I Tried 'Jeffing' And My Running Pace Skyrocketed

Are you a fan of 'jeffing'?I am that stereotypical runner – everyone in my life is sick of hearing about how strength training has transformed my workouts and my reasons for getting back into the sport in the first place. Bad news for them. I have another running obsession. “Jeffing,” named after Olympian and author Jeff Galloway, is a kind of lower-key fartlek (another 10/10 name). If both of those terms sound like gobbledegook, they refer to a period of slower walking (or running) before bursts of higher-energy sprints or jogging.Jeffing, also known as the “run walk run” or Galloway method, is ideal for beginners – a version of it is often used by Couch To 5K apps. But Galloway himself said that non-stop runners who adapt to the method correctly run “an average of 7 minutes faster in a 13.1-mile race” and over 13 minutes faster in a marathon. Personally, it’s transformed my 10K time.How does “Jeffing” work?You can pick a ratio of walking to running that works for you. That might be 1:1 at the start (so one minute running to one minute walking). As you progress, you might like to try 1:4 (30 seconds of walking for two minutes of running). Women’s Running reported that Galloway doesn’t recommend more than a 30-second walk break if you’re trying to up your pace; you can stack these up if you save them, though.For instance, if you choose a 1:4 pace, you can run for four minutes and walk for a minute instead of going for two minutes on and 30 seconds off. You can use distance as a marker, too, or a combination of distance and time. I like having a 30-second walk at the end of each kilometre.Some people calculate their ratio by looking at their heart rate, walking until their beats per minute lower back down to a certain number.In general, Women’s Running pointed out, the more improvement you want to see in your pace, the shorter the walking sessions should be.What are the benefits of “Jeffing”?A 2016 paper found that runners who did a combination of running and walking in marathons had similar finish times to races run non-stop, but faced less muscle strain.Galloway said he invented the method to combat muscle fatigue, lower injury rate (especially over long distances), and keep beginners motivated. “By shifting back and forth between walking and running muscles, you distribute the workload among a variety of muscles, increasing your overall performance capacity,” he said. “For veteran marathoners, this is often the difference between achieving a time goal or not.” I’ve been more motivated to complete my runs and, to my shock, have since shaved six minutes off my 10K time (though part of it might be that I’m more excited to get running knowing I’ll have breaks, leading to more practice).The method has improved my muscle recovery time, too. The interval training style is yet another example of how going slower seems to have more benefits for runners than you might expect (good news for me personally).Related...Running Got Me Out Of The Worst Mental Health Dip Of My Life – Here's How I Started From ZeroThese 2 Changes Got Me Back Into Running After 4 Years OffI Ignored A Snobby Running 'Rule' And Finished My First Marathon

Comments

Breaking news

Even Fox News isn’t impressed with Musk dodging question over alleged drug use

Independent

Comments

Breaking news

Even Fox News isn’t impressed with Musk dodging question over alleged drug use

What do we know about the suspect and victims of the Boulder ‘terror attack’ that left multiple people injured?

Moment Colorado terror suspect is captured by police after attack at pro-Israel event

Zelensky: drone strike on Russian planes was organised next to Russian secret police HQ

Ben Affleck ROASTS longtime BFF Matt Damon over his burly gray beard

Terrifying moment golf star Jordan Spieth nearly strikes a fan at close range after huge blunder

Minister's confusion on funding betrays the disarray at the heart of the MoD, by former British Army colonel PHILIP INGRAM

ANDREW PIERCE: Oh Kemi, you're getting too blue for the Commons

Poland presidential election on a knife-edge as race between liberal pro-EU candidate and right-wing 'hooligan' rival is too close to call after exit polls

Maya Jama looks sensational in a glamorous floral gown as she steps out in Mallorca ahead of new Love Island series

Blake Lively's former director details her behavior during first acting job amid Justin Baldoni legal war

I've fixed thousands of brains and seen proof we have a soul... just look at conjoined twins, even trees

The Albanian mafia fuelling Britain's drug-driving epidemic: How Eastern European Narcos are flooding the UK with £4bn of cocaine - and the heartbreaking consequences

The moment star witness in Diddy trial fell for a classic defense team trap... but everyone missed it: revealed by prosecutor DAVID GELMAN

Debt-ridden wedding firm took nearly £50,000 from couples despite already having gone BUST

Love Island fans emotional after one-off 10 year anniversary special sees Caroline Flack briefly back on screens - but slam ITV for failing to include a tribute to late host

We moved to Australia to work down the mines! British women reveal how they're raking in £4,400 for two weeks of work - and still find time for sunbathing

Wealthy neighbours go to war with £100m tech tycoon over his plans for 'vanity' 7760 sq ft Chelsea mega-basement that'll take two years to build

We live in the cheapest seaside town in the UK - it's in the middle of nowhere and it rains all the time - but we love it

Where ARE you safe on Britain's trains? Maps reveal crime rail hotspots as sex offences and violence soared to all-time highs

Millionaire property developer is being prosecuted over 'wanton vandalism' of Victorian pub after his gang of workers smashed up historic tiles

Labour is accused of making an embarrassing retreat on defence spending as Defence Secretary downgrades 3 per cent GDP military pledge to an 'ambition'

David Blunkett warns Keir Starmer about scrapping the two-child benefit cap saying it will only inspire families to have more children

Teenage Muslim-convert who plotted Isle of Wight Festival terror attack and has knifed TEN prison officers since being jailed is named for the first time

WFH staff are leaving British businesses exposed to a lethal cyber attack that will 'cripple' their firms and wipe them out

Brave Sir Chris Hoy's cancer openness is helping to save lives as Olympic hero says his Instagram is 'stacked' with messages from men saying they have been spurred on to get tested

Former PM Liz Truss helps notorious bare-knuckle fighter launch his new whiskey in bizarre promo video - just months after he was freed from jail

The Tinder row that rocked missing teenager Pheobe Bishop's housemates - as bizarre video emerges of 'cheating' boyfriend singing soppy love song in the car he now lives in

Jason Sudeikis offers touching tribute to uncle George Wendt after his passing at 76

Cardi B goes Instagram official with new beau in steamy photo amid Offset divorce drama

Keir Starmer comes under pressure to sack his top legal adviser after he likened Right-wing British politicians to Nazis as minister refuses to say his job is safe

Female prison guard, 26, who had phone sex with inmate and flooded his mother with more than 900 messages faces jail

Molly-Mae Hague's Love Island 2019 audition tape is revealed for first time as she and Tommy Fury are branded one of show's success stories in 10 year anniversary special

Revealed: Sir Lindsay Hoyle splurged nearly £5,500 of taxpayers' cash on private planes during a Caribbean tour to paradise islands

Man, 50, who set fire to the Koran outside the Turkish consulate in London says he never would have come to Britain if he 'knew this country does not have free speech'

Doctors warn of a horrifying new side effect of taking fat jabs - with the elderly and frail especially at risk

Former glamour model who dated host of stars before settling down with Rose West's son reveals what it's like to be the serial killer's 'daughter in law'

Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial LIVE updates: Details emerge about different coloured plates at cook's home

Essex Boys gangland killer Michael Steele is released from jail despite ministers' last-ditch bid to keep triple murderer behind bars

Salman Rushdie says he is 'over' knife attack as author reveals 'important moment' he returned to New York lecture stage where he was repeatedly stabbed

How Zelensky's men plotted 'Op Spider's Web' that blew $7bn hole in Putin's 'irreplaceable' nuke bomber fleet: Experts praise 'genius' attack but warn of 'violent' response from humiliated Kremlin

Mormon wives on swinging scandals, friendship fallouts and religious backlash

Unpacking the South African land law that so inflames Trump

Lockerbie: Remembering the victims of Flight 103

The Papers: 'UK sends warning to Putin' and 'wish you were beer'

Martial law fractured South Korea. Can this election heal the nation?

Veteran has 'burning fire' to correct pension 'robbery'

Students warned of subject cold spots as universities cut courses

'I spent half-term looking for somewhere for my family to live'

Pharmacists warn drug shortage affecting cancer patients

Live Updates: 6 People Burned in Attack on Event for Israeli Hostages in Colorado

New series starring Scotland's Home of the Year favourite to film in Hebrides

Farage branded 'clown in a circus' as he visits Scotland ahead of by-election

Families of 1994 Chinook crash victims prepare to take government to court

FBI and law enforcement respond to 'terror attack' in Boulder, Colorado

Investors say they took advantage of market instability caused by Trump’s tariffs

Millennial investors bought cheap stocks in Trump tariffs market turmoil

Shrinkflation: Supermarkets could be forced to tell customers if they are paying more for less

Sisters share how they ‘took control’ of weight and health issues to lose 18 stone between them

Police officer fatally shoots person at Atlanta apartment complex