With the London Marathon just a few weeks away, running fever can often sweep the nation.
But before you begin pounding the streets, whether you’re running a marathon or just starting out, take tips from Crosby Tailor, a PT and advocate of low impact workouts and founder of the 30 Day Transformation workout series.
An expert in low impact exercises that still achieves incredible results, Crosby is on a mission to help those avoid injury and negative results, caused by overtraining.
So, what does he recommend?
l Reduce your runs: “Stating the obvious, running 26 miles in one stretch requires training. But instead of running six days a week, I recommend cutting your runs down to just three days and using some of the extra time to incorporate low impact workouts. You’ll be surprised how effective these extra workouts are in maintaining your stamina and strengthening other muscles.”
l Train with low impact: “Since you’re already training quads with all that running, pay some special attention to the muscles you aren’t working regularly, such as the glutes and hamstrings. My 30 Day Transformation series features some great workouts for these areas such as the ‘stiff legged dead’s’ which are, you guessed it, low impact. Remember that these other muscles play a big role in the 26 mile run – different areas of the body will get tired at different times so each and every part needs to be prepared to maximise your success come race day.”
l Concentrate on your core: “Core plays a huge role in long distance sport – if you have strength elsewhere, you can withstand force a lot longer as your body won’t break down as much. Strong abs, hips, lower back and pelvis can all help you with long distance sport so to build these up opt for plank variations and lower back exercises.”
