3 minute read
TRAIN TO RUN NOT RUN TO TRAIN
ActiveBody
EDITED BY KATE MAXIM
Train to run, not run to train
You’ve started running, now you need to be able to do it without incurring an injury. Physio Sarah Babbs tells us how
LAST MONTH I wrote about starting to run. This month, now you’ve started to run, it’s how to run well and keep running injury free. Injury occurs most often when we push our running beyond what our body can manage at the time. Improving our strength and endurance is key to being able to run more.
About 75% of runners will unfortunately have some sort of injury that stops them running for a short while. But the main indicator for injury is actually previous injury. So proper and full rehabilitation from injury is the most valuable thing you can do.
And if we are unlucky enough to trip over a tree root, or down a rabbit hole, having good balance and proprioception, (the body’s ability to sense its movement and position) may help us prevent more serious problems.
Often when injured there doesn’t seem to have been a specifi c cause. ut on refl ection it can be that something seemingly insignifi cant had been changed, such as the running surface, an upping of speed for a PB when tired or a longer distance covered because it was a beautiful day and another quick turn around the lake seemed too good to miss.
When assessing strength, endurance, balance and proprioception we use a variety of tests. These can include checking: Calf raises how many times you can go onto tiptoes on one leg. ingle leg sit to stand getting up from a chair using one leg only. ingle leg bridge lying on your back, knees bent and feet fl at, using one leg to lift the bottom. ingle leg balance with the eyes closed. Hop test to check how you maintain balance on landing.
ny ineffi ciencies in these tests can be managed using exercise and training. These type of strength exercises can be done in a gym where heavier weights can be used, at home using body weight or in a class such as boot camps. These exercises may include calf raises, dead lifts and squats, lunges, split squats and step ups.
If running, skiing, riding, or many other sports, how the body creates force and how those forces are carried through the body is key to good practice. Sometimes it can be as simple as imagining we are running with a puppeteer holding us up, picturing ourselves running like a duck with your chest forward. Or making sure we run quietly so that we can’t hear heavy footsteps. All these simple measures improve force transference. Making sure we are breathing well, partly so that we are not holding our chest and arms tightly is also important. pecifi c running training can be done individually or in camp like settings. Using interval training such as repetitive sprint sessions and hill runs, and altering the types of runs undertaken each week will prepare runners for di erent events, lengths of runs and times taken; everybody likes a PB.
When assessing how training and strength work is going, one of the best methods is to use Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). One counts as minimal e ort, maybe a very light walk fi ve as moderate, able to hold a conversation but noticeably more challenging. Eight is uncomfortable, more short of breath but able to knock out a sentence and 10 is unable to talk as breathless and fatigued. Working at around three RPE is good for aerobic training, steady walking being a good example. or an R E of fi ve, this would be a good time to assess a long slow trail run done once a week. Hill training would establish an e ort of eight, and nine to ten is useful for improving strength, using heavy weights in short bursts.
Finally the most important factors always in injury prevention are sleep and good nutrition. Managing seven to eight hours sleep a night and a good balanced diet with protein after exercise will keep that body healthy for most things.
