The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide - Uniformed Services ...

Interval workouts are a great way toimprove performance.Varying Your WorkoutsIt is good idea to vary your daily running mileage so you have some “light” days inbetween heavy training. Avoid running long distances on two consecutive days, unless youare training for a marathon, to give your body time to recover. Listen to your body and paceyourself accordingly.Most importantly,it is good to cross-train.Consider biking, swimming, stair-climbing or other activities that will provide agood aerobic workout while mainly using muscles other than those used during running. Amajor benefit of cross training is that it prevents the onset of over-use injuries whilemaintaining fitness. For information about cross-training see Chapter 3: CardiorespiratoryConditioning. Strength training, especially upper body strength workouts, have become animportant part of a “runner’s” overall workout. It is recommended that you strength traintwo to three times a week (see Chapter 6).Common Running Injuriesor ProblemsMost running injuries are due to “over use” from running too much, i.e. too fast, toofar, or too often. See Chapter 12: Training and Sports Related Injuries for more informationabout injuries. The following table shows the incidence of various running injuries thatwere reported by male runners in a recent survey (Adapted from Running Injury-Free ByJoe Ellis with Joe Henderson, Rodale Press, 1994).The Navy SEAL Physical Fitness Guide 69