Home Conditioning Tips for Runners
Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare for your next marathon. With a little creativity, you can stay at home without compromising your conditioning.
With that in mind, here are some of the things you can do to stay in good condition without stepping outside.
Yoga for runners
Suggested video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plL13JF5BHA
Credit: Youtube
Any veteran ultramarathon runner will tell you that bodyweight exercise will benefit your running in some way or another.
And yoga is basically a system of bodyweight and breathing exercises, both of which can help you improve your conditioning without leaving your bedroom.
Certain yoga poses are more beneficial for running than others. Tadasana or the Mountain Pose for instance is a good way to maintain proper posture while strengthening your core and lower body. Meanwhile, the Warrior III Pose or Virabhadrasana III, which is a more difficult pose that works the feet, hips, ankles, and core. This also helps with conditioning for any lateral movements. And if you’re looking to improve your balance, Garudasana or the Eagle Pose can be a challenge for even the most elite ultra runners. Nowadays, you don’t need to go to a gym to practice yoga poses. All you need is a rubber mat, a sizeable mirror where you can check your poses and posture, as well as an Internet connection so you can follow advice from YouTube tutorials via seasoned yogis.
Furthermore, the varying difficulty levels of yoga’s many poses can also improve your understanding of your body’s limits. This can help you to push yourself beyond those limits without subjecting your body to injury.
Optimize your nutrition
Before you go on your next grocery run, create a meal plan designed for your specific running goals. Rather than relying on takeouts, use your free time to optimize your nutritional intake.
Use a calorie calculator to determine how much you’re burning given your home conditioning and workout routine. Make sure that you have enough healthy carbs in your diet to fuel your running. If you’re interested about adopting a low-carb, high-fat diet for muscle growth, now’s the perfect time to design those meal plans. Food is fuel. And if you’re serious about being ready to run marathons, then it’s time to get serious about nutrition.
Get training advice from professionals
If you’re stuck at home and unable to join your usual running club due to the pandemic, you can still focus on improving your running performance. Now would also be the perfect opportunity to catch up on the latest scientific research on fitness and running. For instance, expert findings show that it takes just one week of inactivity to lose half your fitness. According to Victoria University exercise physiology professor Nigel Stepto, this applies to all fitness levels, whether you’re a well-conditioned marathon runner or an exercise newbie. You can counter this deconditioning effect by researching more methods to improve or maintain your conditioning, or by getting an online trainer who can help you to scientifically create and develop a home conditioning plan.
Either way, make sure that any information you adopt for your personal program is from someone with a professional background in fitness and running. With so much misinformation online you need to make sure you are getting your advice from someone who has been taught the key concepts of exercise. Online exercise science degrees not only cover how to improve human performance, but also concepts like movement, nutrition, and behavioral strategies. An online trainer with this knowledge will be able to create a running program tailored to your needs and will be able to so virtually. Not only will you be able to train as if you were still with your running club, but you will likely come back in much better condition when things return to normal than your peers.
We hope the above tips have helped. Just remember that despite the current circumstances you can still condition yourself for your next marathon.