by Bernie Hughes
Its Global Running Day and lets celebrate running. And what a time to celebrate it when it has been such a beneficial ‘go to’ exercise for so many people throughout lockdown.
Today runners all over the world will be celebrating this wonderful hobby. And whilst it may not be for everyone, let’s look at some of the many benefits that it offers.
Benefits
As a weight-bearing exercise, running is beneficial for your bones and your joints and helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. It’s also great for burning calories, increasing muscle strength, improving cardiovascular health and blood flow and for many is an amazing stress reliever and mood enhancer.
Overtraining
Overtraining is an easy habit to slip into if you’re an athlete or an exercise lover. You feel yourself getting stronger, faster, leaner and so you keep pushing. Of course this is how fitness goals are achieved, through regular training… however recovery is just as important – if not more so – to limit negative responses to training overload.
Recovery
It’s a fairly complex process but in brief, recovery is a key part of an athlete’s training. You don’t actually get fitter from the training itself, you actually get fitter when recovering from the training. The body needs time to recover and adapt to come back stronger and fitter ready for a better performance next time. If you keep pushing the body before this process has taken place, when it is fatigued, you won’t get the desired effect. In fact this could result in overtraining. If overtraining continues, it can lead to Overtraining Syndrome. Some symptoms of overtraining to watch out for are; decreased performance, chronic injuries, excessive fatigue, mood changes, loss of appetite.
Recovery Strategies
So make sure you’re listening to your body, and allow some time for recovery. There is continuous research on recovery strategies. Popular and proved strategies include; sports massage, stretching, yoga, compression garments, foam rolling, cryotherapy and many more.
Lots of our lovely patients enjoy running, and we can’t wait to get back to seeing them again soon for some regular sports and remedial massage, so we can help keep you running injury free.
For more information or to book a consultation with Bernie to discuss remedial or preventative sports massage, contact Oak Park Clinic on 01252 850800 or book via the website.