Do you wish to start running? Unsure how to start?
David’s story could inspire you.
How it began:
David started training with us in 2019 to work on improving his overall strength and fitness. Having committed to one session a week David was making improvements when the pandemic hit but we continued to support David on his fitness journey during the lockdown with coached sessions online.
The Plan and Commitment:
Having improved his general fitness David was after a new challenge and in 2022 started running.
With this new goal, we made changes to David’s training to ensure we could continue to support his new focus. We placed a greater emphasis on single leg exercises to work on both strength and stability, including exercises such as single leg calf raises, single leg squats, lunges and step ups. Outside the gym David started following a progressive running plan that gradually built up the distance.
We incorporate single leg exercises because running involves three planes of movement to work effectively to help contribute to forward propulsion. Human movement is primarily sagittal which allows us to move forward and back, but all three planes of movement are required to facilitate this:
- Sagittal – forwards and back
- Frontal – side to side
- Transverse – rotation
In April 2023 David suffered a motorbike accident and had a break away from the gym to recover. In May, David booked in with Carl to get some physio before returning to the gym. Carl liaised with Dani to incorporate David’s rehab into his gym programme alongside doing exercises at home with the aim of getting him running again.
By June, David was back on a return to running plan and was able to run 5k consistently by August. David continued to commit to a weekly gym session, while enjoying doing a couple of runs a week and some specific exercises from home to support his running and prevent injury.
The Achievements:
Running became a habit for David with the speeds increasing and then a steady increase in the distances and weekly mileage. The improvements in fitness experienced by David benefited his lifestyle allowing him to enjoy longer walks in the lake district.
In the summer of 2024 David achieved some personal milestones completing his longest run of 10 miles and the Whinlatter 10k – one of the hilliest in the region with 900ft ascent!
The realisation that David had become a committed runner and it was part of his lifestyle was during one gym session when he mentioned he’d casually been out for an easy 6k run before work one morning. This change is testament to David’s commitment to his training, in the gym and at home.
Great work David, we are really proud of what you have achieved.
If you would like to start running but are unsure where to start get in touch and our coaches can help you.
