Greetings Groovy Soapbox Readers!

Did you ever think about WHY you are working out or WHAT you are doing in your workouts? Or do you space out, or just do the same workout you did the day before, or even hop into someone else’s workout because you can’t think of something to do on your own? What I mean is this, dear Groovy Readers: Do you keep your purpose or eventual goal in mind with each of your workouts?

Too often, people get into a rut or routine with their workouts. Sometimes it is because they don’t know any other way to train. Sometimes it is because they are following bad advice or have bad information. But let me say that if you don’t do Purposeful Workouts, you are simply spinning your wheels.

Before you even begin a training program, you should determine your goal. Then you can make sure that each of your workouts matches your fitness goal, thus making them more effective (and a more effective use of your often-limited time).

For instance, if you were training for an endurance sport or event, you would need to make sure that you did a majority of your training at a fairly moderate level, that you went for a long time, and that you took short rest between efforts. Let’s say that you were training for a marathon. You would do long runs once a week that were at a comfortable-to-slightly-uncomfortable pace. You would do speedwork that consisted of tempo runs and longer intervals that were at a moderately-hard-but-not-all-out-sprint pace. And if you were cross training, you might lift weights of a moderate weight with lots of reps and a short rest between sets.

But, if you were training for a sprint or power sport, you would need to do the majority of your training at a high intensity, with high speed, and with long rest in between your intervals or sets. As an example, you might do track repeats of 800 meters or less, do them almost as hard as you could, and take complete rest between repeats. Or in weight training, you might lift a near-max amount of weight but only a few reps, again with complete rest between sets.

Below are some specific examples of Purposeful Workouts:

GOAL: Races of longer distances (10 miles and up).

SAMPLE WORKOUTS:
• Hill Repeats. Warm up with one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace. Then do 5-7 repeats of a long, moderately steep hill. Do the uphill at a consistent 75-80% effort, and the downhill at a very easy 50% effort. The goal is to do every hill repeat at a consistent effort (last one as hard as first one). Cool down with one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace.
• Weight Training. Choose 5-7 exercises, with at least one exercise per major muscle group (e.g. squat, lunges, back extensions, lat pulldown, military press, and triceps extension). Then do 3 sets of 10 reps for each exercise, taking 30 to 45 seconds of rest between sets. Use a weight that you can do somewhat comfortably, that feels like a 70-75% effort.
• Tempo Run. Warm up for one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace. Then do two or three miles (depending where you are in your training) at just a hair under your intended race pace. Cool down for one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace.

GOAL: Races of shorter distances.

SAMPLE WORKOUTS:
• Hill Repeats. Warm up with one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace. Then do 5-7 repeats of a short, fairly steep hill. Do the uphill at a consistent 85-90% effort, and the downhill at a walk. The goal is to do every hill repeat at a consistent effort (last one as hard as first one), and since you are going almost all out, you will need to be completely recovered before you do your next hill sprint. Cool down with one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace.
• Weight Training. Choose 5-7 exercises, with at least one exercise per major muscle group, as above. Then do 3 sets of 4 or 5 reps for each exercise, taking up to 2 minutes of rest between sets. Use a weight that is almost a struggle, that feels like a 90% effort.
• Tempo Run. Warm up for one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace. Then do one or two miles (depending where you are in your training) at just a hair under your intended race pace. Cool down for one or one-and-a-half miles at an easy pace.

Now you can make all your workouts count for more! By keeping your eye on the goal, you can improve more quickly, stay healthier because you are training effectively, and use your time more wisely. Enjoy! Oh, and don't forget the Soapbox Smackdown contest! See December 2006's column for full details!

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