Would doing pushups and situps help me get faster?
Push-ups don’t hurt, but they aren’t the going to make you faster. Faster implies leg speed. Sit-ups will not increase leg speed. Proper speed work will develop your natural potential, though — and no one goes faster then their potential. Yes, some weight training is warranted for distance running. When I was running in college we lifted three times a week and that circuit training workout included incline board sit-ups. A miler can be a little heavier muscled than a 5K or 10K man, but that’s because a lot of milers are more on the sprint side. Many have really good leg speed and try to slow the race down to win on the last straight-away. These guys want a slower race so they can win. You, however, want a better PR. My advice for you over the summer is to put on more miles. My favorite high school workout was hilly out and back 10-mile run. My goal was to finish that in 1 hour. The way to improve your mile time is to run a smarter, more efficient race. If you want to break 4:40, then y
