So you tried looking for that silver bullet, you tried to figure out what is going to make you the fastest the soonest you possibly can be.
I'm Jesse Funk and this is Runners High, the long-distance running show.
Today, I want to share with you my number 1 tip for getting your speed and stamina better in endurance running, and that's going to be working on your limiters.
So you want to know what a limiter is.
A limiter is something that actually is holding you back from being the best runner that you could possibly be.
It holds you back from your maximal amount of movement.
Now, today, my limiter actually as sleepy, as he is, is Toby, he's not going to let me go anywhere. Toby aside, a limiter is actually a term I took from Joe Friel's triathletes training Bible.
Now, you may not actually be a triathlete, but don't worry about that part, Joe Friel is one of the most respected triathlon coaches in the industry.
Keep in mind he specializes in 3 sports, but it's an endurance sport and he knows the science behind it.
The 3 limiters that Friel talks about in his book are endurance, force, and speed.
Endurance is exactly what you think it would be; your ability to resist fatigue over time. It’s something that we put a lot of emphasis on as endurance athletes; it's kind of what we do. But sometimes we forget about the other 2.
Force is your ability to overcome a large amount of power or resistance. So think about when you are out running and it gets really windy, you're running into a headwind or you're running up a hill, how easily do you overcome those things?
That is your ability to produce a large amount of force.
Now, our last one, speed, is actually not what you think it is. It is the efficiency or economy of your running; it’s how efficient your muscles are being used.
So subscribe to the channel to stay tuned for future videos because I'm going to show you a little bit more about proper running form and efficiency in another video.
But for today, my number 1 tip is to focus on that limiter that is holding you back the most.
So for me as an example, endurance is my strong point; it always has been. If I go out for a 5-mile tempo run with guys of similar ability, I'm going to do fairly well within that group.
But force is my limiter; I always have to work on force. So if we take those same group of guys and I go over to the track with them and we're doing 400 meter repeats at a high level, well, I'm probably going to get crushed by those guys because force is just my weak point.
When I improve my force, it allows the endurance abilities that I already have to shine because I'm all able to produce that higher amount of force for a longer period of time through training.
So when you increase your ability in your weakest discipline, your strongest discipline will actually be able to shine through even better.
If you’d like more tips on running in the future, don't forget to hit subscribe, stay tuned to the channel at Runner's High, and Toby, as sleepy as he is, may even make an appearance in the future. We'll see you next time