I heard about "specificity of exercise," back in the mid 1970s.
Why would a 5K runner ever run much further than a 10K or shorter than a 1500?
I heard about "specificity of exercise," back in the mid 1970s.
Why would a 5K runner ever run much further than a 10K or shorter than a 1500?
Dan Williams wrote:
I heard about "specificity of exercise," back in the mid 1970s.
Why would a 5K runner ever run much further than a 10K or shorter than a 1500?
You might be an 800 meter runner who used to run 5k before you realized 800 meter was your best event.
I set my middle school record in the 800, but since I also ran 14 miles that year, I just assumed I was better at longer distance events.
Now at age 40 I realize that the 800 meter might have been my best event, even though it was always an afterthought behind the 1500 and 3000 meter for me.
If you're a better sprinter than most of your cross country team, you might be sleeping on your best event.
Just like I did.
Thank you.
"specificity of exercise" refers to how running is better at making you a faster runner than something like cycling or kickboxing. That's not to say crosstraining is bad, it's just that you should run for training whenever possible. To answer your question, yes absolutely XC will help an 800m runner. the 800 is a mix of aerobic and anaerobic energy systems and XC will help you develop your aerobic base. think about it as a pyramid, with aerobic foundation being at the bottom. The stronger your aerobic foundation is, the more potential you will have when enter the peaking phase of training.
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