Category: Fitness

Looking to maximize your marathon training? Here’s are some tips to make your 26.2 mile journey a healthy and happy one.

Training for a marathon involves adapting your body to the demands of 26.2 miles of running. To get it right, you need to increase your cardiovascular fitness and endurance, as well as your ability to conserve and manage energy during the race. All this needs to be done while respecting your recovery so you don’t burn out.

What’s the best training plan?

The marathon is a long way, and your training needs to reflect that. Variety of training is important, as is making sure you have a training plan that prepares you specifically for the marathon, but for most runners, getting out the door and running at an easy and steady effort, with a good frequency and consistency, is what will get you ready. The most effective training plan is one you can stick to and enjoy. It is far better to get in four to five runs, week in, week out, than six runs one week and nothing the next.

Go long, but not too long

While it is important to have banked good time on feet, if you go too far in your long runs, you’ll struggle to recover and then you will start your marathon already tired. Three hours to 3:15 is as long as your longest run needs to be and, for many, 2:30-2:45 is enough, three to four weeks out from race day. Any more than that and you risk not recovering in time. For more tips on the long run, click here.

Spread the load

But if you’re limiting the length or duration of your longest run, how can you be confident of handling the distance? The long run is critical, but your overall volume of training is even more important. Four to five runs a week is a good target, while any additional cross-training will boost your fitness. Consider a midweek run that also builds in volume, up to 75-90 minutes, to supplement your weekend long run.

Practice close to race pace

Easy running is important as you build up your training volume. But as you get close to your marathon, there’s a benefit in doing some of your long runs closer to race pace rather than the typically recommended 60-75 seconds a mile slower. In the final eight to 10 weeks

of your schedule, try long runs at a steadier pace, averaging 15-30 seconds a mile slower than your goal race pace.

Pace yourself

When the gun goes, you need to know what pace you’ll be running. Adding marathon-pace sections to the end of some long runs is a great mental and physical stimulus. A good peak long run might be 2:45-3:00, including four sets of 20 minutes at goal marathon pace, with five-minute recoveries.

There are a few ways to estimate your marathon time based on your performances across other distances. Multiplying your 10K PB by five, then subtracting 10 minutes, is one option; doubling your half-marathon time and adding 10-20 minutes or working out 105-108 per cent of your half-marathon time also work. Or you add a recent performance in another distance into a race time predictor like this.

Stress your system

The marathon is a game of energy preservation. Much of what you are aiming to achieve with training is teaching the body to be good at using fuel. One way you can do this is with sessions that vary efforts between predominately using stored fats or carbohydrate. Try this: embedded in a 75-90 minute run, alternate between three to five minutes at around 10K race pace and three to five minutes at, or just slower than, marathon pace, with no rest. Start with 30 minutes of this and aim to build up to around 60 minutes as the weeks progress.

Cross-train

Running is high-impact. In recent years, we have seen great examples of elite athletes performing at the highest level while including lots of non-running training. Time spent on a bike or elliptical trainer, or even aqua-jogging, can be hugely effective in developing your fitness. Convert your running sessions to time and perceived effort and they can be conducted as cross-training, which increases your training volume while minimizing injury risk.

Hit the hills

Hill training can be a great way of doing ‘speedwork in disguise’, as you’ll very quickly see your heart rate jumping up while also developing more strength in your glutes, hamstrings and quads. Challenge yourself by taking one of your midweek runs over a hilly route and working stretches of uphill at a strong sustained effort, where you stay tall and light on your feet, and drive your arms strongly.

Train your gut

Fueling on the run is a good way to ensure you get to the final 10km of the marathon feeling strong and ready to hold your pace. But you need to practice your race-day fueling strategy. Gels help to get energy quickly into your body on the run; sip your gel gradually over three to four minutes, and target one gel every 30 minutes or so during the race. If you struggle with gels, ensure you try a range of other options well in advance of your taper.

Work on your strength

Runners who can hold their posture and technique will find it far easier to maintain their pace in the final stages of a marathon. Strength training is all too often neglected by runners, even though it can boost performance. Use one or two sessions a week to focus on strength, with exercises such as split squats (shown below), single-leg squats and bridges, as well as core work such as planks and side planks.

LIFESTYLE

Your body gets fitter through stress and recovery. You need to work your body hard and go beyond your current comfort zones to build fitness, but it’s not until you recover that all of the beneficial adaptations take place. So, managing your lifestyle is key to a successful marathon campaign. Paula Radcliffe has some great tips on how to make small changes.

Monitor your health and energy

Your marathon training doesn’t just sit in isolation. Your work, family and social life will affect your ability to train and recover well. Keep an eye out for the warning signs of ‘under-recovery’. You can monitor your day-to-day training readiness with a HRV [heart-rate variability] app, and watch for inconsistent sleep, regular small colds or niggles, or a loss of motivation. Be prepared to change your plan around busy periods and work or family-life stresses.

Sleep yourself fitter

A critical element of adaptation is getting enough recovery and sleep. We have all heard of the magical ‘eight hours’ but, in truth, the quality and continuity of your sleep is just as important. Create a cool, calm and dark environment to sleep in, try to avoid using your phone in the final 60 minutes before bed and aim for a consistent sleep and wake-up time.

Freshen up

Constantly pushing a little harder each week will often result in your peaking too early, or getting overtrained or injured. Break your training down into smaller chunks – this can help you manage the balance between work and recovery. Every three to four weeks, include a lighter week of training (also known as a recovery or ‘down’ week), cutting back your volumes by about a third to allow your body a bit more adaptation time. Respect your rest days and recovery weeks – your body will reward you.

Eat for energy

Good nutrition will see you hitting your runs feeling more motivated and energized, but will also help you to adapt to the training more effectively. A balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and including whole-food groups, should be a starting point to fuel your training and your recovery. Aim for 4g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight on days before your key hard sessions or long runs. After your sessions, take on food or a shake with a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein within a 20-40-minute window of finishing.

Enjoy yourself!

Running is something we choose to do – no one forces us to enter a marathon. You learn a lot about yourself through the course of marathon training, so enjoy the process. Stay social – the joy of running with others has been limited in the last year. Sharing some long runs with other runners can make all the difference.

MINDSET

The marathon involves a leap of faith. The fact that few runners will cover the distance in training before race day means the mental side of training becomes even more important. There are a variety of methods you can deploy to cope with the mental demands of a marathon.

Respect, don’t fear

Don’t fear the marathon. This can lead you to make poor decisions and to try to progress too far, too fast, too soon. Your goal is to arrive at race day healthy and energized, so respect the distance, but recognize it is achievable. Build your training in gradual increments and set small training goals, lifestyle goals and strength goals for each three-week block. The more goals you hit, the more the marathon will start to feel possible.

Focus on the positives

Marathon training is a journey and progress is not always smooth and linear. There will be workouts that don’t go to plan, races where you don’t feel great and runs that you need to miss or reschedule. As the weeks go by, make sure you focus on positive outcomes – it’s about what you do complete, not what you don’t. Keep a training diary and note down two or three positives every week, runs that went well, conditioning you completed or an improvement in your nutrition. If something hasn’t worked, note what you learned from that experience and make changes.

Rehearse race day

Feeling psychologically primed and ready is a key weapon in your armory. Race day should feel familiar; this will allow you to stay calm and focused. Aim to mimic your planned race-day routine in a couple of your key long runs – run at the time the race starts, wear your race-day kit and have your planned race-day breakfast. If you can, aim to complete a race during your training (a half marathon is ideal), as this will get you used to running around other people and pacing sensibly.

Improve your mental skills

The marathon is a long race – your mind may wander and doubts may creep up on you as the miles go by. Use you training to build your toolkit of mental skills to use on race day. Practice different positive self-talk strategies in training – these could be focused on relaxation (‘breathe and relax your shoulders’), technique (‘keep your leg speed snappy’) or focus (‘pull in that vest in front’).

These are just a few of the many tips to make your marathon training a success.

Join MOVATI Today and get Started with This Special Offer. Already a member? To customize programming and help you improve your training, consult with one of our Personal Trainers in club and complete your Game Plan Session or join seminars with one of our fitness professionals. 

Story Credit: University of California San Francisco Health

Depending on the era, most casual golfers from the 1970s and 1980s would not equate fitness with improving or elevating their golf game.

However, if you talk to anyone from the late 1990s are early 2000s, this all changed when Tiger Woods hit the scene. He was an athlete playing golf and he aggressively worked on his body to make himself a better player. He changed the game. 

Fast forward to the present day and professional golfers of all levels now have rigorous workout schedules and college golf teams all have strength & conditioning coaches. Professional golfers such as Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, and Justin Thomas just to name a few are all athletes that have spent time in the gym to improve their ability to compete at the highest level on the course.

If working out can help them, it can certainly help you improve your game. The key is getting stronger by adding speed, increasing stability and flexibility. We break down some of the best exercises that will help loosen your hips, stabilize your shoulders, and help you build power and strength in your golf swing. 

1. Lunges With Rotation

We recommend you use a small medicine ball (heavy ball) to perform this exercise. Stand with your feet together, holding the ball close to your chest. Lunge your right foot forward, with your left knee bending towards the ground. Hold this position and rotate arms, balls, and torso to the right. Rotate back to center and return to the starting position. Alternate legs and perform 20 times.

This golf exercise will help you improve your balance, swing rotation, and strength.

2. Alternate Lateral Jump

A critical exercise for any golf workout, alternate Lateral Jumps will help you develop lower body power that you can leverage for more distance.

Simply put, this is jumping back and forth from side-to-side, but to get the most value from this golf exercise you need to focus on your technique. You want this to be an explosive move. It’s important that you load up for each jump, activating the muscles in your lower body. You don’t need to jump an extreme distance back and forth, but you do want a consistent motion back-and-forth, side-to-side.

3. Medicine Ball Core Rotations

Also known as “Russian Twists”, Medicine Ball Core Rotations are great for your core and for teaching your body to properly rotate with balance.

Start by sitting on the ground with your knees bent and the medicine balls against your chest. Lean back slowly until you are balanced on your butt and your feet are slightly off the ground. While holding the ball close, quickly rotate back and forth, trying to keep your feet off the ground.

4. Split Squat

The split squat exercise is designed to build up leg strength and improve your swing speed. An additional benefit will be improved balance.

While not required, we recommend you leverage a bar for this golf exercise and that you hold it behind your head, resting on your shoulders. You will start in a standing position with your feet together. With one leg, take a large step forward. Now lunge down, with your front knee in front of your front foot, and your back knee will almost touch the ground. Make sure during your squat that your head stays up and you are looking forward. Hold this position for a few seconds before coming out of your lunge. Repeat 10 times. As you get more advanced, you can add weight to the bar you are resting on your shoulders.

5. Sword Draws

The Sword Draw golf exercise will help you with external shoulder rotation and can even assist you in keeping your golf swing on plane.

To perform this part of your golf workout, you will need a dumbbell. Pick the correct weight based on your physical condition. Stand with your feet as far apart as your normal golf stance. Hold the dumbbell in your right hand near your left hip with your palm facing your body and your thumb pointing towards your left hip. Keeping your arm straight, rotate your shoulder, and lift the weight above your head and to the right. When you complete this motion, your thumb should be pointing behind you. We recommend multiple sets of 15 and you can increase the weight of the dumbbell over time.

6. Hip Drops

You may not have given it much thought, but lack of internal hip rotation can cause significant issues in your golf swing. The Hip Drop golf exercise will help you improve this part of your body. This is also a great pre-round stretch.

Sit on the ground, with your legs spread far apart, your feet flat on the ground, and your knees up. Place your hands on the ground behind you. One leg at a time, rotate your knee in and move it as close to the ground as you can. You should feel a nice stretch in your hip. Complete a comfortable number of reps on with each leg.

7. Dumbbell Bench Press

The one-handed Dumbbell Bench Press allows you to strengthen your upper body while also working on core stabilization. A great 2-for-1 golf exercise.

You should lie on a weight lifting bench or the floor with an appropriate weight dumbbell in one hand. Simply perform a bench press with this one arm. Do 3 sets of 10 and then switch arms.

8. Single Leg Deadlift

The Single Leg Deadlift golf exercise will strengthen your lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. Performing these on a regular basis will not only help your swing, but they will also protect your back from future injuries.

Start in a standing position with your feet together and a dumbbell in each hand. The dumbbells should be hanging down in front of your thighs. Bow forward, letting one leg kick back behind you. Keeping your back straight, lower down until the dumbbells get as close to the floor as possible. Return back to your starting position. Try to do 3 sets of 10 on both legs, and you can increase the weight over time. It is more important to do these with good technique than adding a bunch of weight.

9. Pelvic Tilt

Every time you swing a golf club you put pressure on your lower back and pelvis muscles. If not properly managed, these areas can become tender and sore. The Pelvic Tilt is a simple golf exercise to help your pelvic and lower back.

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Place your hands behind your head (this position is similar to the starting position of a Sit Up). Tighten your abs, buttocks, and thighs to press the small of your back against the floor. Perform 10 reps and try to increase this number as you continue your golf workouts.

10. Squat With Medicine Ball Rotations

This is a great full body exercise that will improve your core and work on your balance. You’ll need a medicine ball and you should pick the most appropriate weight for you.

Start in a standing position, with the medicine ball on the ground, next to your right foot. Squat down low and grab the ball with both hands. In one motion, stand up and lift the ball to the left of your hand, with your arms fully extended. Squat down to return the ball to its original position. Do as many reps as you are comfortable performing and make sure you do both sides.

To customize programming and help improve the strength, stability, and flexibility, consult with one of our Personal Trainers in club and complete your Game Plan Session.

Story Credit: Allen Panuncio – Canadian Professional Golf Association, Senior Instructor, Richmond Hill Golf Club