Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 130, May 2020 | Page 44

COACHING
TRAINING
Get Stronger,
Run Longer
If you’re building up to longer runs, or a long race, in
the coming months, make time for strength work in your
training programme, because long-distance runners need
to prioritise strength training in order to minimise overuse
injuries. – BY RAY ORCHISON, REGISTERED COACH
Let’s do a quick experiment to test your fitness for a long run or race: Do a
short warm-up, then with stopwatch in hand, stand with your back against a
wall, feet shoulder-width apart, and slowly slide down the wall into a seated
position, keeping your knees bent at 90 degrees. Now lift your right foot just above
the ground, start the stopwatch and hold for as long as possible. Make a note of
the time, then repeat the process with the left leg.
TARGETING THE MUSCLES
Training for a race is basically conditioning the body to perform a single movement
over and over, but using the same muscles in the same way increases the risk
of overuse injuries. Therefore, it’s crucial that you strengthen these muscles, and
in running, the most important are the calves, hamstrings, glutes, quads and hip
flexors. When these muscles are weak, they cannot perform their task efficiently in
moving the body forward, which results in smaller, less-trained muscles doing more
work than they’re designed to do. That’s when niggles turn into full-blown injuries.
Athletes will often start a race with good form and posture, but by the end may find
themselves bent over at the hips, leaning toward one side, or struggling to lift their
legs. These are indications that their muscles are not trained to go the distance.
And as your form breaks down, so you find that certain muscles go into spasm,
because they’re being overworked. The solution is strength training, which enables
us to maintain good form for longer.
Start off using light weights and focus on doing exercises correctly, slowly and
controlled – that’s far more important than how much you can lift. In the first three
to four weeks, use the lightest weight possible and perform two to three sets of 15
repetitions each per exercise. After that you can increase the weight slowly over
the coming weeks, while decreasing the number of repetitions as you increase the
weight.
In most cases, you will be able to hold one of your legs up longer. This indicates
a muscles imbalance between your left and right side. Ideally, you want your
muscles balanced so that you’re working both sides equally, without one side
overcompensating for the weaker side, which often results in an injury or strain on
the stronger side, because it’s doing the bulk of the work. Then, look at the number
of seconds that you could hold this position, and compare your times with the table
below.
Rating Men (seconds) Women (seconds)
Excellent Over 100 Over 60
Good 75-99 45-59
Average 50-74 35-44
Below Average 25-49 20-34
Poor Under 25 Under 20
Most non-elite endurance athletes will find themselves somewhere between Poor
and Below Average, which is strange when you consider that this test lasts just two
minutes, while a marathon or ultra lasts anything from four hours and up!
About the Author
Ray Orchison is a USATF and NAASFP certified coach. Find him at
www.runetics.com.
NUTRITION
Immuno-boost Your Diet
The immune system is the body’s defence against illness
and infection, and it is boosted by regular, moderate
exercise. On the flip side, intense training may cause
immuno-suppression in athletes, so to minimise the risk of
infection and improve recovery, remember these nutritional
tips. – BY ESMÉ MARÉ, REGISTERED DIETICIAN
When you’re training hard, it is often the combination of intense training
and inadequate nutrition that decreases your athletic performance,
and this will also create a higher risk of illness. Therefore, take some of
this advice into consideration in the next few months, especially as the normal flu
season hits the country, on top of the current COVID-19 pandemic scare.
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ISSUE 130 MAY 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za