The new craze is a 5km run and there’s no better way of breaking up your day than with a lung stretcher like this.
But, as it becomes a regular milestone, the next challenge is chipping away at your time. Here’s 5 ways that will help you do just that –
Warning: Beating your time can become addictive and seriously benefit your health!
1. Mix it up.
It’s not always about smashing your 5k, you have to mix it up. You want to increase you aerobic ability and train your battery to run for longer. To do this, intersperse your 5ks, longer runs between 7.5/10k, and shorter runs between 2/3k to improve your speed and stamina.
2. HIIT it up.
You don’t have to bust your back on the street several times a week, instead try High-Intensity interval training (HIIT) It basically combines intense exercise (cycle sprints as fast as you can) with short rest periods. It takes way less time than a 5k run and studies show it can provide faster and bigger gain for you cardiovascular ability than sluggish long distance training.
3. Stronger legs mean stronger times
Your legs are the locomotive engines that get you over the finish line so, look after them and they’ll look after you. Why not try woking your whole legs to increase its strength, you can do this at home by finding leg workouts on youtube!
4. Change your route, and repeat.
There’s a whole lot of routes for you to take, mud tracks, gravel pits, flats and hills. The more you try the more prepared you are for whatever is round that corner. Once you’ve found that new route, repeat it a few times so you know what to expect. This will help you know when to attack your run or pace it.
5. Recovery is key.
Runners need protein to help repair their muscles?…..SHOCK HORROR. (Gorilla juice is bursting with 19g of protein per shake)
Not only this but new research has surprisingly suggested that protein might actually make you faster, according to a small study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
So if you’re out there busting your gut in an attempt to shave of a few more seconds, make sure you don’t cheap out on nutrition, your body has done the hard bit, now it’s time to reward it.
