I once believed that strength training for distance runners could be minimal and weights were very overrated (note: that was originally written over 20 years ago). As the article I linked to in that post makes clear, I was far from alone on my belief and the science then painted a different picture (studying largely different exercises) than current science does.
As knowledge has evolved, so has my belief. This is how things are supposed to work.
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Your training is going good. You’re feeling strong. You’re killing it in your workouts and on your long runs. Your easy runs are fast, even though they feel smooth and relaxed. Everything is going great.
Then you push a workout a little too hard and you feel it. The hamstring tightens up, the calf cramps. Something gives and you know you’re looking at some time off.
How do you avoid this? Well, there are many ways but I’d like to focus on one of those things that has saved many of us and could have saved many more.
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If you’ve stopped by HillRunner.com this week, you may have noticed some things going on. Believe me, they have taken up a significant portion of my attention this week.
I just wanted to take a moment to share what’s going on and, as much as I can, why.
…I know I’ve posted about this before and I’m going to end by saying the same thing I always say. However, we do have more research on the benefits of exercising at different times.
In short, it seems that for burning fat morning works best. For managing blood sugar, later in the day works better. The managing blood sugar side actually coincides with prior research that has shown people who work out later in the day do manage their blood sugar better than those who do first thing in the morning.
And now the usual stipulation: what time is best for you is the time that works best for your schedule. The time of day you target doesn’t matter as much as actually getting it done. So do what works best for you.
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We’ve all heard it: 180 steps per minute. Target it. It’s the ideal number. You’re less efficient and more injury prone if you are taking fewer steps per minute.
Reality isn’t that simple.
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