Now that it's been almost two months since I started my thirty minutes a day exercise plan, I thought I'd share some results and things I've learned.

Consistency trumps intensity

I ran two to three times as many miles in August and September last year, yet I can tell I'm in better running shape now than I was then. Why is that?

When I ran Cross Country, there was a saying that you start to lose your training effect after just three days off. Some long bike rides inflated my minutes of exercise per week, but I was only exercising a few days each week last year. By being inconsistent and taking too many consecutive days off I was actually throwing away a lot of my training effort.

Like the miracle of compound interest, working out for thirty minutes a day allows conditioning to keep building up. I ran a 7:20 mile pace yesterday which is faster than any run or even race from last fall. That's hardly the 6:00 pace I ran many years ago, but it's a huge improvement over the 9:45 pace I was running (if you can call it that) last year!

Cross-training is essential

Back when I ran a lot, that's about all I did. I didn't swim, I biked only in the off season, and I'm not sure I even knew what an elliptical machine was. Fortunately, starting the 30 minutes a day plan in the winter has forced me to spend a lot of time in the pool and at the gym. I've been amazed at the results.

Running too many days back to back used to cause leg soreness and knee pain to build up until I'd have to take several days off. Cross-training spreads that soreness around and lets me alternate between high impact, low impact, and, if swimming, no impact activities. It also has the added benefit of strengthening supporting muscles making workouts easier on the joints.

Here are a few cross-training tips:

1. Elliptical machine
   • Somewhat approximates running without the impact.
   • Don't just bounce around on level 1 at a billion RPMs like 90% of the people at the gym. Increase the resistance so you're actually pushing hard and building muscle.
   • Go backward about 30% of the time to work the muscles that stabilize the knees.
   • Can be hard on the balls of the feet.
2. Recumbent exercise bike
   • Crank up the resistance and grind out 30 minutes at about 90 RPMs - there's no better cross-training for building up endurance and leg muscles.
   • Your torso is still and your hands are free, so bring a book to read.
3. Swimming
   • Good cardiovascular and back workout that seems to have a therapeutic effect on sore legs.
   • Tough, at least for me.
4. Walking
   • Don't rule this out. Walking fast on hills can work the calves better than running and with less impact.

Push yourself

I've read several articles recently including one in Runner's World about how you have to push yourself past your comfortable training zone (or lactic acid threshold if you want to get technical) to improve. I'm going to give this a shot like I did in yesterday's run and I bet I'll be running 7:30 pace regularly in a few more weeks.

Likewise, don't get used to a certain level or even target heart rate on the gym machines. If you're only exercising for 30 minutes a day, make sure you're giving it everything you have. Even when I have to stagger away from the exercise bike or elliptical machine, I'm ready to go again the next day. I don't push it quite so hard swimmining unless there's a lifeguard. :)

Posted by JoshC at February 22, 2007 9:52 PM

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