Strength Training: A 7-minute workout

Strength training is often regarded as a less than favorable workout amongst runners—aside from rest days, that is. Though your favorite running trails may look much more appealing than a weight bench and dumbbells, strength training is not only for preventing a disproportionate upper to lower body, but it’s necessary for a runner’s good form and endurance.

All you need for this workout is a dumbbell or plate that is challenging for you (I used a 25 lbs. plate), a stop watch, and an open space. The goal is to work quickly to complete three sets of four exercises within seven minutes.

The Breakdown – 1 Set

1. Over-head lunges (30)

• Holding your weight directly overhead, lunge forward with your left leg so that your right knee touches the ground. Come back up to a standing position and repeat for your right leg. Alternate legs for 30 repetitions. Remember to keep your weight above your head for the entire 30 repetitions.

2. Mountain climbers (20)

• In a push-up position, bring your left leg up as close you’re your left hand as you can, then back down to your right leg. Alternate between your right and left legs for 20 repetitions. When you get into a rhythm, you might begin to bounce—try to minimize bouncing and keep your body parallel to the ground. You should feel toning in your hamstrings.

3. Side-to-side Planks (10)

• Starting in push-up position with your arms fully extended, turn your body to the left so that your left foot rests on top of your right and raise your left arm to the sky. Bring your arm down, and turn into push-up position. Repeat this, facing the right side now, and continue for 20 repetitions. Remember to put your feet on top of one another for a full rep.

4. Standing Squats (30)

• To finish, stand with your feet at shoulder-width, toes facing forward. With your weight held in front of you, lower your butt until your quadriceps are parallel to the floor. Tip: keep an upright back and don’t look down at the ground.

Aside from learning just how quickly seven minutes passes, you’ll also gain high-level cardio and hints of muscle definition in your quadriceps, hamstrings and biceps. Chip away at that layer of stored sweets and coffee you may have gained thus far into hibernation season.

Though you may not complete three sets of these exercises on your first attempt, don’t subject yourself to boring strength workouts. With a workout like this one, it’s easy to set a goal for yourself because it is divided into separate movements.

Don’t get me wrong, I am an offender of talking myself out of strength workouts, as well. Yet, this seven-minute burn will prove to you that efficiency is not always positively correlated to length of a workout. You’ll find that this routine gives you an adequate mixture of cardio and muscle pinpoint movement.

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Running over Myths: Side aches

Cramps, side stitches, side aches. Whatever you call them, they’re painful and distracting during a run. While there aren’t any proven causes of side aches, there are a number of things you can do before your run in order to reduce the likelihood of making grimacing faces whilst you run along your local trails and neighborhood streets.

According to the Running and Jogging section of About.com, there are three ways to avoid those pesky pains beneath your ribcage in a run.

1. Avoid eating one hour before your workout. Additonally, avoid sugary drinks and consume a good amount of water prior to your run.


2. Stick to a a consistent breathing pattern. The best and deepest of breaths come from your diaphragm, not your chest. Focus on inhaling from your belly.


3. Warm up. Warm up. Warm up. Even with some basic, preliminary stretches, preparing your body for cardio is much better than going out cold into a workout, no matter the distance or intensity.

In an article from Susan Paul at Runner’s World, she gives a simple process on how to treat a side ache without ever having to stop.

She says to take your pointer and middle fingers and apply pressure beneath the rib where you are experiencing pain. Apply pressure inward and upward with your fingers, and take deep breaths for about 10 seconds. This technique has been said to minimize or rid of side aches altogether.

While it’s not unordinary for runners to come upon some physical and mental hurdles, the finish line might not seem so unreachable without the distraction of side aches. 

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Running into the Fall season

Better than your mere commute to work or school, setting out on your own two feet during this time of year exposes you to the most scenic of seasonal transitions. While running atop yellowed leaves and rain dampened concrete can encourage you to run further and discover more, there are some precautions to take into consideration.

Firstly, autumn days can be rainy days. Before departing for your run, plan a route for yourself with higher ground or sidewalks so as to avoid soggy socks. According to Active.com, a website centered of wellness and fitness, another area of potential problems lies with early sunsets. In order to avoid doing your workout under the dim, city street lamps, commit to a time during the day where you can get your mileage in. This will also benefit your training routine, giving your body consistent periods of rest and cardio from day to day.  

The after-math of a summer run can often resemble a crime scene. What with articles of clothing strewn across the concrete where you lay panting and squinting into the sun, the outline of sweat surrounds you like the chalk outline defining what would be your lifeless body if it weren’t for your frantically beating heart in your chest.

Thus, the cooler conditions brought forth by the fall season give runners more incentive to lace up their shoes for a run and spend less time with their head in the freezer afterwards.

Go out and run further than the summer sun allowed in month’s prior. Follow trails illuminated with the colors of your neighborhood trees. Find rhythm in the in-and-out breaths you take of crisp, cool air because that’s the only constancy you have in these ever-changing seasons. 

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