Micro-Dosing: How Older Runners Can Fit Strength Training Into Their Schedule
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
Release Date: 05/15/2024
How To Plan And Optimize Training And Recovery
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
This episode is for runners who want to optimize their training. Recovery is an essential aspect of training. A simple way to optimize it is to plan it with the same care you give to training. Training plans are a guide, and there are many to choose from. The best ones will have sufficient detail to execute a variety of workouts, keeping your training balanced for every training cycle, which is typically 3 weeks long. The benefit of planning in terms of training cycles is that they provide a focus that extends beyond the calendar. This keeps your training fresh and personalized to...
info_outline
Run Your Way: Get Started Running At Any Age
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
This episode is for runners who want to experience the joys and benefits of running. It’s your guide to starting strong, staying motivated, and discovering what running means to you—right now. If you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or beyond and wondering if now’s the right time to get serious about running, the answer is yes. But this time, as compared to the jogging boom we experienced in the 70s, it’s different. The science of longevity now suggests that running may be one of the best practices for enhancing metabolic and cognitive health. Most important is that an early to mid-life...
info_outline
Protein Needs For Running And Longevity
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
In this episode, we will weigh in on the debate regarding how much protein is needed to support your lifestyle. I’ll also touch on the benefits of the readily available protein supplements. So, what's all the fuss about? It's not so much about the types of proteins, though that's part of it. The bigger debate is how much one should regularly consume. The federal standards call for daily protein consumption of roughly one-half gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight. Many longevity experts believe these standards fall short of the needs of active adults by at least 50%. A recent ...
info_outline
How To Train The Small Muscles That Support Joints
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
In this episode, we discuss a topic that seldom gets the attention it deserves. I’m referring to the small muscles and ligaments that support healthy joint function. Unexpected pain when running makes us aware of these tissues. This is usually during the latter stages of a race or workout when weaknesses tend to surface. The following exercises will activate and strengthen the small muscles that support joints. #1. Lateral Weighted Sled Pulls , an invaluable exercise for building the muscles and ligaments that counterbalance our normal running muscles. It’s also safe for rehabbing...
info_outline
Heart Rate Variability: How To Use HRV To Optimize Training And Recovery
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
Heart Rate Variability can optimize training, race readiness, and overall well-being. A high HRV indicates greater heart rate responsiveness. It's the ability to quickly increase one’s heart rate for intense training sessions and bring it back down to allow the automatic recovery systems to take over. Training is a type of stress that challenges our bodies to translate it into gains. See graphic below that shows how this affects our HRV. Image credit: There are other stresses in our lives, too, such as day-to-day work and life challenges. They all must be managed to achieve...
info_outline
5 Steps To Optimize Your Training Plan
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
In this episode, we will address how to optimize your training to make it more intentional. Runners of all experience levels can fall into the trap of running junk miles. This happens when they don't have a running strategy or a plan. When you run strategically, you are more likely to achieve gains. That is, you are more likely to reach your goals. More importantly, that intentional approach will be more balanced and reduce injuries. #1. Develop A Viable Strategy Strategy is not planning. We'll get to planning in a minute. Strategy is identifying the conditions necessary...
info_outline
Improve Running Cadence For Efficiency and Power
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
When you run in icy conditions you are forced to use better running mechanics, because not doing so increases your chances of slipping and falling. When your weight is centered and balanced, you are more efficient and less prone to injuries. Watch videos of Eliud Kipchoge to get a better understanding of this. will take you to one that analyizes his mechanics in slow-motion. There are three key factors involved, and they work together. #1. Posture #2. Foot Strike #3. Cadence Let’s break this down. The foot ideally strikes beneath the body's center of gravity, with the body...
info_outline
Big City Marathon Guide: How To Safely Run Crowded Races
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
This episode offers five tips for safely and successfully running marathons and other races that – as we all know -- are becoming increasingly crowded. The energy of these larger races is what makes them so much fun, but when you consider their cost and the training you’ve invested in them, it’s best to show up fully prepared to achieve your goals. #1. Run Like A Pro If you’ve watched marathons or any other races, you’ll notice the pros keep their cool – and you should too. They may get tripped, drop their hydration bottle, but no matter what happens they keep going. ...
info_outline
Backward Walking Benefits For Runners
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
If you are familiar with Blue Zones, you may already know backward walking has been an accepted practice in Asia for hundreds of years. It’s part of the culture throughout the region, but not so much outside of it. You may feel uncomfortable at first, but you’ll get over that quickly as you realize its many accessible benefits. In this episode we focus on three key benefits. #1. Enhanced Balance and Coordination You immediately notice something when you begin walking backward. You feel strange at first, but soon your body becomes more aware of how it moves and its relationship with...
info_outline
Start Here: Mobility Is Your Path To Pain Relief
Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan
Pain and injuries are part of life for active people. The true goal is maximizing mobility. This is what prevents injuries and makes pain an infrequent visitor. There are two components to mobility: Flexibility and the strength to control it through a full range of motion. If you are over 40 years old, many experts will tell you it’s impossible to regain 100% mobility. However, I’ve experienced it myself in my 60s and promise you can too. Years of physical therapy helped, but old injuries kept resurfacing until I developed the protocol I’m about to share. #1. Assess The...
info_outlineEvery runner knows that they need to do strength training to minimize and recover from injuries. This is especially critical for older runners who lose muscle mass with age. The older you are the more important strength training becomes for your running practice.
Many runners say they have no time for strength training. They wonder how to fit it into their schedule. This isn’t surprising because most training plans for runners do not include strength training.
When I returned to competitive running seven years ago, I came across Jay Dicharry’s book, Anatomy For Runners. Jay is well-known as one of the top physical therapists for runners and other endurance athletes.
I was fascinated with how he broke down strength training to the cellular tissue level. He methodically explains how holding a stretch for a minimum of three minutes is equivalent to what happens when we load muscles with weights. The muscles, ligaments and other tissues experience micro tears that initiate the building process.
The key to this is micro-dosing your strength training to make small, but consistent gains in strength and mobility. Using only body weight, you are loading the muscles and extending your range of motion to just slightly beyond the comfortable range. That range is extended with each session.
There’s one more aspect to this practice. You can start with support, such as holding onto a railing or wall, then advance to no support as you heal and get stronger. Ultimately, you add load with dumbbells or another form of resistance to progressively gain even greater strength and mobility.
Over a period of months those teeny, little gains accumulate. As a result, you'll be able to add more load with additional reps, sets, and weights, typically dumbbells, to take the training to the next level.
Recommended Exercises
1. Deep, butt to the floor squats – There is no exercise more powerful than this for runners. If you can get and stay in a deep squat for 3 minutes daily, progressing from support to no support, you’ll notice your foot, ankle, knee and hip strength and mobility skyrocket within a few months.
Video example exercises 2, 3, 4 below
2. Toe raises – with legs extended and legs slight bent. There are two muscles in the calves, so you’ll need both exercises to train the respective muscles.
3. Tib raises – this exercise counterbalances toe raises. The tibia anterior is in front of the calves. It’s a frequently neglected muscle that absorbs much of the impact of running.
4. The ATG Split Squat – This is a single leg, deep squat that strengthens knees, hips and ankles. It’s compression of the knee joint activates synovial fluid to get it circulating throughout the joint to protect it from the demands of running.
I hope you find value in this episode. If you have questions, please reach out to me by first subscribing to our newsletter at runninglongevitylab.com. After that you can hit reply to start a conversation.