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| Fitness |
 The Rule of
"Too's" for Runners & WalkersBy Helly Visser & Roger Davies of Running Adventures We all like to be fit and healthy and yet we meet people who get injured when they start a running or walking program. Why is that? In order to stay fit and healthy we need to be enthusiastic, energetic and adventurous in trying new things or continuing on an existing health and/or fitness regimen. How can you stay healthy? Following is a list of causes (arranged in order of importance) of possible injuries and some advice on how to avoid the injury. All our walking or running progressions have to be done in incremental steps otherwise we apply the action of too long, too hard, too much, too soon. When you are doing too many too's, you run the risk of sabotaging your own efforts. The logbook - Before you go on to read the listing of how not to get the injuries, we relate to you our own experiences in our years of running, that is, if you think there is something unusual in your body, a pain or tiredness, while or after you have run or walked then analyze when you noticed it first. Then see what preceded. Did you buy a new pair of shoes? Did you stumble on a run or walk? Did you change your routines in quality or quantity? Log your walking/running activity with such entries as the time or mileage spent and intensity of the activity, how you felt; energetic, tired, sick, the weather; did you get very cold, or was the weather very hot or anything else what you feel is important to record. Not only is a log an excellent measure of your accomplishments, it also can refresh your memory about what happened months ago and is now playing itself out. You have to analyze why that pain or tiredness is there. If you cannot find the answer don't wait too long and hope it will go away. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. Your doctor of course is the prime source of advice, but talking to your friends, reading research or using massage are other resources can be helpful to you to keep you healthy and active. General Causes Of Injuries And How To Avoid Them •Unsuitable Shoes - Using only one pair of training shoes - Buy your running/walking shoes and have them fitted to your unique feet by trained personnel at a specialist running/walking store. If you are doing high mileage alternate between two or three pairs of running/walking shoes. •Running/Walking On Rough Surfaces - Occasionally is OK but not all the time. The cumulative effect of stress placed on muscles which were not used before becomes soon noticeable. •Training Too Hard Too Soon - Follow the mileage build up and speed build up rules (read a running/walking book) Be patient. The same is very important when you have had an injury. The temptation is there to continue on the same level where you left off when the injury occurred. After a couple of weeks of inactivity you are not in the same shape anymore. •Change in Type Of Training - Remember adaptation; gradually change challenges, do not expect to hike to a fire tower if you have only walked on flat terrain. You are using different muscles. If an injury occurs then you can do some cross training which will not impact on the same weakness. A person could bike or pool run in order to prevent the impact on your joints and maintain a level of fitness. •Training When Not Warmed Up Enough - Always at least a 10 min. slow walk or jog before you start your planned exercise. (If you're over 60 yrs, a 5 min. walk before the jog!!) •Running/Walking on Hard Surfaces - Always take the opportunity to run on the grass - do some trail walking/running as well as road running. Your joints and tendons will love you! •Running/Walking When Leg Muscles Are Sore and/or Tight, or Fatigued - Take a day off! Here is where you can overload your body. Don't stick to a plan that isn't working for you, or causes you injuries. Be flexible and most important, listen to your body. •Lack of Flexibility, Over-stretching - Always warm up by walking or slow jogging before stretching - use the 'Stark stretches' and 'Stark's principles' (The Stark Reality of Stretching by Dr. Steven Stark). Many injuries have been caused by incorrect stretching and doing the wrong stretches. Lack of CORE STRENGTH - Abdominals, gluts, lower back muscles all affect good posture which is important for any training program. Enjoy the challenge to be fit and healthy! Helly Visser & Roger Davies, owners of Running Adventures, offer running clinics, day camps and retreats. Helly & Roger may be reached at 403 230-8511. email: tafac@cadvision.com Please visit their Website at www.cadvision.com/tafac |