Here are some of my top tips for improving your results whilst avoiding the credit crunch..
1. Cancel the running magazine subscription(s)
Pure toilet paper!
The only thing they are any good for are drying out wet trainers, and you can always get a free copy of the Metro which is better for that, and more interesting to read too!
2. Don't buy that GPS/HRM/other stress inducing device
Relax, run faster and live longer!
If you already own one, get it on ebay quick before everyone else realises what a waste of money they are and beats you to it.
3. Energy gels/drinks
Who needs 'em. Those energy gels are just molten Jelly Babies, buy the real thing and save your cash.
And as for energy drinks, if Robinsons Lemon Barley Water was good enough for Pete Sampras, it's good enough for me. If you really must insist though, get yourself down the pound shop and pick up a 4-pack of Lucozade sport for a quid.
So there you have it, just some of the things that have made me the athlete I am today. Anyone else got any pointers to help me towards my next PB?
Posts
A year on the 5:2 diet combined with cycling
10 years ago
3 comments:
Running shoes - Never go for the latest in fashion, you will be paying more for the same shoe in a different colour. Always add at least 20% on the recommended mileage for your shoes.
You could go further and try to run barefoot?
I'd also recommend that you only enter races for one of 2 reasons:
1) You need a new running T shirt, the cost of entry is cheaper than buying one and you know that there will be one in the goody bag.
2) You are able to win a prize. You can improve your chances by lying about your age. You can be quite outrageous about this as you won't have to go to the prize giving, they'll send it through the post if you are not there. You can even go further and claim to be a really old vet lady.
What's the point in paying for races? They can't stop you running on public roads. All you are paying for is the privelige of having your time posted on the internet.
Chris - you might hold back on cancelling the subscriptions. Runner's World had an article on how to beat the credit crunch a couple of months ago.
Hefty gym membership fees are a waste of money if you ask me. Most are centered around cardio based fitness nowadays with running machines, rowing machines, skiing machines!? But we all get the cardio from the running we do!
If its strength you want you can can get a great all over body work-out just using your own body weight! eg.. Press-ups are easy (ish) and banging out fifty will not make you stronger. Try this, when doing a press-up, shift your bodyweight onto one arm, it becomes instantly harder. There are no limits with bodyweight exercises, because you can always alter the leverage... for example should you become good at a 1 armed press-up (this in itself is really hard), there is then a '1 arm-1 leg' press-up and beyond that, you can elevate your feet onto a chair say..
For legs, there is the 1 leg squat, (word of warning, trying this for the first time can result in injury as my dad found out) so i suggest having something to hold onto to begin with.. but it is just as effective as a weighted two legged squat in the gym..
With exercise like these, i suggest never doing more than 3 of anything in one set, you will start to put on muscle weight, which can be a detrimental to a runner. Keep it hard enough to just be able to do 1-3 reps, you will see strenght gains, but not gain weight! Good enough for a sprinter, long distance or road runner!
Post a Comment