Mixing up your running routine and get more out of your workout!

Running is one of the most popular ways to get fit - and it's easy to see why. There are no membership fees, you can do it pretty much anywhere and you don't need lessons on how to run. All you really need are some decent running shoes and a bit of motivation. You only have to look at the growth in charity races, which are one of the easiest ways to get involved in running, to realise how popular the sport is. Running is one of the best forms of exercise for weight loss and is great cardiovascular exercise, so helps get you fit. However, if you've been plodding round the same route for awhile and have reached a plateau - either in your fitness levels or your waistline - then it may be time to include some different running styles into you daily jog Try some of suggestions below to revamp your running routine...

Fartlek

The term is Swedish for "speed play" and was first developed in the 1930s to improve the fitness of the Swedish national ski team. It's good for building up cardiovascular fitness, and is a bit like interval training, but more flexible Runners should intersperse short, sharp bursts of sprinting within their jog.
Try picking landmarks to run between. For example, sprint for three lampposts, then jog for two. The markers will provide focus for you to run towards,' says endurance sports specialist. Fartlek helps you understand the different intensities of running so you become more in tune with your body - and it stops you turning into a one-pace plodder.

Hill running

This is a great way of building up strength and speed without forcing you to run too fast. Running up an incline will strengthen your leg and bum muscles and build up your cardiovascular health. Find a long incline that is not too steep and extends for 200 to 300m]. Run up it, using your arms to power you forwards and maintaining high knees. Walk down to the start and repeat. Start off slowly with a couple of ascents and build it up as your fitness improves. Hill running is great because it pushes you out of the comfort zone of fat- surface running. Or try trail running - which is similar to hill running, but the routes are more rural and tend to leave you a bit muddier!

Tempo running

Also known as threshold running, this involves running at a pace that's manageable but hard. It's a notch up from jogging, but it's not sprinting - so running at about 70 to 80 per cent of your maximum running speed. It needs to be controlled. If it's too fast you won't be able to maintain it. Run at a level where you're still running aerobically, and can just about get rid of lactic acid. It should be a pace you can sustain for several miles. Tempo runs are designed to teach your body to run quite fast for a reasonable amount of time before fatigue sets in - it needs to be a sustained effort.
As you get fitter, you should get faster, and the threshold before anaerobic metabolism and lactic acid production kicks in will increase. Measure a lap of three to four miles and use this loop every week to gauge your progress. Run at a hard but controlled pace and note your time. Next week see if you can run a little faster at the same effort. Limit sessions to one a week.

Speed workouts

These are short runs that are basically a full sprint. You don't run for very long – about one to two minutes - and then have a few minutes recovery time. It's important you keep speed workouts short so you can maintain the same speed without slowing down. Speed workouts are designed to push you hard and train you to become more efficient at running both quickly and slowly. If you're training for a 5K and do a few speed workouts, when you go back to your regular 5K pace you should find it more manageable. Do 10 one-minute runs with a one- to two-minute recovery period between each speed. Run at 90 per cent of your maximum speed, but ensure it's a pace which won't mean you slow down by the seventh time you do it.

Running soundtracks

Music is a great motivator when you run as it pushes you harder and faster than you otherwise go. Listening to the right kind of music while you exercise reduces feelings of tiredness, and increases performance levels by 20 per cent. Most songs actually have quite slow beat, which isn't ideal for running. Disco music is 120 beats per minute (bpm), which amounts to a slow walk. For this reason, companies have started producing especially composed music with a faster beat for jogging and sprinting – around 170-180 bpm. Listening to music at this speed can motivate you to run faster as you naturally fall into step with the beat.