Fitstreet - Mobile Personal Training in Surrey that guarantees results

Think running is the answer to fitness? Think again.

How often do you see people running, pounding the streets, looking like they are bent over in visible pain? I see them all the time and I know full well that they are simply 'running' their bodies into the ground because that is all they do - run, run, and run some more.

Running is a poor exercise choice for many people, simply because their bodies aren't prepared for the effort required of putting 4 times their bodyweight through their joints. Many of you spend hours each day bent over a desk, pulling your bodies into all sorts of distorted postural patterns, and then you decide to don your trainers and head out for a run, making matters worse by tightening muscles that are already tight. No wonder you come back indoors with aches and pains, thinking 'that was hard work!'

What's more, running for any distance at a set pace does nothing for your physique. For years people have been led to believe that the only way to lose weight is to hit the streets or the treadmill and go for 'the burn'. You keep running in the belief that the further you go or the more frequently you run, the more weight you will lose.

To a point that's true, BUT the weight you do lose is likely to be mostly water and lean tissue - muscle. Your body is highly efficient. If it senses that you've caught the running bug it will start to burn your muscle tissue, leaving you lighter and therefore more able to run. The result is that YES you will be lighter on the scales, but with less muscle, your body will be saggy, untoned and far more likely to store fat, as your metabolism plummets.

If you want to carry on running and still look good, the SOLUTION is simple.

Don't focus too heavily on running. Instead, mix your running with interval training and resistance exercise, much as you do in the sessions that we do together. This way you will have more stamina, more flexibility and a better base of support, through your core, on which to move.

Rather than run yourself into the ground, use the rowing machine or treadmill at the gym or at home, and after a 3-5 minute steady warm up, increase the pace or the effort for 20 seconds. You should be working at a 8/10 effort. Follow this 20 second spurt with a 40 second recovery period, during which you decrease the work effort to a 5/10 pace. Repeat this sequence for 3-5 repetitions, and finish with a 3-5 minute cooldown, again at a 4-5/10 effort.

Your entire 'cardio' session will last a total 9-15 minutes, depending on your warm up and cool down periods and the number of times you repeat the sequence. Give it a try and compare the difference in fat-burning results that this style of training will bring you. You may never pound the streets again when you note the difference in results for the time spent working.

Pre-stretched and warmed up, heading out for a run can be just the tonic you need after a stressful day, but make sure that you incorporate it as just one part of your training program. First and foremost, use interval training. Go jogging for pleasure, NOT for results.

If you want to know the key stretches and warm up exercises that you should perform before a run, simply ask me at your next session.