Marathon Shoes by the 4D Personal Trainer in Stratford upon Avon

Now’s the time to get a really good pair of shoes fitted for the London Marathon. These should then be the shoes you use for the marathon, but if there’s a problem for any reason there’s still time to sort it and break in another pair if needs be. Every sports shop under the sun now claims to do a gait analysis to fit your running shoes. Try to find one where somebody really experienced in both running and fitting is using a visual video analysis – there are lots of machines and software claiming to do the job but I’ve not found one yet that really does.  Here’s a few tips:

-        They should be comfortable as soon as you put them on, but don’t worry if you get a small blister or two around the ankle, heel the first couple of runs.

-        The gait analysis should determine how much structure you have in the shoe, ie, how high the support under the arch is. The grey shaded area on the outside of the shoe usually demonstrates what level of structure is inside.

-        If you really want to do the job right go to a professional, custom fitter like Profeet (http://www.profeet.co.uk/) where they will form insoles that are perfect just for you! Costs around £100-300 all in.

-        Otherwise try to find a specialist running shop and book an appointment with someone experienced.

-        Have a spare pair of laces on marathon day – otherwise if your lace breaks it can be a show stopper!

By the 4D Personal Trainer in Stratford upon Avon

4D Personal Trainer in Richmond – case study

Francine is CEO of FSID (Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths), and 8 months ago signed up mentally and physically to run the London Marathon! She’s done some fun running before, but never any regular or long distance training. Very wisely she decided to get some professional help in the form of a personal trainer, and called 4D Fitness – we had been recommended via a
friend. So now I visit Francine twice a week and we are gradually and surely making our way to marathon readiness.

Francine is offering a very good example of how to correctly approach the slightly mad idea of running a marathon!

First, she started training with plenty of time to get it right – at least a year before marathon day for 1^st timers. Why? Because running a marathon is so much more than just building up the stamina to get round 26.2 miles. The first step is to get to grips with any biomechanics issues – to make your running style and the force loading patterns of your body good enough to ensure you can get round, and get round without injury. This takes time! It is usual for me to train with clients for 2-3 months before we go out for our first run! This approach pays huge dividends in the long run, and enables me to get almost
anyone round a marathon without danger of injury.

Second, she sought professional help. It amazes me how many people approach a challenge as huge as running a marathon without seeking professional help. And it depresses me how many people show amazing power of mind and will getting round a marathon, but are left with permanently damaged knees, hips, ankles,etc.. It is simply not necessary – it is possible to run marathons without any risk of impact injury if you follow the right training plan and race day rules! And lets be clear, reading a magazine or pulling a plan off a website is not professional help. Professional help involves a process that assesses you as an individual, corrects faulty function, evolves your training plan as you go along, harnesses the power of scientific knowledge … and involves human contact!

Third, she chose 4D Fitness to help – we’re the best

To date we have dealt with back pain, knee pains, a nasty trip that partially tore intercostal muscles, a dip in training due to work,
some ‘not-quite-perfect’ nutrition habits and a real struggle to drink enough on long runs. Not to mention correcting core function and biomechanics. Last weekend we did a lap of Richmond park (7.5 miles) that was pain free, headache free, fully fuelled and hydrated and involved talking all the way round! In 2 weeks Francine is doing The Great South Run … and we’ve still got 6 months til marathon day!

Now that’s the way to tackle a marathon.

By Nick Berners-Price, 4D Personal Trainer in Richmond

From Nick Berners-Price, 4D Personal Trainer in South West London

I was with a client a few months ago who I’ve been training for years. He’s a great guy who runs the Ministry of Defence legal team. I said to him, “Right, we’re going to change things up a bit, and start doing some circuit training.” He looked a bit confused, but said nothing and carried on. After a warm up, I said again, “OK time to start the circuit training now”, and he said, “OH, you said circuit training. I thought you said Turkey Training!”…. and 4D Turkey Training was born.

Really good circuit training is one of the most powerful tools available to a personal trainer, and I’ve been using it for more years
than I care to remember with my clients in South West London. Studies at Baylor University and The Cooper Institute show that circuit training is the most time efficient way to enhance cardiovascular fitness and muscle endurance (1). Studies also show that circuit training helps women to achieve their goals and maintain them longer than other forms of exercise or diet. Here are the basic rules to really good circuit training for personal trainers, now called Turkey Training:

1. Perform every set to maximum. Don’t time the sets, rep the sets or in any other way limit the sets – the set is done when no
   more reps can be completed.
2. Go directly from one set to the next without rest.
3. Control the load to work through from low rep strength exercises to high rep endurance exercises in the same circuit.
4. Use 4-5 stations in each circuit, complete 3-4 times, and use 2-3 different circuits in any one session.
5. Design the entire workout to balance training for all body movements, not muscle groups! So a pull up does not balance a press up – a compound row would balance a press up, and an overhead press would balance a pull up. Ensure that the client has performed balanced training for all body movements by the end of the workout. This takes some planning! TRX Suspension Trainers are very useful to help achieve this for circuits in clients’ homes.

Using these basic rules Turkey Training will increase muscular strength, muscular endurance, metabolism and cardiovascular fitness faster than anything else! Many amateurs get confused between Aerobic and Cardiovascular training – you don’t have to do
aerobic training to increase CV fitness. ALL runners and endurance athletes should be turkey training.

At the end of the first ever 4D Turkey Training session my client turned to me and said, “Now I’m truly basted and plucked”. Well, I think he said plucked…

Nick Berners-Price, 4D Personal Trainer in South West London

(1)   Heavin, Gary and Colman, Carol, C. Reprint edition (December 7, 2004). Curves: Permanent Results Without Permanent dIeting, ISBN039952956X

Alistair Kitchener – Level 4 UK Strength and Conditioning Coach, Level 3 Poliquin Strength Coach, 4D Personal Trainer in Oxfordshire

The cycling and swimming worlds have appreciated the benefits of strength training for years, and it forms an integral part of the training athletes in these single discipline sports follow. Why is it participants in a sport that incorporates both of these disciplines, and one more, generally dismiss it. Is it because of the extreme time pressures of training 3 different disciplines, and a belief that time spent on the bike, track or in the pool is going to be more beneficial? Is it because they believe that endurance athletes don’t require strength? Or is it simply because of the age-old myth that strength training equals weight training and weight training means getting big, bulky and muscular?

Whatever the reasoning, triathletes in general are missing out on the huge benefits available to them through strength training and the entirely fair advantage it can give them over the competition. The fact is it can and will increase performance and speed, and in most cases is the missing link between a good time and a great time. The benefits of strength training are well documented and more recently significant research has been completed looking in to the direct affect of strength training for endurance athletes. Its clear from these studies that time spent working on strength and power is equally as valuable as time spent swimming, cycling or running. A very interesting study carried out by researchers in Finland several years ago showed that a 5-km run time could be significantly improved by adding strength and speed work to the normal running training of the athletes. Of key interest to triathletes will be the reasons given why times of the participants improved: primarily down to the increases in efficiency of movement as well as muscle power. In other words, if each stride requires less energy, you can run faster for longer! The full article can be found on the web at the journal of applied physiology: goto http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/86/5/1527 .

This is all very well I hear some of you cry, but what reason does an amateur triathlete have to start incorporating strength training when all I do it for is fun and fitness! On top of the performance benefits of training with resistance, it provides many highly beneficial health and injury prevention benefits. The most basic and well evidenced are in prevention of overuse or repetitive stress injuries. Overuse injuries are very common among endurance athletes as they wear away their joints in specific areas due to the repetitive motions they must execute in very high numbers. Muscle imbalances, particularly of antagonistic pairs, and muscle weaknesses are key causes and are associated with impact related as well as overuse injuries. The most effective method available for correcting muscular imbalances and minimizing the tissue damage and stress injuries is using strength training.

For example, it is very common for triathletes to have extremely strong quadriceps but relatively weaker hamstrings. Hamstring strength must be approximately 2/3 of the strength of the quads to balance the loading of the knee joint and avoid injury – how many triathletes have had this simple ratio tested? My experience is not enough. Not only will this imbalance lead to less speed but also all sorts of potential knee pain and injury. Strength training can also contribute to the prevention and rehabilitation of shin splints, stress fractures, lower back discomfort, knee problems and hip injuries, in addition to creating stronger connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, bones, fascia).
To be sport specific this type of training can improve resistance to fatigue and greatly improve strength endurance. The ability to resist fatigue can allow you to hold a set pace for longer or to increase speed over a given distance giving you a clear advantage come race day.

Hopefully you are now convinced that you must make room in you training schedule for strength work. Some key considerations for how must be addressed so that you can reap the rewards effectively
.
• Core stability and function must be tested and corrected first to allow correct loading during movement
• Don’t try to lift too much weight to soon, introduce this training slowly and build up gradually.
• Get high quality advice from an experienced professional – there is a multitude of myths and misinformation out there. Remember, strength training is not one size fits all, and you must have a programme designed for you as an individual to get any benefit.
• Structure your week of training sensibly. There is no point scheduling a long brick session the day after a strength training session as there is a high risk of delayed onset muscle soreness and injury.

Get good advice and structure your training intelligently, and strength training will open up a whole new world of performance for you! Contact the 4D Personal Trainer in Oxfordshire for more information.

Paul Chek has many fantastic catch phrases, but for me this is the best. It is such a simple concept, and once tried irrefutably correct, and yet I am constantly amazed by how many personal trainers still have not come across it. Every personal trainer worth their salt will assess you before starting training, and yet at least 50% of trainers that I interview have confused fitness testing with functionally assessing.

You are an individual, and until a trainer has functionally assessed you and built up a picture of body type, movement skills, biomechanics, flexibility, etc., it is impossible for them to create an effective programme for you. The simplest way to explain how this works is to look at flexibility. Many joints in the body are operated by pairs of muscles, one on each side of the joint. If the muscle on one side is much tighter than the other, then that joint is out of balance. Joints and muscle sets that are out of balance suffer wear and tear, tension trigger points, nerve and blood vessel impingement, and any number of other potential problems. So the starting point is to measure flexibility on each side of the major movements and compare left with right sides of the body. This can be visually assessed within 20 minutes by a trainer that knows what they’re doing. A stretching programme should then be designed stretching only the muscles that are tight/short relative to their pair or opposite side. Only once balance is restored should a general stretching programme be followed.

This principle should also be applied to breathing, balance and proprioception, co-ordination and strength v’s stamina as a starting point to every training programme. It is amazing how many injuries, pains, slow metabolisms, sleep problems, energy problems, weak immune systems and other problems can be completely fixed using this principle. It is a joy that every 4D personal trainer gets to experience watching the benefits that clients can gain from this simple idea. Stop guessing, start assessing – www.chekinstitute.com for more.

1. Targeted Stretching – most marathon runners are given general stretching programmes, or read something in a magazine that prescribes a ‘one size fits all’ stretching plan. The body is basically designed in pairs of muscles, and the first and most important job of a stretching programme is to balance these ‘antagonistic’ pairs, as well as the left with the right. So first you need to test the pairs ( most importantly quads/hamstrings, calves/Tibialis and Glutes/hip flexors – get some help if this sounds like Clingonese to you!), and then you need to stretch only the tight muscle of each pair until you restore balance. This balance is your biggest weapon in the war against pain and injury. Goto www.chekinstitute.com for more.

2. Compression – the 2 leading brands are 2XU and Skins. This scientifically proven compression clothing is being worn by elite sportsmen and women everywhere because they reduce muscle vibration, increase joint stability and improve the clearing of waste products and delivery of nutrients in muscles. Wear them on race day and you won’t regret it. Goto www.skins.net for more.

3. Customised Footwear – the right shoes are vital to maximise performance and reduce the risk of injury. Given that the left foot is rarely the same as the right, and every foot has a slightly different loading pattern, customised footwear can be a real help. If you have any biomechanics issues (and 90% of people do) then these can not only prevent injury as a symptom of the issue, but also help to correct the issue itself. Goto www.profeet.co.uk for more.

4. Strength Training – running is not just about running. Training for a marathon is about preparing your body for a huge challenge – not just the muscle fibres in your legs that make you run, but your whole body. The first time I ran a marathon the most painful part of me at the end was my left shoulder blade! Strength training will help you to iron out weaknesses that could be a show stopper, and help your body to move more efficiently. Your body is designed to recyle energy from one stride to the next – the better it does this, the more you chance you have of completing your marathon, in the time you’re aiming for and without injury. Make at least 20% of your training schedule in each week strength training and you won’t regret it. Goto www.uksca.org.uk for more.

5. Core Function – the core is the part of the body that joins top to bottom. It is made of the muscles that surround the middle (most importantly Transversus, Rectus, Internal and External Obliques, Erector Spinae and Quadratus Lumborum), topped by the Diaphragm and bottomed by the pelvic floor. Get it assessed and train it well and it will improve the function of your entire body, and permanently improve your health as a bonus. This is particularly important for helping the recycling of energy from one stride to the next, which is the real secret behind successful marathon running. Again goto www.chekinstitute.com for more.

6. Gait Analysis – have an expert look at the way that you run and help you to make improvements. Don’t assume that you know how to run just because you’re human! Just like learning a musical instrument or learning to fly a plane, running is complex and some people do it better than others. Practice your technique and a marathon will come much more easily. Most importantly, ensure that you heel strike – on each stride land squarely on your heel and roll forward on to the toes to push off.

7. Breathing – good breathing improves your energy, core function, digestion, brain function and immune system. It can rescue you from the wall! Learn how to use your diaphragm and ribcage muscles in the right proportion, increase your breathing volume and control, and you will run faster for longer. Goto www.breathing.com for more.

8. Fuel v’s Hydration – good nutrition throughout your training is vital, and I mean vital, to your success. There is one particular element on marathon day that can literally stop you in your tracks if you get it wrong, and give you wings if you get it right. You need to take on carbohydrate at the right rate for you throughout your race. Get some professional help to establish the right rate for you, and use gels, bars and sports drinks as you prefer, but calculate your requirements in advance for different weather conditions and speeds, and stick to them. You also need to take on enough water to stay hydrated, and often runners get the balance of fuel v’s hydration wrong with disastrous consequences. On a hot day you can easily lose between 0.5 and 1.5 litres of water through sweat and this needs replacing if you are going to keep moving.

There’s always more you can learn, and more you can address. Getting professional help is always a good idea, but these tips will give you a fighting chance of impressing your friends with your time, and coming home in one piece. They may even leave you thinking you might do another one…

Welcome to the 4D Fitness Blog. This blog is a forum for asking and answering questions, and for all the 4D trainers to pass on information and insights from the leading edge of the fitness industry. We hope you enjoy the read!

Just yesterday the newest member of the team joined our ranks – Jon Ness is now the 4D Personal Trainer in Canterbury, covering Ashford, Sittingbourne, Maidstone, Dover, Folkestone and all of East Kent. It’s always a pleasure to find trainers who have already arrived at many of the conclusions that makeup the 4D philosophy, and Jon is certainly one of these. He has a well developed understanding of the effects of modern, western environments on health, fitness and performance, and is very capable of teaching his clients how to overcome them. I’m sure he will make a great contribution to our success as a company, and his clients’ prosperity!