All that running is making you SLOW... and weak.

This one is for the weekend warriors out there. I see you on Instagram, posting about running 5k races. I see you excited about your 30 minute times and that’s awesome. I’m excited too and I don’t want you to ever lose your enthusiasm for running. I fucking love running. 

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But…

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If you’d run WAY LESS, and put to practice what I’m about to tell you, your 5k times will shrink from 30 minutes to 24 minutes in weeks, not months. In months? Who the fuck knows? The side effect of my method is also a strong, jacked physique, better libido, and a bunch of other awesome shit. 

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Run “WAY LESS?” 

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Yes.

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Let me explain.

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First… you’re not a gifted, elite level, genetic freak like (insert insanely fast motherfucker here). You’re Todd from Ohio, and you have a day job, a wife, 3 kids, and physical limitations that don’t plague that gifted gentleman. You don’t need to achieve the carefully regulated, 130 pound physique of the guy who’s trying to shed half a second off his sub-13 minute 5k by shedding a pound of unneeded body mass. His goals and your goals are worlds apart, so why the hell would his training methods look at all like yours? They shouldn’t.

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Here’s the reality for you, Todd from Ohio: If you’ve been running for any amount of time and you’re not still improving, one of 2 things is likely (or maybe both).

1. Your form is unadulterated dog shit. Click here for more on that.
2. You’ve reached peak, or near peak, cardio capacity and running more isn’t going to make you faster. 

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In the very likely event that you fall into the number 2 bucket, what that means is you need to focus on strength and power. Having MOOOAAAR power in your legs, core, and shoulders will help you reach YOUR potential. That’s what life is all about, right? 

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There is a marriage between strength, power, and endurance that will help each and every human being achieve their optimal level of speed over a specific distance. For the lung-on-legs elite guy, that balance weighs heavily in favor of a genetic predisposition toward cardiovascular endurance, but we’ve already established that’s not you, so we need to find more power. We’re just not going to get there by running mile after mile. That’ll just make you a weak, skinny-fat, low testosterone dude who still can’t run fast. We’re going to get there by doing the following instead:

1. Lifting heavy shit. If we want more power, we need to grow more muscle. Growing more muscle will not only make you way fucking faster, it’ll make you look better, feel better, and boost your confidence as a man. Don’t know where to start? Here you go.
2. When you DO run (and remember, you’re running WAY LESS), stop the routine of running moderately, along the same route you always run. My dad used to say (he still says it), “If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got.” You haven’t gotten any better, so why do you think if you just keep doing it that the results will be different? They won’t. So let’s change it up. If you want to go faster, you have to learn to run… well… faster. So you need to sprint. This is where you put power to practice so on race day, you can push new boundaries. Find sample protocols here and here.
3. Cool it on the carbs. You’re not generating enough output to justify bullshit like carb loading or gels or all those fancy ass pre-run and in-run “nutrition” supplements. Those are all fucking rubbish. They serve only to harm you. You’re running 3 miles, not 33.
4. Trust the process and don’t worry about the number on the scale. If you’re eating a proper nose to tail diet and doing what I’m suggesting you ought to, you’re going to gain muscle. That means a bigger number on that scale. That’s good. More POWER, remember?
5. Ditch the super shoes. If you’re not running with PERFECT form AND running sub 5:30 miles, these will not only be a waste of A LOT of money, but are likely to cause injury. 

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Now you’re probably thinking, “who the fuck is this guy? My volunteer running coach from the running store that sells stupid shoes designed to keep me from working on my shitty form tells me pretty much the opposite of what this blogger at The Fittest says.”

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You don't have to listen to me, though. There are plenty of other examples… Look at ANY decathlete. They're strong as shit because they lift HEAVY, but they also throw down 4:40 miles.

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You’re likely to be faster, more appealing to the opposite sex, more confident. And happier if you’re built like a brick shit house. 

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 Want MOOOAAAR? Email me at dominate@thefittest.com.