It is no secret that running is a great way to train your body. But as with any hobby, you may burn out if you repeat the same thing over and over again.
Progression running can be a great way of changing the pace (pun intended).
So what is a progression run? As the name suggests, it is a routine that gets progressively harder: you have an easy start, slowly build to a medium effort, and finish at high intensity. In short, a progression workout is a fun way of training while increasing your aerobic capabilities and a safe way for high-effort training.
In this article, you will find the benefits of a progressive run, its types, and training tips to maximize its effect.
Benefits
Progression running has several benefits. Some of them listed below may encourage you to add this type of training to your running routine. So let’s have a look.
Lower Risk of Injury
A properly executed running progression is less likely to overwork tired legs, reducing the risk of injury since you are not putting as much pressure on your body as you would during a regular training routine.
Develops Physical Fitness
A progressive run can be equally or more effective for your overall physical fitness. Running at low or medium effort gives you the same benefits as a long-distance run, but sprinting the final stretch also boosts your aerobic capacities, leading to a quicker race pace and shorter recovery time.
Muscle Warm-Up
Starting slow allows your body to wake up and warm up before going progressively faster, gradually elevating your heart rate instead of doing it all at once and giving you more endurance for a long-distance run.
Burn Fat
Running slow for a long time allows your body to eventually deplete its glycogen stores and move on to burning fat. This has many benefits, such as losing weight and making your body more efficient.
Build Fatigue Resistance
Progression running helps improve your body’s aerobic system. Thus, you will be able to sustain physical activities for longer without getting tired, which is especially useful for long-distance runners.
Variety
Physical fatigue is just one way of being tired. Mental fatigue is just as devastating. Doing the same routines over and over again will quickly exhaust you morally.
This is why progression running can be a nice change of pace (pun definitely intended), helping you stave off mental fatigue.
Types
In addition to the benefits of progression running, you also need to know its types to choose the right one for you.
Thirds
Split your running routine into three equal parts of 20 minutes (or less if you are only a novice runner). In the first part, start by running at a slow pace, then speed up to a marathon pace in the second part, and finish by running at a hard effort in the final part. Keep in mind that a hard effort is not your maximum speed.
Long Progression
This routine can have a few variations. For beginners, we recommend going for 60 minutes total and dividing the run into four 15-minute parts. More seasoned runners should train for 90 minutes total, with three 30-minute segments.
Regardless of your division, you run the first part at a leisurely pace, slightly increase the pace in the middle, and run the final part at a high effort. This run is longer than other types, having a slow progression speed. This slow progression phase facilitates aerobic training more than other routines but may also be more challenging due to its length.
Fast Finish
Unlike the other two types, you actually accelerate to your maximum speed in this workout. We recommend training for 60 minutes in total. You run at an easy pace for most of the run and then speed up to your fastest speed for the last 4–6 minutes of the run.
This routine is especially useful for competitive racers since it will help you get used to proper racing day techniques. This routine might leave you completely out of breath by the end, but you should not feel any soreness if you are an experienced runner.
Beginners might feel a bit sore, but it should not interfere with your regular training routine too much.
Splits
Arguably the easiest approach is splitting your routine into smaller chunks, which are also divided into parts. A split will consist of 3 minutes at a leisurely pace, 3 minutes at a medium pace, 3 minutes at a hard pace, and 2 minutes at a very easy pace or walking. Do 4 splits total.
Training Tips
Let’s go through some training tips to improve your experience further.
Distance
While all our recommended routines are time-based, you can easily divide the workout by distance. If it makes you physically or mentally more comfortable, we suggest doing that.
Frequency
Depending on your goals, it is important to understand how frequently you should include these progression training routines. We recommend starting with one workout per week and going for two or even three workouts if you are confident in your abilities.
It is relatively easy to recover from progression runs, but we still recommend scheduling them between two recovery days.
Comfort
When you first start incorporating progression runs into your routine, start slow and listen to your body. You do not want to overexert your body. While these are not the most intensive workouts, they are different from your typical routine, so you need time to adjust.
Treadmill
If you get bored with ordinary running on a treadmill, try switching things up by doing a progression run. Although you are still on a treadmill, progression running feels different enough to entertain you.
Conclusion
Progression running is a nice change of pace from your regular training that has many benefits. It is a fantastic training routine that results in less physical fatigue, helping you build your body’s aerobic system. When you are comfortable using our recommended routines, feel free to switch things up or increase the intensity or duration of your training.
