Game Changers
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO MAKE LIFE WORK FOR YOUNice strides,
mate
ADD SOME SPEEDY STRIDES TO
IMPROVE YOUR RUNNING FORM.OCTOBER 2019 MEN’S FITNESS 33If you’ve ever taken
part in a big running
event, you may have
noticed some runners doing
sprints as part of their warm-up,
and may have wondered why
they were wasting their energy
just before the race. Those
are not sprints, they’re strides.
“Strides are intervals of around
100m, run at 85-95% effort,”
says coach Andy Hobdell. “It’s
a controlled faster effort as
opposed to 100% sprints.”
Begin your stride by easing
into a fast pace in the initial
25m. It’s important you don’t
accelerate too quickly to help
avoid injury. In the next 25m,
you should have reached
full speed and can focus on
staying relaxed at a faster
pace and letting your body
do the work. Your posture
should be controlled, with no
flailing arms, and you should
be more on your toes rather
than heels. Then in the last 20m,
gradually reduce your speed
to a stop. The recovery is a nice
relaxed walk back to where you
started from, then go again.Aftera recoveryrun,strideshelp
youworkonyourrunningmechanics.
Forthoserunninglongerdistances,
it’sa greatopportunitytoinjectsome
speedworkintothetrainingplan.
Stridesarealsogreataspartof
thewarm-upfora faster
sessionorrace.Use strides in^
your training