Full Text
:
One of my resolutions for 2009 is to write more health and fitness articles and a series for the ORCA website seemed a good place to start. Over the next few months I will try and focus your thoughts on some of the more fundamental but often neglected training areas that can have a significant impact on your running.
Running is a popular activity because all we have to do is lace up our shoes and head out the door. Unfortunately, injuries are fairly common due to the high impact forces generated every time your foot strikes the ground. Smarter runners usually follow a graduated program, carefully increasing distance and intensity to reach their goals. However, very few runners specifically train core stability and strength, which isn’t smart because it will make you healthier, stronger and faster to maximize your potential. A strong core is fundamental for excellence in all sports and the basis of a healthy lifestyle. To understand the specific benefits of such training for runners we need to look at gait patterns in some detail.
Each time your shoe strikes the ground the impact is transmitted through the foot into the leg and up the body, which has to absorb, balance and compensate for the forces involved. How effectively and how fast it does this determines how well you run. Beginning runners tend to over-stride, have a relatively slow turnover and strike the ground quite hard. Good runners usually have a shorter stride and a quicker turnover. Great runners seem to fly. They land incredibly lightly have a very quick turnover and a strong knee lift, which generates great stride length. What separates the good from the great is the power of strong hip flexors and a very stable core, which quickly absorbs the landing impacts and minimizes vertical and lateral movements in the upper body. We may not have the genetics of a Haile Gebrselassie or a Paula Radcliffe but we can learn a lot from elite runners. So how good do you want to be and why aren’t you doing at least some core strength and stability training at certain times of the year?
GETTING STARTED
You may already go to the gym regularly and that’s terrific but what kind of a routine do you do? If it’s mainly machines plus a few free weights chances are you are building general strength but not working specifically enough to maximize the benefits to significantly improve your running. You don’t need a lot of equipment for effective workouts, a mat, exercise ball, bosu ball and a few other pieces will suffice, but you do need to know how to use them. If you have the resources, a few ‘one on one’ sessions with a good personal trainer is probably the best place to start, or you may find a group session that meets your needs. The internet also has some good resources.
So when should you start a program like this? Well that all depends on the timing of your goals. If, like most runners your major races are scheduled for the summer or fall build your strength and stability base during the winter, in your off season. As you approach your major competitions reduce the intensity and frequency of the sessions to a maintenance program. Understand that the older you are the quicker you will lose the gains from strength and stability training. Young males in their twenties can rapidly build strength and maintain it right through a racing season with little maintenance. Females take longer to build an effective strength base and lose it quicker. Senior athletes have little option but to do this work year round, if they want to continue running healthy and strong. As we age aerobic capacity gradually declines, but at nowhere near the same rate as strength and flexibility. So answer the question. How slow are you wiling to run and what injuries are you willing to accept?
If you do intend to start core strength and stability work be aware that initially you will feel very tired. Adjust your run schedule accordingly and allow your body to gradually absorb the new stresses. Do it right and in six months time be amazed how healthy and strong you feel and how well and how fast you are running. Remember to train smart and have fun. In the next article I want to focus on the importance of stretching. You do stretch don’t you????
© 2009 Malcolm Farrow CSEP-Fitness Consultant/Personal Trainer |
