Why I run and why you should too.....

Running sometimes gets a bad rap.....usually from non runners or trainers who aren't very good at it for one reason or another. There are some so called scientific reasons for it not being good for you too that you will often see shared around social media or spat at you by the non running part time power lifters you mention your park run time to in passing conversation then wish you hadn't as they down a processed protein supplement then sneak off to the car park for a sneaky jab...

Its bad for your knees.

This is the most common. Some folks have bad knees - fact. Some of them are runners - fact. A lot of them have never run a day in their life - fact!

The links between running being a cause of 'bad' knees' is weak at best.

Heavy impact on arthritic joints or previously injured joints can of course be detrimental but running didn't cause this. If you have previous issues with your knees you should always seek advice from a medical practitioner or a fitness professional (a proper one) before undertaking a running programme.

It may not be for you....but it might be......

Squatting can be bad for your knees too if you have previous issues with your knees if a) you are doing it wrong/too heavy or b) you start too soon after an injury/flare up.

Social media loves a squatter though......

#asstograss etc...

Why? Because Olympic lifters and power lifters do that!! Oh right.....What if you don't want to be an olympic lifter or power lifter? What if you are 45 and have had 2 kids....

What are their knees like after they retire?

Some are probably quite sore.....

My point is that you should always train specific to your goals. Not how 'social media experts' tell you to. Not how one dimensional Personal Trainers tell you to.....because they read it on social media somewhere....

So instead of digressing too far, we focus on the positives....

Or at least the positives that I get from running.....

1) Its great for my cardiovascular fitness.

Now, the benefits of running for weight loss are open for much debate but one thing that is not debatable is that it really does help you get fit. It transfers into most other sports, it increases your lung capacity and the efficiency of your heart, and anyone can do it.

I started running to work many years ago when i was younger (about 2 miles) because I couldn't afford a car and that gradually improved into a comfortable 5k, 10k, half marathon and then onto full marathons. I now run Ultra Marathons...Only the 40 mile ones presently, although I am always looking up.

Iv never been fast. There are definitely better means of training for anaerobic fitness...HIIT, Tabata, etc, but Running is great for your Aerobic fitness and once I found a pace that worked for me I could and can pretty much drop into my slot and run all day...

2) Its Free!

Alright, you need a decent pair of shoes but aside from that you probably already have everything you need and you can do it anywhere. You can even enter well organised, competitive/non competitive events in the form of Park Runs, every week....totally free. There are fantastic free running groups local to me like the Durham Mums on the run that can be joined. There will be groups local to you too. Go find them. There is very little bad about the cost compared to a lot of alternatives.

3) You get to see places.

There are some wonderful places around the world that you can run that you may never have ventured towards had it not been for a running challenge. The Marathon De Sables is high on my list across the Sahara Desert as is the Petra Desert Marathon. The Paris Marathon, New York etc..... But why not look closer to home. How well do you know County Durham (thats where I live).

When I ran the Sunderland to Durham Ultra a couple of years or so ago, part of the race took me through the centre of Durham, down by the river, up through Gilesgate.... and I got lost....(This is not that unusual for me I should add despite having lived here for 30 years). I got lost because there were parts of the city I was seeing that I didn't know existed. Beautiful parts. I ran down the old abandoned railway tracks, through wood and farm land down and around the meandering curves of the River Wear, through Leamside and Rainton and out of my comfort areas. I always run on holiday. Iv run out in the French wilderness, along the coastline of the French Riviera but possibly my favourite run was on holiday in Whitby where a brood of small ducklings joined me on the beach for about a quarter of a mile and ran along in the shallow waters just feet away...just because they could. I could have stayed in bed that day...Im glad I didn't.

Don't be afraid to see new places. Some are quite nice.

4) Its great for my mental health.

Sometimes all you need is the deafening sound of quiet. This comes in different ways. It can come from actual silence, running where no one else is and hearing nothing other than your own breath and thoughts. I prefer music. Not silence I know, but peace with your own thoughts. Peace very few of us get at home or work. I work in a busy gym and see people all day. People i like.... but its all noise! I have 2 children at home. Children I like.....but its all noise! Running is a release and its 'me time'.

5) It keeps you strong in body and mind.

Ok the body bit is pretty self explanatory. Diet plays a big part too and Ill talk more about this in a future post because a LOT of runners get it horribly wrong and look and feel worse for it. Strong legs are the base and foundations to a strong body. Do not neglect them by sitting on your backside all day. A fit heart is a strong heart and you kinda need that old bad boy to keep working as long as possible.

Strong minds come from strong tests. In all walks of life and in many situations you can get stronger from mentally standing up and getting through something. Running is no different, Marathon runners hit the 'wall'....Well you won't have to wait for a marathon...The wall exists for us all in different places and at different levels and more often than not its a mental wall we hit before a physical wall. A wall is a very simple thing. Its solid and it screams stop!! If you run into it...it hurts. But once you have run through it......the strength you build, the belief in yourself and the ability to say with confidence 'iv got this shit'......is unstoppable.

Running is not everything. I love it, but diet and the gym and competitive team sports as well as individual sports all contribute to creating the fittest, strongest, healthiest version of me I know and quite possibly the same for you as well.

These are my goals, and this is why I train. Not for a six pack or to be a fitness model, but to be fit, strong and healthy. To be around for my kids as they grow up. To be around for my wife. To be the best version of me as often as I possibly can be.

Ill be touching on the importance of the gym part in my next blog.....and it is important! What you should be doing in the New Year, what you shouldn't be doing and where you should and shouldn't be doing it.

Let me know your thoughts. Do you run? What do you love/hate about running? Do you prefer something else?

Where have you run that you loved? Let me know....send me the route.....

Andy Lee

Personal Trainer

ALFA Health & Fitness

Studio Five Personal Training

Peakbody Gym

Chester Le Street.

www.alfatraining.co.uk

www.peakbodyfitness.co.uk

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