Life of a New Personal Trainer: “I want to RUN FASTER.”

Most personal trainers find themselves focusing on the weight room the majority of day. While cardiovascular endurance training is extremely important, it is not uncommon for many trainers to put a client on a bike the last 10 minutes of the session and call it their “cardio”. This works for some clients; but what about the ones who come to a trainer wanting to run faster? Strength training is tremendously important for runners; but these clients NEED TO RUN! Here are five different training techniques that can be used for running.

*Tempo runs train the body to clear everything that could cause the body to feel like it needs to slow down. Have your client run at a “comfortably hard” pace, hitting each .5 mile or mile marker at the same time. This can be more easily done with a watch. Tempo runs must be precise to work.

*Fartlek runsmake the body work hard when it is tired, which ultimately results in running faster when the legs are fresh. In fartlek runs, the client will run at 70-80% of their full effort for an amount of time and then will run 40-50% for that same amount of time.

*Mile repeatsare tough runs with jogging or walking recoveries. Recovery should be at a 1:1.25-1.5 work-to-rest ratio. Repeats improve running time by continuously running at maximum aerobic capacity.

*In-and-Outsforce runners to recover “on-the-go”. Have you heard the expression “sprint the straights and jog the curves”? That is exactly it.

*Fast-Finish Long Runsare exactly how they sound. These runs train the body to go long and finish hard. On a long run, which would probably be a little less monotonous off the track, have your client start picking up the pace after the first half. Their time should increase 5-10 seconds per mile after the halfway point.

Changing up your clients runs throughout the week will help to break up the boredom of running. It is also extremely important to schedule these runs, so you can easily track progress. These types of runs will boost your clients speed and endurance. 

*Follow the links of each technique to learn more.