4 Tips That Will Get You Running in Beast-Mode

Running in beast mode means you’re pushing right up against your limits, putting your all into every step, and getting the most out of each minute. While you’re starting out it’s easy enough to find your limits, but after that, you need to push yourself harder and learn the ways that you can keep your body going for a long workout. Everyone has a beast mode waiting to come out, but you need to train right if you want to experience it yourself.

Fuel Up Right

Your body needs the right kind of fuel before you go on a long run, so put the protein shake down and consider a good carbohydrate mix. Simple carbohydrates, like the ones you get from sugar and fruits, break down quickly into the glucose your body uses for fuel. However, the complex carbs in bread and cereal need to go through a few extra steps before they become glucose.

Eating a combination of both before you go for a run will make sure your blood glucose stays high throughout your workout. Afterward is the best time for a protein shake — your body is building and rebuilding muscle mass and could use the proteins, plus the sugar in the shake will bring you up to a healthy glucose level. Running is good for you, but you need a healthy diet to go with it.

Stay Hydrated

Humans consume an incredible amount of water thanks to the way we use sweat to cool off, so unless your route has water stations you should bring a water bottle along with you. There’s an argument over whether water or a sports drink is better, but the rule of thumb is to drink an equal amount of both. You may have trouble finding a place where a bottle won’t hit your swinging arms or smack against your legs, but luckily there are solutions to that problem.

Vary Your Routine

If you keep running the same route every day, your body will become very efficient at running that route. That might sound good, but efficiency is bad when you’re trying to push yourself and spend as many calories per day as possible. Vary your routine, add hills and ramps to your route, and run shorter distances some days so you can make time for strength training and sprinting. If your body can’t get used to your workout, you’ll get the most out of every day.

Run Shorter Routes More Often

Strength training happens in sets — you work your arms, then your shoulders, then back to your arms, and you keep switching off until you can’t move a muscle. You can do the same thing with running by going a short distance, resting, and then going back to running. Varying your speed like this lets you cover more distance, and the farther you go, the more calories you burn.

Feeling the burn is one thing, but the real runner’s high comes when the adrenaline and endorphins kick in. It’s a natural high you get from a healthy activity, and it’s how you unlock the beast mode within you.