Diadora’s Mythos Blushield Vigore V Serves Up a Sturdy, Stabilizing Ride
The Diadora Mythos Blushield Vigore V is a surprisingly smooth, premium stability running shoe designed for daily training.
I don’t like going to the gym. It smells weird and I don’t like sharing equipment when I’m sweating—I sweat a lot. I also don’t have a big house, which means there isn’t a whole lot of room for workout equipment. But as a postpartum woman nearing 40, I also know strength training isn’t optional, it’s critical to my running and overall health.
So, I begrudgingly agreed to start to lift weights. And these adjustable dumbbells from Bowflex made it easier to commit. They take up far less space than a set of standard weights since they’re stacked like Russian dolls, and they’re easy to adjust with one click.
Each weight goes from 5 pounds to 52.5 pounds, making them an ideal companion for rehab and serious weight training without the need for a full bar-bell setup.
Ready to get started with some simple strength? Here are my three favorite exercises right now:
Since running is basically a controlled single-leg fall forward over and over again, split squats help us build the strength we need to handle fall after fall after fall. And, they expose imbalances fast (especially with weights!). If one side feels harder than the other—and it probably will—make note of that. It’s good information.
How to do them:
1. Hold a dumbbell in each hand at your sides.
2. Step one foot back into a split stance with your shin perpendicular to the ground and your knee bending over your toes (avoid collapsing in or turning out).
3. Bend until your front thigh is close to parallel with your torso slightly leaned forward.
4. To stand, push through your front foot.
5. Repeat the movement on the opposite side.
Perform 3 sets of six to 10 reps per side. Start with low weights to get the hang of the form, but don’t be afraid to go heavier when you have it down.
Single-leg deadlifts fire up your hamstrings and glutes while forcing your foot and ankle to stabilize. Why does this matter? It directly translates to better form later in a run or race, increased durability overall and more efficient climbing without hamstring twinges (which, honestly, before doing these I got … all. The. Time.)
What’s more? They’re the perfect combo of strength and balance, which all runners need.
How to do them:
1. Hold one dumbbell at your chest or two dumbbells at each side.
2. Shift your weight onto one leg.
3. Hinge at your hips while reaching your opposite leg straight back.
4. Maintain a flat back with hips square toward the front of the room.
5. Hinge until you feel tension in your hamstring (caution: stop before you feel anything in your lower back).
6. Hold briefly then push down into the ground with your standing leg to return to standing.
Perform 3 sets of 6 to 8 reps per side, being certain to move slowly and with control through each rep.
I think this is my all-time favorite. Mostly because I just love step-ups. Before I started doing them with weights, I would just do them at hyper speed and try to do as many as fast as I could. Full disclosure: I do still do this, but with a bit more restraint.
Weights add an important resistant element that makes me think about control and stability on the way up and down. And the down is key. Why? Fighting gravity and added weight. That’s huge for hip and knee stability and overall single-leg strength and power.
How to do it:
1. Hold dumbbells at your sides.
2. Place one foot fully on a box, bench or stairs around knee height.
3. Push into your elevated food to stand. Control the descent; don’t just drop back down.
4. Retain tall posture when you return to standing and start the opposite leg.
Perform 3 sets of 10 to 15 reps per side. If it feels too easy, keep up with it for a few days and then increase weight.
Senior editor Ashley Arnold is the director of brand at Fleet Feet and an ultrarunner who lives in Missoula, Montana, with her husband and two young children. She tells stories through video, words and photos, and is most at home running trails, adventuring in wild places with her family and sipping coffee while eating cake.
