Using an Elliptical Trainer to improve Your Running – injured or not. By MSC Head Coach Nick Croft
Following on from one of my previous articles on Deep Water Running (DWR), another great training tool to help your running (potentially looked down on by some) is the elliptical trainer, or cross-trainer. Like DWR there is no impact on joints to contend with and can be a great second run for the day or additional general run frequency wise with no additional impact stress to the legs. Personally as I age, I am finding run time diminishing (injury / pain from niggles) and are reducing run time out of necessity. Still having the benefit of cross training through cycling and...
Don’t Neglect your triathlon swim! – By MSC Head Coach Nick Croft
Let’s get straight to the point. Many Triathletes I know totally neglect their swim prep. Swimming is not as glamorous as getting out on the bike and having all the latest high tech gadgets that go with that discipline and with many triathletes coming from a running background then getting into the swim side of things they may get a big shock as to how confined the training environment is and to repeat the words I heard often ‘find it boring and frustrating’ to say the least added with poor technique plus trying to play catch up as an adult...
Practice running downhills to get the edge – MSC Head Coach Nick Croft
You would think that downhill running comes naturally but running downhill efficiently and repetitively is not as easy as it sounds. Good downhill runners (like uphill runners) seemingly do it effortlessly but as is the case with most disciplines, it takes practice and a gradual approach. Because your body absorbs more impact with each foot strike down a hill, you can get injured quite quickly if you are not conditioned for it. It's easy to over stride when running downhill, which makes you land harder, tires you out sooner, and makes you more at risk to getting an injury. For downhill...
What is the optimal time of day to run & talking about running stride rate – with MSC Head Coach Nick Croft
A few running related questions that I get asked frequently by athletes in my face to face coached squad or via distance and has been up for discussion at a Noosa training camp in the past as well. ‘Do you recommend run training at night or in the morning? I often run in the morning because of time commitments, but I actually always feel better in the evening when I run – so would prefer that’ The best time of day to run is a long-standing debate among runners and exercise experts. It is actually not a coincidence that you do feel...