Mix It Up
Yo, road warriors: Taking it to the trail -- or gravel or grass -- can firm your muscles from abs to calves. Here are a few tips on how to work in those all-terrain miles without missing a step.
Ease into new territory. To start, make your off-road
miles 10 percent or less of your total weekly running volume, increase that distance by no more than 10 percent each week.
Begin on a hard-packed trail, and move to more unstable ground, like
grass.
Prime your legs. Your ankle stabilizers have to work harder to keep you balanced, though your knees and hips
take less pounding. Prep by doing calf raises after you run. Start with
one set of 20 basic raises (stand with feet shoulder-width apart, lift
onto tiptoes for two seconds and lower for two seconds; repeat),
increasing up to three sets. Next, do one-legged raises, moving from one
to three sets.
Rev your race training. If you're gearing up for a road race, replace one hill or speed workout
each week with a trail run. (Just stick to pavement
for your long runs because those should mimic the surface you plan to
compete on.) And hit the grass for warm-ups and speed drills; a study at
the University of Sao Paulo found that grass puts up to 17 percent less
pressure on your feet than asphalt or concrete does.
The Plan
This calorie-blasting trail run from Yassine Diboun, the head coach
of the off-roader group Animal Athletics in Portland, Oregon, boosts balance and core strength.
| Time (in minutes) | Activity |
| 0 to 5 | Easy jog |
| 5 to 7 | Dynamic stretches: Do high knees, butt kicks, straight-legged toe touches, side shuffles and skips -- moving forward around 30 feet with each. |
| 7 to 9 | Strides: Jog easy for 30 feet, run hard for 10 seconds and then decelerate for 30 feet. Repeat four more times. |
| 9 to 17 | Intervals: Do four 1-minute sprints with 1-minute jogs in between. |
| 17 to 26 | Intervals: Do three 2-minute hard runs with 1-minute jogs in between. |
| 26 to 36 | Intervals: Do two 3-minute hard runs with a 2-minute jog in between. |
| 36 to 38 | Steady run |
| 38 to 43 | Easy jog |
| 43 to 45 | Animal walks: Do bear crawls, crab walks and frog leaps -- moving forward about 20 feet with each. |
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