Interrupt Your Run With Push-Ups for More Fun and Pain.

Have you ever done push-ups or burpees while running? Stay here with me. We’re going to make our runs a little harder, but I promise you it will make them more fun as well.

Apparently, in the armed forces it is known as “the race with pleasure” – at least, I read about it in the “Tactical training with a barbell”, the book that I took from the extensive list of categorized and cardio workouts for conditioning. The concept is similar to the concept of the fitness trail – where you jog and stop to do exercise as you move – or any of the CrossFit WOD workouts that include running intervals. In fact, this training structure is an underrated classic.

And I think I know why: if the running is hard and the exercise is hard, then the combined workout will be twice as hard. But remember, running doesn’t have to be hard ; Light jogging or alternating walking / running is enough to improve your fitness. You also don’t have to go out of your way to do an exercise that is too difficult for your current level. Your task is to find the version of this workout that suits you .

So here are two options to consider. In the first, you get breaks:

1. Do 30 repetitions of what you think is easy (or at least possible), 30 repetitions each.
2. Jog for four minutes.
3. Relax for two minutes.
4. Repeat for five rounds.

As an exercise, consider doing air squats or push-ups on a picnic table – place your hands on a table or bench and do the push-ups that way. (If you can handle 30 push-ups from the ground, do so.) You can divide 30 reps by 10 + 10 + 10 if you want, but don’t rest more than you need to.

For jogging, you can set a timer on your phone or do the same as me: run for two minutes, mark where you are (speed limit sign just after the intersection, ok), and then walk back. Now you can do the same run every time without looking at your watch.

Here’s the second option:

1. Do a difficult (but not too awful) exercise.
2. Jog for four minutes. This is the closest thing to a break.
3. Repetition.

In a way, this one might be easier because it teaches you how to relax and recover while you run. You will need to slow down, and yes, running / walking is perfectly fine here if that’s what you want.

This morning I chose option # 1 with kettlebell swings, picnic table push-ups, air squats and lunges as my chosen exercises. It was more interesting than a good old run, but not particularly harsh. Try one or both of them and see how it goes!

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