Human movements: How not to lose them as you get older

The words “deadlift” and “squat” provoke particular images and predictable responses from a number of people. People who don’t “do” the gym tend to see them as a bit of a scary thing which can lead to some pretty scary injuries, and are therefore classed in the “do not do this activity” section of their heads. The fact that these movements are based around everyday movements – or what should be everyday movements seems to pass a lot of people by. Pick up something heavy. That’s a Deadlift. Sit down and stand up again. That’s effectively a dead-stop squat. Normal, … Continue reading

F.I.T.T. Principle

Ever heard of the F.I.T.T. Principle? If not, read on – it’s important to anyone wanting to progress in their chosen sport. So you have a training programme but are you following the F.I.T.T. Principle? Well you should be. It’s a set of guidelines that will help you get the best out of your training and it stands for: Frequency: how often you train Intensity: the level of effort you put into each session Type: the activity you are doing Time: the duration of a session Lets expand on those a bit, so you know what you’re doing and why … Continue reading

Fall Prevention

If you have a small child who has not yet learned to walk, yet you are worried about them falling over, what should you do to prevent them from falling over. There are 2 options really: Don’t allow them to get up off the floor. If they’re always on the floor they can’t fall over. Encourage them to learn to walk, gradually increasing their sense of balance and strength as they do so. I think you might agree that the first option really isn’t viable, so what we tend to do is let them get on with it. They want … Continue reading

Pregnancy Fitness with Zoe

Around six months ago I learnt the delightful news that Zoe, a friend from the Glossopdale Harriers running club, was expecting her first baby. As we chatted I could tell she was 100% committed to keeping herself active and healthy throughout her pregnancy. She made the decision to be proactive in her approach to pregnancy fitness, and to be honest, I wouldn’t expect anything less from her. I was delighted to have her on board for Pregnancy Fitness. Zoe is a regular runner both socially and competitively, and was up for trying anything that would make pregnancy more comfortable and the birth … Continue reading

Hyperflexibility – Is there anything we can do?!

Hypermobility -what does it mean, in simple terms? Remember being at school… there were always people who were “double jointed”. Those whose party trick involved joints that did some really weird stuff. Maybe you were one of those. I was (and still am) the complete opposite. My trick was NOT being able to touch my toes. Hypermobility, fun as it is when you’re a kid, has a few things that can catch up with you in later life. If you are the kind of person that can (or could, as a child) easily touch the floor with both hands, have … Continue reading

Training vs Rest

The problem with training hard for any sport is that once you get to a certain point, you aren’t necessarily getting healthier. You may be getting fitter, but healthy? Perhaps not. Alongside this, the warning signs are there, but are mainly ignored. As athletes we know that training again and again, putting ourselves back into the hole, is the best way to adapt, to become better, faster and more competitive. When we finally over-reach ourselves, something gives. Something breaks. Our ability to compete, or even train, goes down and we are faced with potentially a long, slow road to recovery. … Continue reading