Three easy ways for marathoners to get stronger and more agile

Marathoners are mostly busy people who have to juggle different schedules and somehow fit their long runs into their week, not to mention the interval runs and the easy to be skipped recovery runs. To find time to work on agility and strength on top of that is hard. Here are three simple ways to work on your core and your arms.

Do Crossfit workout "Annie" after your easy runs / recovery runs

Annie needs a skipping rope and an AbMat for situps (which also can be supplemented with a well rolled towel). The two moves are double unders with the rope and Situps on the mat. What you do is 50 - 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 reps of the two moves alternating for time. Expect to be around 15 minutes for the first few times you do it and aim to move under 10 minutes for the start. If you can not do double unders yet focus on mastering simple skips first and then move on. This is a perfect fit for a recovery run or easy run as these usually take 30 - 45 minutes and Annie rounds it up to a full hour while mixing up the routine for you. It also gives you nice abs and works on your ankle stability, if done on a regular basis.

Get a hand exerciser to improve grip strength

Hand exercisers can be had for 10 - 30 euros in a local sports shop and are a great way to work on your lower arm strength. If you want to get stringer without bulking up for everyday tasks improving grip strength is one of the best bets you can make. Use the hand exerciser to get more out of your commute, walk to the train station or park, lunch break or wherever else you are. I keep two of them in my laptop bag and use them accordingly with great results. No gym membership needed.

Get a tennis ball and mountain bike gloves to improve reaction time

Keep mountain bike gloves and a tennis ball in your laptop bag and whenever you want to improve your eye hand coordination and reaction time get them out, have a walk around the block and bounce the tennis ball. The routine I use is 10 bounces left hand, 10 right, 10 hand to hand, repeat until finished. You can also incorporate this easy exercise in your commute when walking home from the bus stop / train station. Be careful with bouncing the ball on the street though, maybe train at home first until you feel sufficiently in control.

Further reading

• 30 Tips on how to get stronger for lifting
• 5 secrets from Pavel Tsatsoulin and Jim Wendler to make you stronger
• 5 steps to run faster, get stronger and be smarter
• 5 Strongmen you should know
• 5 tips to get stronger faster
• 7 websites to stay fit and strong
• Better breathing makes your squat stronger
• Do you need protein to get stronger
• How the get up will make you strong
• How to get 10% stronger in six weeks
• How to kettlebell swing to get amazingly strong
• How your body gets stronger for CrossFit and powerlifting
• Selected quotes from Deadlift Dynamite that will make you stronger
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• Sore today, strong tomorrow with a squat workout
• Try this deadlift thing to get strong like bull