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10 Ways To Run Faster While You Workout

By Pooja Kushal

Running is an activity that can help you maintain good health, tone your body and help improve your stamina for the better. But, this does not happen overnight.

It takes a good deal of perseverance and consistency. With regular practice, you will also be able to improve upon your speed.

However, along with practice, there are certain tips that you can keep in mind to improve your running, including the speed. Here we discuss 10 ways to run faster while working out.

Working out is a way to keep the body in a good shape. If done well, your immunity levels too can get a boost. Running faster will improve your endurance and stamina.

Following certain strategies to run faster can also go a long way in delivering outstanding results.

The ten points discussed here are no rocket science. All that they point to is maintaining a little bit of awareness, following certain basic rules and a whole lot of understanding of one’s own body.

So, let us discuss some of the basic tips to run faster while working out.

1. Fuel up:

1. Fuel up:

Running on an empty stomach is not going to give you the energy to perform well. This neither means that you have a hearty meal before a run.

Try to have a small snack packed with healthy carbohydrates should do you good. It will slowly release energy, thereby keeping you fueled up for your run. Coffee is a good stimulant to have before a workout session.

So that morning cup can be of help, if you go running in the morning.

2. Sleep well:

2. Sleep well:

One of the 10 ways to run faster while working out is to get a good dose of a shut-eye time. This is the time when the whole body is in a resting period.

During those sleeping hours, the body works on renewing and recharging itself for a new round of workout. So, if you want to run fast, sleep tight and sleep enough.

3. Say no to sweets:

3. Say no to sweets:

Sweets do give you that instant surge of energy, but this is short lived. Following this, the body slows down leaving you drained out with no energy.

If you want to get that energy boost, go for whole grains that release energy slowly and at a consistent pace.

4. Warm up:

4. Warm up:

One of the very important strategies to run faster is to have a good warm-up session. No matter how good an athlete you are, spend sometime in warming up.

This prepares the body for a session of workout. Tightened muscles get loosened up and your body gradually picks up the pace, without feeling the strain.

5. Belly breathe:

5. Belly breathe:

Breathing is something we all have to do to survive, but to run faster, you need to do it the right way. Instead of breathing shallow, try taking deep breathes that go down to the belly.

It is also important to breathe through the nostril and exhale through the mouth rather than doing it the other way round.

6. Maintain a proper posture:

6. Maintain a proper posture:

Running can be done in various ways, but not all become fast runners. Among the 10 ways to run faster, body posture holds an important position.

Keep the upper body straight but relaxed. Swing arms front to back rather than side to side. Hit the ground with the middle section of the feet.

7. Count your steps:

7. Count your steps:

How many strides do you take in a minute? If you want to run faster than your current pace, you need to know the speed at which you run, so that you can improve on yourself.

Setting personal targets to increasing the number of steps per minute will definitely help you in running faster.

8. Stay hydrated:

8. Stay hydrated:

This cannot be ignored. If you want to achieve a certain level of excellence, you need to provide your body with a good amount of hydration. This will help you perform better and for a longer period of time.

9. Look straight:

9. Look straight:

You not only have to maintain a proper posture, but the direction in which you look also affects your performance. While running, keep your eyes focussed to the front rather than looking down at your shoes.

Be it in an open area or on a treadmill, it is important to look in the front or else you might miss your balance.

10. Mix it up:

10. Mix it up:

When working out, it is not necessary that you have to keep running at one pace. You can mix up two-minute sprints with two minutes of jogging.

This alternating method helps your body to regain energy and go for a fresh sprint, thereby developing your stamina and burning more calories.

Story first published: Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 17:22 [IST]
Read more about: running workout