Men's Health

How to run effortlessly

Instead of counting seconds, count heartbeats. Pre-setting a time goal, like a five-minute kilometre, can undermine your training program because you may push yourself when you shouldn’t. “Instead, let how your body feels be your guide,” says award-winning cross-country running coach Dave Smith. “If you train this way, you’ll end up achieving the improvements you desire.” With this as your norm, push it once a week by running at 90 per cent of your maximum heart rate. (The simplest way to find your max is to subtract your age from 220.) Sandwich 15 minutes of this hard labour between 15 minutes of running at a relaxed pace and soon you’ll be running faster with less exertion.

Jul 26, 2012