Slim Down by Shrinking Your Running

Whether you’re hoping to look hot in your swimsuit on holiday or simply sashay to the shops in skinny jeans, you’ll be far from alone in wanting to shed to a few pounds for summer. Running makes an excellent weapon in the war on excess weight, but contrary to what a lot of people think, keeping your distances short could be your best battle plan.


Andrew “StreTch” Rayner, from My Momentum personal training, says one of the secrets of his formula for a great body is that, when it comes to exercise, more is not necessarily better. “It's about making sure what you’re doing is making a difference,” Rayner, “without running the risk of overtraining and putting your body under strain.”

Less of the Long

Rayner believes that repeated long slow runs could be keeping many runners less lean than they’d like to be and better results could be achieved by training for shorter periods of time, but at higher speeds. “Many runners believe that the further you run the more calories you burn,” he says. “This is wrong. Long, slow running can overstress the body and has a number of drawbacks including increased recovery times.”

Up the Intensity

So, what is the best way to run off excess flab? The answer, according to Rayner is simple, yet tough - high intensity interval training. “Run hard and fast for short periods of time,” he recommends. “Think 100m, 200m or 400m sprints, with rest periods of one to four minutes between each interval to recover before pushing it to the limits again.”

Fast Results

Rayner recommends three of these interval training sessions per week, along with regular resistance training workouts, which you can do either with weights in the gym or using your body weight as in exercises like squats, lunges, press ups, or pull ups. Do this, says Rayner and “you'll boost your metabolism to new levels and see your body composition change at a much faster rate.”

If you’ve tried sprint intervals before, you’ll know all this doesn’t mean you’re in for an easy ride to slims-ville. But it’s good news for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time to run (so that’s most of us then) and the best news of all is that it really works.

My Momentum’s top 5 tips for running yourself slim for Summer:

1. Think regular and varied exercise, routine is the enemy.

2. Listen to your body. If you’re tired, rest. Overtraining isn’t the answer for getting into those skinny jeans more quickly.

3. Eat protein-rich foods. Protein makes you feel fuller for longer and helps build calorie-burning muscle mass.

4. Don’t go hungry. Think of food as fuel in the tank. Running on empty is setting yourself for poor performance.

5. Shorter, sharper, harder – not longer. Push yourself as much as you can during each session over shorter, more concentrated period of time. 



For more information on My Momentum training e-mail: info@my-momentum.co.uk

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