New Year Running Program!
With the New Year upon us, many of us are setting health and fitness goals to keep us motivated and focused for
2017. This is a great way to stay committed to looking after your health. However, to truly take great care of yourself, it is important to take a gradual approach to new activities to allow your body time to adapt and minimise the risk of injury. Too often we see people dive head-first into a new exercise or activity without preparing their body and end up stiff, sore and side-lined from working towards their goal. Taking the time to plan and prepare for starting a new activity can help eliminate the need for time-off later on.
One of the most common goals we see people setting for themselves is a target running race. Whether it be the Gold Coast marathon, the Bridge to Brisbane 5km or anything in between! To help you on your way to achieving your running goals, below is a suggested program for working towards a 5km run. This is targeted at people who are currently active in some way, but have not done much running recently.
It is very easy to get focused on just running, when your goal is running related. However running is a high load activity on the body- it is essentially single leg squat jumps one after another for minutes on end! As such it is important to give your body time to rest and recover from running days- especially when it is new. Strength training also plays an important role in achieving your running goals. Resistance training that focuses on trunk and pelvic stability and glute/quad/calf strength will not only reduce your risk of injury but also improve your performance.
Last but not least, make sure that whatever your new health and fitness goals are, you tell your physio! We can help you formulate an appropriate strength program, ensure you are moving well in all the right areas and have self-management strategies to take care of your body between sessions.
Watch this space for more information about running injury prevention and overall body maintenance in the coming weeks. Until then- happy running!
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Week 1 | Strength training | Walk 15 minutes | Rest | Strength training | Run 1 min; walk 1 min for 10 minutes | ||
| Week 2
|
Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | Walk 20 minutes | Rest | Strength training | Run 2 min; walk 1 min for 10 minutes | |
| Week 3 | Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | Run 2 mins; walk 1 min x 15 mins | Rest | Strength training | Run 2 mins; walk 30 seconds for 10 minutes | |
| Week 4
|
Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 5 minutes | Rest | Strength training | Run 5 minutes x 2 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | |
| Week 5
|
Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 5 minutes x 3
(1-3 minutes walking rest between) |
Rest | Strength training | Run 10 mins | |
| Week 6
|
Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 5 minutes x 5 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | Rest | Strength training | Run 3km! (this is a good ‘check-in’) | |
| Week 7
|
Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 10 minutes x2-3 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | Rest | Strength training | Run 15 minutes | |
| Week 8 | Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 15 minutes x 2 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | Rest | Strength training | Run 20 minutes | |
| Week 9 | Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 15 minutes x3 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | Rest | Strength training | Run 25 minutes | |
| Week 10 | Releases/stretches/yoga | Strength training | 15 minutes x3 (1-3 minutes walking rest between) | Rest | 5 minutes easy | 5km goal run! |
