Understanding Fluid Running Workouts

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Understanding the Fluid Running workouts; what they are like, and which ones are best for you.  

About our workouts

Our workouts are designed to be challenging, engaging and actually enjoyable!  They are designed to give you a really good, full-body workout without causing pain or injury to your joints or tendons because there is absolutely no impact!  Most of our workouts are 55 minutes (with the exception of Beat The Clock, Quick HIIT, One for the Road, Shake it Out – 30 min, and Take The Long Way Home – 90 min.). They begin with a welcome from coach Jennifer, a warm-up and then the work-out begins.  The majority of our workouts are running, for varying lengths of time and at different suggested intensities. The beautiful thing about Fluid Running workouts is that you control how hard you work. If the coach is saying, run at 80% effort, your 80% effort is going to be a lot different than someone else’s.  And on any given day, you might not have an 80% effort in you, so you run at 65% effort. Nobody knows but you! All of our workouts include running but we also incorporate the other Fluid Running “movements” that we teach in our video, like cross-country for example. Cross country mimics cross-country skiing. An example of a working set might be one minute of running followed by 30 seconds of cross country followed by 30 seconds of running harder.   No workout is exactly the same and each one tries to take into account people’s different preferences and goals. Some people like workouts that really “mix up” all the movements while others prefer workouts that focus mainly on running, Fluid Running offers you a number of workouts to choose from, allowing you to stick to your favorite or change it up each time you hop in the water. You can find descriptions of the workouts when you click on the workout title. 

Difficulty Levels

As discussed, Fluid Running workouts are designed to be done by everyone regardless of fitness level.  Each workout can be modified and performed at your own intensity.  Nevertheless, there are some workouts in which Coach Jennifer pushes you harder and for longer periods of time than others.  In an effort to provide some guidance on intensity level we have labeled the workouts 1-3.

Level 1Easy-Moderate

These are typically less intense and are perfect for when you are just starting or getting back into a fitness routine, needing to build endurance or looking for a taper or to just go a little easy.  We have also included our guided 10K run because it can be adjusted to your pace; either faster or slower.

Challenging

These will keep your heart rate up.  They typically include intervals, a mixture of movements and some sprints.

Hard

These include high intensity and sprint sets throughout the workout.  Rest is often short.

Workout Tags

Fluid Running Workouts are tagged with the following to give you a little additional info on what to expect in the workout!

Learn –  Initial tutorial where extra time is spent reviewing proper running form as well as the other movements.

Combo – The workout combines a fair amount of the other movements, like cross-country, flutter, ups, etc.

Endurance – The workout includes longer running sets that may last 2 minutes to 56 minutes.

Sprints – You guessed it, this means running at 100% effort for anywhere from 15-60 seconds.

For Fitness/Weight Loss

The benefits of deep water running for fitness are immeasurable – from being a full-body workout to burning 40% more calories than running on land. The beautiful thing is that you don’t have to be a runner!  Our Fluid Running workouts were designed to be challenging and enjoyable. We keep you moving.  We mix things up with combinations of longer/shorter sets, sprints and steady-state runs, and we include a lot of our other signature movements like cross-country and cross-runner to challenge your body in different ways and keep you engaged and working hard! Our workouts are generally HIIT (high-intensity interval training) so your heart rate is elevated a majority of the workout, thus burning lots of calories!  Our recommendations for fitness/weight loss include: Riptide, Good Times Roll, Beat the Clock (30 hard minutes), and Trifecta.

For Runners/Athletes

Fluid Running is the best, sport-specific workout for runners because we mimic upright land running form.  With water 800 times denser than air, it can be an even more challenging workout than running on land.  Not only do your legs work harder running through the water, but your arms are working too along with all your core and upper body stabilizer muscles that are recruited to hold you upright in the water.  The biggest benefit, however, is the ability to get a run in without any impact! Many of our workouts include a lot of running, but also include our other signature movements. We’ve heard from many athletes that they like these other movements because they challenge other muscle groups and often get heart rates even higher than running!  However, some like to really focus on “running” in their workouts. We have several workouts in which you will be running most of the time. They include: 10K (55 minutes guided 10K race/run), Running On Empty (track workout), Max Out (pyramids), Life Is a Highway (shorter and longer run sets) and Take The Long Way Home (1.5 hr. with a 5K at the end).   For those looking to get a really long run/workout in, you can do two or three workouts in a row! Runners often ask, “How do I know how long I ran?”.  Ideally, you know your land running heart rate. We say “time for time, heart rate for heart rate”, meaning if you match your land running heart rate in the water, and run for the same amount of time, you count the same amount of miles.  Keep in mind that due to the hydrostatic pressure, your heart rate will be 10-15 bpm lower in the water, even if you are working at the same intensity as on land. If your heart rate is 140 when running a 9 minute mile on land, then to maintain that pace/speed in the water, you’ll want to maintain a heart rate of 125-130.  If you don’t know your heart rate, then go by perceived effort. 

For Injury/Recovery

Fluid Running workouts are often the only workout you can do when you are injured because there is NO IMPACT!  You are literally floating in the water while you get an amazing workout running against the resistance of the water which is 800 times denser than air.  As with any injury, clearance from your doctor is recommended. Determining which workouts are best for you really depends on the kind of workout you like.  Some of our workouts have a lot more “pure running” while others really mix in the other movements. Some of our workouts are definitely more intense, but we say it’s like a cycle class where you control your speed and intensity by the force and speed with which you move your legs (and arms!).  Depending on your injury, sprinting really hard may not make sense, so when the coach says sprint, you go at a pace that feels good and safe for you. One of our movements is “arms only” where you steady your body and just “run” aggressively with your arms. If you have a shoulder injury, you may just continue to run normally during this set. You can find the description of each of the workouts when you click on the workout title on the H2Go workout page.

 

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Turn your volume up and listen to a sample of a Fluid Running Workout. 

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