Northwest Personal Training - May
Running Circuit Workout
 

As personal trainers, one of the most difficult groups of clients we have to get to adhere to their resistance training program are runners and triathletes.  You wouldn't think that these athletes would have any difficulty with compliance.  They are highly motivated and follow their running, cycling or swimming programs religiously.  But when it comes to the weight room, we hear the same, common excuse "I'd just rather be outside running or biking.”  We've tried educating them on the importance of strength training.  We've tried bribing them with the reported benefits.  We've had to even threaten them but to no avail.  So rather than beat our heads against a wall, we've developed a resistance training program that will please any outdoor warrior while still obtaining the critical benefits of muscular strength, endurance and balance.

As you can expect, the program involves running or walking, muscular conditioning exercise and the outdoors.  The program alternates between periods of running/walking and resistance training.  There is no perfect way to do this.  You could run for 5 minutes and then perform an exercise.  You could run for 10 minutes and then perform an exercise.  You could run for 20 minutes and then perform a variety of exercises and then run for another 20 minutes.  Each workout could be a little different which will stimulate your body in a variety of ways and minimize boredom. 

Many of the suggested exercises involve no equipment but to ensure an effective full-body workout, run to your local sporting goods store and purchase a resistance tube with handles for less than $20.  You can wrap these tubes around your waist like a belt during your running stage and then wrap them around poles, trees or benches to effectively target your back, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps and legs.  You can also order one to be shipped to your home by emailing us at info@NWPersonalTraining.com. 

Suggested workout routine:

Walk 5 minutes to warm-up and then perform a dynamic stretching routine.

Run for 5 minutes. Find a bench and perform step ups.  Do 1 minute on each leg.  Keep your front knee on top of your ankle. Run for 5 minutes. Wrap your tube around a pole at about shoulder height.  Perform single arm rows to strengthen your back muscles.  Perform 10-15 reps each arm. Run for 5 minutes. Find a park and perform a set of chinups on the monkey bars.  Do as many as you can - one is OK to start! Run for 5 minutes. Wrap your tube around a pole at about shoulder height and face away from the pole.  Perform chest presses to strengthen your pecs. Perform 10-15 reps each arm. Run for 5 minutes. Find a pole and perform single leg squats.  Keep your front knee over top of your ankle.  Perform 45 seconds each leg. Run for 5 minutes. Find a bench and wrap the tube underneath the seat.  Grab both handles and perform an overhead shoulder press.  Perform 10-15 reps. Run for 5 minutes. Stand on the exercise tube and grab both handles in one hand. Perform a single arm bicep curl.  Perform 10-15 reps each arm. Run for 5 minutes. Pull one handle through the other to create a loop in the tube.  Wrap the loop around your ankle.  Stand on the other end of the tube to anchor it and provide resistance.  Now keep your legs together and slowly perform a single hamstring curl (pull the foot with the tube looped around it up towards your buttock).  Perform 10-15 reps each leg. Run for 5 minutes. Find a bench and sit on it.  Place your hands beside your hips on the bench and position them so they're approximately shoulder width apart.  Now slowly perform a tricep dip by lowering your body towards the floor and then back up to the starting position.  Keep your hips positioned close to the bench.  To make the exercise more challenging, keep your legs straight.  Perform 10-15 reps. Walk for 5 minutes to cool down. Perform a few crunches and low back exercises at home on your living room carpet. Stretch thoroughly.

This workout will involve 40 minutes of running, 10 minutes of walking and about 20-30 minutes of strength exercise.  Sounds like a good workout, eh? 

Alex & Sherri McMillan, M.Sc., are the founders of Northwest Personal Training & Fitness Education in downtown Vancouver and Portland and have been in the fitness industry for over 18 years. They have authored various fitness books including “Go For Fit – The Winning Way to Fat Loss” and “Fit over Forty” and are fitness columnists for numerous magazines and newspapers around the world including Shape and Self.  As international fitness speakers, they have presented hundreds of workshops to thousands of fitness leaders throughout Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, England, Spain, South America, Asia and the U.S.A.  The McMillans have been nominated for and awarded numerous international health and fitness industry awards including IDEA International Personal Trainer of the Year, Fitness Presenter of the Year, ACE Fitness Educator of the Year and IDEA Fitness Director of the Year.

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