What is it?
Firstly, the name makes the session sound much worse than it actually is! On Monday’s we do our structured sessions which are designed to be challenging and perhaps to take you out of your comfort zone a bit. It’s there to take you out of the rut of running the same routes at the same pace and allow you to mix it up for some different training. The good thing about these sessions is that you run them at an effort that’s good for you without worrying about what anyone else is doing.
What is the session format?
Each session is set in a small area where members can focus on their own pace without having to worry about staying together or keeping up with anyone. We have specific training blocks, hills and speed. We do hills for 8 weeks and speed for 6 weeks. In each case a session is explained to you and a particular focus is given. On the speed sessions we will go through drills and focus on an aspect of form before heading into the main session. In all cases a RAMP warm-up is done to make sure you’re ready for the session and cool down steps are done at the end. Hill sessions will involve running up and down hills (bet you never guessed) in different ways and the speed sessions will involve intervals etc.
I think I’m slow, will I have to keep up with fast people?
NO. NO and NO. The sessions are set in an environment where beginners to advanced runners can train alike. There is nothing about competing with anyone else, is about YOU getting the best out of YOURSELF!
We have been doing these sessions now for about 4 years and here’s what our members say about them:
I started Punishment Mondays as part of TeamBR and it soon became obvious that these sessions were just what I was lacking from my normal weekly training. To have a structured session once a week with drills, intervals and hill session blocks has taken my running to the next level and have helped give me the strength and confidence to run faster on the flat and also push up the hills! I would recommend Punishment Mondays to runners of all abilities as you definitely get out what you put in!
Adam
I’ve been a common feature at Punishment Mondays for some time, they have vastly improved my running stamina and pace, I like how they work for all fitness and speed levels. During intervals everyone works at their own pace yet everyone is still working as hard as each other and still in a group together. This joint suffering
Amyhelps me keep going as we’re all in it together. For hills the idea is the same whether you do 1 rep or 5, as long as you’re trying then everyone supports you. We’re all individual with our individual goals but we’re also together as a team
