Microdosing training, ideal if you have little time to fortify muscles

Ifyou have been running for a while, you know that one of the biggest risks is injuries.
Besides complicating your life in general, they keep you from training or make your workouts very complicated.
One way to avoid them is to make your body more resilient by strength training.
The problem is that doing so takes time.
In fact, who has time to squeeze strength training sessions a week, each an hour long, into an already packed life and on top of regular running workouts?
It seems impossible, or maybe there is a solution, and it’s called microdosing strength training.

What is Microdosing Strength Training?

Microdosing strength training is a type of training distributed in small doses (hence the name) throughout the day.
Instead of being concentrated in 45-60 minute sessions, it relies on work that is more modest in magnitude and duration but distributed more evenly throughout your day.
This approach is based on the concept of the “butterfly effect”-have you ever heard of it?
It was invented by mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz who titled one of his lectures in 1972 thus, “Can the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil cause a tornado in Texas?”
Beyond the amusing and provocative title, what Lorenz meant was that small changes should not be overlooked because their effects can multiply over time and space.
Which is kind of what microdosign aims to do.
For what we are interested in here, in other words, by incorporating short exercise sessions into your day, you can achieve significant results without disrupting your routine.
Microdosing is a time-saving solution: instead of devoting hours to exercise sessions, you can do short, minute-long exercises throughout the day.

Small exercises but focused on the muscles you need

We used to say that to avoid injury you need to fortify the muscles affected by running. Microdosing focuses precisely on working them, even if for a short time. Here, then, it is appropriate to focus on the soleus (the calf muscles) or quadriceps (i.e., the thighs). These muscles are crucial for running and often neglected in traditional workouts. The main advantage of this workout, you’ve probably figured out by now, is that it’s easier to be consistent: in fact, it requires less physical effort and less time. You have no excuse not to do it!In short, you are much more likely to follow a microdosing program than a traditional strength training one because it is easy to integrate into your daily routine. In addition, there are specific problems, such as hip stiffness, to solve which short, frequent exercises are much more effective than long but less frequent sessions. In short, doing a few exercises every day can help maintain mobility and reduce pain, rather than focusing mobility recovery only on long sessions of less frequent therapy exercises.

How to make it a habit

We were saying: the most critical points of a runner’s body are the ankles and knees.
It is not bad to start with these with targeted exercises that you can do even when you are brushing your teeth or at any time of the day during which you are in a condition that allows you to do them.
You may, for example, decide to do them while you are warming up before a run or even while brushing your teeth or reading a book.

What exercises to do?

Single Leg Bridge A great exercise to strengthen the buttocks and improve hip stability.
To perform:

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and feet resting on the floor.
2. Lift one leg, keeping it straight, while pushing your hips up with the other leg.
3. Contract the buttocks to hold the position for a few seconds.
4. Slowly lower your hips and repeat with the other leg.

Single Leg Bent Knee Heel Raise Perfect for strengthening the calf muscles, particularly the soleus, crucial for stability and strength in running.
To perform:

1. Stand on one leg with your knee slightly bent.
2. Lift the heel of the leg you are standing on, keeping the knee bent.
3. Hold the position for a few seconds, feeling the contraction in the calf.
4. Slowly lower the heel and repeat the exercise by changing legs.

Bulgarian Split Squat Excellent for quadriceps and leg strength, improves balance and power.
To perform:

1. Stand with your back facing a stable bench or chair.
   Lift one leg and place your foot on the bench behind you.
2. Bend the knee of the leg resting on the floor and lower your body toward the floor, keeping your torso erect.
   The leg resting on the bench/chair should bend naturally.
3. Push with the heel of the front leg to return to the starting position.

Try it now

Tonight, as you brush your teeth before bed, try one of these microdosign exercises right away-you’ll see that small changes can lead to big results. (Via Women’s Running)