Are you wanting to take up running in 2020?
We love seeing people out enjoying running and one of the great things is anyone at any level can run! BUT we hate seeing patients in the clinic who have started running and have ended up with an injury!
How to start your running program and avoid injury!
Consistency is key
Stopping and starting a training program often leads to injury. Make sure the program you start is going to be achievable in the coming months so that you stay consistent. Think about the number of sessions you have time for in your week and write the program to fit that.
Rest and recovery
Scheduling rest and recovery is extremely important as part of your program. Make sure you have allocated rest days each week. Recovery can look like many things depending on your program and could include a walk, swim or a yoga session (not sitting on the couch watching Netflix).
Training Load management
Too much load to soon is often the cause of many injuries we see in the clinic. This sudden increase in training volume leads to a variety of running injuries including achilles tendon issues, plantar fasciitis or gluteal tendinopathy. Start your training load at your appropriate fitness level and slowly build your load up. No more than a 10-15% increase in load per week. That load change could either be the speed of the run, distance covered or adding hills into your run.
Training Variability
Variety within a training program is great for the body and helps keep you in running pain free. Cross training such as yoga, swimming or running is a great way to get cardiovascular benefits without putting load through the same muscles used for running.
Strength Training
Strength training can help to prevent injury and make you a better runner. You don’t need to be lifting huge weights to get benefits form it. Just 1 strength session a week with some basic exercises can have huge benefit for your running performance and injury prevention. Read our 5 favourite strength exercise blog post for some strength exercise ideas you can do at home.
Happy Running Team 🙂
If you have any questions shoot us a message or book an appointment online!
Any questions about an injury shoot us a message, give us a call on (02) 4751 9127
or book a session online here.
Written by Georgia King
(Physiotherapist)
