The pole method is my over simplification of the Galloway Method. Jeff Galloway is an author and an
Olympian. Galloway developed the “Galloway” method. Basically he said that runners would do better if instead of just running to exhaustion, they took walk breaks. Galloway has made a science out of the run/walk method. Reading about running, and following training methods is a good thing.
Me – I am a trucker who runs. The pole method is something that I use from time to time. Lately, I have been training to run a faster 5k. We have a local 5k coming up on the 4
th of July. My original goal was to break 30 minutes. I have already beaten that goal in my practice runs. Now, I have my sights set on running under 29:00. I have gotten it down to 29:15. I'm getting closer. To get to my goal I have to average 9:20 per mile. This morning in Belgium, WI, I got to my turn around at the 2 mile point at 18:36. Great! I turned around and promptly lost my energy at 2.25 miles. I used the pole method to complete my 4 mile run in 39:01.
The pole method is simple. Utility poles tend to be placed consistently. On this day, I went with a 3:1 run to walk ratio. I ran 3 poles and walked 1 over the last 1.75 miles of the run. Endurance is built in a lot of ways. Effort, Rest, and Repeat is one of the best ways to go. The pole method is uses walking as an active recovery. This allows you to keep exercising as you recover. It works.
You do not have to exhaust yourself to use the pole method. You can start your run using the pole method. Decide on your ratio before you start and continue it on your run. This is truer to the Galloway
Method. It can also be used for those who are just starting to exercise again. You can brisk walk – slow walk using the pole method. Your goal might be to be able to brisk walk for 30 minutes. At first you can't. That's fine. It is where you are today. It is not where you want to be a month from now. You may only be able to brisk walk one pole at a time and have to recover (slow walk) for 2. That is a start. By the end of a week you may be able to brisk walk and slow walk at a 1:1 ratio. That is good.
Our goal is to exercise consistently. The pole method is one way of getting there. Whatever your physical goal is, consistency matters. That does not necessarily mean doing the same thing everyday. It can be walk one day, run one day. Swimming and resistance training are excellent cross training methods. Resistance bands, like the FIT system work well in a truck. Whatever it takes, dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to you.