3 Mile Cardio

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Is performing a 3 or 4 mile run at a high pace considered steady state cardio? Let’s say you run 4 consecutive 6:30 miles; is that steady state? Now, even though the pace stays steady. it’s a fast pace and for about 27-28 minutes.

Also, what would be the best way to go about increasing performance in a 3 mile run? Would cross training help this? Maybe doing sets of pull ups, push ups, and dips, and then get on the treadmill and run a mile while still breathing heavy (repeat 3 times). Or would it be better to run 5-6 miles at a slower pace (than your normal 3 mile pace), so that 3 miles feels relatively easy?

Then again, maybe the best way to improve running 3 miles is just to run 3 miles at progressively faster speeds?

One last thing…

How many times a week is it necessary to run the 3-mile run to continue to maintain your ability to be “good at it?”

2

[quote]dhuge67 wrote:
Is performing a 3 or 4 mile run at a high pace considered steady state cardio? Let’s say you run 4 consecutive 6:30 miles; is that steady state? Now, even though the pace stays steady. it’s a fast pace and for about 27-28 minutes.

Also, what would be the best way to go about increasing performance in a 3 mile run? Would cross training help this? Maybe doing sets of pull ups, push ups, and dips, and then get on the treadmill and run a mile while still breathing heavy (repeat 3 times). Or would it be better to run 5-6 miles at a slower pace (than your normal 3 mile pace), so that 3 miles feels relatively easy?

Then again, maybe the best way to improve running 3 miles is just to run 3 miles at progressively faster speeds?

One last thing…

How many times a week is it necessary to run the 3-mile run to continue to maintain your ability to be “good at it?”

[/quote]

best thing I’ve found to increase my run times is just to add distance. If your test is 3 miles, practice with 8 or 9 miles.

3

[quote]Politico wrote:
dhuge67 wrote:
Is performing a 3 or 4 mile run at a high pace considered steady state cardio? Let’s say you run 4 consecutive 6:30 miles; is that steady state? Now, even though the pace stays steady. it’s a fast pace and for about 27-28 minutes.

Also, what would be the best way to go about increasing performance in a 3 mile run? Would cross training help this? Maybe doing sets of pull ups, push ups, and dips, and then get on the treadmill and run a mile while still breathing heavy (repeat 3 times). Or would it be better to run 5-6 miles at a slower pace (than your normal 3 mile pace), so that 3 miles feels relatively easy?

Then again, maybe the best way to improve running 3 miles is just to run 3 miles at progressively faster speeds?

One last thing…

How many times a week is it necessary to run the 3-mile run to continue to maintain your ability to be “good at it?”

best thing I’ve found to increase my run times is just to add distance. If your test is 3 miles, practice with 8 or 9 miles. [/quote]
Jesus christ…

That can’t be the best way to improve a 3-mile time. I can do it in 18:40-19:30, depending on my rest. I’m able to do that, without having ever run more than 10 miles in a day, in my life. Anything beyond 5-7 miles just seems like a big “fuck you” to your muscles…

I’m beginning to think that pushing it hard for 4 miles might be the best way. However, I could be wrong and just don’t want to accept that you need to run a half marathon just to be able to be faster in the 3-mile run…

4

It might not be the best, I don’t know. It’s just what my colonel told me and it’s worked for me so I haven’t adjusted. His theory was if you can run 5 times your testing distance at a reasonable speed, you’ll be able to run your test distance and maximum speed quite easily.

5

You could try pace-training.

If you’re running 3 miles at 6:30/mile, then to train for a goal of 6:00 you would…

Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00
Walk 2:00

When you can complete the workout successfully for two successive workouts, you reduce the rest period by 20 seconds.

Repeat until the rest periods reach zero and you’re running 3 miles at 6:00/mile. Then you’d set a new goal for 5:45/mile or whatever.

I hope this helps,

ElbowStrike

6

Twice a week should do 'er.

– ElbowStrike

7

[quote]dhuge67 wrote:
Is performing a 3 or 4 mile run at a high pace considered steady state cardio? Let’s say you run 4 consecutive 6:30 miles; is that steady state? Now, even though the pace stays steady. it’s a fast pace and for about 27-28 minutes.

*****Yes, its considered ss cardio because your staying at a consistant pace even though the instensity is a little up.

Also, what would be the best way to go about increasing performance in a 3 mile run? Would cross training help this? Maybe doing sets of pull ups, push ups, and dips, and then get on the treadmill and run a mile while still breathing heavy (repeat 3 times). Or would it be better to run 5-6 miles at a slower pace (than your normal 3 mile pace), so that 3 miles feels relatively easy?

*****Squat. For running try a lot of fartlecks (its just like interval training on/off type stuff that keeps your energy system that you use in the gym in check. Do one long run a week about 20% of your weekly total mileage.

Then again, maybe the best way to improve running 3 miles is just to run 3 miles at progressively faster speeds?

***** yes running the distance at tempo pace maybe once a week can help guage your progession.

One last thing…

How many times a week is it necessary to run the 3-mile run to continue to maintain your ability to be “good at it?”

*****Just try and run or do some kind of cardio at least every other day to stay in shape to be good at it.

[/quote]

I ran 1653 for 3 miles in highschool. If its what you like, youll stay dedicated. and good luck

8

[quote]Politico wrote:
best thing I’ve found to increase my run times is just to add distance. If your test is 3 miles, practice with 8 or 9 miles. [/quote]

That is not a good way to increase your 5k. I would try interval running like someone in a previous post mentioned.

9

Run your 3 mile’r once a week at 90-95% pace.

Do legs once a week theres a gazillion articles on leg training on here.

run 2 or 3 4-mile runs at a 6 mile pace, once a week.

run .5 - 1 mile at nearly sprint speed starting at 4 reps working it up to 8 twice a week.

do that for about 4-6 weeks, change your program.

10

Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners!

11

[quote]Serd wrote:
dhuge67 wrote:
Is performing a 3 or 4 mile run at a high pace considered steady state cardio? Let’s say you run 4 consecutive 6:30 miles; is that steady state? Now, even though the pace stays steady. it’s a fast pace and for about 27-28 minutes.

*****Yes, its considered ss cardio because your staying at a consistant pace even though the instensity is a little up.

Also, what would be the best way to go about increasing performance in a 3 mile run? Would cross training help this? Maybe doing sets of pull ups, push ups, and dips, and then get on the treadmill and run a mile while still breathing heavy (repeat 3 times). Or would it be better to run 5-6 miles at a slower pace (than your normal 3 mile pace), so that 3 miles feels relatively easy?

*****Squat. For running try a lot of fartlecks (its just like interval training on/off type stuff that keeps your energy system that you use in the gym in check. Do one long run a week about 20% of your weekly total mileage.

Then again, maybe the best way to improve running 3 miles is just to run 3 miles at progressively faster speeds?

***** yes running the distance at tempo pace maybe once a week can help guage your progession.

One last thing…

How many times a week is it necessary to run the 3-mile run to continue to maintain your ability to be “good at it?”

*****Just try and run or do some kind of cardio at least every other day to stay in shape to be good at it.

I ran 1653 for 3 miles in highschool. If its what you like, youll stay dedicated. and good luck
[/quote]

Well, I’ve stayed dedicated to running, even though I absolutely hate it. It’s a must for the Marine Corps, so I just suck it up and run about 4-5 times a week. Two weeks ago I ran 25 miles, last week 21 total miles, and this week (deloading) I ran 15. I’ll ratchet it back up next week…and I’ll try out the pace strategy on Monday and then again on Thursday.

Thanks for the help, fellas.

12

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
You could try pace-training.

If you’re running 3 miles at 6:30/mile, then to train for a goal of 6:00 you would…

Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00
Walk 2:00

When you can complete the workout successfully for two successive workouts, you reduce the rest period by 20 seconds.

Repeat until the rest periods reach zero and you’re running 3 miles at 6:00/mile. Then you’d set a new goal for 5:45/mile or whatever.

I hope this helps,

ElbowStrike[/quote]

This has shown to work better than most approaches, it is a great one. However you don’t need to get the rest to zero, you can reduce rest from 2 min to 30 seconds then increase the interval time and repeat. Total 1.5 times the goal distance.

Roland

13

[quote]Politico wrote:
Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners![/quote]

Why? It’s already been done. Look at how any competitive runner trains. And it doesn’t tell people to go out and run 8 miles. Or, rather, real runners would never tell anyone to ONLY go out and do longruns. The best way to improve race time is to run an equivalent distance in intervals at or near race pace. Serious runners will also incorporate tempo, threshold, hill workouts, and longruns.

And recovery days. But only running long slow distance is certainly not the best way to improve 5K race times if you have to limit your training for whatever reason. I ran cross country in college at a pretty high level before switching gears to lifting. Now, I strike a balance between the two and focus on different goals at diferent times.

14

Add sprints. HIIT. High Intensity Interval Training. Alternate periods of flat-out sprinting with slower paced active recovery. Do 20-25 minutes of this.

Jog slowly for about 2-3 minutes.
Moderate pace for 2 minutes
Sprint 1 minute
Moderate pace for 2 minutes
Sprint 1 minute
and so on…

Running longer distances WILL NOT increase your speed. In order to increase your speed, you have to run faster, not longer. I knocked 2 minutes off my PFT score doing HIIT cardio for 3 months. Never ran more than 20 minutes , never farther than 2.4 miles on a treadmill. Sprinting works.

15

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
You could try pace-training.

If you’re running 3 miles at 6:30/mile, then to train for a goal of 6:00 you would…

Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00,
Walk 2:00
Run 1 mile in 6:00
Walk 2:00

When you can complete the workout successfully for two successive workouts, you reduce the rest period by 20 seconds.

Repeat until the rest periods reach zero and you’re running 3 miles at 6:00/mile. Then you’d set a new goal for 5:45/mile or whatever.

I hope this helps,

ElbowStrike[/quote]
damn sound advice. No matter what the distance is, it is still a race, with speed being the difference between winning and losing. If it were an endurance contest, all participants would be required to keep a certain pace and the winner is the person who can keep it longest.

16

[quote]Politico wrote:
Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners![/quote]

Training - Long, intervals, hills, tempo, and easy runs. Mix it up, They all help.

Strategy - Spend some time in the trenches. Every runner is different.

Leg lifting - The best way to strengthen your legs is through more running. Lifting is not going to help very much.

17

[quote]Nail wrote:
Politico wrote:
Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners!

Training - Long, intervals, hills, tempo, and easy runs. Mix it up, They all help.

Strategy - Spend some time in the trenches. Every runner is different.

Leg lifting - The best way to strengthen your legs is through more running. Lifting is not going to help very much.[/quote]

Nail has never coached any runners, I know from this post, don’t pay any attention to it.

18

[quote]Roland Fisher wrote:
Nail wrote:
Politico wrote:
Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners!

Training - Long, intervals, hills, tempo, and easy runs. Mix it up, They all help.

Strategy - Spend some time in the trenches. Every runner is different.

Leg lifting - The best way to strengthen your legs is through more running. Lifting is not going to help very much.

Nail has never coached any runners, I know from this post, don’t pay any attention to it.[/quote]

I lift with my lower body, and I run too, so I’m not about to throw out Squats, Deads or Lunges…

19

[quote]dhuge67 wrote:
Roland Fisher wrote:
Nail wrote:
Politico wrote:
Some of you running gurus who definitely seem to know more than me and Dhuge about strategy should definitely write a big post about training, strategy and leg lifting for longer runners!

Training - Long, intervals, hills, tempo, and easy runs. Mix it up, They all help.

Strategy - Spend some time in the trenches. Every runner is different.

Leg lifting - The best way to strengthen your legs is through more running. Lifting is not going to help very much.

Nail has never coached any runners, I know from this post, don’t pay any attention to it.

I lift with my lower body, and I run too, so I’m not about to throw out Squats, Deads or Lunges…
[/quote]

For legs, since you are getting ready for OCS, just go find the largest backpack you can get (Alice pack if you can find one). Fill it with sandbags or weight plates (at lest 40-50lbs), then go walk in the woods for about an hour. Do this on non-cardio days. You’ve got to get your feet and walking muscles in condition. If you don’t already have a pair of combat boots, get some now.

20

[quote]Nail wrote:

Leg lifting - The best way to strengthen your legs is through more running. Lifting is not going to help very much.[/quote]

This part’s wrong. Serious low-body work with weights is important even for long distance runners. It’s increasingly critical the closer one approaches to being a sprinter.