Training

It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the information out there on training. We will do our best to explain the differences and let you be the judge.

One of the first mistakes that most people do when training for running is just performing long runs all the time. While this will achieve a basis of fitness and stamina, there is a lot more to training. But don’t worry you are not expected to know it all, that is our job.

All aspects of running training-

·        Running training itself

·        Weight/ conditioning exercises/ Power Plate (New!!!)

·        Stretching

·        Cross training

·        Massage/ Foam roller (Self Myofascial release)

·        Nutrition and hydration

Within each of these areas are subdivisions of periodisation (planning your training weekly, monthly and annually). The benefit of joining the club is that you will not have to worry about planning all this, as it will be planned for you.

Running training-

Running training should include long runs, fast shorter runs, interval training, sprint training, hill training and speed work. It should be planned out for the week and month (in some cases a year) in advance so that you are always on target and constantly improve.

Weight/ conditioning exercises/ Power Plate-

It is very important to maintain and strengthen your muscles while training for running. Running is cardiovascular, which means it breaks down muscle (catabolic). Weight training and conditioning exercises help to build muscle (anabolic). Even Paula Radcliffe performs sessions of weight training to maintain and strengthen her muscles from the effects of running. The Power Plate is an amazing piece of technology that is revolutionising athletes ability to stay injury free by strengthening and activating muscles and massaging and stretching tired muscles.

Cross training-

Sometimes you need to give your body a rest from the repetitive movement of running. Cross training is the perfect way to train but give your running muscles a break. Cross training can include cycling, swimming, cross training machine in your gym etc.

Massage/ self Myofascial release-

Intense training causes excessively prolonged elevation of muscle tone both when resting and active. This can be through the whole muscle or a small section of fibers. This is often felt as tightness. This phenomenon of “abnormal tone” has a number of effects. It can impair the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the muscle making your legs fatigue prematurely. It can also slow the removable of metabolites causing the legs to recover much slower. Eventually it can cause muscle to become imbalanced, placing unnatural forces on the body, leading to injury. The only way we can avoid this is making sure we keep the muscle balanced and healthy either by regular massages or using the inexpensive Foam roller after each run. If you want to find out more please contact Synergy Studio to book a free demo on the Foam roller.

Stretching-

Stretching is one area of training that is usually over looked. Along with the massage from the foam roller after a session, stretches should be performed to maintain a normal muscle length. This doesn’t mean spending ages performing all stretches you know. Once you have found out which muscle are tight, you can focus on just stretching those. If you keep stretching the flexible muscles the tight muscles will always be tight in comparison. All the latest research is suggesting that stretching prior to running can actually make you weaker as the muscle is in an abnormally long state. Only stretch post run and post foam roller.  

Nutrition and hydration-

Nutrition and hydration are probably the most important from all the areas of training. If we do not supply the essential fuel and fluids our body needs it will not be able to function properly. Contrary to popular belief, nutrition for training has changed over recent years in the world of elite athletes. We have fortunately become privy to this information from the experts at Synergy Studio. The traditional carbo loading and high carb diet is almost out dated in certain high level sports. Now before we go into it, just have a little think, does everyone look the same? Everyone has very different food preferences and levels of hunger throughout the day. Where one diet can works very well for one person, their friend may actually put on weight. So, why should everyone eat the same? They shouldn’t! We are all biochemically different and require different proportions of macronutrients (carbs, protein and fats). The basic principle is called metabolic typing and is working amazingly with all the clients at Synergy Studio trying to lose weight, train for running, speed skating or for general health reasons. If you are interested in finding out your metabolic type, contact Sarra at Synergy Studio.