Daily Default Workout -- Day #6 Week #3

Today we rest or cross train in order to get ready for the longest run of the summer tomorrow. 

Today is thus a good day to talk about building resilience through strength training. 

If you are not doing it already consider adding some mini-strength circuits as part of your weekly routine. You can do these pre run or post run. I prefer circuits that encourage movement in multiple planes of movement. 

Running occurs in the Sagittal plane of movement. It is the most common plane of movement as it includes moving forward and backward. Because it is such a common plane of movement many believe we become vulnerable to overuse injury unless we do some training in all planes of movement. 

The other two planes are frontal plane which includes lateral movements. And the transverse plane which is our rotational movements. I have a coaching friend who believes transverse plane is the most neglected plane and thus the one that can lead to injuries the most if we all of a sudden are forced to move into that plane. 

Often when we think of strength training we think we have to do 40 to 60 minutes of training. I recommend starting with much less. Above is a video of a circuit I call the Daily Default workout. It was created by my coaching friend Tracy Fober (aka as the IRON MAVEN). 

The list of exercises in the Daily Default workout is below. I have intentionally left out the reps. In the video you will see suggested reps, but I have changed my opinion on that since I created the video. I now suggest gradually increasing reps on most of the exercises - most to 12 except the calf raises. I also recommend slowing down the pace of the exercises compared to how fast I do them in the video. 

Give all or part of this workout a try and tell me how it makes you feel. I have a number of athletes and coaches who love doing the shoulder series every day without weight because it makes them feel good. If you do the shoulder series with weight keep it to 2 pounds in each hand or less. 

DAILY DEFAULT Workout

1) Shoulder Series with or without weight

a. Shoulder Flexion

b. Shoulder Abduction

c. W into V Raises

d. Backstroke

e. Alternating Still Punching 

2) Prisoner Squats

3) Rise and Shine Pushups

4) Calf Raises

5) Cross and Touch