INCREASE Your Running WITHOUT Increasing Your Weekly Mileage

If you're anything like me, you want every week of training to be better than the last. More miles, more intervals, faster pace, whatever your measuring needs to be more. That is, until you reach your “ideal” weekly mileage, whatever that is, and then you get about a week of “good” training before it all goes to shit. Well, lucky for you, I'm about to show you how the initial scientific study has been misinterpreted, why the current idea of progressive loading is doing anything but progressing your running, and what the science says you should do instead.

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#marathon #running #ultramarathon

[robinphillips]

Wow! This is really timely. After repeated cycles of training/injury/recovery, I worked out that this would be a much better way for me to train. You just confirmed that the science supports this. Thanks, Will! 🙂

[KB-Runner]

I like this topic!
The take away here is to not progress every week, but to progress every 4-5 week. Doing so enables you to better adapt to the training load and thus becoming a better runner.

[jameschaves]

Will your channel is severely underrated. None of this is new to me but you make it sound so easy. I wish you 100, 000 subscribers

[lsantilli]

I know it may seem kind of counterintuitive - but I got injured a lot when I ran 30-40 miles a week and attempted to put in threshold or intervals. However, I got frustrated and just stopped doing threshold entirely for a few months and just started “jogging” about 65-70 miles a week. These were all done around 15-20K runs at what I would usually do my “long run” for the week at with my previous programming. Within 6 weeks, I realized I had zero niggles and banged out the fastest 10K I have done since I was 19 (34 now) and it felt easy. Now I’m just trying to add strides to my runs to see what kind of stimulation that gives me and go from there. I feel, like my 34 year old body NEEDS miles, in the way my 19 year old one didn’t, simply to stay resilient and handle any intensity at all. Running lower miles and more intense just got me hurt. Mileage is building resilience, I needed a good block of just doing 10 miles a day or so to build that resistance without realizing that’s what was what I was doing.

[michealjohnny]

Thanks for the great videos, really clearly spelling out The Why behind some of these bits of sage advice we hear and then don't stick to!

[Avianthro]

Wow! This really makes sense...making sure you've adapted fully to your last progression, last increase in weekly workload, before making the next one. I'm guessing though that the 4-week rule may be on the conservative side for some of us...some, especially those who are younger, under 40, can probably progress faster but very few are going to need to go even slower than that. It's always best to err on the conservative side since the risks of over-stressing outweigh the time-rate-of-progression benefits.

[grantnewdick]

Hey Will, arrived here from your blog. Very interesting content and really timely for me in as I learn more about the science behind my running.

[tobias]

Game changing insight. I’ve never figured out why tf I decline after a month or two and have to restart. Wish I knew this 15 years ago!

[jossphillips]

What if I always feel like a beast? I’ve been increasing my mileage by 2 miles per week since birth. I’m currently on 2, 080 miles per week with no injuries. Therefore, cumulative load can quaff my corpus spongiosum!

[zacsborntorunrunningadvent]

Well thought out video Dr Will. 4wk blocks works very well. I essentially coach in 4wk loads also as theres no point giving someone a 24wk training plan if they cant get through wk 5-8 etc. Yes jack daniels vdot tables and associated paces are excellent tools and guides. Mr Gilbert (JDs friend) was a Physicist who Nasa hired...he was brilliant. Cheers & happy running. Whens your next Race champ 🎉? 😊

[MarcusBiskobing]

Best running videos on YouTube hands down. Thank you so much.

[scottconnolly]

Love your work Dr Will - I’ve also used one of his half marathons plans which took me to a whole new level I didn’t think I was capable of.

[Person]

As I was watching this video I kept thinking about how similar this is to Jack Daniels style of training… then you said it! haha I started this exact method a few weeks ago and I can already tell it’s working better than progressive overloading each week!! At least my body is responding better to this methodology! 🎉🎉🎉

[musaagar]

That’s the meaningful video and well explained information I’m looking for ! Thank you doctor for your time and video !

[HaussmannVisuals]

Just started your HM marathon plan this week. Excited to see the progress :)

[wk]

My concern is my own self assessment of "overly tired". I know my inclination is to think I'm ready for more. I've learned to listen to the niggles, and if it's some kind of potential overuse injury I back off and recover. But when it's just how tired I feel, I'm not so sure I'm an honest judge. I do check HRV on my Garmin, but there are times when it really doesn't match either how I feel or my work load.

In the past I've used Hal Higdon plans and more recently Pfitzinger but interested in the idea of a more fluid plan than trying to set up 20 weeks in advance. (Ya, I know, that's what coaches are for, not quite ready to bite the bullet yet :-)

[johnbanks]

I love your channel, and enjoying using some science in my runs.
When you talk about keeping mileage the same for 4 weeks, do you mean do the same 5 runs each week that i do or just keep mileage consistent.

[michaelmackenzie]

Just love your content Will. Many thanks 🙏

[martincarstensen]

Well, what I took away from this is to always listen to your body. That's remains difficult for almost every ambitious runner.

[rentyotboy]

Thank You for digging a little deeper than most.. btw what's a niggle? is its communicable? 🙂