Sets, reps and frequency
Do each exercise for one minute with twenty seconds rest in between. Repeat the eight-exercise circuit three times.
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Diamond press up
Muscles: Triceps
Why do it? Improve your arm drive.
Technique:
- Kneel on the floor
- Place your hands on the floor with your thumbs and index fingers touching
- Keep your shoulders, hips and knees aligned
- Ensure your hands are underneath your chest
- Lower your body as close as possible to the floor
- Push back up to the starting position
Safety tip: Don’t allow your back to arch during the movement.
2. Marching bridge
Muscles: Hamstrings, glutes, core
Why do it? Your leg muscles generate power. The stronger your muscles, the faster you’ll be able to run and the easier hills will feel.
Technique:
- Lie on your back, with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor
- Lift your hips off the floor to form a straight line between your knees, hips and shoulders
- Hold this position
- Lift your right leg up until it forms a right angle at your hips
- Ensure that you keep your hips level
- Don’t drop your hips
- Place your right foot back on the floor
- Repeat with the left leg
- Alternate between left and right
Safety tip: If you lose your balance when lifting your legs, only lift your foot slightly off the floor and focus on pulling your belly button to your spine.
3. Squat jumps
Muscles: Quads, hamstrings, glutes
Why do it? This will improve your fitness as well as build your explosive power, which will improve your ability to sprint at the end of a race.
Technique:
- Stand with your feet slightly wider than your hips
- Bend your knees and swing your arms backwards
- Jump up, using the forward swinging movement of your arms to help generate height
- Land with soft knees
- Keep your jump rate high
Safety tip: Keep your core muscles tight by bracing your stomach muscles.
4. Pike shoulder press
Muscles: Shoulders
Why do it? This is a great bodyweight exercise to improve your shoulder strength.
Technique:
- Kneel on all fours
- Place your hands directly underneath your shoulders
- Lift your bottom up and straighten your legs
- This is the starting position
- Bend your elbows and lower your head to the floor
- Straighten your arms
Safety tip: Don’t hold your breath. Don’t do this exercise if you have high blood pressure.
5. Mountain climber
Muscles: Triceps, shoulders, hip flexors, core
Why do it? This is a great exercise to strengthen your core tone your upper body.
Technique:
- Kneel on all fours
- Lift your knees off the floor
- Bring your right knee in towards your right elbow
- Return your leg
- Bring your left knee in towards your left elbow
- Alternate between left and right
Safety tip: Keep your core muscles tight and don’t hold your breath.
6. Roundhouse lunge
Muscles: Quads, glutes, core
Why do it? Multi-directional exercises are a great way to target the muscle fibres that might not always get enough training.
Technique:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Step forward with your right leg and bend both knees to perform a lunge
- Step back to the centre position, step sideways with your right leg
- Bend your right knee and keep your left leg straight
- Step back to the centre position
- Step backwards with your right leg and bend both knees to perform a lunge
- Change over to the left leg and perform a backwards lunge, side lunge and forward lunge
- Repeat the six lunges. Aim to do as many as you can within your minute.
Safety tip: Keep your upper body upright and core muscles tight.
