{"id":391741,"date":"2026-04-22T07:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391741\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T07:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:36:10","slug":"why-a-single-workout-wont-change-your-fitness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/391741\/","title":{"rendered":"Why a Single Workout Won’t Change Your Fitness"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 1, 2025, Scott Towle, 48, an IT tech salesperson, saw a couple of dimes on the ground while running around his neighborhood. While, typically, he would run right past any loose change, this year he said to himself: \u201cI wonder how much money I would collect if I just picked up every single coin<\/a> that I find on the ground while running for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, a random experiment was born. Towle, an RCAA-certified running coach, who has been consistently running<\/a> since he was about 10 years old, realized collecting this money was akin to each regular training run. Each time he completed a workout, it was like making a deposit.<\/p>\n

He also found that picking up change (or dollars) reenergized his runs and even pushed him to go longer. \u201cThere were definitely times where I hadn\u2019t found anything in a while and needed to run a little bit farther to get out of my neighborhood, just to see if maybe I could break the streak of not finding anything,\u201d Towle says. \u201cIt\u2019s funny how much just finding a penny became something that made me smile, because I was adding to that total.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most runners are working toward a big breakthrough moment\u2014one where it all clicks. While that moment can manifest in a myriad of ways, including moving into a faster pace group, surviving Yasso 800s<\/a>, or breaking two hours in the half marathon<\/a>, the reality of getting there, as Towle demonstrates, is about what happens leading up to the big goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth is, we often look at running as a \u2018heroic effort\u2019 when we see the highlight reels on social media,\u201d says Jessie Zapo<\/a>, a USATF- and RRCA-certified running coach, global consultant for Adidas running communities, and founder of Girls Run NYC. \u201cBut that is not how we train. Much of training is piecing together smaller, consistent efforts regularly to boost and build fitness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n

Not to negate a great single effort, but \u201ca single workout will only cause the body to adapt a very small amount,\u201d says Alex Rothstein, EdD, CSCS<\/a>, coordinator and professor for the exercise science program at New York Institute of Technology. \u201cIt is such a small amount that we currently struggle to even detect a change. After [your body] adapts, it requires a new stimulus to get it to adapt again and this pattern of training, adaptation, training, adaptation gets repeated until the chronic adaptations pile up and then become large enough to detect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Towle\u2019s monetary payoff was the result of consistently running five to six days a week. Were there several days when his runs did not produce a single cent? Yes. But fewer runs would have yielded even fewer opportunities to earn money.<\/p>\n

Similarly, \u201cwhen we are not giving our body consistent stimulus, the principle of reversibility takes over, which is the concept of use it or lose it,\u201d Rothstein tells Runner\u2019s World. \u201cThe body tends to not want to have these adaptations because they are metabolically expensive to maintain so if you don\u2019t keep telling the body you need them, they will disappear, and you will start closer to the beginning if you go back to training.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to eight-time marathoner Jamil\u00e9 Ram\u00edrez<\/a>, certified running coach and founder of Waypoint Run Club in New York City, sporadic training keeps the body in a constant cycle of stress<\/a> and rebuild. \u201cMuscles never fully adapt, so soreness<\/a> becomes your default state,\u201d she says. \u201cFitness gains that took weeks to build can unwind in a matter of days, and tendons and ligaments stay perpetually unprepared for anything more demanding. You\u2019re essentially asking a beginner\u2019s body to do an experienced runner\u2019s workout, every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

So how do you become less sporadic when it comes to clocking miles and actually make noticeable adaptations? These running coach-backed tips will help you plot a better, more consistent path forward.<\/p>\n

Related StoryStart With Small, Repeatable Habits<\/p>\n

Zapo encourages runners to identify small habits and try stacking them to build a structure that supports your goal. For example, set out your running clothes the night before, so you see them when you wake up. Or try her signature challenge: Do a one-minute plank four times a day for a month, which helps strengthen the deep core muscles<\/a>\u2014a must for runners\u2014and can help get you in the habit of strength training<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the little habits are, they will add up over time, just like doing the miles,\u201d Zapo says.<\/p>\n

Set a baseline you can always hit too, adds J.R. Hughes<\/a>, a RRCA-certified coach based in Atlanta, such as running at least three times per week no matter what. \u201cEverything above that is a bonus,\u201d he says. \u201cThis protects your identity as a runner even during chaotic weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related StoryBuild Guardrails Around Your Routine<\/p>\n

\u201cThe runners I coach who stay the most consistent aren\u2019t the ones with the most time,\u201d says Ram\u00edrez. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who build guardrails around their routine so that when things get busy, their workout isn\u2019t the first thing to go,\u201d which is why being proactive is key.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you know your workday tends to spiral by afternoon, you make the sacrifice to get up earlier and get it done before the chaos starts,\u201d she explains. \u201cYou block the time on your calendar and treat it like a meeting you can\u2019t cancel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redefine What Counts<\/p>\n

Hughes often reminds his runners they are not training for today but rather depositing into a plan that pays you back in four to six weeks. And that progress comes from stacking small wins, which means every run doesn\u2019t have to be a big production. The short run<\/a> you squeezed in at lunchtime? It reinforces discipline. Those easy runs you didn\u2019t really want to do but did anyway? Those add to your aerobic base<\/a>. Those weeks you spent slogging through miles even when it didn\u2019t feel particularly amazing? Yep, those add to the system too. \u201cThirty minutes counts. 20 minutes counts. Showing up counts,\u201d Hughes says. \u201cConsistency grows when the goal is doable on your worst days.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about it like compound interest,\u201d adds Ram\u00edrez. \u201cEvery run you show up for, even the unremarkable ones where you feel sluggish and slow, is a deposit into your overall fitness. And just like a savings account, those deposits accumulate over time into something you can actually feel and measure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related StoryConsider a Coach<\/p>\n

Working with a coach, especially when it comes to training for a big race, can help an athlete learn how to adapt a plan when they miss a workout<\/a> or workouts. They can also help you identify and overcome the root causes of why you\u2019re missing workouts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it is in the athlete\u2019s best interest to miss a run, when it would put them in a better position to rest and recover<\/a>, and then tackle the next run healthy,\u201d says Zapo. \u201cDiscipline and consistency are important to training, but working with a coach can also help you understand when it\u2019s important to be flexible as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be a Regular<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more regular running that we can do, the better we will get at it, and our bodies will adapt and be able to do more,\u201d Zapo says. \u201cAthletes who skip workouts and then try to \u2018catch up\u2019 with a big heroic effort often end up putting themselves at risk for illness and injury\u2026 Athletes who follow the plans by taking the small consistent steps every day\u2014including rest and recovery as part of those steps\u2014build fitness<\/a> over time and have stronger performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say you should beat yourself up if you miss the occasional run, Ram\u00edrez says, as it won\u2019t unravel your fitness. But she says patterns have a way of becoming habits before you realize it, and \u201cletting gaps string together can quietly erode the routine you\u2019ve worked hard to build.\u201d<\/p>\n

Your focus should always be \u201cstaying close enough to your practice that getting back to it never feels like starting over,\u201d Ram\u00edrez adds.<\/p>\n

No single run amassed Towle a huge amount of money. But after a year, he earned $14.55, and decided to continue his money-grabbing efforts this year.<\/p>\n

Think of running the same way. \u201cIt\u2019s not any single long run; it\u2019s not any single workout that gets you to that finish line,\u201d Towle says. \u201cIt\u2019s the accumulation of everything you put in over the course of your training block.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Story\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Rozalynn S Frazier is an award-winning, multimedia journalist, and certified personal trainer living in New York City. She has created content for SELF, Health, Essence, Runner’s World, Money, Reebok, Livestrong, and others.<\/p>\n