Trishala Chopra, Author at GOQii

February 13, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 2 Comments

Strength Training for Runners: A Comprehensive Guide

Dear marathoners/runners, I am sure this blog is going to catch your attention! Do read the article, and I would be happy to answer your questions!

Well, not just runners though! Whether you are a runner or cyclist or if you plan any endurance sport, strength training becomes very important. Everybody wants to be good at the sport they play, so this article will help give you some insights about various topics with regard to strength training.

In this blog, I shall take you through four main aspects namely

What is an endurance sport?
Why is strength training and its importance for an endurance sport?
If strength training is important, how much is too much or how much is ideal?
Which exercises should be included in strength training protocol?

All I knew was running is endurance. I knew of more examples but what exactly is endurance I couldn’t really get through. It’s over time that I learnt what endurance training means. Endurance training uses your aerobic system as opposed to your anaerobic system.

Aerobic system:- Body uses oxygen to produces energy

Anaerobic system:- Body does not use oxygen to produce energy

So why is strength training important for any endurance sport?

I come across runners who say, “I run 5k, 10k and 21k which takes a lot of energy, why should I put exact PRESSURE on my body?”

Here are 3 benefits of doing strength training from runners’ perspective!

Your pace will improve, you can run faster!

Your speed matters a lot when it comes to any marathons! What determines your speed?

Stride length
Stride Frequency

If you are a runner, it is important for you to know that stride length means how long is your step and stride frequency relates to how many steps you take per minute/second.

So the technical formula here is,

Speed= Stride length x Stride frequency.

But, what does this have to do with strength training? Well, to improve your speed/pace you have to take longer strides and of course faster strides

How to take longer strides?

Forcing your legs to the ground.

How to put more force?

For this, your legs should be strong.

How to make your legs stronger?

By doing strength training.

So, this shows that strength training is required to help runners run faster!

(2) With Strength training, your endurance will get better!

“How can strength training make endurance better? Endurance training will make endurance better right?” Well, the answer is that strength training and endurance training both are required and helps in increasing the endurance but the mechanism used is different.

Let me take you through some technicalities but in a way, you will understand. Are you aware of maximal aerobic capacity? Maximal aerobic capacity means the maximum rate of inhaling oxygen by your body during any exercise. Maximal aerobic capacity is also called as VO2max.

Your VO2max is made up of 2 components: Central and peripheral

Central component= Heart

Peripheral component= Muscle

VO2max = Q x (a – Vo2 difference)

Here is the complete breakup

Q is the Cardiac output

The cardiac output means how much blood your heart is able to pump per minute. This covers your central component

(a – Vo2 difference) where a is arteries and v is veins and this means that the difference between the oxygen in your arteries and veins.

Smaller the difference, more the endurance!

In simple words, it is the ability of your body to extract the oxygen from the blood. This covers your peripheral component

The reason why I have discussed this in depth is, because endurance training works on the central component which is the heart but the peripheral component which are the muscles is ignored. To get the maximum endurance it is important for your peripheral component to be strong and strength training here helps. High repetitions (reps) helps in pumping your peripheral component.

Hence, to improve your endurance you should do strength training.

(3) Strength training helps reduce injury risks!

Runners, I am sure you can relate to this! More kms to run, more risk of injuries! When I say injuries here I am talking about overuse injuries.

What is overuse injuries?

Your muscles, tendons and bones have a restriction to work.
When you cross that restriction, you tend to injure your muscles, tendons and bones.
Then post injury either you take a break from your routine or you do some other exercises.

Once the injury is done, we cannot do much about it but as the old adage goes – ‘Prevention is better than cure! Strength training helps in increasing the tolerance of your tissues to work which reduces the risk of overuse injuries and helps you train better

If strength training is important, how much is too much or how much is ideal?

There are 3 main points here which everyone should understand. Strength training of runners completely depends upon,

Distance
The phase of training (current phases and upcoming phases)
Goal

(1) Distance

Greater the distance to be covered, shorter is the strength training requirement.
For e.g., if you are running for 5k you need to do more strength training then someone who runs a 21k.
Goal strength training of a runner and the adaptability of the stress is completely different from all the other sports/events
A 5K runner needs about 65% of endurance training and 35% of strength training and for a runner who is planning to run 21k needs about 80% of endurance training and 20% of strength training.

Just because the proportion of strength training is less, it does not mean that we can skip it. As discussed above, strength training is equally important too.

(2) Phase of training (current phases and upcoming phases)

Training phase depends on your competition date
For example, your endurance training is lesser when your competition is about 3 months away which is the perfect time to concentrate on strength training.
Closer the competition, higher is the endurance training.

For example,

When competition is far away then do 2-4 sets 2-3 times per week

When competition is near then do 1-2 sets 1-2 times per week

Variations in between are always accepted.

(3) Goal

Every runner has a period where there are no marathons. This is called as “off-season”. You might be running very little so this gives you a chance to recover the lost muscle during the endurance period.

Most people are of the notion that strength training is only done to gain muscle mass or get those big biceps, chest and arms but that’s not true. I have mentioned above that strength training for everyone depends upon the goal they want to achieve.

Runners might be thinking that strength training will make them gain weight which will make it difficult for them to run but that’s not true at all. Protocol for runners’ strength training only depends upon their goal and not a generic plan which is followed.

When I talk about a goal for runners, during their off-season phase strength training can be done 3-4 times per week. Whenever the competition period comes near, strength training can be done 1-2 times per week and strength training will only be used to minimize muscle loss.

During endurance training, muscle loss is bound to happen but when you strength train the muscle loss will be reduced. The focus of adding strength training is, to only slow down the process of muscle loss or maintain muscle during the competition phase.

How does this muscle loss happen?

As I mentioned, your body has limited capacity to adapt to things. Either it can be endurance training or strength training. For an endurance athlete, adapting to endurance training is more important than strength training but a blend of both of these is important. Cardio and strength training are 2 opposite goals. While in cardio you burn muscles, strength training helps in building muscles. More endurance means more muscle loss, strength training helps in maintaining those muscles

Finally, which exercises should be included in strength training protocol?

I have been with athletes for a year now where I have seen that maximum of my athletes don’t train their legs or they avoid doing them. They often tell me that running in itself is a good exercise for legs so why should we add additional training?

Well, most of the runners have them but that’s not true. Runners have good endurance in their legs but that doesn’t mean that they are strong.

We have covered a lot of endurance and strength training. Now let me come to exercises that are important. Runners you don’t need to do lots of exercises but few major ones are important.

Focus on these lower body exercises first-

Level 1 Squats
Level 2 Lunges
Level 3 can be with deadlifts

Just as lower body exercises are a must, upper body exercises are also a must and should not be ignored. Well, your upper body counter-balances your lower body.

I am not sure if anybody has noticed but when you move your right leg ahead, your left arm goes ahead. If your upper body is not having enough strength then it can reduce the lower body force to coordinate with your upper body. Your lower body is definitely stronger than your upper body but if the imbalance increases, the performance of runners can be affected.

Focus on these upper body exercises first,

Level 1 pushups
Level 2 pull-ups
Head press

We hope this comprehensive guide empowers you to enhance your running performance through effective strength training. Share your thoughts or ask your questions in the comments below. For personalised guidance, speak to a certified expert by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

February 1, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 3 Comments

All that a women needs to know about – MENOPAUSE!

Menopause simply means marking the end of a female’s reproductive period. This is something women experience as they age. It does not occur overnight! It is a gradual process.

This gradual process is usually known as Perimenopausal phase which is a completely different transition for every woman. It is a very challenging phase for every woman, a woman might get irritated, and mood swings are the most common thing! Emotional breakdowns also occur. Earlier, the ideal age for menopause was around 45-50 years but, if a woman has attained early puberty, menopause occurs early too!

Menopause comes with many complications and the most common complication is osteoporosis and heart disease.
The bone mineral density gradually goes down during menopausal transition which may result in osteoporosis however, these symptoms vary in different women.
Hot flashes occur very frequently.
The entire menopause is divided into 3 phases which are Perimenopause, Menopause and Post Menopause.
Out of these 3 phases, Perimenopause phase which can also be called as “time around menopause” lasts for the maximum time which involves all symptoms.
Menopause and post menopause phase lasts for a shorter period.
Apart from hot flashes and mood swings, women in menopausal stage also face excess stress, tiredness, fatigue and sometimes vaginal itchiness and drying.
The main sign of menopause is irregular vaginal bleeding.
Menopause is a part of every woman’s life and it is not a disease which can be treated. However, menopause can be managed and tackled if handled properly.
Nutrition and physical exercise plays a key role in managing the menopausal symptoms

FOODS which help managing Menopausal Symptoms:-

(1) Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet

(2) Eat more beans

(3) Eat more of good fats and Omega 3 rich foods such as avocado, fish-Salmon, walnuts flaxseeds etc rather than saturated fatty acids.

(4) Consume good beverages; avoid consuming carbonated beverages and caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic which puts load on kidneys to remove more amount of water than required which results in dehydration. Focus more on herbal teas which helps in relieving hot flashes.

(5) Balance your meals: – heavy breakfast, moderate lunch and light dinner should always

(6) Consume more of calcium containing foods as this mineral is very important for women after the age of 30. Adequate amount of calcium in diet decreases the risk of osteoporosis. Some of the natural foods high in Calcium are dairy products, ragi, sesame seeds etc

(7) Say no to high fat and high sugar foods!

(8) Add functional foods to your diet such as flaxseeds which is a super food! Raw Flaxseed should be ground and 1 tsp should be had and drink a glass of water over it.

(9) Exercise! It is a key to life a healthy life! 30 minutes of walk also acts as a stress buster!

Ladies out there at this stage of your life take care of yourself.

As you navigate through the various phases of menopause, may this article serve as a valuable guide to support your well-being. For more insightful articles on Women’s Health, explore here. If you seek further information or personalised guidance, don’t hesitate to reach out to our certified experts. Subscribe to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce

January 27, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 1 Comment

How much strength training you should do?

In my previous article, I mentioned about how much cardio you should do? In that article, I have mentioned about 3 components of exercise: –

Cardio

Strength training

Flexibility

So, after writing about cardio exercises and how much one should be doing it, the next logical question which comes to the mind is how much strength training you should do?

When we talk about cardio, it becomes a bit easy to answer the question HOW MUCH? Because we can measure it in time but when we apply this question to strength training it becomes a bit tricky.

When people exercise, not everyone does it in the same way. Some people who exercise for 25 minutes are actually working out more than someone who does it for an hour.

When someone tells me that they exercise for 1.5 hours in the gym, my next question to them is – how can you do that?

So, this 1.5 hours includes 30 minutes of the workout, 15 minutes of phone checking session, 10 minutes of MIRROR SELFIES, 10 minutes of water break and some talks here and there.

This isn’t 1.5 hours of gym.

So, if I answer the question saying you can do strength training for 1 hour that won’t be fair.

When we talk about strength training in sports science,

How much? Means total volume per session.

How is this total volume per session calculated?

Number of sets x Number of repetitions x Weight in pounds

For example: –

Number of sets = 3

Number of repetitions= 10

Weight (60kg) = 132 pounds

Let’s put these values in the formula mentioned above: –

3x10x132 = 3960 pounds (1796 kg)

This means that the answer for how much strength training you should do?

Is 1796 kg for that particular workout?

I know, this was extremely technical for you and I don’t even want you to understand that because except the trainer, nobody actually even thinks about it.

So, my whole point is, do not quantify exercises in the terms HOW MUCH. The answer could be as tricky as the example mentioned above!

You should always focus on the following points when you talk about strength training exercises.

(1) What is your goal?

Same way as the cardio works, strength training to depends upon your goal. For a person who has to make a record in activities which needs strength will have a different goal as compared to a one who has to run a marathon.

Please note: – Everybody requires all the 3 components of the exercise as mentioned in my previous article and also mentioned in the first paragraph. All the components have to be modified based on the GOAL of the individual.

I don’t want my readers to get bored with these scientific basics so I have tried to put some generic numbers depending upon different goals but it may vary from person to person.

GOAL	How many times a week?	How many exercises?	How many sets?	How many reps?
Endurance athlete in sports season	Once	10-12	1-2	3-5
Endurance athlete not in sports season	Twice	4-10	2-4	5-15
Fat loss	Thrice	3-8	3-7	6-20
Muscle gain	4-5 times	4-8	3-10	3-12
Bone-strengthening	3-4 times	3-7	3-8	5-12
Strength training	3-12 times (2 times a day might also be needed)	2-6	3-10	1-5

(2) What is your level?

You are a beginner if you have never done any strength training exercises.
You are a beginner if you are resuming your strength training exercises after a gap of 6-7 months.
You are a beginner if you are doing exercises regularly but yet not reached your desired results (which also means that you are not working out properly)
You can do advanced strength training exercises only after 6 months of proper form.

(3) What is your intensity?

Higher intensity, less frequency helps you a lot if you are planning to lose weight.
Higher intensity strength training exercises less frequently can give you better results than lower intensity strength training exercises every day.

(4) What is your body’s response?

This is perhaps the most important part when you exercise. It all depends upon your body’s response. It depends on your age, metabolism.
For someone who is exactly same like you, working out like you will have different results as compared to you.
All you should do is continue on the right path, trust your body and everything will fall into place.

I always tell,

“Workout for fitness and good health, weight loss will come as a gift to you”

I will soon be out with different strength training exercises for different levels

If you found these insights on strength training valuable and have more questions or thoughts to share, feel free to drop a comment below! For a deeper dive into optimising your fitness journey, explore further articles on Healthy Reads. For personalised guidance on optimizing your health, consider subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

Your path to strength and fitness is unique – let’s make it extraordinary!

#BeTheForce

January 4, 2024 By Trishala Chopra 3 Comments

How much cardio should you do?

CARDIO- The only form of exercise which has grabbed everybody’s attention and why not, almost all the common activities are a form of cardiovascular exercise.

Whenever I ask someone about what exercise you do throughout the day- their reply is mostly WALKING. Hours of walking sometimes.

So, what does cardio include?

Walking (As already mentioned above)
Running
Swimming
Cycling
Aqua-aerobics
Aerobics
Zumba
Rowing
Boxing

I have seen people concentrating only on cardio exercises for years without any change in their routine. Some people consider themselves to be fit with simply walking.

Fitness is measured by different things and not just your overall structure.

As a part of your fitness routine, these 3 components are very important which is as follows: –

Cardiovascular exercises
Strength training exercises
Flexibility exercises

None of the components can be skipped.

All these 3 components are very important for a proper fitness regime.

The question which I always get is (which also became an idea to write this article) how much cardio should I do?

And my answer is (Always), you should actually ask how much of these 3 components I should do?

Well, I will be covering all these 3 components in 3 separate articles so for now, I will be concentrating on cardio.

So, going back to the question which I always get, I wish I had an answer to that which could be as simple as

Do 60 minutes a day or maybe 150 minutes a week!

But being a healthcare professional, I cannot give a generic answer.

In fact, that question has no specific answer.

The amount of cardio which should be done completely depends upon these 4 factors: – (Ps: – Please read all the factors before you come to a conclusion for yourself)

(1) It depends on what you are aiming at.

Well, not everybody needs weight loss! Some people might be looking for muscle gain while someone else might need to run a marathon.

So, does that mean all of them will be doing 150 minutes of cardio per week?

Definitely not!

Along with the aim, you also need to know about your metabolism.

Metabolism is the rate at which your body needs calories while resting.

So, for a person who wants to lose weight will probably be needing a lot of cardio but for someone who wants to build muscle- the amount of cardio which you require completely depends on your metabolism. If you have a fast metabolism then you don’t need any cardio but if your metabolism is slow then you need to do some amount of cardio.

Someone who is into different sports like shot put or powerlifting or sprinting might require very little cardio.

Why am I targeting these 2 categories first?

It is because losing weight and gaining muscles are totally different things to talk about. For your body as well, it becomes a very confusing state because the body cannot do 2 things simultaneously. However, with proper training, it does become possible sometimes.

Then, what about fat loss? How much cardio should one do?

If losing weight is your only goal then it is okay to put your focus more on cardio and neglect the muscle gain part.

You just work on not losing muscles while you are losing your fat.

This can be achieved by 2 times a week strength training and adequate proteins in your diet.

What If someone is a marathoner? How much cardio should one do?

It also includes a good amount of cardio and minimum strength training but flexibility here is very important. It can all be divided throughout the week with a focus more on cardio and other endurance sports.

Although I don’t like putting anything in a restricted way I guess I can do with sharing some guidelines about the first factor which I have discussed in brief above so that it becomes easier for everyone to understand.

Building muscle + Fast metabolism = No cardio
Building muscle + Slow metabolism = 2-4 days per week with about 20-30 minutes every day.
Losing fat = 5-6 times per week with about 45-60 minutes every day
Marathoner= 4-6 times per week with about 30-60 minutes every day

*This is very generic; the requirement might differ in each person but this can be used as a guideline to work upon.

(2) State of your hormones

Well, the most common problem which most of us are facing is WEIGHT GAIN or UNABLE TO LOSE THE EXISTING WEIGHT which ultimately makes you hit the gym and your trainer will suggest you do cardio. He or she will decide the plan and everyone blindly follows that plan. But, do you think everybody needs exactly the same amount of cardio?

When your weight becomes a problem the hormone which comes into the picture is CORTISOL.

Cortisol is a hormone which is released all the time in the body but most commonly it reaches its peak under extreme stress. When the stress is often short-term like some assignment to complete or some exams to give then the graph of cortisol keeps fluctuating but when the stress becomes long term which goes on for months and years then the gland which produces cortisol is adrenal glands that starts burning out which means there won’t be enough cortisol which is produced. Well, none of this is good. Neither LOW nor HIGH. Everything goes well in balance.

So now that was about the theory, let’s understand how to practically apply it.

Symptoms of cortisol imbalance: –

Rapid weight gain
Muscle weakness
Chronic fatigue
Mood swings
Anxiety
Depression
Confusion
Insomnia
Fluctuating sugar levels

How to know about your cortisol imbalance?

It is important to do a stress test first and then go for the lab reports and get your 8 am cortisol checked.
Visit an endocrinologist with your reports.

How much cardio should you do if your cortisol levels are not up to the mark?

Under 60% of your maximal heart rate.

How to calculate your maximal heart rate?

220 – your age= maximal heart rate

For example: –

Person who is 40 years of age,

220-40= 180 (Maximal heart rate)

60% of 180 = 108 beats per minute.

You should not cross 108 beats per minute while doing cardio in any case.
You must strictly monitor it and get yourself a personal trainer/coach who can help you understand this.

Why are we discussing cortisol imbalance and what is the reason behind reducing your cardio activities in such cases?

All the exercise puts the body into some stress. This stress can affect stimulation of different hormones.
When you do steady cardio like a treadmill or cycling your body increases cortisol and reduces other hormones like growth hormone.
When you do interval training your body increases cortisol and growth hormone
When you do strength training with moderate repetition and sets your body increases growth hormone and cortisol by a small margin.
When you do strength training with heavy repetition and sets your body increases testosterone (Which is mostly seen in bodybuilders)

I have given you an in-depth reason here so that you can understand that doing cardio under any stress will increase the complication even more and will do no good to your body.

So before getting into intense workouts, check your cortisol levels.

If everything is okay then you can do the cardio as discussed above.

(3) Depends on your intensity

Whenever I try getting the history about exercises, I get to hear this very often: –

” I do cardio for about 1 and half hours in the gym but I am not getting any results “

” I walk for about 2 hours a day, one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening but I don’t think it is helping”

Well, the basic point to this is,

YOUR DURATION DOESN’T MATTER.

WHAT MATTERS IS- YOUR INTENSITY.

You can work out for just like 15 minutes and still get the same effect as you might get it from longer duration.

Since a couple of months, I often see people talking about high-intensity workouts, low-intensity workouts. I was actually very curious to know their definition of these workouts. I was actually very surprised to know that out of 10 people not even 2 of them knew what exactly it is. They were talking about it because they read it on the internet or their trainer told or something else. You don’t need to be a doctor or personal trainer or a certified health expert. You as a common man to have the rights to know, after all, you are the one who is actually, going to follow that advice. Well, writing this article in this depth is just for everyone to understand the basics behind all the theories which are coming up.

So, coming back to the theory behind intensity.

What is a low-intensity workout?

Under 60% of your maximal heart rate (How to calculate it is mentioned above) is a low-intensity workout.
These intensity workouts will not increase the endurance but do have relaxation benefits.

What is moderate intensity workout?

In between 60-85% of your maximal heart rate is moderate intensity workout.
This is a basic workout if your goal is to lose fats.
Start with 3-4 times per week and for 30-45 minutes
This is just about cardio however in this routine strength training is also required which will be covered in the upcoming article.

What is a high-intensity workout?

Anything above 85% of your maximal heart rate is high-intensity workout
This can be maintained only for about 1-4 minutes before your speed drops and then gradually goes ahead.
Start with 2-3 times per week for about 20 minutes.
This course will include proper strength training also which will be covered in upcoming article

Note: – High-intensity workout is not suggested for anybody who has not done any cardio exercises for past 4 months, for someone who has serious cardiac issues. Please consult your doctor before getting into these kinds of workout. Inform your coach and coaches too can take this as a basic part of history taking.

(4) Depends upon how well your response to cardio exercises.

As I mentioned in the beginning of the article, every individual is different and there is no same answer to HOW MUCH CARDIO YOU SHOULD DO?
It all depends on your responses which can vary from person to person
I can simply guess that maybe you require this much workout but I am never sure about it unless I check the response for minimum 15 days.

My players always ask me that why do I give the workouts for 15 days and then think so much for the next set of workouts. Sometimes it so happens that I refuse to change the workout and make then repeat it for 15 days. I know it’s annoying, like very annoying but it is better than any serious injury. Unless I am sure about the responses and progress I do not go ahead in case of workouts.

This article only gives you insights about CARDIO but your workout routine is incomplete with strength training and flexibility.

My next blog is HOW MUCH STRENGTH TRAINING YOU NEED TO DO?.

We hope this article helps you. For further information or guidance, reach out to our certified experts by subscribing to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

#BeTheForce