At the Starting Line - Natasha Eekhout (Paladin Biokineticists)

You’ve just decided on taking up running as a lifestyle change but where do you even begin? Surely running and building up your pace and distance can’t be that hard? Admit it, we have all pushed until our lungs begin to burn, coughing up blood and the sensation of jelly legs begins to set in. Yes, this might in some torturous way improve your tolerance and endurance, but there really is a better way to do this.

The answer… taking walk breaks in between to allow your previously motionless and rested body to adapt slowly and safely. This is especially important for new runners as these short breaks reduce the ‘out of breath’ feeling and allow for you to actually enjoy the run. For the more experienced long distance runners, this also offers an opportunity to extend their running distances.

Taking walk breaks doesn’t mean you can transform your run into a solid Sunday stroll. The frequency of your walk breaks should be calculated appropriately. If you are just starting out you can use the following guidelines:

For unexperienced and more sedentary ‘almost runners’:

·         Run for 5-10 seconds

·         Walk for 50-55 seconds

For the more physically active but beginner runners:

·         Run for 15-60 seconds

·         Walk for 15-30 seconds

Runners with more experience can adjust this according to their pace per kilometre:

For 5 minute paced runners:

·         Run for 2 minutes

·         Walk for 30 seconds

All of the above also applies to your first race. The run-walk-run method may just be the winning formula to help you complete it, producing better recovery rates, reducing your injury risk and eliminating the slowdown pace that many runners experience just before the finish line. Start inviting the method a little earlier on into your run and skip them during your last third of the race, allowing you to cross that finish line strong!

Natasha completed her BSc Sports Science undergraduate degree at The University of Johannesburg and her BHSc honours degree in Biokinetics at The University of the Witwatersrand. 

She has a passion for a variety of sports in particular soccer, tennis, running and kickboxing which have contributed to a strong interest in orthopaedic rehabilitation and working with athletes. Other areas of focus include diabetic and cardiac rehabilitation, as well as weight loss and a keen enthusiasm for working with children of all ages. 

Natasha can be contacted on 082 476 9727 or natashaeekhout@kinetics.co.za

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.

Are you ready for Boot Camp?

Are you ready for Boot Camp? - Tony Paladin

Boot camp (or “break your booty” camp as we rehab guys facetiously like to call it), is an awesome, high intensity experience that promises to whip a woman’s saggy bits into great shape in a very short space of time!

Is Boot camp every woman’s answer to exercise? By combining good eating, hard training, mud and sun; surely we should all be singing “Kumbayah” and doing G.I. Jane pushups to celebrate!

As an Exercise Therapist, I usually urge all patients to carefully ruminate over their current physical status prior to setting their goals and respective exercise intensities in order to avoid injury.

By exercising some common sense (excuse the pun), and sticking to some basic guidelines, most injuries can be avoided.

Firstly, we need to figure out how hard we should be pushing ourselves during sessions?

My general rule of thumb is to take it easy for the first 2 sessions in order for the body to adapt to new movements. Try and limit any new exercise to between 2 and 3 sets of 5 to 10 repetitions. From an intensity perspective, you should be able to maintain good form for the entire duration of the session. Loss of form is indicative of fatigue and carries a risk of injury.

When it comes to avoiding injury and extreme stiffness, the bottom line is that we need to be strong enough to execute the movement. If you are in a class environment and feel uncomfortable doing an exercise, rather adjust it to something that you are more comfortable with and discuss it with your trainer afterwards; after all, we know our own bodies better than anyone else does. I advise most people to attend a few one on one sessions before starting classes in order to make sure that you are strong enough to cope with the cadence of a class.

When it comes to augmenting an exercise by using weights, we need to consider that extra resistance is merely there to make things more difficult. If we are not strong enough to do a conventional push up or a one legged squat, I would suggest considering our need for that extra resistance. When using an extra weight such as a dumbbell, barbell, kettlebell or theraband, choose a resistance where the form of the exercise is not compromised.

If you are uncertain as to what your physical limitations are, I would advise you to see your Biokineticist before starting a new exercise regime to ensure that you are fully equipped to enjoy and benefit from it.

Tony’s Primary areas of focus include: Orthopaedic rehabilitation (mainly backs and knees). He works with regaining function in ACL reconstructions and total knee replacement patients.

Tony also has an interest in sport specific testing and training (primarily rowing, cycling, running and triathlon).

Tony is the Chairman of the Biokinetics Association of Southern Africa (Gauteng division).

Tony can be contacted on 011 028 1128 or tonypaladin@kinetics.co.za. 

In case of an emergency, he can be contacted on 082 921 6776.