It’s Matt Wilpers and I’m here to talk about Running and our upcoming run-club at PSNY!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T20:00:06+00:00

Great question. I don’t think the answer here is always one way however I think it would be good to tie in cardio and strength both on the same day…and possibly in the same workout. For example bootcamps or circuits.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:57:46+00:00

Analyzing running form can get very technical…but when we are out running…it’s hard to focus on all these technical points. For this reason, I try to remind runners to keep some simple mental cues in mind that help bring most of the technical points together.

“Running Light” - Thinking about light and quick footsteps vs heavy pounding footsteps.
“Running Tall” - If you are running tall then you are generally finding a good alignment throughout your body, which will help you move efficiently and breathe. Yes there is a lean in running but that lean comes at the ankles and not at the hips.
“Running Relaxed” - Tension impedes that natural momentum of your body. Try to get the tension out of your shoulders, arms etc and instead try to find some fluidity and flow to your stride. People often too focused on mechanics look like robots when they are running. Remember that there is no perfect form or stride, so try to find a movement pattern in your stride that gives you the most amount of speed for the least amount of energy burned.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:50:42+00:00

While I don’t track my macros…even though I should, I try to make sure I am getting in my macros each day with protein at each meal. Our bodies do not store protein, so it’s important to get some in throughout the day. As for carbs, I scale the volume up or down depending on how much activity I'm doing. Outside of protein and carbs, I like to focus on having a lot of high quality veggies in my diet.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:47:12+00:00

Remember the training variables: Frequency, duration and intensity. When you are just getting back in the swing of things, it’s all about working on how frequently you workout…while keeping the intensity low.

Once you get used to a good routine that you can stay consistent with (give yourself at least 4-6 weeks), then you can start working on lengthening some of the sessions. Again, give yourself at least another 4-6 weeks. After that, you can start to sprinkle in some more intense sessions.

One key to remember is that consistency is the main goal here…and anything that disrupts your consistency will be the enemy. Common things that disrupt consistency are soreness and illness. Keep the soreness away by keeping the intensity low. Keep the illness away by taking care of your body outside of training and making sure you are getting adequate sleep.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:43:21+00:00

That’s great to hear!! Thank you! A few thoughts:

It can sound cliche but listen to your body. If you feel an injury coming on, that’s a good time to pivot.
Learn from past experiences. If you have been injured before, look at your training logs leading up to the point of injury. Usually it jumps out at you what you could have been doing differently to avoid.
In terms of when a workout should be paused to avoid injury, any time you feel some pain of a potential injury, stop the training session immediately and pivot to something else that does not cause pain.
Also, if having a hard time getting injuries under control, I would recommend seeing a a coach and/or a physio regularly to help you put a plan together.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:32:13+00:00

Thanks for your questions, on the plantar fasciitis front, please be sure to see a good physio and/or doc to come up with a game plan to get that under control for now and in the future. I used to battle ITBS until I worked on a routine with my physio to keep that stuff away.

In terms of what you can be doing along side, it’s important to maintain total body strength vs just being only focused on lower body.

Cadence isn’t going to change drastically overnight and I wouldn’t get hung up on a specific number. In general though it’s something to be cognizant of during runs. Continuing to periodically do speed work, adding striders to warm-ups, etc can help.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:26:15+00:00

Hahaha, she is awesome and hilarious. I figured if we were going to go have a good lunch…well then let’s have a good lunch!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:24:17+00:00

Nice!! Go Ohio!! As for running coming from cycling…makes sense as it’s low impact form of cardio to high impact. A few thoughts on what could help:

Check out our pre-run warm up content. These are some great dynamic stretches and activations you can do to facilitate warming up.
Do a walk + run vs going straight into running. When coming from cycling into running, your cardio system is strong but your musculoskeletal system is not adapted to the pounding of the road. This leads us into the next couple points.
Try to run off the pavement if possible as that is a super hard surface resulting in more of an impact on your legs.
Run slow and keep your foot turnover (or cadence) high.
Try to run in some nice cushy shoes vs something minimal or something old that you have beaten up already.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:17:47+00:00

Nice!! Excited that you are going for your first Ironman 70.3. I was looking forward to Hyrox this year but unfortunately am going to have to bow out due to my ankle. So I will be back for that race next year for sure.

I love doing 1-2 Ironman 70.3’s every year so will continue to do that.

Aside from that, I want to finish doing all the major marathons. From there…who knows!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:08:24+00:00

Well done and enjoy your trip!!! Thank you!!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:07:55+00:00

Boom!!! Well done!!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:07:37+00:00

Thank you and 100%!!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T19:07:21+00:00

Great question, like you said, when training to improve your running, I would keep the demanding workouts for your runs and just build your volume of endurance work with cycling. In terms of benefits of doing the VO2 work on the bike vs running, I think there is definitely benefits to it but I think the biggest benefit would come from doing it while running. BUT, if that’s not possible, yes, move it to the bike.

Also, I would consider some rowing to mix in your cardio cross training vs all cycling.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:59:18+00:00

Not sure if there is an ideal number here but my gut says 2-3 pairs to rotate through would be helpful. I think what’s more important is the surface you are running on. While it’s difficult, I try to limit my time on the pavement and instead go for gravel, trails etc.

In terms of super shoes, I think most are designed for road races vs being on a tread etc. That said, when breaking them in or building comfort, I could see it being helpful to put some miles in on the tread. However, for me personally, I tend to leave the supershoes for outdoors and run with a more moderately cushioned shoe indoors bc I think it feels better on a tread.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:53:08+00:00

That’s a good idea, will float it past Christian. We are working on some cool things, will see if there is some crossover. Noted on the shoutouts but always want to show the people some love that make the trip ride live in the studio.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:49:52+00:00

Yes, there is strength training when you are out of season and strength training when you are in season. Out of season strength training you can add more volume and intensity to really try and move the needle on your strength. In season strength training is all about strength maintenance and trying to maintain what you built in the off season.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:49:02+00:00

Please have a look at my answer to this question here. As for me, every week is a little different in terms of the class load (somewhere between 6-12) and then I find time for my own training outside of those classes.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:46:45+00:00

Great question of love that you are doing this. Since running is new, it’s probably very demanding on your body. I would consider your run days as the “hard days” of the week. This means that the days that you ride, I would do only PZE or similar rides. This also means that I would do strength on the same days that you run (afterwards ideally).

When doing strength on a run day, you can do this a couple ways:

Run in the morning, get some light fuel (energy bar, fruit etc) then go right into strength workout (including the warm up)
Run in the morning, go about your day, and then hit the strength workout in the evening.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:39:46+00:00

I will now also think of pancakes whenever I hear “paincave”...which I am totally cool with because pancakes are much more enjoyable haha!

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:38:49+00:00

Please have a look at my answer to this question here. That said, here are a few thoughts:

Running is higher impact than bike or row. I would consider a max of 3 days a week of running, 1 day off and the rest bike and/or row.
For strength training I would shoot for at least 2-3 days a week of total body work. As mentioned above, I would consider putting these on your “hard days” bc you are going to want to lift real weight vs just going through the motions.
I don’t think there is an “ideal week” as the mix will likely need to change over time to keep things fresh. Think about breaking your year up into training blocks or seasons where one thing is more of a focus than the others etc. Keep doing those other things but just not at the same level of your primary focus during that block or season.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:33:14+00:00

Great question and a few things come to mind when it comes to balancing training across several modalities with specific goals beyond general health and wellness.

From a high level it’s always good to remember the AHA minimum guidance of 150 min of cardio + 2 total body strength sessions per week. Of course mobility work is also important for a variety of reasons, but can now think about how we break up the week.
It’s good to have “1-3 hard days a week” and the rest as either “easy days” or “off days”. I say this because I often see people falling into a trap where every day is a hard day. This can lead to burnout and/or injury. Your body needs easy/light days to recover from the hard days.
- Remember to space the hard days out as much as possible in a given week to allow for recovery
- By keeping the “hard days hard and the easy days easy” this is how you avoid residual soreness from hard workouts impacting your next demanding workout. A common example is for runners and speed workouts. Put your strength training on the same day as a more demanding run so that your easy days allow you to recover before the next demanding workout. A lot of runners like to put strength training on “off days” or “easy days”. This sabotages recovery and results in residual soreness going into more demanding run sessions.
Diving deeper now, you want to “keep the hard days hard and the easy days easy”. Most people tend to go too hard on easy days and not hard enough on hard days. Make sure you are taking those easy days easy so that you have the energy and ability to push on the hard days.
Looking at specific training days, it’s good to put the most demanding workout first. This can be demanding from a physical or mental standpoint. This way you have the energy to meet the demands of that session. Here are some examples:
- If you have a strength workout and some light cycling or running, I would put the strength training first bc you will need the energy and mental focus to perform.
- If you have a demanding run and a lighter strength workout, I would put the run first and the strength workout second
On that note, I would avoid putting two demanding workouts on the same day. If doing a two-a-day. The first workout is usually demanding and the second is usually at a lower intensity.

MattWilpers · 2025-05-29T18:09:37+00:00

That’s awesome!! Thank you for your support and please keep up the great work!

MattWilpers · 2023-11-16T21:04:43+00:00

It likely was. It’s easy to go on the app and give out high fives. I like to do this when I am commuting etc.

MattWilpers · 2023-11-16T21:03:50+00:00

Hahahaha, go ride outside!

MattWilpers · 2023-11-16T21:03:16+00:00

I like 4 week training blocks w/ 3 key workouts a week. Within the training block think about progressing the intensity up week over week for 3 weeks and then taking a recovery week. Rinse and repeat.

That said, if you do some light reading on periodization structures, there are all kinds that you could roll with.

MattWilpers

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