Train for a Marathon in Just One Day!!

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Miracles have been known to happen, however a Marathon is nothing to take lightly. One day of training is not going to cut it, but we can show you how to better prepare yourself for the next Marathon. With the Bangkok Marathon just a couple of weeks away, you should be starting to taper down your running and strength training loads. Notice, I said “Strength Training”.

Are you that runner who believes that running alone is the key to better times? Are you that runner who thinks that simply running harder is going to make you faster? Well think again. Running requires muscle power and endurance. The only way to increase strength and power is by increasing the load and demand on the muscle.

I have become notorious for my emphasis on Glute training, but studies show that it is the Glutes that are the major driving force behind forward propulsion and acceleration. Hence, sprinters have large glutes. If you want to decrease your times, you will first need to increase the potential power output of your glutes.

Running is also an exercise that is done on one leg. Yes, you heard me correctly. Fifty percent of your time is spent either on one leg or the other. So working through strength exercises that target single leg movements have been shown to lengthen stride lengths, which cuts down on the number of steps so that your body takes less of a pounding.

When a person is running the body works to transfer power diagonally across the body. So our right arm moves when our left leg moves and vice versa. The power from the ground and upper body are transferred through the core of the body and across the abdominals with a bit of rotation. For this reason rotational and cross body exercises are important.

Finally, running requires a tremendous amount of joint stability from the smallest joints in the feet all the way to the joints of the shoulders and neck. For this reason we must be certain to work through exercises that strengthen joints, increase muscle endurance across as many joints at the same time as possible. This can help you reduce postural issues in those late stages of the race, which inevitably slow you down and don’t allow you to finish strong.

Here are 7 essential exercises that you can do at home to help you get stronger, decrease split times and help you to finish your race strong. For detailed descriptions and photos of these exercises, Email Richard@fitcorpasia.com or stop by our studio for a Free consultation and assessment.

1. Single Leg Bridge
2. Spidermans
3. Reverse Lunge Knee drive
4. Bird Bobs
5. Single Leg Squat
6. Diagonal Lunge
7. T Plank

By Rich Thurman, B.Sc., MA, CSCS, CPT.

Rich is the Fitness Development Manager and a Fitness Coach at Fitcorp Asia. Thailand’s leading personal training, sports performance and corporate wellness organization. With a Bachelors degree in Physiological Science from UCLA a Masters in Sports Management from The University of San Francisco, Rich has over 10 years of experience in Fitness, Sports Performance, Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation. Rich and other coaches from Fitcorp Asia can be contacted via email at info@fitcorpasia.com.