🏃‍♂️ Minimalist strength training

Good afternoon!

This week is dedicated to strength training. We know you just want to run, but just one quick routine a week (read below) can make a huge difference in your running times and health.

Happy running, 😁

ANTI-AGING

5 Exercises to Maintain Good Fitness

I have nightmares about being old and not being able to run or move freely; because it’s no secret that strength, mobility, and endurance capacity decline as we age.

But few people know that you can reduce or even stall the decline with strength training and mobility sessions.

And it all starts with having proper mobility foundations, with exercises that challenge balance, strengthen the core, and mimic complex movements performed in day-to-day life.

When you can perform day-to-day activities with ease, your body has more resources to dedicate to your running and recovery.

With that in mind, here is an easy 6-minute routine -no equipment needed- that you can do to start your day and beat the adverse effects of aging.

Even if you are 20 years old, your future 70-year old, you will thank you.

Perform three sets of 12 reps of each of the following exercises. They may seem easy and basic, but they are the foundation of every other movement, including running.

Start the day with this, and you will feel the difference in your running and daily activities in no time.

CHANGE

Learnings from Olympic Decathlete Steve Bastien

Meet Steve Bastien, the No. 4 decathlete in the world.

He worked a full-time job in construction in 2020, changes his strength training routine in 2019, has never been sponsored, and qualified for the USA Olympic team a few weeks ago.

In March 2019, Bastien stopped traditionally lifting weights, which most athletes do, and tried a new approach.

“Over this past year, and especially the extra year that we got with COVID, I was able to fundamentally break down the way that I move and rearrange it in a way that made it, so I got a little bit better at everything,” Bastien commented.

What’s this new approach?

Bastien created his own strength routine, including a mixture of postural restoration institute (PRI) exercises and functional patterns exercises.

The science of PRI is rooted in the belief that the body is not symmetrical, and PRI recognizes the imbalances in the human body and patterns associated with weakness caused by dominant overuse.

Functional patterns is a training method that focuses on improving movement and optimizing body function through compound exercises like squats, lunges, and deadlifts.

How can you apply this?

To start, you can use the routine we shared above; it’s the foundation of functional patterns. Learn to listen to your body and find the exercises and types of workouts that work for you.

But most importantly, it is to realize that what works for other athletes will not necessarily work for you. And trying new things can pay off.

MINIMALIST TRAINING

Is Once-a-Week Enough?

We all want to make the most out of our time, but when we are used to long runs and hours and hours of training, a 20-minute strength training workout sounds too good to be true.

A new multi-year study of nearly 15,000 people found that it can actually be beneficial.

The researchers analyzed the data of a company called Fit20, which claims that you can improve your health in only 20-minutes a day, once a week.

Lead sports scientist James Steele and his colleague analyzed the records of 14,690 Fit20 clients who had been training for up to 6.8 years.

The question they want to answer: how much stronger did the subjects get as time passed?

The findings? All produce the same pattern: rapid gains for about a year, then gradual gains after that.

After a year, people got about 30 percent stronger. After seven years, about 50 percent. After that, the gains are marginal.

It makes total sense. Your body responds to any stimulus you give it and then gradually gets used to it.

Conclusion. You don’t need to feel guilty that you’re not racking up big training volumes, following sophisticated periodization plans, promoting muscle confusion, or whatever else is currently in vogue.

Any kind of training works; be consistent, try new things (as we learned above), your health will be top-notch, and your running training will see the benefits.

FIRST 10 RUNNING BOOKS

Last week we turned ten weeks old. Thank you for being part of the beginning of this project.

Ten weeks means ten recommended books. Here is a quick recap of them:

See you next week!

SHARE THE HRW (Happy Runner Weekly)

Spread the word. Your support will help us grow and help the running community.

Forward this newsletter to your runner friends, or use the buttons below to share it on social media.

Or share this link: https://happyrunnersummit.com/weekly/