Endurance running is a great way to stay in shape and keep weight off. Its’ a great daily exercise that requires repetition after repetition in order to be effective. Doing a series of the following exercises will help you to find you’ll stay stronger towards the end of any race while will not only benefit you as you race, but will also help you stay ahead of your fellow competitors.
In order to increase the power of your endurance running, you’ll need to begin by starting to train your lower body to endure more stress.
Start your training practice with an exercise called overtops. You’ll need a raised platform such as a step. Start going by placing one foot in the middle of the step and one foot off. Very lightly, move from side to side always keeping one foot in the middle. You can perform overtops in sets of one hundred while using a weight to increase your endurance levels. You can work upward to 4-kilo weights to 8-kilo weights, then 12 kilos and even more effectively, 16 kilos. Doing a hundred of these types of overtops repetitions can increase your endurance levels almost 5-fold.
A good variation overtop to perform is while moving back down touch the side of the step with your hand for add aerobic benefits. These overtop movements’ will help build muscles in the legs that are key to performing endurance running more effectively.
The next key exercise you should perform during your endurance training is lunges. Begin by starting with your feet right next to each other, you’ll then take one long stride out with you and then you come into the lunge position. Hold the position a moment, then hop into the second lunge, backward and forward. Like the overtop exercise, you can also perform this movement using weights in your hands. But, remember not to go over 7 kilos in each hand due to the stress placed on your knees from holding the extra weight. These lunges are very good for increasing knee stability that you’ll need to complete your long distance running.
The final exercise in this endurance running exercise training trio is the single legged squat. To begin, start by standing upright, lifting one leg into the air, muster it with both legs and just hop off. Make sure that’s you’re in an airborne position and then go as low as you feel comfortable on the way down and then move up, then down. This movement might cause you to lose your balance occasionally and you won’t always be able to stay in the same spot. However, this is a great exercise for knee stability, it works all muscles in the legs and also works the glutes giving you core strength in your knee joints for your endurance running practice. It also has the added benefit of strengthening your ankles and hips as well.
These exercises, used as a type of pyramid going from light weights up to heavy weights during the movements will really help you will your endurance running practice making your training for endurance running a clinch.