Running is one of the most stress reducing activities you can do. Runners high is real and its very addicting. Going out and running some solid miles feels fantastic. You feel accomplished and excited to do it again. But that day will come when it becomes repetitive and gets boring. You don’t feel like going to run. You get home or wake up and don’t even want to think about running. When this happens you can do 1 of 3 things: 1) Give up, 2) Go run, 3) DO SOMETHING ELSE. You don’t always have to be running to stay in “running” shape. There are several different activities you should tie into your weekly schedule to make sure you never get bored of running and, if you’re trying to compete, stay ahead of your competition. This, my friends, is called cross training and it will save you and your mind.

Boxing

Boxing is one of the hardest physical activities you will ever do in your entire life. I have never sweat more in one hour then when I did boxing. It’s hard as shit. If you thought running 5 miles was tough go to a boxing class for one hour and you’ll change your mind. The best thing about boxing is it’s difficulty. It’s the perfect combination of speed, power and stamina. Those three traits are crucial for running. Stamina is a no brainer, speed helps you go fast for a long period of time and power is the grit to push through as hard as possible the more tired you get. After getting into a solid 2-3 months of running I would highly suggest taking a day off and adding boxing to your weekly regimen. It’s going to be harder than your run anyway and will push your body to the limits.

Lifting

Lifting is an activity that needs to be apart of your routine immediately. Lifting weights help you become stronger as a whole. It can be tough to do on a consistent basis but is something that should be mandated. Start out very small when incorporating lifting and start off with low weights. For running especially you’re going to want to do more reps with less weight for increasing your strength and stamina simultaneously. Start off lifting arms one day and legs another with very minimal time initially (10-20 minutes). These exercises don’t have to be crazy tough to see and feel results after a few weeks. So, like anything, start off slow and easy, increase weights and reps as you progress, and please don’t take yourself too seriously in the gym.

Swimming

Swimming changed the way I ran. It helped me gain strength, push myself beyond my limits and increased my confidence more than I ever imagined possible. I had no idea what I was capable of until I begin swimming. It’s a grueling exercise but swimming for 20 minutes 2-3 times a week will change you physically and mentally. You don’t have to swim fast or have the perfect form but you must be willing to put the work in. Start off doing laps for 10 minutes and then practice on running form in the shallow end for the last 10 minutes. If you’re feeling good add 10 more minutes swimming under water from end to end holding your breath as long as possible. That exercise is what really changed me. You can hold your breath twice as long as you’ve ever thought possible. This exercise alone increased my confidence exponentially. I began to push myself harder and harder on runs and helped me become more confident in my abilities in multiple areas of life not only running. Swimming took me to the next level and should be an integral part of your schedule.

Remember, these activities go hand and hand with running. If you want to become great at running or just finish your first 5k you need to dedicate a large portion of your time to training. To make that move you need to include these specific activities. Don’t be afraid to switch it up! Try Boxing on Sundays, Swimming on Wednesdays and lifting after running on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Now initially you’re going to want to slowly add these activities to your weekly routine. Once you get into the swing of things add more work. Push yourself, be confident and don’t be afraid to fail. Most importantly have fun 🙂