Run Against the RAT RACE

As not only a professional athlete but personal trainer I get bombarded with the same old question time and time again…  How to fit your running training around your busy work and family life and not lose the quality and quantity of the training.

This admittedly is hard! I too even find it ever increasingly difficult to fit my training, my sport Ultra Running pulls in little financial sponsorship, so I have to supplement this with personal training clients and public speaking along with more recently setting up an events company, leaving so little time in the day to fit between 70-100miles of running in the week as well as gym sessions, but with dedication and commitment you can do it its about finding that balance, looking at the quality of your training rather than your quantity and taking a big step back and taking a look at your life.

First get a pen and paper a putdown these headings:

• Work
• Family time
• Shopping
• Watching TV
• Housework

Then have a column for per day and a column for per week and tot up the hours you do these activities.  You might be surprised, but when I sit down with my clients, I will often find several hours free to train once you set it down on paper.  Then you need to look at your training, many of us feel its alright to just go for a run 3 times a week and not put anymore thought into it other than putting one foot in front of the other, so look at each session, are you just going out for 30mins or an hour run? Look at what you are running for, is it weight loss? Is it for your first marathon? And then look about tailoring each session around your goals and your lifestyle.

Commitment will be key to your successful training in the rat race, it may mean that you have to get up at 6am to go for a run before work or 8pm after the kids have gone to bed, but there are ways of getting your training in without too much loss of relax time, take a look at your journey to work, if you go on the bus, get off earlier and run the rest of the way, if the distance to work is your normal training run distance why not run to work and home again? And an added bonus to your running training why not work on your core? When you’re sat there watching TV and the adverts come on get on the floor and do core exercises such as sit-ups, press-ups and the plank etc.

By doing this you will be able to put your training back into your life leaving the rat chasing you!

By Mike Buss.

For more information on running or for personal training, call: 07791 356 482 or Email: activelifeuk@hotmail.com

Category: Running Advice