What is the best surface to run on? How to structure running workouts on different surfaces

Many questions come to the minds of new runners when they have done a few runs and are trying to compare their feelings with the available information. Let's figure out how to warm up properly, is it possible to run on asphalt, when is it better to run: in the morning or in the evening? I don't like blah blah blah, so let's start...

When to run: morning or evening?

When is it convenient for you? You wake up early, then perhaps in the morning. If you go to bed late, you might like it in the evening. There is no good or bad here. I try to run in the morning, early in the morning, but if it doesn’t work out, then when it works out: during the day or in the evening. Try it in the morning. In the morning the body wakes up, becomes toned, cold and hot shower, nutritious breakfast – great!

Running on dirt early in the morning. The sun is just rising and long shadows run across the ground.

Where to run: on asphalt or on dirt?

They say running on asphalt is harmful, it hurts your knees. It needs to be on the ground, but with hills, ups and downs. I will say this, if previously sneakers were made from 5-6 parts and did not know about modern materials and their properties, then running on asphalt in them would really be fraught. Now sneakers are made from 50 or more elements, know-how is constantly being developed and introduced: air cushions, gels, foamed, natural and synthetic rubber, etc.

The Japanese test their developments like this: they drop a chicken egg from the 5th-6th floor onto a piece of gel, rubber, which absorbs shock. And imagine: it doesn’t break. Therefore, I won’t say that you can’t run on asphalt. Run to your health, the main thing is to buy normal shoes. By the way, runners agree that the service life of sneakers is around 1200 kilometers. If you have already worn so much, and your sneakers are like new, then it’s no longer worth running in them. They were already deformed from hundreds of thousands of steps. So it's better to buy new ones.

I talked in detail about how to choose the right sneakers .

Warm-up

It's simple. Stretch your major joints and muscles. Hands, head rotation, shoulder girdle, swing your arms, bend to the side, back and forth, reach the floor with your hands, rotate your pelvis, do squats 10 times, stretch your knee joints. Do the “mill” exercise. Running in place with high hip lifts, jumping, toe-to-heel rolls, lunges forward and to the side. 5-10 minutes is enough.

Afterwards, you can shake yourself up and start running at an easy pace. They say that the best pace is when you can run and talk calmly with a friend. And so, we set a time, chose a place and warmed up... we’ll talk about running technique, breathing and cool-down in the next article.

Hello readers of the blog about a healthy and happy life.

Today you will learn very interesting fact about running and for many this will be a revelation. After all, everyone knows that running is good for health.

Since childhood, we have been told that jogging strengthens the cardiovascular system, increases endurance to exercise, strengthens muscles and bones, and improves mood. All this is true. Around the world, hundreds of thousands of fans of an active lifestyle are becoming devotees of running. However, in last years scientists claim that the harm of running to health is as real a fact as its benefits to the body. I will show situations where regular jogging contributes to a deterioration in overall health, the development of diseases and can reduce life expectancy.

Are you surprised? But in fact, it’s time for everyone to know that sport does not always give health and even cripples a person. Big sport In general, it only wears out the body, without giving anything good in return. And there are health systems, health-improving physical education that has a beneficial effect on us.

And running can be classified as either the first or the second, depending on how you apply it. What you turn it into is up to you. He will give you health or cripple you.

Harm to the musculoskeletal system

Both long runs and jogging short distances may have a negative effect on the spine and joints lower limbs. Running is one of the most accessible sports that does not require financial investment. I wanted to, by a strong-willed decision I put a run in my diary and start healing the whole body, at the same time cheap and cheerful. Of course, this is a misconception that leads to pathology of the spinal column and joints. Particularly dangerous is a frivolous attitude towards physical activity in adulthood and old age, when the musculoskeletal system undergoes natural age-related changes.

While running shock load on the musculoskeletal system increases 7 times compared to walking at an average pace. Incorrect technique running increases the load on the knee joints and ankles and promotes lateral displacement of the vertebrae. This increases the risk of microtraumas of cartilage and intervertebral discs, which, in turn, leads to arthrosis and arthritis. Injuries (sprains, fractures, dislocations) if not observed correct technique contributes to the formation of residual effects, causes difficulties in movement and gait disturbance.

This begs a reasonable question: is running beneficial or harmful? Undoubtedly, physical activity is useful, but only if you follow the running technique. At the same time, equipment for training is important. Sports suit should not restrict movement, and sneakers should be selected with shock-absorbing soles, which reduces the impact load on the joints and spine. It is not recommended to run on hard surfaces: asphalt and concrete. The safest places to run are on the ground, sand, and rubberized surfaces of tracks in stadiums and treadmills.

Harm to the heart and blood vessels

The myocardium is the most trained muscle in the body. However, when excessive loads the heart may not cope. It is necessary to increase physical activity gradually as endurance increases of cardio-vascular system. IN otherwise, the myocardium does not have time to pump blood throughout the body, which causes tissue hypoxia, primarily the brain. The blood vessels and cavities of the heart dilate compensatoryly. This leads to rapid progression of heart failure.

In addition, in mature and old age with atherosclerotic vascular damage and an increased risk of thrombosis, jogging is contraindicated. During intense physical activity, an atherosclerotic plaque or thrombus can break off and lead to serious consequences: stroke, heart attack, thromboembolism of the branches of the pulmonary artery. This is why running without preliminary diagnosis and medical supervision is harmful.

Harm from obesity

Overweight and obesity, oddly enough, are not a reason to start active jogging. Latest Scientific research proved that heavy weight body during physical activity destroys joints, ligaments, bones, but does not effectively reduce body weight.

Let me give you a clear example. The average calorie content of milk chocolate is 500 kcal. Jogging burns approximately 350 kcal in an hour. This means that the effectiveness of such exercises for weight loss is highly questionable. It’s another matter if intense running is used (for example, covering 100 meters in the shortest possible period of time), but this technique is practically not used during training.

Harm of early and late classes

There is still debate among doctors about why running in the mornings and evenings is harmful. Some of them argue that it is necessary to study in the evening, others advocate morning classes. In the evening, the human body prepares for natural rest, and stress can worsen sleep and overall well-being. In the morning, the body just begins vigorous activity and tolerates stress as if it were a stressful situation.

Scientists have come to a consensus that exercise time depends on a person’s biological clock. “Larks” are comfortable studying in the mornings, and “night owls” in the evenings. But there is required condition, non-compliance with which may worsen your health. In the morning you can start training 4 hours after waking up, and in the evening 2 hours before bedtime. In case of poor general health due to various reasons It is recommended to postpone classes.

Harm to women

Regular jogging can cause deterioration in breast shape and cellulite. To securely fix the mammary glands during training, you need to wear special supportive underwear and the problem will be solved. As for cellulite, this statement is confusing. Many people run precisely to get rid of the “orange peel” on their thighs and buttocks.

Cellulite is a disease of subcutaneous fat as a result of metabolic disorders in tissues. The reason for changes in metabolism and the formation of fibrous bridges in the fat layer under the skin is the excessive accumulation of free radicals, in other words, under-oxidized metabolic products. With intense daily training, free radicals do not have time to break down and cause cellulite.

Conclusion

Is running every day good or bad? This question worries every fan. healthy image life who decided to go jogging. How to get the most out of your training top scores and avoid negative consequences? Here are some recommendations:

Before training, you need to familiarize yourself with the proper running technique.
It is better to jog 2-3 times a week. On other days, walking and brisk walking are helpful.
The average training time is about an hour. Longer runs are considered physical activity. high intensity, and shorter ones are not effective enough and are used when the body is poorly trained.
Running equipment should be selected in a professional store, primarily sneakers.
Before starting classes, you must consult a doctor and undergo the examination prescribed by him. Some diseases, such as oncology, hypertension, infections, high myopia, pathology of the musculoskeletal system are contraindications to training.

IN last decade Information has emerged that intense physical activity, even in amateur sports, can lead to disability and shortened life expectancy. On this wave, fans of laziness have appeared who believe that it is good for health. Are they right? Read about this in my next one.

If you want to run, then train correctly. Only in this case can you get good results. Replace running with walking or even simple walks in the fresh air more often. There is a wonderful one.

The health effects of running have actually been exaggerated.

Of course, physical activity is needed. If you sit in the office all day and don’t stress your body, you will simply get sick. But excessive jogging in the form of daily morning workouts will also not give you health, and can even be harmful. There must be moderation in everything.

Remember, you cannot escape from a heart attack by running. If after running training you come to work and start to worry, i.e. experience diseases, including heart diseases, are guaranteed for you.

To avoid stress, and therefore become healthy, you don’t need running, but, for beginners, just...

By the way, there is also meditative running and meditative walking, which give amazing results in terms of improving health and increasing awareness. But that's a completely different story.

See you on the treadmills for better health, but not for athletic performance.

And at the end I give you a gift. Beautiful music.

The most important thing in running shoes for asphalt running is the level of cushioning and support for the foot. The selection of sneakers depends on your training goals and the characteristics of your feet. Some people need good cushioning, some need stable foot placement, and some don’t need either one at all. There are few such runners. As a rule, these are runners with good technique and strong feet.

In most cases, it is better to choose sneakers with good cushioning and stabilization for asphalt.

Choosing sneakers based on your goals

Conventionally, sneakers can be divided into slow and fast.

Slow (training) sneakers

What are they suitable for?

daily workouts
long workouts
a must-have shoe for new runners
for runners with overweight body

Heavier, with a thick sole, good shock absorption and stabilization of the feet. They are suitable for running at a comfortable pace, forgive mistakes in technique, reduce stress on the joints and allow you to run comfortably. Great for long runs on asphalt at a comfortable pace(pace at which you can talk freely). It is in these sneakers that kilometers are “wound up”. Recommended for both beginners and experienced runners fast runners for recovery and volume training.

If you are just starting to run and are doing it for health (you don’t plan to compete), then you don’t need these sneakers.

Examples of fast sneaker models:

Choosing sneakers, depending on the characteristics of the foot

The main attention should be paid to pronation ( various types flat feet) and foot width.

Pronation

Most running brands have models with supports for runners with overpronation (flat feet). They are distinguished by special rigid inserts in the sole, which prevent the foot from falling through and correct the position of the foot.

Article Mark Sisson, fitness author, former marathon runner, swimmer, and executive International Union triathlon, "5 reasons to run on the ground, not on a machine." In the article, Mark compares running on a machine and running in open areas in detail.

Let's look at the potential problems associated with a treadmill.

1. Running on the ground is more enjoyable

This makes sense intuitively, but there's plenty of evidence that running outdoors is more enjoyable than running indoors. A 2004 study from Duke University found that on treadmills, runners ran slower, perceived exertion as higher, enjoyed themselves less, and experienced less satisfaction than runners who ran outside. What's interesting is that the perceived tension is higher on the track, even at lower speeds. If an exercise becomes boring and becomes work and you don't feel like you can do much more afterward, you probably won't want to do it. We are more likely to stick to a workout routine if we enjoy the workouts and find them truly valuable. Running in nature, or even around your car as the sun sets, gives us a joy that we're unlikely to feel on a treadmill.

2. Treadmills are flat, linear and unchanging, but the outside world is not.

Every pebble, every root that emerges from the ground, every small depression, rut and bump on the ground and change in height must be taken into account in the biomechanics of those who cross this terrain. And these small changes happen subconsciously. Often we don't even realize that we are changing joint angles and changing muscle activity in response to changes in elevation or textural changes in the path. Our walking experience is characterized by thousands of these subtle reactions, and our bodies adapt to them. Thus, on the trail, the runner keeps his body well-rounded, highly adapted and equally comfortable on the track, narrow dirt road, forest road and city streets. It is comfortable for a runner to run only on this machine.

But it's not just a matter of simply adapting to different terrain. The impact of different territories is expressed in the fact that each step is different from the previous one, and the weight is balanced and distributed. On a treadmill, every step is the same and no different from the first. Nothing changes. Your feet land in the same place with exactly the same shock absorption, and your joints go through the same path and receive the same stresses. This is a recipe for repetitive strain injury. While there is very little data in the literature on treadmill runners suffering from repeated sprains and other injuries, I have seen this happen on almost every heavy treadmill I know of. Pain in the legs, in knee joints, damage.

3. Treadmills change running biomechanics

This has been confirmed in several studies.

One study found that machine runners had "significantly greater" magnitudes of peak eversion, eversion velocity, tibial internal rotation, and tibial internal rotation velocity than overland runners, which the authors said could lead to chronic injury.
Another study found more ankle eversion (internal rotation) in machine runners.
A 2013 study showed significant differences between acceleration on a treadmill and acceleration on the ground. On the ground, the runner accelerates and biomechanics change accordingly to accommodate the acceleration. output power hip joint increases, and the knee decreases. On a treadmill, the movement of its belt accelerates, and “virtually no kinesiological adaptation to the accelerating belt is observed.”
Runners on the track are shown to achieve best success, change their gait to spend more time in the air and allow more of the treadmill to move forward. This technique, unfortunately, is practically not applicable to running on the ground. Is there a problem with this? Lots of people use Treadmills daily, seemingly without any major problems.

Although the human body can technically perform many new movements without visible damage, be careful when changing an existing movement pattern. Think about carpal tunnel syndrome caused by using a mouse and keyboard for years. Think about the weak glutes, tight muscles, and tight hip flexors that office workers often experience. You can sit in a chair for a day, a week, or even a month and feel completely normal. This sitting for years and decades robs us of the ability to squat comfortably and tighten our buttocks. I suspect similar subtle but significant kinematic changes occur on the treadmill. And since running on a treadmill is more intense than clicking a mouse or sitting at a desk, the negative effects - if they exist - are likely to accumulate much faster.

4. Treadmills don't train the hamstrings as much as running outside.

Runners typically generate most of their strength from their muscles. back surface Legs: gluteal muscles and hamstrings. It is the developed hips, driven by the glutes and hamstrings, that propel the runner through the terrain. Since runners on a treadmill shorten their path backwards not by bending it hip joint, and due to its stretching, which is already very developed (from sitting, office work And sedentary lifestyle life in general), the muscles of the back of the leg receive even less attention. Why would your glutes carry your leg back and your body forward if the tread belt does it for you?

5. Treadmills are "lighter"

Running on a treadmill requires less energy than running at the same speed on the ground. When we see how much effort a runner makes on a treadmill, we think we are putting in more effort than we actually are. Less work and less results despite greater (perceived) effort? No thanks.

If you enjoy running on a machine, there are a few things you can do to mitigate the disadvantages of running on a machine.

Set the incline. This makes the treadmill feel a little more like a road as it involves more of the muscles in the back of your leg. And one study found that a treadmill with a 1% incline effectively recreated energy expenditure compared to a flat belt.

Try a treadmill with autonomous manual control. This is a worthy substitute for running on the ground. It involves the muscles of the back of the leg a little more intensely than normal running, since you are actually driving the mill wheel.

Take breaks while running on the treadmill. Do not train only on this machine. Go for a run outside and don't forget to work the muscles on the back of your legs (Romanian deadlift, kettlebell swings, running uphill).

Listening to music, radio programs and/or audio books. On the few occasions when I go out for a run, I always choose an interesting area. Beach, mountains, new city (during travel). Running in interesting place is self-rewarding and I never need headphones to transport me to another place. The environment is entertaining in itself. But the treadmill stands still - as a rule, in gym. There's usually nothing much going on there, nothing to look at, hear or smell, and this is one of the important reasons why indoor runners rate their experience as less satisfying and enjoyable; they have neither intrinsic nor extrinsic value. Fasten your headphone straps (or put earbuds in your ears), subscribe to one or two online channels with audio files, and give yourself more pleasure and joy every time you run on the machine.

Sprint. Some studies have shown that the kinematic differences between running on a treadmill and running on the ground, although significant in principle, disappear at speeds above 6 m/s. (20.9 km/h). Sprint improves everything, don't you agree?

And one more thing: I’m not saying that you need to break all treadmills. They can certainly be useful, and many successful athletes use them for training. But very few successful athletes use only treadmills. Any endurance athlete does most of their training on the road.

Stop listening to me. Listen to other people.

Do you use a treadmill? Does what I reported today match your experience? What differences have you noticed between running on a treadmill and running on the road?

Thanks everyone for reading. Be healthy!

Photo source: Depositphotos
September 28, 2015 I like:

It is traditionally believed that running on hard surfaces - asphalt and concrete - is dangerous for joints, primarily for the knees and spine. If the grass, soil, cinder or rubber track of the stadium absorbs the impact upon landing, then asphalt and concrete are not capable of this: they are too hard.

Running Workout: Asphalt

Here, the entire impact load - and according to some sources it reaches six body weights of the runner's body - falls on the joints. To reduce risk, leading athletic shoe manufacturers produce a variety of running shoes with varying degrees of cushioning. “The incorrect selection of running shoes and running surface can lead to injuries to the spine, knee and ankle joints, says Yuri Glazkov, orthopedic traumatologist, candidate of medical sciences, full member of ESSKA, AAOS, ATOR, ASTAOR. “The most gentle running is running on dirt or in a stadium with rubber, cinder or special covering.”

However, most city dwellers have to run on asphalt. Moreover, for many years, competitions at distances from 5 km to ultramarathons have been held on asphalt - on blocked roads. “Running on asphalt is a specific type, the so-called “road running,” explains marathon runner, composer, blogger Andrey Klimkovsky. - This is not for beginners. You need to prepare for running on the highway: set up equipment, strengthen additional exercises muscles and ligaments so that they absorb shock, not joints. Overweight it is necessary to reset to such runs, and not in the process. Finally, choose the right shoes. Proper preparation minimizes the danger."

My conclusions:

Buy shock-absorbing running shoes.
Run slowly, alternate with walking.
Work on your running technique and strengthening your muscles (there are plenty of training videos on running websites).
Reset excess weight before the start of jogging.
Prepare your body for running by doing other aerobic training in a fitness club or while working out Nordic walking for several months.

Running training: different surfaces

In addition to road running, cross-country running (cross-country) and mountain running (trail) have recently become popular. How to combine training on different surfaces?

Low (trodden or clipped) grass and soft forest soil gently accept the descending foot and give a slight spring when pushing off. The ground or dirt road in the open in the heat is almost asphalt in terms of hardness. The advantage of hard surfaces is that they allow you to push off faster and more powerfully. As for concrete, it is harder than asphalt and even super shock-absorbing sneakers may not be enough to absorb the impact. At risk are not only overweight people, but also simply large, pumped-up people with heavy bones.

If you train on one type of surface, then when you switch to another, you feel like you are “stuck” when pushing off. However, after several workouts, the body muscles, including small muscles feet successfully adjust to the new surface.

*If you run “for yourself” , without focusing on participating in competitions, then simply choose the surface that is least traumatic in a given weather. "Soil, grass - a good choice for warm, dry weather, says master of sports in middle distance running, running coach Evgeniy Lebonda. — After rain they become slippery and dirty. In wet weather, asphalt is the best choice.”

*If you are preparing for a competition, then the bulk of your training should be done on a surface similar to the one you will be competing on. If highways and trails are equally interesting to you, try to run an equal number of kilometers in both. Or run on the surface that you have, and a couple of weeks before the run, do a mini-training session - 5-7 training sessions on a track similar to the competition one. “If possible, use all surfaces,” says Leonid Shvetsov, participant in two Olympics, Russian record holder in ultramarathon running, twice champion of the legendary Comrades ultramarathon, running coach. - For achievement best effect you need to have experience and instinct to wisely choose where, when, how much and in what mode to run.”