Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

As you are training for an endurance race of any kind, it can be very difficult to build up to high mileage and maintain it. The mileage will start to put stress on the body and drain your energy, no matter the good that it still causes. But have no fear, because there are ways to manage this and help the body maintain your abilities for longer. Here are a few different ways this can be accomplished:

Fueled Muscles Are Good Muscles:
Muscles need carbohydrates to produce energy and keep going. They also need protein to rebuild bigger, stronger, and better for the task ahead. Refueling is one of the most vital components to continuing through a high workload period.

The More Sleep, the Better:
The body needs sleep to reenergize, of course, but it is more than that when it comes to endurance training. Just like muscles need protein to heal, they also need sleep to continue making the adaptations required. Other structures in the body that take a beating during this type of exercise—such as bones and soft tissues (tendons, ligaments, etc.)—also need sleep to make proper changes.

A Loose Body Is a Happy Body:
It has been said many times that stretching after a workout is beneficial, and that idea still holds true. Using a foam roller and doing full-body work—or focusing on tighter areas that stretching didn’t address—is another great approach.

Warm It Up:
Getting a proper warm-up that includes not just active movement, but also mobility and activation drills makes activity much more manageable day in and day out—especially during periods of high load.

Make It Easier for Yourself:
There is a reason easy mileage is part of a structured plan. Workouts are meant to be high-intensity days, which means easy days should truly be easy and almost serve as active recovery. The hard days will feel much better if you ease off the gas when the plan calls for it.

With everything, there is always more that is possible. The hope is that these helpful tips make your grind through high mileage a bit easier and more manageable. Those are the moments that count in a training program, so doing the little things can make a big difference.