With a number of runners I’ve been working with currently preparing for Autumn half marathons, especially the Oxford half in October, I thought this might be a timely post. A lot of runners, especially newer runners, have been asking me about how to taper or wind down their training before a half marathon event.… Continue reading ‘Tapering’ or winding down your training before half marathon.
Month: August 2018
10 strategies to improve your sleep.
Good quality deep sleep is essential for good health and physical fitness. This should be the number one priority yet there is a massive epidemic world wide of sleep deprivation. Boasting about how little sleep you need is not clever. You are no different to everyone else and you will be suffering from it,… Continue reading 10 strategies to improve your sleep.
Your questions: Preparing for half marathon. Training intensities and nutrition.
What is the difference between preparing for marathon and half marathon? In reponse to questions about how to prepare for marathon – specifically how fast should the long runs be and what should I eat, my response was to learn to burn fat for fuel to avoid hittibg the wall (sugar crash) and to do… Continue reading Your questions: Preparing for half marathon. Training intensities and nutrition.
Change just one habit and watch all the other dominoes fall in turn! Sheila just couldn’t believe it could be so easy to lose weight and regain her energy!
Sheila is a 50 year old lady who came to me 6 months ago, looking to ‘lose a bit of weight and tone up’, as she said. She had tried to lose weight and get fit before, but had not got the lasting results she desired. She had been with Slimming World and… Continue reading Change just one habit and watch all the other dominoes fall in turn! Sheila just couldn’t believe it could be so easy to lose weight and regain her energy!
Sleep for your life!
A new client came to see me today. She wanted to lose some weight and get back to running again. Having talked about her current levels of exercise and nutrition, I discovered a very well-motivated, possibly almost driven, lady who had a good handle on the nutrition side and an intelligent understanding of what was… Continue reading Sleep for your life!
Shall we go to the gym for a sit down?
We sit down for breakfast (those who eat breakfast), then sit down in our cars to drive to work. We then spend up to 8 hours or more sitting in our office, including sitting to eat lunch. Then we get in our cars to sit and drive home. So what do we do if we’re… Continue reading Shall we go to the gym for a sit down?
Are you eating a ‘balanced diet’? Millions of years of evolution and we never realised that carbohydrates were crucial to good health!
The scenario repeats itself, without failure, two or three times every week, at least. It gets to the point where you don’t really want to have the discussion because you know it will undermine faith in everything they’ve taken for granted for decades, as regards health and fitness. Nevertheless, it has to be said,… Continue reading Are you eating a ‘balanced diet’? Millions of years of evolution and we never realised that carbohydrates were crucial to good health!
My 10 top tips for great running form.
A cadence of around 180 steps per minute. Most recreational runners run at too low a cadence, focusing on stride length instead of a quick turnover of the feet. Get the cadence right and allow the stride length to adapt accordingly. This is more efficient. Note that this may vary a little if… Continue reading My 10 top tips for great running form.
Is your ‘armless’ walking and running style slowing you down?
One of the most common problems we see in running and indeed walking is the tendency to not use the arms effectively. Many people seem to just not know what to with the arms. Although the arms contribute only a small amount directly in propelling us forward, they are massively important in the rhythm of… Continue reading Is your ‘armless’ walking and running style slowing you down?
Interval training for 5k speed. You must get outside your comfort zone to get faster.
Outside the comfort zone. Whilst I am a great believer in adopting a holistic approach to getting the best out of you as a runner, this should not be confused with thinking that you don’t need to do the hard running too. On the contrary, you will need to get out of your comfort zone… Continue reading Interval training for 5k speed. You must get outside your comfort zone to get faster.
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