INJURY FREE RUNNING | A Step By Step Guide

Preventing Injury:

Injury is a killer to our training and fitness progression, All that hard earnt progress from training lost because of an injury that often can be prevented in the first place.

So how can you protect yourself and your running training?  Firstly you will need to get back in touch with your feet, get a gait analysis, properly fitted shoes, tips on training success, and learn about the early warning signs for injuries and how to prevent them happening in the first place.

GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FEET

Your gait (how you run and walk) are unique, so in order to find the right shoe for you, you need to find a shoe that is the right size, width, and arch type.

you can identify what your foot type is by simply walking or running barefoot with wet feet on a dry flat surface or in the sand and just compare it to the foot prints below:

Flat Arch   |   High Arch   |   Medium Arch (Normal)

Flat Arch:

• Extra stable platform
• Broad midfoot and wider toe box

Medium Arch (Normal):

• Medium stability shoes
• Wider toe box

High Arch:

• Lightweight, neutral shoes
• Shock Absorption
• High instep

GAIT:

Severe Pornator – Flat arch – Significant rolling towards the inside of foot for the majority of the ride from heel to toe – Fleshy, very flexible foot

Moderate Pornator – Medium/low arch – Fleshy and slightly flexible foot – Slight rolling towards inside of foot

Neutral Gait – High arch – Rigid, inflexible foot – Bony foot

GET THE RIGHT SHOE FOR YOUR FEET:

Shoes are the most important piece of kit for the runner, what ever the distance you run…  Take time to get properly fitted for your shoes.  Go to a specialist running store that can do a gait analysis and therefore show you what type of shoe you need, then take time ot try all shoes in store suitable to your style of running, pick the best suited not the best colour or favoured brand.

GET STARTED ON THE RIGHT FOOT:

You are more likely to stick to a training programme if you have a GOAL, here are some tips on how to keep you running…

Have a GOAL:
A goal just to run a marathon isnt a goal that will end in success, at mikebussPT we work out SMART Goals with our clients.

• S: Specific
• M: Measureable
• A: Achieveable
• R: Recordable
• T: Time

Start a training log, record your training in a diary, recording all your training, times, distances, types of training and how you felt during and after training.

Hydration, you should look to drink at least 1.5ltrs of water to stay hydrated and help you run longer and harder.

Pace, dont run off too fast, especially in races, runners feel the atmosphere of the event and shoot off too quick too soon, so be disciplined and stick to your training plan.

Cool down, stretch off after training, take time with this, make it part of your training and not just something you feel you have to do.  Stretching is as important as the running itself.

Listen to your body, if your body is telling you it needs rest and is feeling aching, then stop, rest and recover…  Training through this can lead to injury.

Category: Running Advice