We do not work our thighs to make them thinner…we work our thighs to make them stronger!

Running might be considered a cardiovascular exercise…but strong runners use strength to run longer…and faster. Don’t think The Terminator kind of strong, think Karate Kid…Mr. Miyagi strong.  Whole body, stabilizing, balance-on-one-leg kind-of-strong. After all, you’re only as strong as your weakest point.

If your weakest point is your thighs…today is for you.

Day 25 exercises:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• Bridge with Inner Thigh Squeeze (use a pillow) – 4 sets of 15
• Inner Thigh Leg Lift – 4 sets of 15
• Side Step with Squat – 4 sets of 15
• Planks – :30 – 1 Min (2X)
• 100 Crunches

Bonus: Plie Squat Hold

The key to this bonus exercise will be holding the pie squat position. Feel those thighs burn and count for 10 seconds then do it again. Bonus is 2 rounds of 10.

Speed Work:

“I’m running my first half or full marathon, so I’m focused only on building distance.”

According to Runner’s World, this statement is

“the bane of many first-time marathoners: Near the end of a long run (or the actual race), they run out of fuel and their form falls apart. Fast repeats teach your body what it feels like to have a light, quick turnover—a biomechanical efficiency applicable to any speed or distance, says St. Pierre. Quick repeats also strengthen seldom-used “fast-twitch” muscles so they can be called upon when your other muscles are trashed at the end of a long race, he adds. And the workouts improve running economy, teaching the heart to pump more blood per minute and deliver oxygen to the muscles more efficiently, so that slow runs feel easier.”

Whether you’re training for a 5K or a Marathon….runners who add speed work to their routine will benefit from faster times and increased endurance!

We are shortening our speed work this week to 200 meters (.12 miles or half way around a track). If you can’t get to a track…just use your GPS watch to calculate the .12 mile distance. It doesn’t have to be exact…but keep it close.

• Start with six to 10 200-meter repeats at a one-mile to 5-K pace (or an 8 or 9 on an exertion scale of 1 to 10), with a 200-meter jog in between.
• 200-meter intervals should be run at 12% faster than your 5K pace.

To do this workout it would be helpful to know your current 5K time. If you haven’t ran a 5K recently…use the exertion scale…on a scale from 1-10…you should be running at an 8-9. This means you should be pretty much giving it all you’ve got for about 1 minute.

The beauty of this workout is that it’s over very quick! Your lungs may be on fire afterward, but you’ll recover soon enough. Since this is the first week of this workout…make a note of your 200 meter times. Write it down…and let’s see how we can progress over the next few weeks.

Give it your best shot. This is a tough workout but it is doable…remember it will be over quick! It is important to warm up and cool down before and after every speed workout. Give yourself a good mile warm up…or at least 10 min and a similar cool down.

Other than your speed work…you should be focusing on “time on legs”. Remember that the key to success for any runner is putting in the miles. Work on getting your base weekly mileage up so you’re ready for those upcoming races. What is a good weekly base? 15-20 miles a week is perfect. How many miles a week are you logging?

After it’s all said and done…it’s time to stretch! Here’s our 7 Key Stretches for Runners.

It’s Monday so let’s start the week right and give it all we’ve got and make it a great day! 🙂