Ways to stay in shape along with a routine 9-5 job
Workouts are optimised around physiology and what we know about our body. Humans generally have a good capacity to expand energy for many hours during sustained exertion.
For working people, long working hours are one of the most common reasons for not exercising. However for runners, the challenge is to be a ‘Ninja’ and plan stealthy workouts when the schedule is overflowing.
Key Work-outs
There are few key work-outs that every runner must plan for the week and are very essential. Typically these would be speed sessions, strength work-outs and long runs. This way there is time to recover and then run hard. The first run can be planned at the start of the week followed by the strength workout on Wednesday and long run towards the weekend.
It is very important to warm up before all of your key workouts to elevate heart and respiration rates along with proper resting period as the body gets catabolic (the breakdown of tissues) when it hits aerobic capacity for too long. Short and Intense runs are good for speed work. 50m sprints would be helpful to move feet quickly and adapt a good running technique. The session need not last more than 60-90 minutes.
Plan repeat runs against a hill or up-slope to build running strength. Butt kicks can be done on the way down. Long runs need to be faster than the average pace needed for the next race. The idea is to run negative splits - to finish faster than you start. It can improve mental toughness and build pace awareness.