Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 120, July 2019 | Page 68

COACHING
TRAINING
missing two to three months of training. That’s a long time to be doing nothing, and
by the time we get started again, we basically have to start from scratch in order to
build our fitness back to a reasonable level.
Now wouldn’t it be nice to come out of winter ready to start hitting some quality
training and with the possibility of going for a PB before the end of the year? It’s
possible if we simply keep our base fitness intact through winter, and three or four
runs a week with a weekly average of around 30 to 40km is more than enough to
keep you ticking over.
BUILDING POWER
It can be difficult to stay motivated to run when the mornings
and evenings are dark and the temperatures are low,
especially with a fair number of the SA running community
in post-Comrades hibernation, but one effective way to keep
your fitness up in preparation for spring is by introducing
strength work and cross-training. – BY RAY ORCHISON
T
he Comrades Marathon effectively marks the end of the main running
season in this country, with the new season starting round about
September/October. As runners, we all know that two to three weeks of no
exercise will have a very small effect, if any, on our base fitness. We’ll probably lose
a bit of our racing ‘sharpness,’ but that comes back very quickly. The problem is
The dark winter months offer you a great opportunity to slip into the warmth of
a local gym and to start building your strength. If you’re new to it, start light and
concentrate on doing the exercise correctly, with proper form. Doing strength
work incorrectly is not only a waste of time and energy, but can also lead to injury.
Once you’ve mastered the exercise and you can feel it working the areas you are
expecting to work, then gradually start increasing the weight while reducing the
number of reps. For example, you might start with a light 5kg weight and do 12 to
15 reps per set. As you begin to master the exercise, you can increase the weight
to 10kg and reduce the reps to 10. Eventually you might build up to 30 or 40kg with
only six reps.
Some cross-training, like swimming, spinning or rowing, is also a great way to keep
your cardio fitness up and to work your muscles in a different way to running, both
in and out of season. But most of all, enjoy the winter running, strength work and
cross-training, and hang in there, because spring is coming!
About the Author:
Ray is a USATF and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at www.runetics.com.
BODY SCIENCE
Injury-Free
on the
Treadmill
Here’s how to stay fit and healthy
while running on the treadmill this
winter. – BY SEAN FALCONER
68
ISSUE 120 JULY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
No Winter
Hibernation!
Also, having adequate upper body and especially core strength is a critical part of
running, ensuring that we’re able to take on high mileage injury-free, but one of the
areas that most runners ignore – or don’t find the time for once the running season
is fully underway – is strength work. Take note that this does not mean building
bulky muscles. Just look at the Kenyan and Ethiopian middle and long distance
runners – they’re very thin and light, but if you look at their muscle definition, you’ll
see that they’re incredibly strong. As middle and long distance athletes we want to
be light and strong, so we should aim for muscle strength as opposed to muscle
bulk.