4 workouts you can do before work

For many runners, the early morning before they head to the office is the only time they have to fit in their daily runs and workouts. Mornings can be hectic, and you likely don’t have hours to complete long workouts, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put in some quality sessions. These four workouts are short and sweet but get the job done, and you’ll still have time for your morning cup of coffee.

Morning vs. evening runs: which are better?

Hill repeats

Hills are great, because they let you pack a lot of intensity into a short training session. All you need for this workout is a hill that you can run up for at least 60 seconds.

Warmup: 10-15 minutes easy jog

Workout: 10 x 1 min; jog back down as your recovery

Cooldown: 10-15 minutes easy jog

Total workout time: 40-50 minutes

Moneghetti Fartlek

This workout is easily adapted to your current fitness level, which makes it effective for runners of all abilities. To adjust the intensity, you can either run the intervals themselves harder (and take a walk or slow jog as your rest), or slow down less during the rest period to turn it into a longer tempo run.

Warmup: 10-minute easy jog

Workout:

2 x 90 seconds effort/90 seconds recovery between each interval
4 x 60 seconds effort/60 seconds recovery between each interval
4 x 30 seconds effort/30 seconds recovery between each interval
4 x 15 seconds effort/15 seconds recovery between each interval

Cooldown: 10-minute easy jog

Total workout time: 40 minutes

Tempo run

Tempo runs fit really well into busy schedules, because since they don’t involve any rest, you can get a lot done in a relatively short time. A long, marathon-paced tempo run is likely not going to work with your morning schedule, but a shorter, slightly faster session has a lot of value and is perfect before you head off to work.

Warmup: 10-15 minute easy jog

Workout: 20 minutes at 10K to half-marathon pace

Cooldown:10-15 minute easy jog

Total workout time: 40-50 minutes

Progression run

Progression runs: the tempo alternative

Like the tempo run, a progression run is easy to fit into a tight schedule because it doesn’t involve rest intervals. It’s also a great workout to do in the early morning because you start out slower, which gives your body more time to wake up before you get to the harder, faster portion of the workout.

To perform a 40-minute progression run, simply start out running at your regular, easy-run pace. After 20 minutes, begin increasing your speed so you’re running around half-marathon pace, and hold that speed for the next 15 minutes. Crank things up to 10K pace for the next five minutes to finish off the run. Jog or walk for five or 10 minutes after the run as a cooldown.

Total workout time: 40-50 minutes