Many of our clients’ first goals are just to lose weight and get into shape. That’s really the hardest goal to achieve. Once they’re in shape, they set new goals that are both exciting and tax their new fitness level. Whether you train for your first 5k, take up surfing or decide mountain climbing is your next goal, we can help. Marathons, like the 5k, are a very popular goal, and like any other sport, require special training.
Each sport requires different type of training.
Basic fitness is the first requirement for any sport. If you have a good base, it’s time to get sports specific, while maintaining your overall exercise program. For running, using a combination of interval, Fartlek and tempo training provides benefits. Fartlek training is more freeform than the other two, varying both terrain and speed. It’s good for improving stamina and mental strength. Interval training is a burst of speed for a short period, followed by a recovery period at a lower pace. You can use it to improve form, endurance and it does a great job of burning fat. Tempo training has a warm up, a pace above your comfort level and then warming down. It’s excellent to help your run faster without as much effort and closely resembles what you’ll feel in a race.
Sports that require quick movements with brief rests in between benefit from interval training.
While interval training is good for runners, it’s also great for athletes participating in basketball, ruby, soccer and other sports that require a quick burst of energy. It is also one of the best cardio exercises to build endurance fast. You can use interval training with any type of exercise. Just go at top speed for a while, have an equal, if not longer period of recovery, where you’re moving far slower and volley between the two for a set period.
Talk to our trainers about your new goal.
Not only will trainers provide a great deal of help showing different exercising techniques, they’ll also supply some great exercises specific to your sport. The trainer will also assess all your levels of fitness, strength, endurance, flexibility and balance to insure you’re ready on all levels. You’ll be surprised at the type of training they may suggest. You might not think that a runner needs strength training, but it’s vital. You need strength training to prevent injury and improve performance. In fact, running more won’t help as much as a well rounded program with strength training as part of it.
Alternate between working out at the gym and practicing your skills. If it’s running, run three days a week and cross train the other three.
Make sure you eat healthy. Some runner’s for instance follow certain nutritional guides, particularly right before the race.
Keep a positive attitude and look for improvement. Track your progress, just as you would for any goal. Make sure you include all the skills necessary for the sport and work on them diligently.
Never give up. You can achieve any goal you decide to do with a little perseverance, a lot of sweat and hard work.