or your body’s own weight as resistance. Again, keep your movements slow and controlled, counting to two in each direction. Side-Bends Stand holding a weighted medicine ball over your head (as if taking a throw-in during a football match). Keeping your

leg strength. Long, steady runs at a pace at which you can talk are very good for this. Try energy gels to see if they work for you.Weeks 4-7The focus now changes to the race. You should have conditioned your body to withstand the demands

workouts, or sessions that alternate running and resistance exercises, are a perfect way to log more miles and build strength. And they’re more than just a good change of scenery. "Running-strength intervals force your body to adapt to something new, which

Plank What It Hits Obliques, transversus abdominis, lower back, hips and glutes. Lie on your right side, supporting your upper body on your right forearm, with your left arm at your left side. Lift your hips and, keeping

, professionals included, come in all shapes and sizes. They usually lack the upper-body strength of top swimmers, have heavier legs and, often, tight ankles. They swim in packs, frequently have to look up to see where to go and, in the UK at least, wear wetsuits

is that it builds balance, muscle strength and an overall healthier body, all of which make speedwork less intimidating. When it’s time to do speedwork, you feel fresh and eager instead of mentally and physically wasted from day after day of the same old thing

.It’s quite difficult to drastically change your running style, but here are a few ways to tweak your form for the better.Firstly, keep your forearms at 90 degrees to your upper arms, and roughly parallel to the ground. Keep them close to your body so

of all lower back pain is idiopathic in nature, which means it originates elsewhere in the body's multi-segmented system. The lower part of this system is called the locomotor unit and includes the pelvis. It carries the upper part of the body, which

on the edge of the pool. Your arms should be straight and your head and upper body relaxed. Stretch out in the water. If you find it too hard to do this without putting your head in the water, that's fine, but you should learn to relax your upper body enough

In swimming, strength overcomes the resistance that the water offers to the hands and body; on the bike it involves applying force to the pedals to overcome air resistance, friction and gravity; and in running it refers to applying force to the ground