A Productive Weekly Training Program for Runners

Coach Nick Bester offers 8 training tips and a productive weekly training program for runners of all skill levels.

I’ve never been the most talented, nor have I had the best ride. I’m a lot bigger and heavier than those I compete against, but I’ve been able to improve by following this structure and keeping things as productive as possible. It’s a structure that I, and many of my athletes, follow and it’s yielded many results and PBs.

Before I explain how the structure works, I just want to mention these 8 training tips to you:

1. Keep your hard days hard and easy days easy

Really snap out of your comfort zone on those harder days. Allow the body to absorb all the goodness by keeping those easy days easier.

2. A maximum of 2 and a half harder days in a week

Any more than this and your training starts becoming unproductive. You can’t push hard every day.

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3. To improve and see good results takes getting uncomfortable.

The more you snap out of your comfort zone, the more used to that feeling you get.

It’s never easy, but always worth it.

4. Rome wasn’t built in a day and fitness doesn’t happen overnight.

It takes consistency, over a period of time, in order to see results. Don’t be disheartened if results don’t come straight away. Just remember that the harder you work for them, the sweeter it feels when good results come.

5. Fuel hard to train hard.

Our bodies need good fuel to reach the high levels we expect from them.

Look to get good fuel in the night before hard sessions. I tend to have good carbs such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice, sweet potato. Aim to get in good proteins straight after your session.

I always aim to get in at least 20-24g of protein within half an hour of my session before having a bigger meal around an hour later.

RELATED: Eat Healthy! Five Delicious Evening Meal Ideas for Athletes

6. With increased speed comes minor injuries so train smart.

When a minor injury is worse than 6/7 out of 10, then you’re much better off, backing off, sooner rather than later and turning to cross training. There are big benefits to cross training and often your body appreciates the non-impact form of cardio. Some good forms of cross training are things like spin bike, swimming, elliptical, rowing machine etc. If you can feel something is not right, I would advise going to see a physio. They are the professionals and they’ll be able to diagnose the injury for you.

7. Strength and conditioning are key to get the body performing well and remaining injury free.

It takes long for the body to adapt and mould itself into a position where running can be completely injury free. That’s why strength training is crucial, as it allows the muscles to develop in order to sustain the demands that come from training. As runners, often we love just running and neglecting things like strength, but don’t underestimate just what an important ingredient it is to your training.

8. Get a coach or follow some form of structure.

There are massive benefits to having a coach, but I know not everyone can afford it. If you can’t but still want to follow some form of structure to your training, there are lower cost alternatives out there. Here are the PDF training guides I have created which you may find useful.

A Productive Training Week

• Monday: easy day. Effort levels 3/10.

This easy, everyday maintenance running should make up the bulk of your training - somewhere around 75 - 80% of your training. If you follow heart rate, you should try remaining within zone 2 on this easy run. That means your average heart rate should not be above 72% of your max HR. Easy Runs do not necessarily have a pace - they should just feel easy. You should be able to have a conversation with someone the whole way.

• Tuesday: hard day. Effort levels 9/10. Track/interval session.

This is where we really need to push boundaries by training at race pace and faster than race pace. A typical session could look like this: 10 x 400 metres (75 seconds recovery) @ target 5k pace, starting at 85% effort and finishing at 95%. Rest can be static, walk or an easy jog. It always helps having a teammate or a group to do the sessions with. Knowing you’re not suffering alone just makes things easier.

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• Wednesday: easy day. Effort levels 3/10.

Very similar to Monday, recovering from your harder day yesterday.

It’s always a good idea to include cross training on this day, especially if you feel like your body needs a bit of a break from the impact of running.

• Thursday: intermediate or easy (depending on ability). Effort levels 6 or 7 out of 10, or 3/10.

If you’ve just taken up running recently, then I’d probably recommend another easy day today.

However, if you’ve been running for a good period of time and your body is feeling good and ready to go, then these sessions should be your ‘half’ harder day. Include hill work or tempo work. 

RELATED: 10 Ways to Keep Your Run Training Interesting

Hill work: hills will always be a crucial part of training, even if training for flatter races. They help build strength, improve form, increase power and a whole lot more. You often hear that hills pay the bills. When it comes to running, they really do. Don’t neglect them and get some good elevation gain within your weekly training.

Tempo work: here we are working harder than normal but not all out racing. You can say a few words but not a full sentence, working tough but comfortable.  Remain disciplined and keep the tempo work controlled to get the most out of it. 

• Friday: Rest day from cardio. Effort levels 1/10.

It’s always a good idea to have a full rest day within a week, allowing the body to absorb the training. On this day, you can do things like Yoga, or what I often tend to do is put on my favorite playlist and do a sequence of stretching, specific to where my body feels the tightest. As runners, it’s often in the hips and hamstrings. Prepare the mind and body for the weekend ahead.

• Saturday: Either hard or easy. Effort levels either 8/10 or 4/10.

Here you have the option to either do a quality session and if that’s the case then your longer run tomorrow should be easy. Or do an easier run and have a harder, structured, longer run the next day. If you go with the session, you should be working very hard, but not as hard as your tracks/interval session. It’s always quite a nice idea to give parkrun a good go if you have one around you.

RELATED: 7 Easy Tips for Improving Your Run Training

• Sunday: Either hard or easy longer run. Effort levels either 8/10 or 4/10

If you went harder on the Saturday, then keep this long run easier. Forget about work and allow the mind to drift while you plod away. If, however, your Saturday was easy, then I’d recommend a harder longer run. It always helps adding structure to these runs to get the most out of yourself. It also helps them tick by a bit faster. Typical examples could be by adding 3×10 minutes at effort, within your longer run, or if you’re building up towards something longer like the marathon you could do something like 3-4 x 5K efforts.

I hope you find this helpful.

Try stick to it as consistently as possible.

The hardest part is always the beginning but once you keep showing up and do it time and time again, then the body will adapt.

Train smart, be productive, and let’s go get it!

Coach Nick