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Bonnie Stein, M.Ed.
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Want So, You Only Have 30
Minutes?
Get a Big
Workout in a Little Bit of Time
By Bonnie Stein, M.Ed.
National racewalk team member, Sally Richards-Kerr is
creative when getting in her daily racewalking workout . A mother of four
children (ages 3, 4, 14, and 15) she'd have a legitimate reason for complaining
about a lack of time to train. Weather conditions in Evergreen,
Colorado, where Sally lives,
might prove another inhibiting factor. Yet, you'll never hear Sally complain
about her lack of time or training conditions. Instead, she says that "any
amount of time walking is like money in the bank - - - it all adds up." Sally
plugs in 30 minutes when she can fit it in.
Sally says that very few American athletes, even national
team members, have ideal training conditions. With job and family constraints,
one often must catch a workout "on the run." Fitting in workouts hasn't
hindered Sally's accomplishments. In the mid-90’s she was the fastest woman
master's racewalker in the
United States and at 41 years
old, was the only woman over 40 on the National Racewalk team at the time.
She's also was the world record holder for the women's master's 10K distance.
Ten years ago, when Sally was a single mother of two young
children and a middle school French teacher, "catch as catch can" was how she
fit in her workouts. She recalls going to school with her shorts underneath her
skirt. She'd teach during first and second periods, then during her 45 minute
third period break, she'd change her shoes, head outside, hide her skirt in the
bushes, and do a hard 30 minute speed or hill workout.
She'd leave enough time at the end of her workout to grab
her skirt, hit the bathroom for a quick wash-up, and head back into her
classroom for the arrival of her fourth period class. Some days when an hour
workout was on the agenda, she'd repeat the workout at lunch time. Two half
hour workouts were better than nothing according to Sally.
Many racewalkers, who have progressed to the point of
being able to walk an hour or more at a time, mistakenly believe in the "all or
nothing policy." If they find themselves with only a half hour to spare for a
workout, they often skip it since they don't have time to do their whole hour
walk.
Those half hours can prove quite valuable. Done correctly,
short workouts can boost your cardiovascular fitness and even increase your
walking pace. They can even relieve boredom from doing the same workout day
after day.
Try these 30 minute walking workouts:
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If you are near a track, you can do "Straights and
Turns." After a good warm- up, speed up on each straight part of
the track and do a recover pace on the turns. Twenty minutes along
with a good cool-down makes an ideal short, but intense workout. |
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Another workout for the track would be drills. These are
meant to adjust certain technique flaws. You can do cross-overs
(crossing both feet over opposite sides of the line on a track.) This drill
encourages more hip flexibility. Windmill arms coordinate the arms
with the hip action of racewalking. Move the arms backward, one at a time,
like a windmill as you walk the straight line of a track. Make sure you
are warmed up well before you do drills. Ten or 15 minutes of drills are a
strenuous workout. Allow time for a good cool down. |
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Use hills to increase the intensity of a short workout.
After a good warm-up, (hills are hard on the hamstrings) racewalk assertively
up a hill and do a recover pace on the way down. Repeat for the duration of
your 15-20 minute workout. Then, do a good cool-down. |
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Even without access to a track, you can do a quick workout
in your neighborhood. Speed up between mailboxes or light poles. For
example, do two mailboxes fast and recover for four mailboxes. Repeat for 20
minutes. Along with a warm up and cool-down, you've got a great interval
workout right outside your front door. |
If I haven't emphasized it enough, always to remember to
warm-up and cool-down. Don't do more than one of these intense workouts per
week. Never do an intense workout if you have an injury. Don't skip a chance
to get in a good workout because you're short on time. Lastly, don't leave your
clothes in the bushes.
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