What should I add to running?

On my off days, I do yoga, gardening and mowing the lawn (2 hours pushing the mower.). I've also just added some strength training (no weights, just body resistance) in the mornings.

Eta- I run 3 miles twice a week and 4-6 miles on my long run day.

You could try push ups, sit ups, up downs, etc. They don't cost anything but time and effort.

Have you tried Zumba? There's plenty of videos on YouTube (Jill McClure, LarissaZumbaCO, Amber Blanch, and ZumbawithEvangeline are all good channels) and I'm sure there's classes locally if you can do so. It's a ton of fun and all you need is a good pair of tennis shoes and some space (a living room, bedroom, or basement would be perfect).

You can also do a 30-minute session of calisthenics (eg. push-ups, lunges, squats -- Blogilates on YouTube has a ton of videos dedicated to this that need little to no equipment. She works you but you feel great afterwards!) or practice yoga (I cannot recommend Melissa West -- again on YouTube -- enough; her routines are never too strenuous and if you practice the same video for two or three days, you will see a ton of improvement!)

Lastly, walking is so underrated! Do you think you could get the kiddos out on an evening walk? I don't know how young they are, but a simple walk around the block or to the end of the street and back would still count as exercise for both you and them!

Do a progressive body weight strength program. I use You Are Your Own Gym. There is a book and an app. No equipment necessary. You don't need the app, but I really like having the workouts programed into my phone and the timer for keeping track of rests for me. It also keeps a history of my sets and reps which helps for tracking my progress. I do it 2 or 3 times a week in addition to 4 days of running. Adding the strength training will help keep you burning fat instead of muscle, so it's a good idea to add it. And it's a good idea to do an organized progressive program so you are less likely to repeat the same level excercises longer than you should turning your strength training into more cardio.

If your going down the running path, do some research on core strength training and you'll find a litney of exercises that you can do in the home and it only take a few mins to do. All of it related to your core strength and support for your running activities. Planks is a big one utilizing many different muscles and methods, bicycle kicks and ab work outs is another. Just dig in a little more on the core muscles needed from the runners perspective.

Do a progressive body weight strength program. I use You Are Your Own Gym. There is a book and an app. No equipment necessary. You don't need the app, but I really like having the workouts programed into my phone and the timer for keeping track of rests for me. It also keeps a history of my sets and reps which helps for tracking my progress. I do it 2 or 3 times a week in addition to 4 days of running. Adding the strength training will help keep you burning fat instead of muscle, so it's a good idea to add it. And it's a good idea to do an organized progressive program so you are less likely to repeat the same level excercises longer than you should turning your strength training into more cardio.

This...This. This. This. This.

Progressive strength training is so important. Helps you maintain the muscle you have and will help you look how you want to look in the end.

I do strength training in the gym (New Rules of Lifting for Women) but *love* the You Are Your Own Gym app for the days when I work late or forget to take my shoes. If you don't have access to the gym, there are a number of things you can used to add resistance within a budget and without taking up much space - resistance bands, for example.

I'm currently reading the book "Never Gymless" (rosstraining.com) and I am really interested in the things he has to say about making sure to include exercises that target each type of strength (maximal, endurance, speed and explosive power) - and the exercises he uses are body weight/minimal equipment.

That depends. What are your goals? Are you looking to keep running mostly as part of an overall fitness routine or are you thinking about racing? Not just entering races, but really trying to see how fast you can get?

TRY jogging on the treadmill uphill on a 7.0 incline at a 4.0 or 4.5 speed. Try to do it for a mile. YOU will sweat your *kitten* off.