Help Running

[dasills]

Hey I've been training for the seals but I'm pretty weak in running. I'm 15 and still in school so I only have about 5 hours a day to train. Do you have any suggestions for building my long muscles up quickly. If you could help I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
dasills

[mhw9505]

Run. If you want to be a better runner then you have to run at least 4 days a week. Its the rule of specificity...if you train in a specific way you will become better at the specific venue of training....in your case, running.

[scskowron]

You "only" have 5 hours a day to train? That's more than enough. You'll only really need 1-2 hours to do most of your workouts. I train for marathons and BUD/S at the same time and I don't spend more than 2 hours a day.

Forget 4 days a week, run 6 days a week. Follow this type of program

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 3 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles (easy)
Thursday: 3 miles (race it)
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: speed work, do 10x100m sprints or 6x400m sprints or something
Sunday: 5 miles (easy)

I just made that up now, but you get the idea. Sunday should be long distance (bring it up to 7-8 over a couple weeks), one day should be 5k racing, one day should be sprints, the other days should just be light mileage.
Don't increase your weekly total mileage until you're comfortable with something like that. The second week after starting a program you should consider taking the whole week off from running because supposedly you could cause stress fractures although if you have an athletic background I'm not really sure how common this will be.
I recommend Stew Smith's book The Complete Navy SEAL Fitness Guide for a complete running program.

You'll build up your endurance within 3-4 weeks if you follow a good program. But remember you can do all the swimming, rowing, squats, lunges, and flutterkicks you want - they're not going to substitute for running.

[ssisk]

I have a secret for you...you are in high school right? Want to build your endurance? Join the Cross Country team. You will have your own training coach day to day who knows what kind of training to give you in order to build those long running muscles...best decisions I've made and I am still doing it in college.

[borus96]

I have a secret for you...you are in high school right? Want to build your endurance? Join the Cross Country team. You will have your own training coach day to day who knows what kind of training to give you in order to build those long running muscles...best decisions I've made and I am still doing it in college.

Sheesh no kidding ssisk. Wish I was in the Cross Country team when I was in HS now. your 15 bro. By the time you can enlist you'll be able to run 25 miles without sweating it. Don't over train yourself. There is no point in it. I'd run a mile a day for like a month and go up a mile each month if i was you lol. Then by the time you actually turn 18 you'd be a beast and the odds of you getting a injury are SLIM TO NONE!.

[rsctt83]

I could not agree more with the advice that was given to take advantage of your high school coaches and to join your HS cross country and track team {I would also add swimming team to that since your goal is to be a SEAL}. Most HS have an open policy {no cuts} so chances are that even if you have little or no experience running you would be able to participate. Your coach will be able to design a workout program for you appropriate to your running experience and ability.

The most important thing to remember is that you need to be patient and have realistic short term goals and to approach training for an extreme challange such as BUDS in a way that makes sense, building up to this over months/years not weeks/days. Remember that you are only 15 years old and time is definetly on your side.

Training hard for an extreme endurance event requires tremendous work and dedication and with that there is a significant risk of injury, particularly to those who do not have a history of training at high intensity levels. This is where good coaching, sticking to the plan and patience will help you.

Best of luck to you

[scskowron]

Sheesh no kidding ssisk. Wish I was in the Cross Country team when I was in HS now. your 15 bro. By the time you can enlist you'll be able to run 25 miles without sweating it. Don't over train yourself. There is no point in it. I'd run a mile a day for like a month and go up a mile each month if i was you lol. Then by the time you actually turn 18 you'd be a beast and the odds of you getting a injury are SLIM TO NONE!.

You're exaggerating the benefits of XC. I did XC in HS and I loved it and it is a great sport. But no matter how good you are at high school XC, you're never going to be able to "run 25 miles without sweating it". You need specific training (not XC training) to run distances of that length, and trust me, very few people in the sport are able to do it like it's nothing.

[asixe]

If you're 15, join cross country and the swim team. If you can train your *** off with these two programs you'll be set for BUD/S.