Hello. I'm around 5 ft. 11 in,, and (I haven't weighed myself in a while) probably around 140 lbs. I've been jogging around 3 miles a day for a couple of weeks. What should I shoot for? Is this a good amount? I kind of went too far a couple of days ago and ran about 8 miles in a day, so I took yesterday off. My goal is to strengthen my legs and stamina, but also to keep doing this until it feels like nothing to jog 3 or 4 miles. I'm sure a lot of you jog every day and can give me some good advice.
I've been doing that. I use an application called Nike+ on my iPhone. However, I jog with my fiancé, who is a foot shorter than me, and we don't always go at the same pace and I often stop to give her water if I'm carrying the bottle or I stop to get water if she is carrying it, etc. Thus, it says my average mile is 12 minutes when it is really 8 minutes when I don't stop. Though, when I've noticed my average mile time (when I don't stop) reducing when I don't stop, so I guess I've generally been doing the right thing.
You need to ask yourself "why?" Why do you need or want to run x number of miles for x number of days? For most martial arts systems you would do better with heavy lifting (squats and deadlifts) and sprints. If you just want to build a solid cardio base then running 1-2 days a week should suffice. Bear in mind there is a difference between running and jogging. Running requires a specific stride, pace, cadence etc. Running is when you get it right. Jogging is when you're doing it wrong.
When I trained marathon, I would run 5 days a week. In my normal life, I like to run only 3 times a week. If you are still young, I'll suggest 5 miles instead of 3 miles. Make sure you don't run on hard surface.
Have a look at this thread, in particular the section on running. http://www.martialartsplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106486 3 miles is a great distance, as it means your cardio level is at a point where you can add so much flexibility to the run. Definately a time to add fartlek to the run.
Thanks! I ran over 3 miles today and it felt great. Thanks for this advice, I started doing that a bit this morning, and I'll go at it again tomorrow.
I'm always skeptical of people saying long distance running isn't important, all combat atheltes used to have long morning runs as the cornerstone of their conditioning programmes. Has the cardio of fighters improved since they started doing HIIT and 'Caveman' training? I don't think it has, it's rare to see a top level boxer gas out, in MMA it's pretty common. I think fighting relies a lot more on the aerobic system than most people would like to think.
You want to strengthen your legs? Squats or leg presses do wonders for your quads, but you'll have to take a few days off running till the soreness wears off. But I heard long distance jogging diminishes muscle (myth?) ?
Before I agree with you 100%, (and I do hence the like on your thread lol) id just point out that MMA makes a very peculiar call on the bodies energy systems, it requires both aerobic endurance (anyone arguing a sport that can last 15 – 30 minutes is not aerobic really needs to read some books) but unlike say boxing or even Thai it also makes great call on the alactic system and requires great muscular strength for limited amounts of time. Unlike say boxing and even wrestling its energy system profile is very hard to train for, and that’s before you add in the fact that length of rounds and number of rounds can vary hugely: a striker in MMA getting ready for 5 x 5 championship rounds will have a totally different energy system requirement that a takedown specialist only fighting 2 x 3 minute amateur rounds for example Fighting is generally a power aerobic event: if you track a fighters heart rate during a fight you will see he is mainly aerobic with brief alactic sprints above his threshold, and seeing as the aerobic system plays such an important part in both recovery between rounds and flushing the system after an alactic burst anyone not doing a fair bit of aerobic work is just silly The form that aerobic training takes can vary, it can be distance running, medicine ball work and shadow boxing (for us heavy weights not looking to wreck knees) it can be light pad work, but the principle: spending a decent amount of time in the aerobic zone, is universal Add into this that the aerobic system needs to be also trained for power as well as capacity and you have a recipe for people getting it wrong and not understanding what system they are working, for instance a lot of caveman type work/ threshold type work is working on how much power your aerobic system can produce before going lactic, you are not working the lactic system per say
I think MMA fighters gas out more often because MMA is just so chaotic and unpredictable. Boxing seems a much more steady state of energy expenditure (although not as steady as long distance running of course). In MMA one second you're working well within your cardio limits the next you get a knee in the gut, fight off a guillotine, scramble to a stand up and wrestle out of a clinch and the gas is gone in 20 seconds. Nick Diaz never gasses and also runs Triathlons for fun so I think there is a link between developing a good base rate of fairly steady cardio as well as more specific "fight" cardio.
Thanks! I definitely agree with what you say here. I don't see why anyone would be against daily jogging?
You need both aerobic and anaerobic work in your schedule. But you have to train specific to your sport. The breakdown has always been said to be about a 70% (anaerobic) to 30% (aerobic) for a combat sport like kickboxing and by extension Muay Thai. Those who are working explosive movements and combat sports can run marathons. It's not going to kill them... but it's probably overkill when it comes to aerobic conditioning. The type of muscle fiber you start to develop when you are doing endurance running like marathons is a different gig than when you doing shorter runs like 5ks etc.
Sorry slip but if the breakdown for a 400m runner is now seen as nearly 50 50 between aerobic and anaerobic demands on the energy systems then those figures are way off I think what most people don’t realise is that all three systems are running at the same time, and even when the anaerobic system is working hard the aerobic system is going flat out too, its never an either or I agree you don’t need marathons but 30 – 60 mins three times a week is ok
Yeah I don't recall ever actually seeing the figures. I don't think most people have... so it is good to question it.
I have a theory that the reason old time boxers who just did 7 mile runs each morning for cardio and never did specific anaerobic work is becaue they got that with their skill work through pads and sparring. You cant train everything in isolation, there's not enough time and it would be too much work volume, you have to combine improving conditioning with skill work.
You effort for the jogging are the excellent. Jog for 3 miles daily is good amount and it is enough for your fitness, you should carry on your these efforts for maintaining your health and fitness.