Minute 1: Cycling offers unique benefits for endurance athletes

The responses to our reader survey last year reminded us of a scene from the Blues Brothers movie, when Dan Ackroyd’s character asked: “What kind of music to you usually have here?” The woman with a cotton candy hairdo tending bar answered earnestly: “Oh, we got both kinds. We got country and western.” In our reader survey, y’all listed running as your favorite activity (no surprise) and hiking/walking as your second favorite form of exercise. If you are looking to expand your genres a little, cycling can be a welcome distraction from the daily grind and can also boost your running, according to: “These 8 Benefits of Cycling Will Convince You To Hop on a Bike ASAP.” One of cycling’s greatest strengths is its versatility. For starters, it can be done inside or out. That means you don’t need nice weather to take a ride. You can even use a stationary bike converter to train on a road bike from the comfort of home. Cycling is also a low-impact activity, unlike running, which makes it useful for active recovery. Slow rides are key for flushing out lactic acid and stimulating blood flow, according to this recent piece from MarathonHandbook: “The Benefits Of Cycling For Runners: How To Use Cycling To Improve Performance.” Many athletes also find it easier to keep their heart rate low while cycling compared to running. If you’ve tried to engage in zone 2 training as a runner but can’t seem to maintain your target BPM, an easy bike ride could be just the thing. Cycling can be an excellent tool for runners, but if you’d like to switch your focus and make it your main activity, you’ll want to read: “From runner to cyclist.”

#PedalToTheMedal

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Minute 2: 8 tips from a cross country coach

Of all the folks that dish out running advice, cross country coaches might be the most qualified. They work with many different athletes and many different race courses every season, and that forces them to innovate and adapt. That’s why respected endurance sports author Alex Kurt says: “8 Tips: Everything I Needed to Know About Running (I Learned from my Cross Country Coach).” Kurt recalls the advice of coach Tim Miles, who’s led Saint John’s University Cross Country with a fairly hands-off approach. Typically, He wouldn't prescribe specific paces or distances for his athletes to run; only general guidance on overall volume. As for workouts, here is how Kurt describes his coach’s philosophy: “Miles advocates running several B+ workouts so you can sustain that workload rather than running an A+ workout then missing training time to recover. Save the race effort for race day – workout days are in the service of race day. As Miles told us when we looked to be digging too deep in a workout: ‘Don’t pull your carrots out of the ground to see how they’re growing.’” Coach Miles also pointed out that you’ll have to take a break eventually, so it’s better to do it of your own free will, rather than waiting for injury or burnout to occur. It’s a good idea to be familiar with these: “8 Signs You Need A Rest Day” so you can be proactive with your recovery. A high resting heart rate and low heart rate variability can be a sign that your body is working hard to try and repair damaged muscle. Use a fitness tracker to observe these metrics for a heads up on when it’s time to kick back for a day. Furthermore, pay attention to the way your body feels, and if you’re frequently tired and sore, it’s probably time for some rest.

#PacePerMiles

Minute 3: Brussel sprouts are an underrated veggie

When you see a plate of brussel sprouts, you may be reminded of a bitter taste and a zealous parent begging you to “Just try them!” Childhood PTSD aside, brussel sprouts can bring a lot of nutritional value to the table. Not only that, but the average brussel sprout has changed in flavor compared to what you remember growing up. If you’re willing to give them a second chance, you should read: “What Happens to Your Body When You Eat Brussels Sprouts Regularly.” Thanks to their antioxidant and fiber content, brussel sprouts can improve gut health to help your digestion and nutrient absorption. Brussel sprouts also contain a compound known as Sulforaphane that’s commonly found in cruciferous veggies. One study found that those who ate a diet full of cruciferous vegetables had a 41% lower risk of stomach cancer. We get it, nutrition isn’t always enough to make you choose a food. It’s got to taste good too, but the good news is that thanks to cross breeding (not the bad GMO stuff) done by brussel sprout farmers, the bitter flavor you might remember has mellowed out significantly. Brussel sprouts are the first of many veggies that could see a change in flavor thanks to scientific innovations, and to learn more about that, you can read: “Tweaking Vegetables’ Genes Could Make Them Tastier—And You’ll Get to Try Them Soon.”

#SproutShoutOut

Minute 4: What should you look for in a lightweight shoe?

Runners have been debating the merits of minimal vs. maximal shoe design for decades. Proponents of minimalist shoes claim they can reduce injury by discouraging heel striking, but the maximalist camp has fired back with data that suggests there’s nothing inherently wrong with a heel strike. For anyone interested in trying minimalist footwear, you’ll want to read the first study mentioned in: “Revolutionize Your Fitness Regimen: 5 Top Exercise Science Findings You Can Use Today.” The trial in question was conducted by the U.S. Air Force, and they compared the injury rate of trainees running in standard running shoes vs. those wearing the lightweight Topo Fli-Lyte 4. Remarkably, the Topo shoe users saw a 43% reduction in bone stress injuries. What sets that shoe apart? Well, Topo’s design aims for lighter weight, lots of flexibility, a 3mm heel-to-toe drop, a pliable heel counter, and a wide toe box. If you are looking for a minimalist shoe, you should look for an option that has some or all of these qualities. The way you adjust to a minimalist shoe could be just as important as the model you pick, so you should learn: “How to Transition to Barefoot Shoes” before you give it a go. Experts say the key to avoiding injury is making the change at a gradual pace. That means wearing the barefoot shoe around the house or taking it for short walks before jumping into your full running routine. If you make the switch the right way, some runners have found increased foot strength, lower rates of injury, better balance, and more.

#HeelOrNoHeel

Minute 5: Quick Intervals

• It’s been said that our own mind is the greatest limitation to our athletic performance, and Vriko Kwok might be living proof of that. Over the course of only 11 months, she went from an absolute running beginner to an ultramarathoner, completing a 188-mile race that took place over six days. Her motto is: “If your dream doesn't scare you, it's not big enough.” It is likely Vriko’s mindset that allowed her to achieve this remarkable feat. See the details in: “She Had Never Run a Mile in Her Life, Then She Completed a 6-Day Ultramarathon at Age 31. Here’s How She Did It.”

• We’re not sure why, but CrossFit and interval training culture seems a bit obsessed with abbreviations. There’s HIIT, WODs, AMRAP, and now EMOM. That last acronym stands for “every minute on the minute,” and it’s a way to pace your interval training for some serious cardiovascular endurance improvement. It resonated with us because we like to keep our heart rate up when we are doing work in the gym. If you want to learn how it's done, as well as see a few example workouts, check out: “EMOM Workouts: A High-Intensity Interval Training Option.”

• Is there a best time to go for a run? It’s a question we’ve investigated quite a bit, and the more we learn, the more complicated the answer gets. That’s because there are pros and cons to exercising at each point in the day, and if you’re curious to see how each time frame differs, you can read: “No, We Still Haven't Figured Out When The Best Time To Go For A Run Is... But We Might Be Getting Closer.”

Minute 6: Daily Inspiration

Marathoners, picture this: you’re in the middle of a race tackling one of the hardest sections of the course and you complete a mile split. Your fitness tracker informs you that your pace has fallen way off target, and as if your motivation wasn’t struggling already, you’ve now got objective proof things aren’t going your way. What’s the solution, should you ditch the watch entirely? That won’t be necessary, thanks to this tip shared by Reed Fischer of @hammerandaxetraining. He recommends switching your intervals from a mile to a 5k, taking down the number of splits in a marathon from 26 to 8. That gives you the freedom to focus on your run itself, not the numbers, and it will allow any particularly hard sections of the race to come out in the wash. It’s a simple switch, but it can produce a massive change in your mental outlook. Details are in this provocative video.