Every week we’re sharing running tips on our Instagram account called #ARIONtips, all kinds of running tips ranging from technique, to performance, to injury prevention. Here’s an overview of the tips we’ve shared over the past couple of weeks.
Running slower sometimes ultimately increases efficiency
High intensity training, and especially interval training have received a lot of attention recently with the clear benefits to health, performance and injury prevention. With all this noise it’s important not to forget about your aerobic base. Research has shown that training for a longer duration at low intensity can greatly improve your aerobic capacity and ultimately your running efficiency even at higher intensity competition pace.
The important thing is to balance your training. Many top athletes are adopting a 80/20 or comparable ratio of low to high intensity training. Much of their training is performed at lower intensities with a few sessions of higher intensity or interval training. As with many things the balance is key, so why not try to mix it up a bit? Try introducing a balanced structure and work all angles with some low intensity base training worked around a few high intensity sessions.
Take care of your blisters
Multiple interesting studies suggest that there may be a correlation between the occurrence of blisters and the subsequent risk of injury.
It seems if you have developed blisters you are 50% more likely to experience an injury soon after. It’s not really clear whether this is an early warning sign of some deeper issues with your running technique, or if it is more related to your level of training. The pain experienced by blisters might influence the way you use your feet as well.
It’s certainly worth keeping all these aspects in mind. Shoe selection, your choice of insoles, socks and indeed your running technique can all play a role in where and how likely you are to develop blisters.
So maybe it’s time to take blisters more seriously and see if you can help to reduce the chances of more substantial injuries in the future.
Add weight resistance training to your regular running training
Many runners understand the benefits of running training to improve their performance and general condition, but what about resistance training? Should we be lifting weights and building and strengthening our muscles?
Some people are concerned that weight training will simply make you heavier and we all know that any extra weight needs to be carried with every step we take when we go running. So what does the research tell us?
Many of the studies have shown that concurrent resistance and endurance training will have a positive influence on your running performance, and some studies have even gone further to suggest that it will prepare our body to manage greater potential loads allowing us to adopt new running technique and thus reduce the risk of injury.
So if you haven’t given this a try already, maybe it’s time to start working your muscles a bit more, either with bodyweight training, or even consider trying a weights program to strengthen your legs and core to prepare you for your best possible performances.
Let us know in the comments below if you’d like us to cover a certain topic in one of these tips! Make sure to subscribe to our blog or follow us (@arion.run) for more: