Marathon Training Top Tip - Don’t Neglect Your Strength Training

The TCS London Marathon is now fast approaching (2nd October). The last few weeks have been the time when runners typically have a steep increase in their training schedules. Hence we have had a number of clients especially 1st time Marathon runners visit us which has prompted this week’s training tip.

As you get busier with your longer runs, it can be difficult to find the time to do your gym-based training, and tempting to drop this in favour of more runs – after all you are still doing lots of exercise right?

Our advice is that it is important to continue your strengthening and stretching to keep your body and muscles balanced. Running puts considerable load on your tissues often in quite an asymmetrical fashion. It is easy to overtighten or stiffen up your tissues such as your ITBs (iliotibial bands) on the outside of your thigh, and cause an imbalance around the knee leading to new pains that can interfere with your training schedule, performance and enjoyment.

Soft tissue massage is also a good support at this stage of your training to keep muscle stiffness and tightness in check. There is a good reason why professional athletes spend so much time on the massage therapists table. As you increase your training don’t ignore any niggles. Get them seen to swiftly to ensure that they don’t become a problem and interfere with your training.

If you have any queries please get in touch

"I just wanted to say thank you for your help my knees are so much better now."

Sandra