Welcome to 2016. It’s a new year and it represents new beginnings. If you are in need for a new workout for your new year’s resolution in 2016, you have come to the right place.

Some of you may be frustrated over the lack of progress you have made when it comes to your health and fitness in 2015. You might not know why you look the same, feel just as sluggish or even took a step back in the past year.

In most cases, it’s due to the lack of proper planning and effort. To induce change, you have to push yourself, physically and mentally, one small step at a time. Progressive overload, is the only way you can progress in your health and fitness endeavours for 2016 and here’s how to implement them in a training programme, to see results!

Progressive overload is the gradual increase of stress placed upon the body during exercise training.

Developed by Thomas Delorme, M.D., this scientific principle was initially used to  rehabilitate soldiers after WW2. It subsequently became a technique recognized as a fundamental principle for success in strength training, endurance programs and physical therapy as well as rehabilitation regimes.

In order to achieve more strength, endurance or more fat loss, the body needs to be stressed to stimulate it’s body’s natural, adaptive response to new demands placed on it.

Progressive overload not only induces muscle hypertrophy (growth), but also stimulates the development of stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage.

Furthermore, it incrementally increases blood flow to exercised regions of the body creating more responsive nerve connections between the brain and the muscles involved.

Say you have to perform 4 sets of 6 Barbell Squats. You might start off with 60kg x5,5,5,5. The next session, you can either try to increase the repetitions (number of times you squat) or increase the weight. What we recommend is first trying to hit the prescribed repetition, go one over on all sets, the increase the weight and perform the prescribed repetitions or 1 rep lower.

In other words;

Workout 1: 60kg x 5, 5, 5, 5

Workout 2: 60kg x 6, 6, 5, 5

Workout 3: 60kg x 6, 6. 6, 6 (Repetitions hit)

Workout 4: 62.5kg x 5, 5, 5, 5

Repeat

10 x 100m sprints with 2-3 mins of recovery

As you get fitter, work on increasing reps and distance up to 200m. Keep your running time to less than 1 minute.

10 x 30 seconds up a steep hill with a jog down for recovery

As with short sprints, work on increasing reps.

Short sprints and hill sprints stimulate the nervous system and works on strengthening your muscles.

8-10 x 60-90 seconds up a gradual incline with a jog down for recovery

Work on increasing reps.

This workout works on muscle fibres that are needed in middle distance running (1km-10km).

6-8 x 400m with 2-5 minutes of recovery

4-6 x 600m with 2-5 minutes of recovery

3-5 x 800m with 2-5 minutes of recovery

5 x 1km with 3-5 minutes of recovery

2 minutes x 6 with 2 minutes of recovery

10 x 30 seconds with 30 seconds of recovery

The combinations are endless! You can even do a combination of 5 x 1km finishing with 5 x 400m or 3 sets of 100m, 200m, 300, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m. As mentioned previously, The effort, duration and recovery time depends on which physiological system you intend to work on.

In general, if you want to work on:

Improving the pace over longer distances (speed endurance): the recovery interval can slowly be shorten/equal to the running time

Getting used to the increased pace by stimulating the nervous system: 3-5 minutes of recovery depending on the length of running time

Anaerobic system: the recovery time should be twice the amount of running time to allow for full recovery and anaerobic products to be cleared.

Try adding any 1 of these structured running workouts once a week on top of your usual 3-5 days of easy running. As your body gets used to the stress of heavier workouts, you can start adding 2 structured workouts a week! Running is so versatile! Mix it up and have some fun!