Jul 27 in General Discussion
Can Low Impact Cardio Exercises Effectively Replace A Run?
There is an art and a science to training for a half or full marathon.
The science is pretty simple…
Run farther to build endurance and lift weights to get stronger.
For this post, I want to focus on the art of training for a race.
The typical training plan just tells you what to do. It will say what days to run and how far to run.
Which is good, until you run into a problem.
And then, if you don’t know how to solve that problem, that problem becomes a bigger problem.
Which then could affect your ability to train, run your race, and/or leave you with unwanted expenses.
I hear all the time that a runner will get a nagging injury. But instead of addressing the problem or adjusting their training, they will continue to run through it.
And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if you don’t give your body enough time to recover from that injury, then that injury gets worse.
And sometimes it gets so bad that you have to go to physical therapy and stop running for several months.
The thing is most of these problems can be solved if you know how to think.
And this is where the art of training comes in.
If the science of training requires you to build up your endurance to run 26.2 miles, then the art of training allows us to have some flexibility on how we do that.
And one of the things I incorporate into my training is low impact cardio exercises.
Over the years I have dealt with a few minor injuries and rather than run through them, I replace the runs with low impact exercises.
These exercises are great for building up your endurance while giving your body the rest it needs to recover.
So the next time you are dealing with an overuse injury, rather than push through it, just replace your runs with a low impact cardio exercise.
Here are a list of my top five low impact cardio exercises:
#1 - Stationary Bike
#2 - Stair Master
#3 - Walking/Hiking
#4 - Elliptical
#5 - Swimming
Add one or all of these into your marathon training plan.
If you got value out of this post, share this with someone who is training for their half or full marathon.
Tony
P.s. I am curious to know what your thoughts are on these Q&A style posts. Let me know.
6
3 comments
Can Low Impact Cardio Exercises Effectively Replace A Run?
skool.com/marathon-training-secrets-7275
A free group covering all things half - full marathon training
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
+1
2
+1
powered by