Training techniques for runners

Hill training – no surprises here, hill training is a technique of running up hills to increase your running power and strength and is one of the best ways to increase the intensity of a running training session without putting too much stress on your body. For example, running up a 10 degree incline will almost double the energy demands of a run where the gradient or slope acts as the resistance, therefore building aerobic power and overall running strength.
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Interval training is a system of increasing aerobic fitness pioneered by the German coach Dr. Woldemar Gerschler and works by alternating spurts of intensive exertion with periods of lower intensity activity in the same training session. By alternating the intensive exertion or ‘work periods’ with lower intensity activity or ‘relief periods’, more total work can be accomplished compared to a continuous training session.
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Fartlek is a Swedish word meaning ‘speed play’. A typical session includes short bursts of running at full speed, longer periods of sustained effort, easy running, jogging and walking. Fartlek differs from interval training in that the format of session is unstructured and was originally performed over natural terrain with no predetermined route. If performed properly fartlek can improve both aerobic and anaerobic capacity.
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Trail running is like road running but gives you an ‘amplified’ training session. Trail running will give you all the benefits you get from regular running session; endurance in your quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes, in addition to giving your heart and lungs a workout. But due to the difference in terrain, unpredictable routes and gradients though streams and other natural obstacles trail running improves proprioception (your sense of balance and where your body is in space)and acts a whole body workout and builds strength in your joints.
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Track training is the perfect way to increase your running speed. Miles spent on the roads are great for building our cardiovascular systems, but it does little to increase your running speed. If you are serious about racing or improving your PB, speed is what you need. The track is ideal for any distance runner because it is the one place that you can accurately measure distance, pace, and effort. Since the distance around the track never changes, it is also easy to measure weekly improvement.
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Flexibility training will improve your ability to move a joint smoothly through its complete range of motion and is one of the main components of physical fitness. Flexibility is often a neglected part of a runner’s training regime but can guard against injury and boost overall running performance. So much so, the king of the flexibility workouts, yoga has become increasingly popular with runners improving suppleness and strength, enhancing balance and coordination, and increasing breathing capacity and honing mental focus.
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Resistance training is the broad term for any form of exercise designed to increase the body's strength, power, and muscular endurance. The most common form would be weight training, but there are other types, all of which could help your running performance. As well as improving strength a resistance workout will bring a range of benefits to the runner, including; reduced body fat, increased calorie burn, improved posture and reduced risk of illness.
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Core stability training is all about having the ability to control the position and movement of the central part of your body. Regular core stability exercise can improve back muscles and posture, and bring numerous benefits, including an improvement to running. As is taught in martial arts, power derives from the trunk region of the body and a properly conditioned core helps to control that power. The same principle applies to running too – the stronger your core the better runner you are.
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