What workouts work for you?

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 15:45:13 -0500

Besides running more, what are some workouts you have used to help improve your two mile run? 1SG is begging me to go to BLC and I said I wont until I can improve my run some more. Thanks everyone.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Feb 26 at 2020 4:01 PM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 16:01:09 -0500

If you have access to a gym, use the weight machines, slowly increase the amount of weight you work with.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 4:08 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 16:08:54 -0500

Do a lot of glute and hamstring exercises and then make sure you stretch.

Lots of studies showing if you want to improve your running Times that the glutes and hamstrings really help.

I have noticed when I just run regularly my run times don’t change much, but If throw in some leg exercises every few days I do see some improvements.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 4:16 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 16:16:13 -0500

Replace most of your distance running with intervals. Distance running won't make you faster. If you're just training for your two mile, try not to run more than 5k at a time.
Add hills and sprints. Do intervals. Intervals are not sprints. Work with a mix of various interval lengths and rests, never exceeding more than 3 miles total in length. Mix up rest intervals by time, or heart rate.
A good example might 10x400m intervals w/2:00 rest. Or 2x 1 mile intervals w/120 heart rate rest.

Response by SSG Brian L. made Feb 26 at 2020 4:48 PM

SSG Brian L. — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 16:48:10 -0500

The "begging" part makes it hard to read your post.

Response by SSG Brian G. made Feb 26 at 2020 5:23 PM

SSG Brian G. — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:23:32 -0500

Begging you to go to BLC? lol ok...

You are looking to shave time on your run. Do not focus on distance. Focus on core training, moderate leg training, short distance running of sprints and the like. You want endurance the ability to be explosive. On normal runs start packing in 10 extra pounds at first then work up in 10 pound increments as you adjust.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 5:39 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:39:36 -0500

Well, what’s the problem? Do you get tired first or do your legs not go fast enough/long enough?

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 5:40 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:40:06 -0500

Interval runs, wind sprints afterwards. Build your wind first, then run intervals and a circuit course including exercises and running in place. That builds stamina/endurance. The longer the better, and always do sprints afterwards. Warm down and always stretch before and after. A known distance run will become much easier, and you'll be in better shape.

Response by CSM Darieus ZaGara made Feb 26 at 2020 5:40 PM

CSM Darieus ZaGara — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:40:09 -0500

I doubt any 1SG is begging anyone. If he or she is, I question there role in that position. If anything he should be giving you a date, and from there it is contingent upon you, supported by your sqau leader you improve your fitness. And if you elected not to attend you would go to the bottom of the Division list, not the company, not the Battalion the Division. It is a privilege and an honor to be selected for developmental programs. You do no one favors by attending, if you wish to become a leader you should study the board material related to leadership, personal sacrifice coupled with the desire to lear and grow. I will stop now, I could go on for a while.

Response by SPC Stewart Smith made Feb 26 at 2020 5:43 PM

SPC Stewart Smith — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:43:13 -0500

I'd strongly encourage a vegan diet when going for gains. Animal protein "cloudies" blood plasma which restricts blood vessels causing higher blood pressure, poorer blood flow, and slower recoveries.
A great addition if you don't want to go vegan is beet juice. Drink one glass of beet juice 150 minutes before you work out and your stamina will sky rocket. Do it for a few weeks and then stop. You'll see the stamina loss almost instantly.
I used to do vegan diets when I worked out and my gains were fantastic. I love steak, chicken, eggs, and milk too much to stay a vegan.
Please google this and read up on it so you can understand the science behind it. A whole bunch of athletes and sports teams are going vegan during "on" seasons and crushing records.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 5:52 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 17:52:59 -0500

The 1SG is not frequently asking you - if he or she is then he or she shouldn't be 1SG. I got told I was going to WLC (this is end of 2006 when it had just gone from PLDC to WLC that year) before block leave "Hey, you're going to WLC after block leave." There was no negotiation. I took a PT test before block leave. I went on HBL. I came back - went to WLC. Our PT test got delayed a week due to black ice (January at JBLM...).

I really doubt you're saying "no" to your 1SG about going.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 6:46 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:46:25 -0500

Your 1SG isnt begging, and you dont have a choice. When you get your slot you will go, or you have to be Barred.

Response by Cpl Jeremy Jones made Feb 26 at 2020 6:52 PM

Cpl Jeremy Jones — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 18:52:27 -0500

Running in sand! Once you get on hard surface you fly!

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 7:22 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 19:22:17 -0500

First and foremost, if you want to improve your run time, you've gotta run. However, doing things like working on your run form, doing squats, doing calf raises, leg presses, quad pushes, etc all help you to strengthen your legs, which can help your run time. Vary your run workouts as well. Sprints, hill repeats, 60/120s, last-man-up, interval runs, medium runs (2-4 miles), long runs (5-8 miles), etc. Change it up so that you can do some running type at least 5 times a week, but it's something different every day. Give it about a month of 5 runs and 2 rest days a week and I guarantee you see a difference.

Side note; I'm far from a SME on anything 1SG-involved, but I've worked with a few in my time. I've never heard of a Top "begging" a Joe to a school, and then leaving it up to them. I've seen them hound a soldier about it and then volun-tell them that they're going and already have a slot. But that's my $0.02 from my experience.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 8:55 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:55:00 -0500

Short and sweet? Lap sprints: find a track, sprint a lap and then rest or do another exercise, then sprint again and repeat. Combine with quality stretching routines.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 26 at 2020 10:09 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 22:09:48 -0500

I mean improve your run time? How bad is it? I’ve had 3 foot surgeries and I run a 15 to 15:30, 2 miles. Like most have said replace sprints with distance. Sprint a good 50+ yards and jog back. And continue for 5/6 sets.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2020 10:46 AM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 10:46:10 -0500

I dropped 2 minutes off my run by doing 30 60s on stair master, hill sprints outside, and air squats and flutter kicks for days. Abdominals and running go hand in hand friend. Good luck.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2020 1:05 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 13:05:14 -0500

if you can pass, go now. Other than a few chuckleheads, no one really gives a rat's ass how fast you can run 2 miles. I had bronchitis when I went to PLDC and barely passed the run. 25 years later I'm an LTC and no one remembers my PT score from PLDC

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2020 1:06 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 01:06:06 -0500

If you want to try a program that helped me build my run back up after a year of shin splints, try one of the "Couch to 5K" (C25K) apps on Android or iPhone. While I was recovering I did a lot of 30-40 minute stationary bike rides, doing higher intensity intervals of different lengths. Trying to keep around a 100 revolutions per minute on bikes with a computer was a great way to push myself during the faster intervals. Keeping my cardio up during this time was very important. Cross training can't hurt either.

Another thing that helped was realizing that I didn't have to take huge strides while running. It's easier on your legs and body to take shorter quicker strides. The way I accomplished this was to do tempo running to playlists from my iTunes collection based on beats per minute of the songs. The website Jog.fm got me started. Generally, the faster/more frequently your feet are hitting the ground, the faster your 1 mile pace will be. For my first PT test back to running, I only did this program for 2 weeks and ran a 15:30 two mile. After the first couple of sessions I realized I could push myself very hard during the short intervals. It basically starts out as a 60-120 program that slowly increases the amount of time or distance you run and reduces the amount of time walking. You can pick timed or distance intervals, but I prefer timed intervals because I could see how hard I could push myself in that short time and run a further distance. To this day I mostly run intervals following the C25K app. Each session has you run around 30 minutes total and you run 3 days a week. I like the app published by RunDouble on Android.

If you can safely pass your 3 event PT test there is no reason to delay BLC. By the way, my 1SGs have never begged me to do anything. That's not really the NCO to Soldier relationship I'm used to. Also, you will probably get some training on the new ACFT while you are there. Good luck and maybe get back to your 1SG and tell him you are ready to go to the next available course.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2020 4:21 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 04:21:25 -0500

I'll leave the begging part alone on this one but you should really have more self awareness of how that looks on you.

The topic: running. I've ran over 15 ultra marathons, a few marathons, some 10 milers and consistently run under a 13 minute 2 mile. So here is the proven, factual, and statistical data on getting faster. Whoever said running distance will not make you faster needs to read further into running. There is no one size fits all for running but there are consistencies.
1. More running (time and distance) builds running efficiency which in turn makes you faster
2. You should train different intensities (RPE or HR zone)
3. Follow the 10% rule to reduce injury chances (do not increase weekly mileage by more than 10%)

Look, I've put in the miles (running over 1000 miles per year) and I can tell you this; value consistency over intensity and volume. BLUF is you will get astronomically better results if your week consists of 3 to 4 running days compared to 1 to 2 sprint days. Even 5k training plans have a "long" run once a week often pushing 10 miles. Why? You're building muscle endurance that cannot be replicated by any other exercise besides running. You can't short cut running. You have to run to get the results. Slow runs are just as important as your sprints as this builds up lung capacity and boosts your cardiovascular system. Now, I'd recommend your weekly training to look like this.

Day 1: 3 to 5 mile at tempo pace (15 to 30 seconds slower than your max race pace)
Day 2: 30 to 45 minute easy run at HR 120 or zone 2 to 3.
Day 3: sprints. You can do a common ladder similar to 2x200m, 3x300, 4x400, 1x 800, and then go back down. You can do 1 mile repeats with full recovery between. You can do hill sprints. It is vital to alternate your rest period between reps from week to week. Do one week with no more than a minute rest and the next with full recovery. Minimal rest will build up your vo2 max and full rest will enable you to keep a faster pace for faster reps.

BLUF: don't half-ass it. There's many free running programs you can look up. Use the VDOT calculator (app you can download) to determine what paces you should be running for training, repetition, and intervals based off a measured race (use your 2 mile time). Listen to the professionals and educate yourself. The NCO that tells you to go out and run sprints every day is not educating himself. You will get injured and will plateau doing that. And yes, it may have worked for him but that doesn't make it right. Any questions, look me up on global. Look me up on ultrasignup. Look me up on strava. IDC. I will help you. My whole platoon just completed a half marathon for pt. They had fun, they did well, and no one got injured.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2020 7:13 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 07:13:27 -0500

Are you barely passing the 2 mile run? If so, I could understand why you don’t want to go yet. But if you have some time to spare on your 2 mile, just go to school. Passing your PT test is all that’s necessary as far as the PT test at school goes. As for running, please see SSG Giannone’s response. I have nearly the same thoughts as he does on this, as well as experience as a runner that he does. I’m also a Master Fitness Trainer. If you require assistance putting together a long range training plan feel free to reach out here on RP. Best of luck and like I said, if you can pass for sure, just go to school.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 8 at 2020 6:13 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 08 Mar 2020 18:13:25 -0400

Different types of speedwork will help.