Overview & Thoughts
Over the past 25 years of being an age group athlete, elite athlete, and now a qualified strength and conditioning coach, I’ve found few athletes implement stretching and strength training in their monthly, weekly, and annual programs.
After recently completing a two-year rehab strength and conditioning journey at Peak Strength, working closely alongside trainer Aaron Perry and regular physio support from Great Lake physio Colin, I am forever grateful for the wisdom these two men have shared with me here in Taupo to truly believe strength work is the way forward here.
Getting back to running from a near career-ending meniscus tear, multiple calf strains, and years of Achilles problems, took a whole new turn of self-control, daily discipline, and doing small, sometimes mind-numbing exercises accurately and daily to get back to running.
It was clear after two years of rehab that as you age, your training must change and adapt to keep running strong.
One must prioritize strength as you age to simply live a healthy, fit, and strong life, I truly am beginning to understand this is a way of life – and I’m not just saying this to be highly effective in running until I’m grey and old.
My experience and change as I’ve aged
From the age of 23-32, I remember chasing big run weeks of 80-100km for 8 months of a year! As I attempted to keep up with the Gomez and Brownlee era – trying to hit that magical sub 30min 10k run off the bike.
While I was able to keep up with that in my early 20s to early 30s, when you turn 40 something changes. When you turn 40 your body doesn’t like training at the red line 2-3x a week, your mind simply can’t manage it like it could back in your 20s and 30s regardless of how many David Goggins, Dean Karnezes, or Lance Armstrong podcasts you listen to – you need to give respect to your body.
We owe it to our own body, mind, and soul to address our imbalances, to get back on the horse, and to start training smarter, not harder with a strong focus on strength to help us keep up our weekly swim, bike, run, and endurance routines.
Below are some practical solutions I have listed, by no means can I cover all strength and rehab to keep you running, but I can offer you some daily tips for four of the following repetitive strain injuries I see in triathletes and a few easy, practical solutions to give you relief.
Please check out some of the links for video demonstrations of each solution, additionally, you can visit the CFIT Triathlon YouTube page for more tips and video demonstrations.
Problem, Injury, and/or Areas to Strengthen
Repetitive Strain Injury
Calf strain upper and lower (soleus and gastrocnemius)
Solutions:
- Standing calf raises
- Bent and seated standing calf raises
- Regular single leg quarter load squats
Additional strengthening ideas: Single-leg and double-leg skipping with a rope, regularly walking around the house with bare feet balancing on single leg doing housework and simply running, walking every second day to allow calves to recover between workouts.
Achilles Myopathy (Scar tissue accumulation of years of overuse from running)
Solution:
- Massage achilles every morning as you wake up for a good 5 min
- Massage tendon towards the heart to promote better circulation
- Roll out the sole of the foot with a golf ball when you wake up and before you set foot on the ground
- Use compression socks as you walk around the house for the first hour of the morning (to promote better circulation)
Meniscus tear in the knees
Break down of knee meniscus from lateral movement sports when you have spent a good part of your life going in a straight line, can occur when you take up such sports as soccer, basketball, or explosive lateral moving sports on your knee if you have had a life as a triathlete.
Solution:
- Knees over toes lunges daily
- Weighted sled push and pull walks (Promotes strength for knee stability)
- Single-Leg Press work
- Single-leg hamstring curls with quad extension (working toward your body weight in lifting with a single-leg for a good 3-6 months in initial rehab)
As you work on these solutions be sure to lay off your running completely until your glutes are firing, and your pelvis in balanced along with your quads and hamstrings.
Hip imbalances and lack of glute activation
Tight hips, lack of mobility, and imbalance arise because of a single side weakness causing the other side to cover compensate.
Solution:
The key to addressing hip imbalances is regular glute activation and strengthening (and lengthening of the hip girdle).
- Regular yoga when you walk up
- Mobility routine 5-6 mins (Open hip flexors, loosen up your glutes, and lower back – while simply mobilizing your body before your day)
Lower Back
Lower back pain or other issues
Tight back, inability to move freely, backaches when you wake up, poor posture during the day, and you are struggling with sleep at night from the pain
Solutions:
- Swiss ball (If you have a sitting job, sit on a swiss ball or invest in a standing desk)
- If sitting all day, get up a move around every 2hrs
- Stand on one leg for 1 minute at a time, and do a few squats
- Go for a walk on your lunch break
- Bar hang to lengthen your spine
Back issues most of the time are related to poor posture. I’m lucky that I’m a builder and I walk around lifting heavy things every day. I balance on roof purlins, I’m up and down step ladders, and regularly lift things on-site well over 20kgs.
In Summary
We were born to move, run, and enjoy the body God gifted us with, at the very least we should honour this blessing he has given us and move a minimum of 30 minutes a day.
Wedge exercise into life, since life can easily get in the way of exercise. Be intentional and you should have some breakthrough when you start exercising new habits daily to help you create more balance, more fun, and less stress in your life 😊
In short, strength training is a key element in helping you maximize your ability to progress 1% better daily. Please reach out if you have any questions!
Kapai – Clark