How To Improve Your Run Times

Improving your run times, there is no doubt it if you're in a job or sport where fitness matters, improving your run time or enhancing your cardio outputs is ESSENTIAL! 

It's essential to your performance and it is essential for those in the military in order to pass fitness testing to remain operationally ready. 

Here's a few tips and workouts to improve your run times, specifically your 2.4km/1.5m run times. 

3 Top Tips

1. Consistency: You can't improve your cardio without training your cardio, so yes you will have to do something other than curling in the squat rack! All jokes aside, your first step should be to increase the amount of cardio that is in your training routine. 

2. Interval Training: Interval training is my all time favorite for it's effectiveness and efficiency. It is commonly thought that to get better at running a certain distance , that you have to go and run that distance.

Well you don't. Interval training is an extremely efficient tool to getting faster and more efficient at running. Why? Because we can still target the same energy systems used but for a shorter period of time. So your " I don't have the time excuse is now gone". 

3. Splits: Know your splits? Splits are your total distance,divided up into shorter distances, for example, 6 x 400m for a 2.4km run. You need to stick to your splits. Most people come out the gate like a bat out of hell, running the first 400m of their 2.4km run at a record pace before slowly but surely dropping off the pace they wanted to hit.

When you know your splits and you stick to them, you won't burn all of your energy systems out and you will be able to score a better run time. Sticking to splits was one of the most effective tools for improving my run times. On the final 400m you can empty the tank and get the PB you have been working for! 

WORKOUT OPTIONS

1. 400m x 6 reps. Rest twice as long as each interval takes. 

2. 800 x 3 reps. Rest twice as long as each interval takes. 

3. 1200m x 2 reps. Rest twice as long as each interval takes. 

Set your pace for each interval slightly above race pace! 

If you want more help with your running and you want the full Warfighter Athletic training experience CLICK HERE and start training today.