‘I’ve had shin splints - it feels like being hit with a hammer,’ a runner tells me with the sort of distressed look that instantly convinces me to avoid shin splints at all costs.
The
man had just entered a running shop in Dublin, and was quick to offer his input
during a conversation about injuries.
‘I
couldn’t walk when I had them, never mind run,’ he replies when I ask him if
the shin splints only bothered him while training.
An
isolated case, perhaps, but many of today’s exercise professionals say that
running is dangerous and should be replaced with low-impact forms of exercise
to prevent potential damage to the feet, knees, hips and back.
As
proof of their recommendations, these experts are quick to highlight the numerous
running, jogging and post-Christmas exercise enthusiasts that are only too familiar
with medical terms such as ‘patellar tendinosis’
and ‘iliopsoas tendonitis’.
This
combined with the statistic that 65% of all runners annually are forced to stop
running to seek treatment for overuse injuries, might understandably lead the
average person to conclude that activities like running and aerobics are little
more than a dangerous waste of time.
But
who are these people that claim to be able to get their clients in shape – both
muscularly and aerobically – while avoiding such ailments? And how do they do it?
Florida-based
personal trainer Drew Baye sees no reason for anyone to suffer any type of
injury in the quest to improve their health.
‘Every
aspect of fitness, including cardiovascular conditioning and body composition,
can be improved more safely using low-impact forms of strength training,’
states Baye categorically.
‘Strength
training, when performed in a slow and controlled fashion . . . has a very low
risk of injury.
‘If
exercises are performed in a circuit fashion with little rest in between, it
will improve the cardiovascular system as well or better than typical endurance
activities . . . and if exercises are performed through a full range of motion,
flexibility will also be improved.’
Using
weight training to improve cardiovascular health might sound like hearsay, but
this effect was clearly established over three decades ago.
A
1975 study at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, took
18 varsity American Football players and trained them three times per week for
eight weeks, using between 8 and 15 resistance exercises in a ‘circuit style’ –
moving quickly from one exercise to the next in an average of under 30 minutes
per workout.
The
results of ‘Project Total Conditioning’ were impressive to say the least.
Apart
from increasing their strength by an average of 58% over the control group, the
players also improved their times in the two-mile run over four times as much
as the control – a clear indication of the powerful effect that the strength
training had on the trainees’ cardiovascular fitness.
However,
for seemingly inexplicable reasons, the results of the study continue to be largely
ignored by the scientific community to this day.
The
late Arthur Jones is the creator of the Nautilus® and MedX® exercise machine
ranges, and the person that many consider to be the father of ‘High Intensity
Training’ – the type of circuit weight training that was performed during
Project Total Conditioning.
Jones
oversaw the experiments conducted at West Point in 1975 and years later relayed
the story of how the test results were received by Dr Kenneth Cooper – the
person who in 1968 invented ‘Aerobics’ and who is arguably the most ardent
supporter of running one is likely to find.
Jones recalled:
‘Dr Cooper sent two of his associates to West Point for the purpose of
conducting an extensive battery of tests in order to evaluate the
cardiovascular results of the exercises that our subjects were performing.’
‘But then,
afterwards, Cooper was so surprised by the results that he not only refused to
believe them but even refused to read them.
Jones continued: ‘We
had, in fact, produced far better results in six weeks than Cooper could have
produced in six years, or even six decades; results so outstanding, by Cooper’s
standards, that he considered them impossible.’
Another
reason for this type of training not gaining acceptance could simply be that it
requires an undeniably high degree of effort – a level of effort that human
nature generally inclines us to avoid, and a level of effort that many fitness
professionals even say is unnecessary.
This,
however, is the exact opposite of what the high intensity strength-training
community recommends for achieving the best possible results.
‘It
takes hard training to build stronger muscles and, unfortunately, the fitness
industry long ago sold us on the concept that exercise should be “fun” and
leave you feeling “refreshed”,’ says John Little, owner of the Nautilus North
Fitness Centre in Ontario, Canada.
Dr Doug McGuff is an emergency room physician and owner of the Ultimate Exercise personal training
studio in South Carolina.
Dr
McGuff is a proponent of ‘SuperSlow®’ weight training, in which strength exercises are performed
in a fast circuit, but at a very slow ‘10/10’ speed – meaning that trainees take
10 seconds to lift a weight and a further 10 seconds to lower it.
This
lifting speed, McGuff explains, makes the exercises hard and productive, but as
good as eliminates any chance of a trainee injuring themselves.
Of
course, for many people who simply enjoy running and do not want to give up
their favourite sport, there is plenty of good advice available for those keen
to avoid the most serious problems.
Colm
Ennis took up running under two years ago but is already a veteran of four
marathons in Dublin, Barcelona and New York.
Ennis
stated: ‘Having the correct footwear, I think, has helped enormously. Believe it or not, even how you lace the trainers
can affect how you run.’
Rory
Flynn from specialist running shop Runways
in Dublin provided some helpful tips for avoiding injuries.
‘The
most common injuries are “overuse” injuries,’ says Flynn. ‘It’s the “zero to hero” mentality; too much,
too soon.’
‘A
very common problem that people encounter is their “total weekly mileage”,’ he
continued. ‘You’re not meant to increase
your total weekly mileage by more than 1% per week.’
Flynn
also identified muscular imbalances as a common cause of injuries in novice
runners.
‘They
don’t regard running as being a sport so they don’t go and learn the rules
before they “go off and play”, as it were.
‘It’s
one thing running four or five miles so that you can get fit to play football,
but it’s a different ballgame if you’re training for a marathon.’
In
addition, simple technique errors are closely linked to injuries such as patellofemoral
pain syndrome and shin splints.
The
answer, according to Flynn, is for beginners to join a running club.
‘A
lot of people don’t make use of all the running clubs that are around,’ he says. ‘If they did join a club they’d be doing more
technique work, speed work, things like that.
‘[Also]
strength is a huge thing - I do Yoga every Wednesday. It’s the core stuff that if they were in a
club they would be able to resolve very, very easily.’
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