Week 9
Remember to warm up before running.
| series 1 | series 2 | series 3 | ||||
| running | marching | running | marching | running | marching | |
| day 1 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 2 |
| 1-day break | ||||||
| day 2 | 11,5 | 1,5 | 11,5 | 1,5 | 11,5 | 1,5 |
| 1-day break | ||||||
| day 3 | 11,5 | 1 | 11,5 | 1 | 11,5 | 1 |
| 2-day break | ||||||
If you manage to complete the entire day, you can safely proceed to the next one. If you are having a bad day and cannot run the entire training, it will be better for you to repeat the training after a day’s break. There is no need to hurry – regularity is more important than results.
Which muscles are actually working when you run
Running looks like a leg exercise, and to a point it is. But watch a runner closely and you will notice the whole body is involved, from the arms swinging in counterbalance to the deep core muscles quietly holding everything steady. Knowing roughly what is doing what can make your form feel less mysterious and help you spot where a bit of strength work might pay off.
The engine: your legs and hips
The heavy lifting happens below the waist. Your quadriceps, at the front of the thigh, extend the knee and swing the leg forward, and they take a lot of the shock each time your foot lands. Behind them, the hamstrings bend the knee and drive the hip back, working in a constant give-and-take with the quads. Lower down, the calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus, are the ones that flex your ankle and snap you off the ground at push-off, the propulsive moment that actually moves you forward. Tying it all together are the glutes, which stabilize your hips and keep your pelvis from collapsing inward stride after stride. Weak glutes are behind a surprising number of running niggles, which is why they get so much attention from coaches.
The stabilizer: your core
Your core is less about power and more about not wasting energy. The abdominals and the obliques on your sides resist the twisting and bobbing that would otherwise leak effort with every step, while the erector spinae running along your spine keep you upright and stop you from folding forward as you tire. A steady core is what lets the force generated by your legs actually translate into forward motion rather than wobble.
The rhythm section: arms and feet
Your arms are not passengers. The shoulders, biceps, and triceps drive the arm swing that balances your leg movement and keeps your cadence smooth; the back and chest help hold your posture as the miles add up. Meanwhile, easy to overlook, the tibialis anterior at the front of your shin lifts your toes so your foot lands under control instead of slapping down.
The point of all this is not to over-analyze mid-run. It is that running is a full-body coordination act, and the runners who stay healthy tend to be the ones who occasionally train the supporting cast, not just the headline muscles.