5 Exercises Every Joggler Should Be Doing

This article by the folks over at the Dumb Little Man blog about the 5 exercises you should be doing inspired this list of exercises that every joggler should be doing to improve their skills, speed, and fitness.

5 Key Exercises

1. Juggling – Joggling is running while juggling. If you get better at juggling, then you will become a faster, better joggler. When you miss you lose time. The best way to cut down on misses is to juggle…a lot. Plus, it’s really fun. There is always a new challenge and there is never a reason to get bored. Ab crunches, lifting weights, and even running can get a little dull. Juggling, always presents a new challenge. Check out the Wildcat Jugglers tutorial for tricks and juggling tips.

2. Running – Not quite as fun as juggling but if you want to be a seriously fast joggler, you’ve got to be a seriously fast runner. Since the joggling streak started, I run (with juggling) every day. You don’t need to do that much, but 4 or 5 times a week is the minimum for building speed.

3. Balancing – To be a great joggler you have to have an excellent sense of balance. Do you think you have one? Well, try these standing exercises to see just how much you move. Becoming good at balancing can improve your agility (good for avoid pot holes while maintaining your juggling pattern), reduce chance of injury, and strengthen your muscles.  Of course, hat balancing is just plain fun.

4. Sprinting – If you want to joggle faster, you’ve got to run faster. Most of your training will be at a moderate speed but once or twice a week you should do a sprint workout. Kick that treadmill up to 10.0, 11.0 or even 12.0. (But be careful!) Do short, fast runs, just to give your body an idea of what fast running feels like. This anaerobic exercise is also good for building up your cellular mitochondria. These are the energy makers in your cells. More of them, means more energy.

5. Pull-ups – Long distance joggling creates an extra strain on your arms that mere runners don’t experience. If you can build up your upper body strength it’ll make it much easier to keep the juggling pattern going later in the race. I’ve been trying to do 100 – 150 pull ups a week. They’re must more interesting than doing sit ups and crunches. For proper technique check out this article at Stronglifts.com.

I don’t really know if these 5 exercises will work for everyone but I can report that they’ve made me a better joggler. And since I’ve started doing them this month, I’ve lost 4 pounds, and an inch and a half around my waste.

Plus, it’s just been lots of fun!

Joggle on.