Pounding the pavement – Can running do more harm than good?

You’ve been told that running sheds the pounds. Your Personal trainer has given you a running program to boost your goals but after the 3^rd week your knees are so sore that you look crippled when walking up stairs.

On the 3^rd kilometer of your track session, you become increasingly annoyed with the Kenyan guy who has lapped you for the 9^th time; not only because he is so unbelievably fast, but because you get a fright every time he zips past you.

If this sounds familiar, then you are not sufficiently conditioned to be running the distances you are attempting. You probably sound like a small elephant with flip flops on when you run because you actually lack the intrinsic lower limb strength to control the dynamic gait of running.

If you compare your lower leg and foot strength to that of a seasoned Comrades runner, you will more than likely find that they are able to do a lot more with their functional bodyweight than you can; such as a one legged squat and an unassisted one legged calf raise.

The best comparison of whether one is potentially doing more harm than good during exercise is the blister analogy. If you start lifting weights without gloves, your hands will blister. If you continue lifting weights and do not give the blisters time to become callous, then your hands will proceed to tear open and become injured.

The solution is common sense. Before you even start running; ensure that you have basic functional lower limb strength such as being able to do a one legged squat. A Biokineticist can assist with this and get you going. Once you start your running program, start with small distances and apply the 10% rule, running no more than 10% distance OR intensity each week.

If you slowly build up, you should see steady improvements over time until you are running comfortably without pain.