Dynamic Running Warm-up

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I wrote this article for Zest magazine towards the end of last year.  To see more of my articles for Zest or to check out their fantastic website click here - www.zest.co.uk

Essential running warm-ups

Forget the half-hearted leg shakes, Zest’s fitness Jon Stratford has the warm-up moves you need to avoid injury before your run

Never do static stretches before a run – they could leave you prone to injury

Mobilising moves gently and progressively loosen up relevant muscle groups

Make your warm-up progressive, gradually making your movements more exaggerated

Try to make a habit of always warming up in the same way

Mobilise: your hipS

  • Stand upright, feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips.
  • Raise your left knee up in front of you, then rotate it out to the side away from your body.
  • Repeat ten times, raising your knee upwards and outwards progressively higher each time.
  • Repeat the routine on the other leg.
running warm up

Mobilise: your CALVES & QUADS

  • Stand upright, feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips.
  • Lean slightly forwards and start kicking your heels up towards your bottom.
  • Kick progressively higher and faster over 30 seconds, until your heels are touching your bottom.
running warm up hamstrings

Mobilise: your quads (thighs)

  • Start jogging on the spot with your arms in a running pose, bent at the elbow – but remember to swing them from the shoulder, rather than chop from the elbow.
  • Progressively bring your knees up higher and faster over 30 seconds.
Running warm-ups quads

Mobilise: your glutes (bottom) & HAMSTRINGS

  • From standing, swing your left leg forwards and backwards, kicking your heel towards your bottom as you swing it backwards.
  • Progressively increase the range and speed of each swing over 30 seconds.
  • Once you’ve done 30 seconds, repeat with your right leg
  • running warm-up glutes

Goals for life

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Goal setting can be a thoroughly rewarding process in itself, as for some it can be the very first time that they have sat down and looked at their lives and properly thought about what they want to achieve, whether that’s fitness related, job prospects or even where they want to be living in ten years time.  Only once you have decided on what you want to achieve can you start to work out how you are you are going to succeed.

The most important thing to be aware of before looking at the goal setting process is that it is you who decides upon your goals.  That is not to say that you cannot ask people for their opinion or advice, but ultimately it is just that, their advice and their opinion.  It is down to yourself to take responsibility and ownership for your goals and for that reason you are more likely to stay motivated and when you do achieve that first target it will be an even bigger success and even more rewarding as you have had total control over it.

For a goal to be feasible you must look at a number of things that will ensure that you have given yourself the best possible chance of achieving and which will also act as your motivation.  The first thing that you need to look at when choosing your new goal is to ensure that it is CSMART (yes ,this is overly used within team building, however, for those of you who struggle with your health and fitness related goals in can be an invaluable tool).

C - Challenging

S – Specific

M – Measurable

A – Achievable

R – Realistic

T – Timed

The next thing that can be a huge motivational factor when looking at looking at your goals is that you break your goal down into smaller, if not more manageable pieces.  For example, once you have given yourself your long term goal, give yourself related short and midterm goals that will help you to remain on track and also act as a mental tick off whilst on your journey.  Each of these stepping stones must follow the CSMART rules if you want to give yourself the best chance of success.

I’m going to mention a few specific areas when looking at health and fitness related goals, but as mentioned before this process can be fielded for any decision about your lifestyle or even your work.

If you are looking at weight loss as a goal it is fundamental that you do not get focused on how much you weigh.  This might seem like a strange approach, but if you are using sensible nutrition in conjunction with an increase in your current level of physical exercise you are more likely to be motivated and have an ongoing enthusiasm to achieve your goal if you focus on your size and how you look and feel in your clothes.

Why do I want you to not get bogged down with the sometimes daily ritual of weighing yourself?  Put simply, muscle is denser that fat; you have probably heard that before. So with that in mind you must be aware that as you train you will develop more toned and efficient muscle.  We are not talking about increasing your size and becoming a body builder (unless that is your goal), but we are working towards lean and toned muscle.  A by-product of having all this lean and toned muscle is an increase in your metabolism, but more importantly will mean that you may not see on the scales the amount of weight loss that you had hoped for based on the amount of training that you have been doing.  So if you have been focused and disillusioned by the scales as a result of increasing your training this is why.  So weigh yourself and be aware of your weight, but for a more healthier approach find a piece of clothing that you want to fit into, give yourself a realistic time line and then train and eat sensibly to achieve your goal.

If your goal is to be a particular size and you are using clothes to measure against, be aware that the same size can vary greatly from shop to shop, this may lead you to being de-motivated and disappointed.  One way of getting around this is to measure your waist, hips and chest and then decide what size you realistically want to be.

I have come across a lot of clients whose goal is simply to be fitter.  What does that actually mean?  It is just a general statement that is not specific or measurable and therefore the client has nothing to aim for or nothing to motivate them.  However, after just talking to them for a few minutes they soon realise that they can actually come up with specific results that they want to achieve, whether it is to be able to ride to work in a quicker time or being able to complete the whole 5 km Race for Life without stopping or walking.  Once these goals have been exposed it is just a case of applying the CSMART process.

Goal setting should be an on-going practice, so as you approach your long term goal, you should already be planning your next target and how you are going to achieve it.

Good luck and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself…

 

Gym dos and don’ts!

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Dos:

  • Always replace free weights after using them
  • Always strip weights bars if you have added plates
  • Always wipe down benches and machines after you have used them
  • Take a small carrier bag or plastic bag to put your sweaty training kit and trainers in so they don’t make the rest of your bag smell…
  • If there are dumbbells or other pieces of equipment that have been left out, quickly have a look around to see if anyone else is using them before you pick them up
  • Let people use your piece of exercise equipment whilst you are resting in between sets
  • Always warm up and then progressively mobilise all of the major joints and muscles before specifically focusing on the muscle groups that you are going to train in that session
  • Ensure that you stretch at the end of each session (20 seconds per stretch for maintenance stretching)
  • Listen to your body, if it doesn’t feel right or you don’t feel well, stop
  • Take a small towel around with you – some gyms will provide these when you go in
  • Posture is everything – both for safety when carrying out the exercise, but also to ensure that you get the most out of the exercise
  • Do use the free weight area as you’ll get a much better workout, a stronger core and much better results than using machines alone
  • Do try the different classes that your gym has to offer, especially if they are included in your membership as you may find something else that you enjoy, which will keep you motivated and more likely to achieve your goals
  • Do mix up your training regime so that you keep seeing the results that you deserve
  • Do change the way you train or your programme every 4-6 weeks so that your body is continually stimulated and therefore needs to improve

Don’ts

  • If jumping in on other peoples equipment don’t loiter or start chatting to your friends when the original user needs to jump back on
  • Don’t take up more space than you really have to in the changing rooms
  • Don’t leave paper cups or rubbish around the exercise equipment
  • Never static stretch before training, always dynamic stretch
  • Never sacrifice safety for repetitions – if you can’t do a full one stop
  • Don’t use poor excuses for not training – be honest to yourself and don’t use laziness as an excuse not to train
  • Don’t shave in the sauna (seriously, it does happen in both the boys and girls!)
  • Don’t forget to shower BEFORE you get into the pool
  • Don’t just save your good form for the exercise itself as most people injure themselves when picking up or placing down weights with poor form
  • Spitting – need I say any more!
  • Don’t leave plasters or anything else in the shower cubicle when you’ve finished

Can’t get to the gym or afford to join one?

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Just because you can’t get to the gym because of time or simply can’t afford to join doesn’t mean that it’s game over for all your exercise plans or a reason not to achieve your goals.

The following routine can be done at home, in your garden, in the park (don’t forget your gloves!) or even in the office with absolutely no specialist equipment.

For a warm up up I want you to think about mobilising all of your joints and muscles rather than holding any stretches.  Replicating any exercise that you’re going to be doing during the circuit is a great way of doing this as well as being useful for gradually raising your heart rate in preparation for the exercises to follow.

Routine 1 (more to follow if you like this one – let me know!!) – all exercises are to be completed for 30 seconds as fast as you can (with good form) before you rest:

1.  Squat onto toes – have a chair behind you which your bottom must touch each time you squat down

2.  Incline pull ups – use railings or part of a climbing frame in the park or the edge of a sturdy table if at home or in the office

3.  Plank – adding whatever element you need to make it difficult (i.e. raising a leg)

4.  Reverse lunge with high knee RIGHT leg only – aim for your front thigh to be parallel to the floor as you lunge backwards

5.  Press up step ups – using a park bench or sturdy chair or coffee table start in the press-up position on the floor, walk your hands up onto the chair/bench/table and then perform a press-up, before stepping your hands down again and then repeat

6.  Half sits – keep your arms straight and only go up until your palms go to the top of your knees, keeping your knees together throughout

7.  Reverse lunge with high knee LEFT leg only – aim for your front thigh to be parallel to the floor

8.  Bench/chair/low table dips – increase the difficulty as much as you need (i.e. feet resting on a chair)

9.  Reverse crunch – fully extend your legs, keeping them just off the floor with your hands under your lower back only if you need

10. Step ups – 15 seconds on each leg using a bench or sturdy coffee table or chair

Rest for 2-3 minutes being honest with yourself to how much you actually need and then repeat 2-4 more times – if you want time the circuits to challenge you the next time

Stretch all the main muscle groups for 20 seconds each and then eat a healthy, protein rich snack

Enjoy and let me know how you get on!!

GOrun trainers from Skechers

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At the end of last year I was asked by Skechers UK (@SKECHERS_UK) to trial and review a pair of their new range of trainers, the GOrun.

The design of the shoe naturally encourages you to run with a mid foot strike, which helps to reduce impact throughout the joints, especially the knee, but also has the effect of shortening your stride.  Now where most people think that would mean that they will actually end up running slower, where in fact you naturally increase your cadence to compensate.

I’ve been getting on great with them, even straight from the box, which I think was the biggest surprise.

The photos above were taken in Central Park, which is where they had their first real outing.

So, if you want to run more efficiently, with less chance of injury and with an extremely light, but still very supportive shoe (I weigh 83 kg), then you should give them a try.

They worked for Meb Keflezighi who won the Men’s Olympic Marathon trials in Houston less than two weeks ago with a time of 2:09:07!

Men’s Running

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During last summer I did a cover shoot for Men’s Running for a winter edition of Men’s Running.

The shoot coincided with a similar shoot with my good friend and colleague Sean Lerwill, which made for a lot of banter and at times a little healthy competition….

It was a fun day if not ridiculously hot running in winter kit in a park in London!

 

 

Solo Atlantic Row

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Towards the end of last year one of my clients, Tommy Tippetts, wanted to raise more funds for the charity MIND and as he was in the last stages of training to row the Atlantic solo, thought that it would be a great idea to set himself up with a couple of rowers in Victoria Station and row for a straight 24 hour period.

Victoria Station sees a wide variety of people especially as the crowd turns from more commuter based to those on their way home during the early hours after a fun night out, so as you can imagine the response and interest was very mixed to say the least.

Tommy’s friends and family were able to join him for an hour at a time to keep him company and in some cases to set personal challenges for the furthest distance rowed.

Tommy is rowing the Atlantic as I type this and is aiming to be the youngest person to have done so solo.  Good luck Tommy and well done for raising so much money for MIND and for having the strength of character to follow through on such an immense undertaking.

To follow Tommy on his journey or to make a donation, have a look at his website or follow him on Twitter

Febreze Experiment

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Back in October of last year I was fortunate to be asked to be involved with a Febreze Experiment in Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, hosted by Stephen Mulhern.

A willing volunteer, Adam, lived in a perspex box for four days and had to experience various activities that would inevitably make him sweaty or make his room extremely smelly!  I spent (endured!) about 45 minutes in the room with young Adam, whilst I took him for a short, but sharp training session using nothing, but his bodyweight and a few pieces of the furniture that he had in the room.

It was a very warm room to start with, so it wasn’t long before Adam was sweating buckets loads and adding to the room’s already existing strange aromas.

Watch the video of Adam on day 3 and you may even see a small part of the session that he did with me -Febreze Experiment Day 3