• Running the Right Way - PhillyFIT Magazine

PhysicallyFITRunning theRight WayBy Joe Giandonato, MS, CSCSAvid gym goers and recreational athletes regularly engage incardiovascular exercise, typically comprised of running - eitheron the treadmill or outdoors - to improve their body compositionand to keep in shape for their respective sport.Traditionally, steady state cardiovascular exercise, such as runningat the same pace for a given period of time, has been foreveradvocated by fitness professionals and sport coaches alikeas it offers a cadre of health and performance benefits, such asreducing body fat, augmenting insulin sensitivity, balancingphospholipids, and streamlining cardiac output at rest and duringbouts of exertion.Having a robust aerobic energy system, or what some refer to asan “aerobic base”, helps athletes perform better and enhancestheir recovery between workouts and repeated bouts of exertion.Individuals who engage in resistance training activities or whoplay team sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, orfootball, perform the majority of their physiological work viaintervals. Throughout these bouts of work, alactic, lactic, andaerobic energy systems, are working in concert to provide thebody its energy currency.ATP to sustain activity. Each energy system’s contribution ofATP is contingent on the intensity and duration of the givenbout of exertion. People who are fit produce and utilize ATPmore efficiently. Additionally, they are able to bounce backquicker between bouts of exertion and will perform better whensuccessive repeated bouts start drawing on the aerobic energysystem for ATP production.However, the majority of gym goers and recreational athletesoveremphasize steady state cardiovascular exercise, namely distancerunning, in their training programs. As fatigue sets in, runninggait begins to deteriorate and as the mileage piles up,injuries begin to accumulate. Most people are faultily lockedinto the mindset, that in order to peel the fat away or to gainmore endurance, they have to add distance or time.Provided below are helpful suggestions to help you look andperform better, while warding off injury.1. Don’t progress too rapidly. Adaptations to exercise are optimizedwhen systematic progressive overload is tactfullyemployed. If you’re tackling three miles comfortably, don’tjump to six or seven just because you may be feeling good oneday. Advancing hastily in the duration and intensity of yourruns, may leave you more susceptible to injury and possiblyimpede future progress. Instead, jumps should be gradual andincremental.2. Strengthen and lengthen. Novices who partake in distancerunning beat up their legs and hips by heel striking too forcefullyas the swing phase ends. After the heel makes contact withthe ground, the muscles, which dorsiflex the ankle act eccentricallyto lower the ball of the foot onto the ground to initiate toeoff,which commences the swing phase. In novices, who quicklyramp up their mileage, the muscles of the hips, posterior chain,and lower leg, haven’t grown accustomed to forces imposed onthem, triggering repetitive strain injuries and joint pain. Novicesand runners returning from a long layoff should start off byinvesting time in the gym, focusing on movements such assquats and deadlifts, performed bilaterally and unilaterally, aswell as exercises to strengthen the anterior core, gluteals, andhamstrings.Rather than tackle a mile or two off the bat, a series of shorterruns, around one hundred to two hundred meters, conducted ateighty percent of top end speed, should be conducted to sparethe heels of the harsh repeated landing forces imposed on themduring longer runs. This will also help improve one’s stridelength and strengthen the hip flexors, hamstrings, and gluteal,which are highly involved during maximal effort sprinting.3. Sprint your way to fat loss and better performance. Duringsprints, hundreds of muscles are rapidly firing, incurring anMay/June I 267-767-4205 I www.phillyfit.comPhillyFIT I 25