If you look at many long distance runners, many will have lost just a little too much weight even for the sake of their own health, and would certainly benefit from carrying additional muscle mass on their bodies.



Muscular bodies age better in all ways, and your muscles act as shock absorbers for your tremendously forgiving joints. In fact, building muscle in older people has been proven as one of the best ways to improve and increase range of motion, function and overall zest.

We're not saying that you should try to become like Arnie, however adding one or two bodyweight exercise workouts to your training each week will certainly improve your time, increase your muscle mass, reduce susceptibility to injury and give you even more energy to burn.

The top 5 bodyweight exercises that I recommend for runners are -

1. Hindu Squats - quite a difficult exercise to describe. Best viewed on youtube to get a clear idea of the movement. Fantastic for lower body strength, flexibility and endurance. What all runners need.

Go for 50 - 100 repetitions,

2. Wall Chair - with this exercise simply stand with your back flat aginst the wall, and slide down until you knees form a 90 degree angle, as though squatting down to sit on a chair. Builds will power, strength and stamina. Aim for 2 minutes,

3. Back Bridge - lie flat on the floor on your back, bring your hands behind your head and arch up, so that only your feet and hands remain on the floor. This exercise develops strength and flexibility throughout the spine and is absolutely phenomenal in terms of aligning your body and making your back supple and pain free,

4. Hindu Push Up - again this exercise is best viewed on youtube in order to be clear on how it is performed. This exercise provides total body conditioning giving the legs, arms, shoulders and chest an excellent workout while at the same time building stamina, endurance and a toned and muscular mid section,

5. Deep Breathing - deep breathing for many is the missing link in their training program. I recommend taking 3 - 5 minutes at the beginning and the end of your workout to simply chill out and breathe. Try this breathe in for a four count, hold for a four count and then out for a four count. Deep breathing enhances performance, lowers heart rate and calms the mind.

As you runners will know its always great to finish off with some stretches, so stretch out those quads, calves and hamstrings, and you'll be good for your next session.