#NotJustARunner Workouts

Running will always be my sport of choice, but running is not my all-in-all. In order to be a good runner, one needs to run. To be a better and (hopefully) injury-free runner, one needs to do more than just run. Hence, here's some of my #notjustarunner workouts to keep me in check:

**HIIT Me Up! Are you a fan of HIIT (high intensity interval  training) workouts? Follow the link (HERE) for a collection of Created-by-Kim HIIT workouts.

**Continuous Cardio Stairway Circuit This workout will keep the heart pumping, even though the superman intervals will give you a bit of a brief recovery period between sets. Three total sets will net you 30 total supermans, 30 total burpees, 75 total flights of stairs, approximately 30 minutes of continuous action, and a very thorough sweat session!

**Stair & Push-Up Circuit Need a quick workout that combines upper-body and lower body, with a good mix of cardio as well? This combines alternating flights of single-step and double-step stair climbing with push-ups (in between each flight)...doing 5 complete sets will net you 100 total flights of stairs and 100 push-ups.

**10 X 10 X 10's Lower Body Buster This workout involved 10 circuits. Each circuit had 10 flights of stairs, 10 reps of lower body moves (weighted forward lunges or weighted reverse lunges or a 1-minute wall sit or sumo squats or walking lunges), and 10 sets of upper body moves (hammer curls or bicep curls or upright rows or triceps extensions or shoulder presses). I went through the total rotation twice...which meant 100 total flights of stairs were climbed, 100 lower body maneuvers (on each leg) were executed, and 100 upper body moves were done as well. It took me 45 minutes and I was an exhausted mess when I finished. And, there may have been some DOMS entering the picture about 28 hours later....just saying.

**Sweat Equity Circuit (<-- click on the link for full details)
This circuit mixes in a stair workout with intervals of upper body moves for a challenging workout that's guaranteed to make you sweat.

      *10 flights of stairs
      **20 reps of hammer curls
      *10 flights of stairs
      **20 reps of upright rows
      *10 flights of steps
      **20 reps of shoulder presses
      *10 flights of steps
      **20 reps of bicep curls
      *10 flights of steps
      **20 reps of tricep extensions

**TLC of the Knee (<-- click on the link for full details)
This is a series of strength (and balance) moves I incorporated into my recovery after emergency surgery for a staph infection near my knee. I had to get creative because I was not able to bend my right knee for several weeks while the suture seam healed, nor was I able to put any weight on it.

Here's a myriad of  stair workouts I created. All were featured in a blog post, High Steppin' in the SpRiNg HERE:

**Strength-Based balance-Burner Stair Workout
Interested in some intense balance moves? How about some fancy foot work? This workout involves double steps (for speed) as well as triple steps for strength and balance. The triple steps are performed at a much slower speed, due to the increased stride length required to perform them. This workout also adds a new element...side-stepping (instead of facing the stairs head-on, you climb while facing the handrail and alternate that with facing the wall). 

**Arms & Legs Intervals on the Stairway
This is another interval workout that incorporates maneuvers both on and off the stairway. I did this workout on the outdoor stairway, which has the 18 elongated steps(mentioned above), but it could also be done inside on an indoor stairway.

**Fast & Effective Stair Workout
If you're short on time, this workout will give you a good lower-body burn in approximately 20 minutes. I'm a tall gal (5'9), so "double-stepping" is pretty easy for me, and the "triple-stepping" is more of a slower, controlled balance move. For people with shorter legs, simply substitute the doubles for singles, and the triples for doubles.

**Outdoor Elongated Stairway Challenge

I discovered a "little" gem of a stairway on the college campus near my house recently.  My indoor stairway has 12 steps and they're probably pretty "typical" in their depth and height. in comparison to other indoor stairways. This outdoor stairway has 18 steps, and they are elongated.....the incline is not as steep as an indoor stairway, and the steps themselves are longer in depth. In other words, single-stepping on these is closer (in stride-length) to double-stepping on a "regular" stairway, and taking the steps by two's is similar (in stride-length) to taking the steps by three's.  This really gave my long legs a challenge!  

**Stella vs. 'Milly Interval Extravaganza Workout (<-- click on the link for full details)

Stuck indoors on an especially cold (and icy) winter day, I created this interval workout, utilizing the stairway (whom I have named Stella) and the treadmill (whom I have not-so-affectionately named 'Milly). 

*10 sets of steps (one set = going up one flight and then coming back down)

*1/4 mile on the treadmill (incline on 2, pace set at 6.0)

*15 sets of steps

*1/4 mile on the treadmill (same as above)

*20 sets of steps

*1/4 mile on the treadmill (same as above)

*15 sets of steps

*1/4 mile of the treadmill (same as above)

*10 sets of steps 

*cool down (I walked for 5 minutes, but adjusted the pace setting to 4.0)

**Fast & Furious 15's (<-- click on the link for full details)
Here's another option for combining stair climbing (cardio) with strength work (arms!), all mixed into a nice little circuit workout. This workout was first featured on Fitful Focus when I was a guest blog host.

**Working out...at Work? (<-- click on the link for full details)
Did you know you can actually get in a mini workout ... while at work? You will not bulk up, nor will you break much of a sweat, but a little bit of action will keep your body strong and flexible.

**Plyo-Infused Stair Workout (<--click on link for full details)

This HIIT workout combines plyometrics (jumping drills) with various sets of single-step, double-step and triple-step flights of stairs. There's even some burpees and push-ups thrown into the mix.