Run Suwanee

Training Strategies for Weight-Loss

So after some self-analysis, you’ve decided that you are carrying a few extra pounds.  As previously discussed, extra weight/fat not only impedes your running economy but also subjects you to greater risk of injury.  So one of your goals is to lose this weight/fat in an efficient and healthy manner.  Doing so involves effective training and nutritional strategies.  In this article, we’ll discuss the training strategies that will boost your metabolism and aid weight and fat loss.

 

Understand the Numbers and Set Realistic Goals:

One pound is the equivalent of approximately 3,500 calories.  Running burns approximately 100 calories per mile.  Therefore, all things being equal, it takes 35 miles of running to lose one pound.  An awareness of these numbers lends appreciation to the slow and gradual process of healthy weight (fat) loss.  By these standards, a goal of losing more than ½ to 1 pound of body-fat per week may be unrealistic.  This would require a calorie deficit of approximately 1,725 to 3,500 calories per week or 250 to 500 carlories per day. 

 

Be Consistent and Stay Injury-Free:

You cannot lose weight by running if you are injured.  Avoid training errors and overuse injuries by training smart.  This means gradual mileage increases, appropriate introduction of speed-work, and knowing when to back-off your training and take rest days.  The biggest single obstacle to most runners’ goals is a lack of consistency in training.  Getting injured and having to start your training from scratch is defeats your weight-loss goal.

 

Go Slow and Long:

During the first 20 minutes of running, we use carbohydrates as our primary fuel sources.  From 20 to 40 minutes, we begin to burn and increasing amount of fat.  Beyond 40 minutes of running, we burn fat as our primary fuel source.  Since the object of weight-loss is really fat-loss, it should be your goal to spend as much time as safely possible in this fat-burning range.  This means running at an easy aerobic pace and even taking walking breaks if necessary to safely extend your work-outs.  The more time you spend in this fat-burning zone, the more efficiently your body will learn to access and use fat stores.  Once this is accomplished, your fat burning and the associated weight-loss will truly accelerate.

 

Cross-Train:

While you are building a base of training to get you beyond 40 minutes of running (fat burning zone), use other non-impact forms of cross-training to support your aerobic fitness and reduce your risk of injury.  Swimming, yoga, weight-training, and biking are all safe activities that should complement your aerobic fitness and weight-loss goals.  While most of these activities do not burn as many calories per hour as running (none do), they provide an injury-free way to reach your goal and support your running as well.  Cross-training is safest and most effect on your easy or rest days.

 

Sleep More:

Depriving yourself of sleep is counter-productive to weight-loss.  Sleep deprivation increases hormones that stimulate appetite and decreases hormones that suppress appetite.  While individual sleep needs vary, the average persons need 7-9 hours of sleep per night.  Also, as your training ramps-up, your body needs additional sleep to repair muscle damage and recharge for your next work-out.  The running-related benefits of sleep cannot be underestimated.

 

Be Patient:

Running is one of the most efficient means to healthy weight and fat loss.  Regardless, running is not a magic pill, fat-flush, or abdominal-related gimmick.  Healthy weight-loss through running is indeed a slow process that occurs only through consistent, smart, and injury-free training over days, weeks, and months.  No short-cuts exist.  Slight daily calorie deficits spurred, in part, by increasing running mileage takes time to yield noticeable results.  Because the process is slow, patience is one of the most important components of an effective running-related weight-loss plan.  Through patience, however, your weight-loss will be hard-earned and more permanent.

 

 

What Is My Ideal Running Weight?

While no absolute answers to this question exist, it is worth discussing nonetheless.  We are all unique creatures built differently.  This is why no one can look you up and down and say that “X” is your ideal running weight.  What is undisputed, however, is that carrying extra weight adds impact stress to every foot strike and requires additional effort for every stride.  On the other hand, being underweight can lead to a myriad of health problems and won’t allow you sufficient strength to support your training or your immune system.  This is why your ideal running weight is the weight at which you feel best and run most economically.  It is not a magical number reached through a computer-based model. 

 

With that said, some guidelines exist that can help you objectively determine an appropriate weight range for you.  Body Mass Index (BMI) is an objective assessment of one’s weight taking into consideration one’s height.  A BMI of 18.5-24.9 is considered normal.  A BMI on the high end of this range or over may indicate that you are not at an efficient running weight.  Most competitive runners will likely fall at the lower end of this BMI range. 

Do not, however, let BMI solely determine your ideal running weight.  Body composition or body fat percentage is perhaps a more useful self-assessment tool.  The American Council on Exercise provides the following body fat composition guidelines for men and women:

 

	Men	Women
Athletic Range	6-12%	14-20%
Fitness Range	14-17%	21-24%
Acceptable Range	18-25%	25-31%

 

Where you want or need to be on this chart depends on your goals.  Maintaining a body fat percentage in the lower athletic range will certainly allow you to run more economically and reduce your rate of injury.  Nothing is inherently wrong with maintaining a healthy amount of body fat in the fitness or even acceptable range.  Remember, however, that you are a runner and it is your intention to drag your body (including fat) as far as 26.2 miles or more in some circumstances.  With that in mind, I’d rather drag around a lesser percentage of body fat. 

 

In addition to BMI ratings and body fat composition, let your running performance guide you to an ideal running weight.  As you hone-in on your ideal weight and body composition, your performance should improve and rate of injury should decrease.

 

Running with a few extra pounds of body weight is not the end of the earth.  In fact, many of us run simply so we can consume beer and ice cream at will.  If that’s your situation, more power to you.  But if your goal is to run faster and remain injury-free, then reaching and maintaining your ideal running weight and body composition is a part of this equation.

Running for Weight-Loss

One of the benefits of running is that you are allowed to enjoy your favorite foods and beverages without guilt.  If, however, you are serious about improving your race times and reducing your rate of injury, consider putting down the donut and losing a few pounds.  As runners, we focus on our training plans, weekly mileage totals, long runs, and speed workouts.  Sometimes, however, we lose focus on arguably, the single most important contributor to our running success, our weight.  This is the first of a four-part article in which we’ll explore following weighty topics:

 

Part One:     How does weight affect my performance?

Part Two:     What is my ideal running weight?

Part Three:  Training strategies for weight-loss.

Part Four:    Nutritional strategies for weight-loss.

 

Part One:  How does weight affect my performance?

 

Vehicle fuel economy is based on engine type, aerodynamics, tire inflation, and a number of other factors.  Regardless, a lighter vehicle will generally use less fuel per mile than a heavier vehicle.  Running economy is built on a similar premise.  Running economy is the amount of oxygen you utilize at a given speed.  If you are carrying few pounds of extra weight, logically you’ll need to utilize extra oxygen to move that weight.  All things being equal, a runner at his ideal weight will be more economical than a runner that is 10 pounds overweight.  A more economical runner using less oxygen at a given speed will ultimately win the race.

 

In more practical terms, for every pound you lose, you’ll run two seconds faster per mile, according to Tom Osler, author of “The Serious Runner’s Handbook.”   For example, if you lose 10 pounds, you’ll run 1:02 faster in the 5k, 2:04 faster in the 10k, and 8:44 faster in the marathon.  These are huge time improvements that would be difficult with training alone (without weight loss).  Keep in mind that Osler’s two second rule only works until you reach your ideal weight.  As we’ll discuss later, if you drop below your ideal weight, your running and general health will suffer. 

 

Your weight also affects your ability to train consistently and injury-free.  Whoever said that running wasn’t a contact sport?  At impact, every foot-strike generates two to three time your bodyweight of stress on your muscular-skeletal system.  That is a lot of shock and easily explains runner’s knee, skin splints, and other maladies runner’s frequently fact.  Simply put, achieving your ideal running weight will reduce impact stress on your system and will significantly reduce the likelihood of injury.

Run Circles Around Life’s Challenges with Adaptive Scheduling

You’ve just printed-out the perfect 16-week training schedule from Running Times, Runner’s World, or Hal Higdon’s website.  Just follow the program exactly and you’ll race like a beast and set a personal best.  One small problem – while your training program may be perfect, life is not.  At some point, you’ll face challenges that will throw a wrench in your training plan.  Challenges may come in the form of family, work, illness, or injury.  When these challenges do not allow you to follow your schedule as required, how will you respond?  How you adapt to these challenges will play a large part in your program’s success.  Consider the following guidelines when faced with life’s challenges to your perfect training program.

One Missed Work-Out (Non-Injury):

An occasional missed work-out should have no impact on your training as long as you carefully schedule your important work-outs during the week.  Remember to never schedule consecutive hard days in terms of mileage or intensity.  If your long run is on Saturdays, consider scheduling Mondays and Wednesdays as your hard workout days.  By doing so you’ll create some cushion and flexibility to your schedule for the inevitable missed work-out.  For example, if work gets crazy on Monday, you can always shift your hard workouts to Tuesday and Thursday and have Friday to rest before your long run on Saturday.  If your hard workouts were originally scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday and you have to move them back to Wednesday and Friday, no cushion exists to provide an easy day or day of rest before your Saturday long run.

2-4 Days Off (Non-Injury):

Let’s assume that you miss two or three days of running because you’ve got a deadline at work or your kids are sick.  You have not lost fitness so feel free to resume your program as if you never missed a day.  Do not try to squeeze in extra miles to meet a weekly mileage total.  Do not run back-to-back hard workouts to squeeze in speed-work.  Such efforts may lead to injury.  If Tuesday was your last run and you are unable to run the next three days, simply pick-up your schedule as called for on Saturday.

5-10 Days Off (Non-Injury)

Let’s assume that you fall victim to the flu or another virus and cannot run for 5-10 days.  You may have lost some fitness.  Be careful and try to restart your program where you left it in terms of mileage and intensity.  Don’t skip ahead as your body may not respond well to the increased stress.  For example, let’s assume you completed week 6 of your program and then missed the next week.  Don’t skip ahead to week 8.  Consider restarting your program by repeating week 6 again or carefully moving into week 7.

Slight Aches and Pains:

At some point during your training program, you may encounter an overly tight hamstring or a nagging pain under your knee cap.  Your body is talking to you.  Listen to it.  Take a few days off to rest and treat the minor injury.  Gently stretch tight muscles or elevate and ice an inflamed knee.  Also consider the root cause of the minor injury.  Have you increased your mileage or intensity too quickly?  Consider alternate forms of exercise like swimming or biking that will not aggravate the stressed body part.  If your symptoms have ceased and you have not committed any known training errors, resume your schedule with an easy day and move ahead as planned.  Do not try to meet weekly mileage goals or squeeze in quality workouts that you missed.  Missing a day or two of running will not impact your training significantly.  Allowing a minor ache to blow-up into a major injury, however, will sideline you and force you to start from scratch.

Significant injuries or training interruptions involving more than 10-14 days should be handled with extreme caution.  You cannot run through injuries or disregard basic training principles (hard/easy days, 10 percent rule of weekly mileage progressions, etc.) without catastrophic consequences.  Regardless, by carefully listening to your body and intelligently adapting your training schedule, you can run around life’s minor obstacles on your way to success in your goal race.

Ace Your Base - Base-Building Principles

When asked how he ran so fast, fictional runner Quentin Cassidy responded, “The Trial of Miles; Miles of Trials.”  This quote from John L. Parker’s running cult classic Once a Runner succinctly describes the base-building phase of training.  Months of slow, steady, and unglamorous mileage increases are what prepares us for more progressive training and future success.  Base-building, however, can be the most difficult part of training for many runners.  We runners are an impatient bunch.  We want to increase weekly mileage and long runs quickly.  We also want to blaze because running fast is more fun.  Many of us are currently building mileage for big spring events such as a marathon or half-marathon.  Some of us are building mileage in the hopes of setting PRs in 5k or 10k races.  With these goals in mind, winter is a great time to revisit some common principles and strategies behind effective base-building.

 

Why Build a Base?  Base-building helps increase aerobic endurance and builds running muscles for more demanding training and racing in the future.  By building an adequate base, runners lay down a foundation for injury-free training and racing.  Easy running and gradual mileage increases associated with base-building also provide us with less tangible benefits such as the development of a consistent weekly routine of smart running, adequate sleep, healthy eating habits, stretching, and strength training.  This less-stressful training phase also allows us to work on developing an economical running form and stride rate.

 

Run Your Pace:  The vast majority of your base-building training should be run at an easy, comfortable, and relaxed pace.  Your easy-run pace is based on your current level of fitness (not your goal race pace).  For example, let’s say you just ran the Peachtree Road Race in 50 minutes (8:02 pace).  Your easy run pace is approximately 9:30 to 10:15 minutes per mile.  Generally, your easy runs should be 1:30 to 2:15 per mile slower than your 10k race pace.  In practical terms, easy pace means a pace in which you could carry-on a conversation without getting out of breath.   In technical terms, this means about 65% to 79% of your maximum heart rate or 59% to 74% of your VO2 max.  If your 10k race pace is 8:02 per mile, 9:30 to 10:15 per mile may seem really slow.  That’s the point.  During base-building you are training your aerobic endurance system.  To effectively train your aerobic endurance, logic follows that you’ll need to stay within your aerobic endurance training zone (no more than 79% of your maximum heart rate or 74% of your VO2 max).  If you run faster than your prescribed pace, you are no longer training your aerobic endurance system, you are training your anaerobic energy system.  The sharpening or speed-work phase of training will provide you with plenty of opportunities to train your anaerobic energy system.  So during base-building, stick to your prescribed easy pace based on your current level of fitness.  As your fitness improves, future races and time trials will provide opportunities to reset to a faster easy run pace.

 

10 Percent Rule:  We’ve all heard this rule before because it works.  Runners should avoid increasing weekly mileage by more than 10 percent per week.  So you ran 20 miles last week injury-free.  You may run no more than 22 miles this week.  Older or oft-injured runners may want to increase weekly mileage at an even slower rate.  These mileage progressions are indeed slow and boring but they are meant to protect us.  Our cardiovascular and respiratory systems are highly adaptive, which is why we often prematurely feel ready for greater mileage increases.  Unfortunately, our muscular-skeletal system is slower to adapt to training stress.  Studies have shown that our muscles and connective tissues lag cardio-respiratory systems in adaptation by up to 6-10 weeks.  This is one of the reasons why runners so frequently suffer from overuse injuries like plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, Achilles tendonitis, hamstring strains, and stress fractures.  We simply don’t allow our muscles and connective tissues enough time to adapt to training stress.  The 10 Percent Rule is a reasonable guideline to help prevent these maladies and allow us to build an effective base and train injury-free.

 

Hills Can Kill:  During base-building, easy runs should be conducted on relatively flat courses.  The goal of these runs is to operate within our aerobic endurance zone.  Even moderate up-hills send our heart rate soaring, pushing us into a counter-productive anaerobic zone.  Up-hills also place enormous stress on our Achilles, calves, and hamstrings.  Down-hills result in tremendous shock to our knee joints.  For these reasons, hills present a significant risk for injury and are best avoided during base-building.  To the extent that hills are unavoidable, consider slowing your pace considerably or walking if necessary.  Don’t get me wrong - hills have an appropriate place most training plans.  Hill training is a form of strength training for runners and serves as an excellent transition from base building to speed-work.  During early base-building, however, hills should be avoided or approached with caution.

 

Daily Mileage Variability:  We’ve all heard that hard training days should be alternated with easy training days (or even rest days).  The training stress of a hard day is followed by an easy day to allow for rest and sought-after physiological adaptations.  During the base-building phase of training, hard and easy days are expressed in terms of mileage – not pace.  If a hard day is a 6-mile run at easy pace, the following easy day might be a 3-mile run at easy pace.  Both runs are conducted at easy pace but one is longer than the other.   Daily mileage variability is also an important in avoiding overtraining and injury.  

 

Runner impatience is a common enemy during the base-building phase.  Runners often feel that running slow is boring and unwisely speed-up their daily training pace.  By doing so, you may be running outside of your target aerobic endurance zone and will not be able to achieve the desired physiological adaptations.  Be patient through your base-building phase.  Buy an iPOD, find a running partner or group, watch your favorite television program while running on the treadmill, or try different running routes.  Bottom line – do whatever it takes to train smart and consistently during the base-building phase.  By staying injury-free through your base-building phase, you’ll lay the foundation for more exciting and progressive training in the future.