Simple Body-Weight Exercises

        Many high school runners, and even myself at times, find that they do not do any cross training whatsoever. While running is the most important thing, I have found a few easy body weight exercises that seem to have been building up my strength. Now when I say that my strength is increasing, I do not mean that I can bench press 250lb, I simply mean that my muscles are getting a little more toned. Tones muscles are ideal for distance runners, because they allow you to propel yourself forward as you stride out, giving you increased power to complete these tasks. However, muscles that are too bulky can ultimately have a negative impact on the success of a distance runner because it can weigh them down too much and restrict their movement and flexibility.

        I have found that for me, and probably a few other of you out there, doing a few basic body weight exercises a night can help improve your overall fitness and strength with out taking too much time out of our already seemingly over-busy lives. I usually spend about 20 minutes when I do these exercises and I make up for myself a little routine with push ups, lunges, squats, and ab workouts. I try to get a nice and simple routine that works my entire body as a whole, tuning the system if you will. Running is an exercise that involves every part of your body working as one, so you might as well try and improve the strength and fitness of every part of your body as a whole, so that there is no weak link and the system can function efficiently. Try creating your own routine so that you can work your muscles in a slightly different way then they are used to when running. You might be surprised by the benefits that regular practice of these short and easy routines can have!