IDK what category this falls in but some girl slamming a medicine ball on the ground talking about how it's good strength training for running... check her profile and her 5k pr is 19:xx. Oooook.
It just made me burst out laughing because of how ridiculous it looked. And while it may be a good core workout or whatever, like it might actually have some merit, I'm pretty sure using that time for more easy mileage is what she needs. Running 6:20 pace for 20mins isn't that stressful on the core. You have to be much more aerobically fit in order to sustain the forces that will result in core strength becoming the weakest link. Imo she's doing the strength work for a 15min 5k for absolutely no reason as her aerobic fitness will never get close to that.
A lot of folks have pretty terrible form that causes injuries and makes it hard to get up to any kind of decent mileage. Sometimes core strength and stability is a factor that influence form. I too get a giggle out of self-righteous instructional videos from unimpressive runners, but I don’t think it makes sense to say you shouldn’t do core or strength work until you’re elite.
These are the worst because they lead people on to think you can do whatever training they're doing and get the same results. Then when their followers try and can't, if affirms the lie that "they're just so talented and special." But the reality is, the part of their "training program" they left out is that they're as jacked as a jackfruit on every legal and illegal PED they can get their hands on.
"Another Masters World Championship! Look at me..."
Then they post the selfie of their Duane The Rock Johnson build with which they inexplicably run Eliud Kipchoge times.
I don't disagree with you but I think we might be misunderstanding each other. I think everyone should be doing strength work regularly but I think "normal" strength work would be sufficient for her. What I find ridiculous is her weird exercise that is purportedly good specifically for her or for runners.
Just do a standard, boring weightlifting routine or bodyweight routine and that's more than sufficient for general fitness and life as well as sub-elite distance running.
My understanding of the situation is that she's doing an exotic exercise to make it seem like she knows more than she does and/or simply because it looks cooler or more interesting for her instagram reel than seeing normal, tried and true boring strength exercises. Having said that, like I said, I think someone at some time had a good reason to instruct an athlete to slam a medicine ball on the ground. I just can't believe it's what was best for her. It's just instagram imo
Ignore them if you can, you may be made of sterner stuff than the rest of us. But the Instagram runners are out there and demand your attention, whether you like it or not.
I certainly can, namely because I matured enough to delete my instagram.
I do my best to ignore them but insta’s format keeps suggesting ‘influencer’ posts I may be interested in… heatherrunz and amberrunz keep popping up and are more than a bit irritating…
You seriously think the Shoe Guys are the "last bastion of honest journalism"? Maybe the folks at Doctors of Running but there are SO many people in this category who make the shoe posts that are total hype bois for whatever carbon plated shoe is out (BITR in particular) as opposed to running shoes that the average person is going to be looking for reviews on so they can try to get into running or find something that would replace the version/model of a shoe that got discontinued.
I'll give SJD some credit in that he reviews shoes pretty in depth but he's worse than Foamy the neurotic squirrel in his presentation.
And how long has JM been trying to Make Asics Great Again?!
Hell, half of the shoe guys are hawking some kind of supplement, mood ring that monitors your sleep or meal prep website.
You forgot about the worst kind; the run streakers! These are the people that constantly have to remind you that they’ve run “at least a mile” every day for the last x amount of years. It’s like their run streaks are the only accomplishments that keep them going too…I feel like most of them don’t even race but will consider 1 mile a run.
I feel bad for beginners who see their posts and think that’s a rational approach to running. Sorry people, but running 1 mile at 11:50pm to keep up your run streak isn’t really gonna get you too far (literally, pun intended). Gotta have your days off/breaks or else the hobbyjogger legs are gonna come off realllyyyyy quick.
Many a thread has been inked bemoaning the Instagram runner. But my goal is to breakdown and do a comprehensive analysis of the varieties I have noticed on my feed. In my experience, they breakdown as follows:
Mommy Marathoners: a self explanatory title given to those who are empty nesters or stay at home moms who have taken up running and “found themselves.” A mixture of boredom, narcissism, and maybe a chance to make some money gets them out the door and posting near daily. Also never beards to flex how good you look after 3 kids! How does she do it?!?!?
NIL College TikTokers: more recent phenomenon but taken up by many college level runners who now film every easy run, workout, pre-race, stretch, and meal. Every post is accompanied by that sweet, sweet #ad to promote some powder that turns your drink green and uses a proprietary blend to fuel them to not make NCAAs. But whatever, get that paper while you can.
Former Fatties: inspiration to some but nuisance to others, these are those people who just can’t help but reminding you that they lost so much weight since they got into running. The incessant before and after photos make what is usually an impressive weight loss accomplishment come off as narcissistic braggadocio. Also tons of shots in Boston gear to show how truly far they’ve come (this is common across multiple groups).
Roid Runners: we know em, we love ‘em, but we wouldn’t share needles with em. These are the guys who are built like brick outhouses but somehow pull off impressive running feats and maintain their size. Is it the shoes? Their strict diet and training routine? Maybe it’s the cycle of gear they’re on and have been since they dropped out of community college. Or, hey, maybe it’s Maybeline.
Shoe Guys: it’s about the shoes. These guys post all the latest shoes, carbon-plated or not. They are the last bastion of honest journalism, as they are not swayed by the free gear and relationships they form with brands. But this is Instagram so there’s plenty of interjection of their own running and personal lives, whether you asked for it or not.
More categories for sure but these are the big ones and my modest analysis. Please feel free to add.
Diet advice/body image posters: they want to promote healthy eating and positive body image but their posts ironically teach people to think about food and the body in destructive ways.
The roid runners are the worst because they give people body dysmorphia, especially young impressionable teens. Besides those people, I can’t wrap my head around the people who never seem to improve despite neighing their running journey years ago
You forgot the professional coach type too. They usually don’t really know what they are talking about at all, have some really weird coaching philosophies, and not a lot of coaching accomplishments but for some reason tons of followers
My Instagram is plagued by runners that post videos of them moving at about 4:00 a mile pace, with the caption “Tempo day!” And a 19:30 5k PR to show for it.
Also runners running on a treadmill with the caption “3:20 KM pace!” And receiving 10,000 likes. Maybe I need to start doing this.
I was just thinking this, but to be honest the weird training philosophy I found was way better than the standard training plan (for beginners). It all focused on getting your mile down to a reasonable time before focusing on distance. Girl went from a 6 hr to 3 hr marathoner without losing 50 pounds like most have to do to make that kind of jump
I don't disagree with you but I think we might be misunderstanding each other. I think everyone should be doing strength work regularly but I think "normal" strength work would be sufficient for her. What I find ridiculous is her weird exercise that is purportedly good specifically for her or for runners.
slamming a medicine ball on the ground is a pretty common exercise, definitely not ridiculous. and why is "normal" strength work specifically good for runners if this one isn't? there's a lot of truly dumb stuff out there, not sure why this sticks out for you.
I don't disagree with you but I think we might be misunderstanding each other. I think everyone should be doing strength work regularly but I think "normal" strength work would be sufficient for her. What I find ridiculous is her weird exercise that is purportedly good specifically for her or for runners.
slamming a medicine ball on the ground is a pretty common exercise, definitely not ridiculous. and why is "normal" strength work specifically good for runners if this one isn't? there's a lot of truly dumb stuff out there, not sure why this sticks out for you.
Because he isn't up on strength training. You can get by fine just doing the same half dozen lifts. You can also get along fine using a couple dozen other lifts. Some people like repeating the same workouts. Some like mixing it up.
What I learned from this thread is that half of LRC is worse at evaluating training than the people they complain about.
Here's what I don't like-the people that record the walk from their car, the warmup, the workout, the cool down, and the walk back as separate events so they can post five things to Strava at the same time.