Few people have the opportunity to exercise every day. In this article, we will consider what are the advantages and disadvantages of running every other day, as well as what results such training can bring.
Pros of running every other day
Many runners, not only beginners but also experienced runners, often do not understand the importance of recovery and believe that the results increase only during training, not during rest. In fact, the opposite is true. During training, the body receives a load, due to which the processes of destruction - catabolism - begin in it. In order for the results to grow, it is necessary that such processes must be combined with recovery, otherwise, instead of progress, there will be overwork, when the processes of catabolism surpass the processes of metabolism - recovery, even at rest.
Therefore, the results grow precisely during the recovery period. And running every other day allows you, no matter how difficult the workout, to recover enough so that the next workout is also effective.
The more trained the body, the less time it needs to recover. Therefore, professionals train twice a day. Moreover, they will always have one recovery training session. Therefore, the principle of training "every other day" is followed by absolutely everyone. Simply "day" in this case should be considered not as a time period of 24 hours, but as rest, which the body needs to recover from a previous workout.
Consequently, the every other day training system allows any novice runner to train, regardless of level, as it allows the body to recover.
You can run every other day both for health and to improve running results, although in the second case this may not always be enough. More on this in the next chapter below.
Cons of running every other day
The main disadvantage of running every other day is the insufficient number of workouts per week if your goal is to prepare for passing the standards. Three to four workouts a week may not be enough for this. Although it all depends on the initial data, weeks to prepare and the required results. Someone may well be enough with so many workouts.
Running every other day does not provide the opportunity to perform special recovery workouts after a tempo run. Since after hard training, it will be more useful for the body not to complete rest, but to run slowly.
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How to train every other day
If your task is to improve the result, then you need to alternate hard and light training. That is, one day you need to do tempo cross or interval training, and every other day, run a slow cross at a low heart rate to recover. This mode will make the most of your time.
If you are running for health, then there is little point in doing hard workouts. You just need to run slowly. But it is advisable to do the longest cross once a week.
Conclusions on running every other day
If you have the opportunity to train for running every other day, you can safely count on improving your running results, and calmly strengthen your health with regular workouts, while not being afraid to "catch" overwork. Such a regime will give the body the opportunity to recover and not overload.