There are lots of things you can be doing in between training sessions to improve other aspects of your overall conditioning and fitness. In the quest to gain an edge over your competition, your fellow club rivals or indeed just to fit in some extra gains without anyone even noticing! Welcome to Stealth Training.

The Wobble Cushion at Work

Whilst it might be a bit drastic (or indeed unacceptable) to swap your office chair for a exercise ball you could tone down this idea down without anyone really knowing by investing in a stand n sit/wobble cushion. This way you could get a gentle core stability work out throughout the day or have one at home also and use it in both of its intended ways.

Use the stairs

Sounds too easy, well it is. Get in a few extra steps, make it fun and make it your mission to do efforts up and down the stairs at work, when out shopping or whenever there is an option. Take the stairs keep active.

Swiss Gym ball at home

As above it is unlikely that your partner will swap the sofa's and armchairs for a few swiss or exercise balls but you could get away with having one as an ever present in the front room. It is not suggested to eat your dinner whilst sitting on one, nor is jumping straight on after eating, but a few minutes exercising or just sitting on one in front of the TV performing small circles will act as a way of putting in some core stability work. Progress this into the range of gym ball exercises (they come with an exercise demonstration sheet) and before you know it you have a gym ball stealth running training regime under way.

Walk at lunchtime

Make use of your lunchtime by getting out and about. Running up and down the stairs may gain you a few strange looks, but whilst some people may be lucky enough to have the facilities at work to allow a run, for the vast majority this is not the case. So go for a brisk walk instead. Use this as a recovery session even if you have had a heavy run the previous evening perhaps. Dedicate half of your lunchtime maybe. Get a pedometer and measure your stealth running training, maintaining your efforts each week.

Sneaky stretching

Of course in an ideal world we would all have plenty of time to dedicate to our running, a good warm up, stretch and warm down. The reality however is that we usually have to cram even the running itself into our hectic lives and these vital other components wrongly get sidelined. Whilst even a short stretch and gentle start out to the run can serve the need to a certain extent; you can build gentle stretching into other times of the day. If you are straight off to the running club after work then why not start to prepare just before you leave? Again whilst the strange looks may already be focused in your direction in terms of your wobble cushion, gym ball and obsession with the stairs you might as well go the whole nine yards and perform the full stretch routine as well. Well maybe not as the case may be but even using the stairs, using lunchtime, or even under cover of the desk to start on your calf and hamstring muscles. Stealth stretching! At home why not use the gym ball time to formulate and dedicate (even 10 minutes) in front of the TV to focus on purely stretching out. Remember stretching is all about the less is more ideology. So read up, ask around, observe, seek professional advice even and adapt a short programme of gentle stretching to the main areas for your running. Mantra time; Steal a march on your rivals without them even knowing!

Non training day - daily core stability or stretching routines

Whilst rest is as an important feature for running training as putting the mileage in is for distance runs or speed sessions are for improving PB's, use rest days away from running in other ways for the overall potential benefits on offer. Increase your short stealth evening stretching and gym ball work with some more comprehensive workouts focusing on core stability or stretching on rest days. Time allocated purely for this purpose can focus the mind and develop high quality benefits to your running performance overall. Go one step further and seek professional advice or do a beginners foundation course in Pilates or Yoga and take aspects of this to form a home work out for your rest days and 10 minute evening sessions. No one need ever know of you reaping the rewards under cover of your own domain!

Walk to work - recovery run home

Use your time wisely. If you are able to do so and need to put the miles in, consider building your runs into your day. Even if you take the bus or get a lift into work one day then running home can help alleviate stress and allow you to save time for other things like warm up, warm down, stretching or family perhaps. Do hard sessions with running partners and use these as recovery runs. You won't even be seen by the rivals.

Training Log at lunchtime

Study your training log at lunchtime and put some science into your training programme or regime - monitor your heart rate on a standard day perhaps and record the findings as a compare and contrast. This is what your runners training log is all about so study the results and take advantage of your findings.

Good luck with your stealth training. Your competition will not know what has hit them!