - from PodiumRunner.com
Improve Knee Problems with the Chair Stretch - from PodiumRunner.com
Build Your Foot Foundation During Training Downtime - from PodiumRunner.com
Build Running Durability in Your Garage - from PodiumRunner.com
Train the Mind
Good For - Preparing for the tough moments in training and races when you need your mental strength to be as strong as possible.
Ideas for ‘Workouts’ - I’ve still classed these as ‘workouts’, because you need to take the time to think about the specific strategies that you will use in a race.
You need to make a specific plan for how and when you will use them. And you need to practise them.
Just like any other part of your training plan.
I’ve got some strategies that I’ve found effectively, including
Focusing on process goals, not performance or outcome goals - To focus on what you can control the most
Using if/ then strategies - To help plan for when things go wrong in races
Trigger words - These words that are special to you can help you snap out of a negative mindset quickly
And there are lots of other strategies and tips you can use.
Related Article -> Six Psychological Strategies To Improve Your Running
And when we’re stuck inside for weeks and months on end, the strategies to cope from a psychological perspective might be the ones we need the most!
Summary
Exercising during the Coronavirus is generally a good idea. But, be more cautious than usual and don’t over-exert yourself
Decide what goals you want to set yourself and what you want to achieve during this time. Track yourself and get others involved where possible to keep you motivated and accountable
Prepare to be flexible - With the ever-changing situation, nothing is likely to go 100% to plan. You can’t beat yourself up for this. And will need to constantly change your plans and goals
Choose a type of training that will help you fulfil your goals - Whether that’s simply training on a treadmill or bike, doing a new strength and conditioning routine, yoga routine or practising some psychological training
One Last Call… Please Vote for JamesRunsFar as ‘Best Professional Running Blog’
I have made the shortlist for the ‘best professional running blog’ by the Running Awards.
If you like what you read on my site, then please vote for me here.
Thank you if you’ve already voted. And the good news is, that you can VOTE AGAIN!
So, please do.
The main reason I started this blog was to inform and entertain you.
I hope that I am doing that.
And if you agree, then please vote for me.
Thank you!
:-)
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