WORKOUT
Simple Training Tips to Become a Better Runner Four exercises to improve your pace and lower your chance of injuries
BY SIMON ‘THOR’ DAMBORG – One of IMPACT Magazine’s Canada’s Top Fitness Instructors 2021; Director & Head Coach at Raincity Athletics in Vancouver, B.C. THOR604
THOR604
A
ccording to Yale Medicine, the average injury rate of runners is 65% This is largely because running is so accessible and easy to do; it is also due to the lack of focus on technique, as well as muscle imbalances. If coaches were to take the same approach to teaching a deadlift as many do to teaching running, then any rep that lifts the bar off the ground would be considered a good rep, regardless of form (like how rounded the athlete’s back was). After a good rep? Add more weight of course! No good coach or athlete would ever take this approach to lifting, yet it is the exact approach taken to running – “if I can get from A to B then I am a good runner and I should run farther!” And this is why we end up with a 65% injury rate. Here are a few quick, easy exercises you can add to your running routine to help remove muscle imbalances as well as refine your form to minimize injury and increase your pace without increasing your effort (yes, magic, I know).
20 The Running Issue 2021
IMPACT Magazine