How can you train for a half-marathon in the gym?3 Mar

Whether you’re interested in running or not, working towards a goal like a half-marathon can often be something you want to cross off your bucket list. But how can you know where to start?

To start from scratch, or work towards running a half or full marathon can be overbearing; read on to find out how you can work your way up!

1. Set Realistic Expectations!
   It can be so hard to know where to start, but when starting something new, remember to look at what you want to achieve after you know where you want to get to, set expectations that you want to reach throughout the process. Give yourself enough time to train! We can often over anticipate how many days we will be in the gym, not factoring in rest days or a week if you get injured in the process. Professionals have years to train and work towards something like a marathon, set yourself realistic expectations that you know you can reach. Be disciplined, whether this is with a friend or having someone to keep you accountable, and train!
2. How can you train your body
   Knowing what exercises to use, what areas of your body need to work on, and more can be the first hurdle to running a half-marathon! You need to work on the areas that will help with your strength, balance, control, and that will condition your body to run long distances.
   You need to work on your core to keep it strong and balanced for when you’re running for a long time; to do this, you can use a lot of mat exercises. The main area that you will want to work on is your lower body. Squats and single-leg training will help you condition your body to handle running for a long time. Working on these areas will also help you reduce your risk of injury.
   Strengthening your ankles is often overlooked; however, if you don’t improve your ankles, you can suffer bad injuries. When exercising, repeat your exercises – a lot! Using repetition will help you work up the strength in your ankles; use activities like lunges, kettlebell swings and others that target your ankles.
   The whole time you’re exercising, remember to focus on developing your muscle endurance as well as strength, balance and preventing any injury in your legs. You will want to spend a lot of time running on the treadmill and working on your cardio; as your strength increases, start running on an incline to help stimulate a road. Most treadmills will be able to help you through resistance patterns, make sure you start with the basics before working you way up though!
3. Progress takes time
   Don’t push yourself too hard! Remember that it takes time to reach your goals, going to fast at once can cause injury. If you notice that you’re starting to struggle, use lower impact cardio equipment to help you maintain your regime but safely.
   Work towards your goals in steps; for example, start with trying to reach a 5k run before heading towards the half marathon!

Remember to break all you training down! If you’re struggling to know how to create a training plan, check out our blog on creating the perfect plan for you.

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