I was reading an article about keeping a person’s running and walking interesting and fun. One of the suggestions was to change to a different route than the usual routine. I recall one of my favorite runs was along the river walk. It was a mile away but the two miles along the river and trees was worth the extra mile. Another suggestion was to add some hills to the route. I was fortunate to live in a neighborhood that had several hills within a few blocks of my home. Some were long gentle hills and others were steep and short. Then I had different routes for distance. The shortest was three miles and the longest was 13 miles with a good number in between the two extremes. It was a choice I made depending on how I felt and how far the run was yesterday. The variety made it much easier to go on a daily run.
One other suggestion to change from the usual running or walking was to add weights. There are three primary locations to add weights to the body to increase the strength for running. One is to hold weights in your hands, a second location is to attach weighted ankle straps to your ankles, and a third is to wear a weighted backpack. There are pro’s and con’s to adding weights to improve your running. The one thing to remember is that you are trying to increase your strength for running and not a weightlifting contest.
I have seen runners carrying a set of dumbbells in their hands to add some weight to their run. The one thing I notice the most frequently is that after a short distance the arms are straight and hanging down along their hips. The purpose of carrying weights was to be able to pump the arms up and down in the same motion used in your normal running style. The weight was too heavy to be of any good to increase arm strength for running. Even holding five pounds with a bent arm for 30 minutes or more is a difficult task. The hand weights need to be closer to one or two pounds to maintain a good arm action for any distance. The pumping of the arms and the bending at the elbow is needed when the runner is carrying weights in their hands. When the arms hang straight down from the shoulders without any movement it will also change your foot pattern and that has the possibility of causing an injury.
