Complete Endurance Running

🔥Plank to push-ups🔥 Planks can quickly become too easy when you’ve been training a while. Adding controlled movements can take things up a notch. - Controlling our body is an essential part of becoming an effective runner - so give this a try if you’re already a plank master. As well as core strength, it’s always good to have extra upper body strength and stability from your shoulders and arms 💪🏻🏃👌🏻

🏃Foam rolling for recovery🏃 If you’re not already, give these 3 foam rolling drills a go to promote recovery in the shins, calves and quads. It may be uncomfortable at first but it’ll become a lot easier in time and your body will thank you in the long term! 🏃👣👍🏻

This is a great way to warm up the adductors (inner thigh) before training. Really simple and can be done anywhere. Remember to keep the leg straight throughout and drive your back side towards your heel to feel the full stretch 🏃👣👍🏻

Staying @denbies_wine_estate for my birthday weekend. Went for a morning stroll only to find that Mole Valley @parkrunuk takes place through the vineyards. Pretty amazing setting, wish I had brought my gear now!! 🏃👣☀️

🔥Walking toe taps🔥 A great warm-up exercise for running or jumping. It effectively mobilises the ankles and simultaneously activates the feet and calf muscles. - 🔊Turn the sound on for this one to hear the contact noise you’re after 🏃👣👍🏻

🔥Side step ups🔥 - One of our favourite unilateral exercises, this is great for building glute and leg strength whilst also challenging your balance and coordination. - To progress or regress the exercise, you could use a higher or lower platform. For reference, the platform in this video is around 30cm high 🏃👣👍🏻

↔️Pull aparts↔️ - Wake up your postural muscles and build the strength endurance to keep great positioning on your long runs. - Even with just a resistance band, you can work on your mid and upper back. Here’s a great exercise to start out with 🏃👣👍🏻

The Complete Sub 25 Minute 5km Plan To receive it immediately in your inbox, simply visit https://www.completeendurancerunning.com/ sub-25-minute-5km…/ and get the free plan.

🔥Walkouts🔥 If you're a regular runner, it's very possible that your posterior leg muscles could benefit from some stretching. The walkout is a great exercise for lengthening those calves and hamstrings before a run or workout. To place more demand on the shoulders and core, you could also take your hands further away from the feet as shown in the second exercise in this video. - Typically, we’d prescribe these for the warm-up part of a session but as they’re also a good pulse raiser they could certainly be included as a main exercise in a conditioning session too 🏃👌🏻👊🏻

🔥FACE PULLS🔥 - This easy to implement exercise is one of our favourites for improving posture and strengthening the upper back. - Using either a band or a cable machine it allows versatility and a variety of slight adjustments can keep you progressing all year round.... - Start off by pulling just under the chin, keeping elbows up but aiming not to shrug the shoulders up to your ears. Try to feel the movement of your shoulder blades across your back and squeezing in the middle. Add a little pause here to get the feeling more succinct. - For strength endurance of these important postural muscles, use 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps 🏃👣👊🏻
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Run early or late ⌚️- Avoid running between 10am and 4pm if possible. If you have to run in the middle of the day, try to plan a shady route (woodland is ideal if possible). The coolest time of the day to run is typically first thing in the morning.⠀ -⠀ Hydrate fully prior to running 🚰 - Drinking to thirst during a run is important, but being hydrated prior to training is also a fundamental part of success in the heat. A good way to measure your hydration levels is by monitor...ing your urine. If clear, you're drinking too much but if it's a dark colour like ice tea, you're definitely not taking enough fluids on board. The ideal colour is pale yellow.⠀ -⠀ Dress appropriately 🎽 - Wear light coloured, loose fitting gear that allows moisture to pass through for evaporation. Stick to synthetic fabrics and avoid cotton! Wear sunglasses that filter UVA and UVB rays and use waterproof sunscreen. A hat is advisable to keep the sun out of your eyes, although this may lead to overheating, so a visor may be a better option if this has happened to you before.⠀ -⠀ Don't push it 😭 - It takes weeks for your body to adapt to the heat. So at first, rather than heading out at your usual speed, slow your pace to ensure that you get the distance in. You'll gradually get used to the higher temperatures, and as you do, you'll regain your pace. Another option is to initially go out without a watch so that you're not concerned about your speed at all, but you're spending time running in the heat and conditioning yourself to the weather. ⠀ -⠀ Avoid over-drinking water ❌ - When it's hot outside it can be tempting to guzzle fluids. This however brings with it the risk of hyponatremia which occurs when there's either too much water or not enough sodium in your blood. It's a rare condition but can be extremely dangerous so be conscious of your fluid consumption in the heat. Consider a drink that contains electrolytes rather than all water.⠀ -⠀ Know the signs ☝🏻- Be familiar with the signs of heat problems. If you're out running and feel either faint, dizzy or disorientated, be sensible and stop. If your skin becomes cold and clammy or you stop sweating, then take a break and find shade and fluids.
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🔥PALLOF PRESS VARIATIONS🔥 - Progressions, regressions and variations of the simple pallof press can be achieved by changing either or all of the following: - 1️⃣ Base of support - how much of you is in contact with the ground and how big is that area under you?... 2️⃣Centre of mass - lower CoM (kneeing in this case) is easier to control than higher CoM (standing). 3️⃣Load - higher resistance through different bands or more weight on a cable machine will obviously be more of a challenge. - We recommend changing one thing at a time a progressing gradually over time 🏃👣🔥
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Some mid-week motivation from one of the greats! 🔥👊🏻

🤸🏻‍♂KNEE CONTROL🤸🏻‍♀ - As you’ve seen in our previous posts on the importance of using the right hip/butt muscles for the correct function, once you’ve got those muscles firing in isolation we have to make sure they transfer to your running 🏃🏻‍♂ 👣 - Exercises like wall slides are great tools for progressing the strength endurance built up in the glute med to ultimately make you a stronger, more efficient runner.... - As with all the exercises we show you, the focus is on quality reps not endless movement until you’re tired. Really concentrate on feeling the muscles around the back of your hips working and maintaining perfect alignment of your knee(s) 🏃🔥👊🏻
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👉🏻SIDE PLANKS👈🏻 - Exercises using our body weight are valuable tools as obviously anyone, anywhere can perform them. The problem we want to solve is that they’re often performed with poor form and given little attention because at first glance they can appear ‘simple and easy’. - Anyone who’s spent time in the perfect side plank knows this isn’t true 👋🏻... - Holds like these (known as isometrics) are used to build up strength endurance in the muscles that stabilise our hips and spine. The aim being that better endurance will lead to greater efficiency in movement later on. - Mastering the basics is really key to staying fit and healthy so we encourage you to start with multiple shorter holds with a focus on perfect alignment. Then when you feel ready you can include additions such as the leg raises shown in this video. Let us know how you get on! 🏃👣🔥
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🔥Preventing Unwanted Weight Gain From Strength Training🔥⠀ -⠀ As runners, we want to become stronger but we don't want this rise in strength to come at the cost of increased body mass. Here are several things to take into account when it comes to strength training for running:⠀ -⠀ CALORIES ARE KING!👑⠀... Keep an eye on intake and make sure any surplus is minimised.⠀ Also ensure you drink sufficient fluids.⠀ -⠀ FOCUS ON QUALITY👁⠀ Too much volume of strength training can end up increasing muscle mass more than desired. Spend time working meticulously on one or two things rather than high volumes of wasted work.⠀ -⠀ PRIORITISE☝🏻⠀ Make sure you're working on weaknesses that leave you exposed to injury risk before anything aesthetic⠀ -⠀ WORK SMART🤓⠀ Knowing a little about how many sets and reps you should perform for strength work vs endurance work vs muscle building work is key to preventing hypertrophy (muscle growth). As a simplified rule of thumb:⠀ Strength = 3-5 sets of 1-6 reps⠀ Muscle Building = 3-5 sets of 6-15 reps⠀ Strength endurance = 1-3 sets of 15-25 reps⠀ -⠀ LESS IS MORE👌🏻⠀ If weight gain is something you are worried about, start by introducing strength training with minimal volumes. Try doing the least amount possible that has an effect on your strength. Start at the lower end of the above recommendations with just one or two strength sessions per week.⠀ -⠀ Dont forget, training to become a body builder doesn’t happen by accident. That isn’t the same thing as strengthening for your sport - RUNNING!⠀ -⠀ #strengthforrunners #strengthtraining #run #running #runchat
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🍑 Glut Activation 🍑 Many runners spend the other parts of their day sat down, which can be a real problem for our posteriors! The biggest muscles in our body are the glutes and they play a really important role in running, both propelling us forwards and keeping our knees and hips stable. - Sometimes it’s necessary to do extra work on these muscles so we can feel them more consciously and ensure they’re working when we need them.... - The exercise shown is a great first step in learning how to activate the glut max, glute min and particularly the glute med which is the most important yet often forgotten muscle when it comes to hip stabilisation. - We are aiming to push the straight leg backwards into the wall, with a slight external rotation (turn toes up and out) and then abduct the leg (slide slowly up). We suggest performing a few reps on either leg until you can feel the whole posterior hip (buttock area) working 🏃👣🔥
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Mid-week motivation. Keep moving forwards, whatever the pace may be! 🏁🏃

Summer is looking good folks so it’s a great time to work on those shorter runs. We’re currently putting a plan together so if you need a programme to improve your 5km time, stay tuned!! 🏃👣👊🏻

🚨PALLOF PRESS🚨 - Named after @pallofpt , a physical therapist in the US, the exercise shown focuses on strengthening the muscles of the torso by preventing movement against a sideways force. - Called anti-rotation but also working on anti-flexion/extension of the spine to some degree, this is one of our favourite exercises for all round trunk strength and strength endurance.... - When we run and impact the ground on one leg, that force travels up through us via one leg at a time. To prevent that force overwhelming us and making us over rotate or lose balance we need a good, strong kinetic chain - from head to toe. - There are several ways to challenge that strength but a good starting point is with slow reps and slight holds like the video shows 🏃👣👍🏻
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The strength training I have been undertaking with Marc has lead to an significant improvement in many areas of my running. I have seen improvements in my technique and speed. I now have better muscle endurance and I have found the strength training to be the best method of injury prevention. Marc’s excellent knowledge has been key to my improvements and he has been a great motivator and a really fun bloke to work with.

The best result that I've got from working with Marc is that I am quicker. Recently I have been doing a lot of parkruns and for the past 4 weeks I've been beating my previous pub for 20 or 30 seconds. I am also stringer and every time I train I feel like I am lifting weights that I didn't possibly think I could lift before.

Running for me was always enjoyable but not something I could sustain in terms of distance or stamina. Marc has successfully coached me through 3 half marathons now, my last just 5months after having a baby! He is extremely knowledgeable in his field and an incredibly supportive individual whilst assisting you in achieving your goal(s). I improved my race time year on year using his online training programme and couldn't have done it without Marcs encouragment and guidance. Can't recommend him enough!

I started the coaching sessions with Marc through recommendation by my physio following double tibial stress fractures as a result of over training for the Marathon with a bad running technique which left me prone to injury. After a few enforced months of rest from training, I started running again with the help of Marc who has coached me through the most efficient running techniques and adapting my running style to best prevent injury. I am now able to run pain and injury free to the extent that I ran a half marathon a few weekends ago without issue. I look forward to working with Marc more on the other aspects of a running style which best suits me and to take this forward to actually complete the VLM this year, fingers crossed.