The 6 Golden Rules Of Running
Running is simple—just lace up your shoes and head out of the door. But do you know that things could go south fast if you don’t respect the basic rules of the sport?
In fact, the motto “just go run” doesn’t cut it anymore.
There’s much more to being a runner than logging in mindless miles week in week out—and more so, especially if you want to reach your full running potential.
Without further ado, here are the six running rules you should live by.
The 10 Percent Rule
The 10 percent rule is one of the most crucial and time-proven running principles, and it simply states that you shouldn’t increase your running mileage by no more than 10 percent from one week to the next.
By following this rule, you put gradual pressure on your body without asking too much out of it. For instance, over a few months, you can double or even trip your training volume, but doing too much too soon at once is likely to result in injury, illness, or overtraining.
The Warm-up Rule
Along with the same sort of theme, it’s critical to get your body prepared before your runs.
A proper warm-up prepares your body and muscles for running by gradually increasing core muscle temperate and blood flow. You could tear something if you don’t get your body warmed up first.
Start all of your runs with a 10-minute warm-up. Jog slowly for 5 minutes, then perform a set of dynamic exercises, such as inchworms, lunges, squats, and leg swings, for another 5 minutes. Then, and only then, start running.
The 500-Mile Rule
This rule is pretty straightforward—replace your running shoes once you’ve run 400 to 500 miles in them.
Don’t wait until your shoes are nothing but loose threads and silver foams.
When your shoes are past their time, they no longer protect your body from the impact stresses of running. This can increase your risk of pain and overuse injuries. And you don’t want that.
That said, the rule isn’t cast in stone. In fact, the exact mileage needs to be tailed to fit the runner. How much you get out of a pair of shoes depends largely on your running style, weight, gait, running surfaces, and environment. No suit fits all.
That’s why a shoe’s wear rate can vary greatly from one runner to the next.
The Recovery Rule
A common training mistake many make is running hard every day while neglecting the importance of recovery for both performance and injury prevention.
Your performance and training enjoyment will plummet if you don’t provide your body time to heal and repair itself. In fact, you’ll also get caught in a vicious cycle where you never fully bounce back.
As a rule, alternate hard hay with an easy day or recovery day. Sure, feel free to perform two hard training workouts in a row, but remember to follow this with at least two recovery days. Not addressing your recovery needs is a well-worn path to injury and burnout.
The 8-hour Sleep Rule
There are a gazillion reasons why sleep is crucial—improved brain function, reduced cancer risks, faster recovery, for starters—but getting enough sleep can also help with training.
Research reported that sleep quality greatly affects your workout performance and your ability to bounce back from hard sessions.
So, if you’re in a zombie mode after skimping on sleep for a few nights in a row, your running performance can suffer. Something as simple as an easy as a 20-minute jog around the block may suddenly feel taxing.
As a general rule, the average person needs seven and a half to eight of sleep.
What’s more?
Consider sleeping one extra minute per night for each mile per week that you log in. So, if cover 20 miles a week, shoot for an extra 20 minutes of sleep each night. Lack of sleep negatively impacts your training.
The Strength Training Rule
Another rule ignored by many runners—often to their detriment—is the strength training rule.
If you’re serious about reaching your full running potential, getting stronger is key. Strength training works your body in a different way than running and is equally as vital to optimum fitness and health.
In case you feel intimidated by gyms or using weight machines, you can always get started with bodyweight exercises. Ideal exercises for runners include:
- Lunges
- Squats
- Pushups
- Planks
- Russian twists
- Calf raises
However, if you only got enough time for running, and are serious about improving your running performance, and you better off devoting it to pounding the pavement. After all, the best way of improving your running is to spend more time honing the craft. The rest is just details.
Conclusion
Following these rules should put you on the Fasttrack toward achieving your running goals without running into a lot of trouble along the way. It’s just a matter of practice and time. The rest is just details, as the saying goes.
How about you? Do you have any cardinal exercise rules you live by? Please feel free to share them in the section below.
In the meantime, thank you for dropping by.
About the author:
David Dack is an established fitness blogger and running expert. When he’s not training for his next marathon, he’s doing research and trying to help as many people as possible to share his fitness philosophy. Check his blog Runners Blueprint for more info.
