| |
 |
Running Repairs.
Take up AquaRunning and improve your fitness and recovery.
First, a few facts about running:-
66% of all runners will experience a running related injury over the next 12 months.
A runner will typically hit the ground 500 to 1250 times per kilometre ( 800 – 2000 times per mile ).
Running on land in excess of 56 km (35 miles) per week, increases the chance of injury by more than 55%.
Basically this means that as a runner you could be between injuries, just getting over one or
just heading for one. Not good if you are building up for a big event and you start to feel a nagging discomfort from perhaps, shin, hip, ankle, knee or Achilles. All that hard training, you ignore the signals from your body, suddenly the injury becomes more than a niggle and bang goes your hopes for the next race and possibly the rest of the season.
Many running injuries are related to overuse and are relatively common. A quick diagnosis, effective treatment, maintenance and management will soon have you back in action. Even
with the injury you can maintain fitness and motivation by using cross training. Cycling is my particular favourite and it is very enjoyable out here in Andalucia in a beautiful climate where roads are quiet and relatively traffic free. A close second is AquaRunning in which I became closely involved during the past year. It is now something which I highly recommend not just
for recovery / cross training but as a major part of your schedule.
First of all I will explain how I became involved and introduce you to Terry Nelson, the Director
of AquaRunning Ltd., which is based in Liverpool.
My interest in this form of training began over two years ago when visiting physiotherapist / triathlete Michael Kerr of Ireland was training here. He brought his aquajogger belt with him
and gave it to my partner Barbara Price to try with a set of exercises to do in the pool. She has been using it as part of a health improvement plan to alleviate the problems of degenerative disc disease which was causing loss of feeling and strength in her arms and legs. Therapeutic treatments at the Balneario, ( our local hot, thermal pool ) and regular pool workouts worked wonders and threatened surgery was avoided.
The Balneario of Alhama de Granada is close to our home and it is a great facility for visiting athletes attending one of our training weeks, trail or cycling tours. It also made an ideal venue for our Team Axarsport Introduction to AquaRunning seminar. The seminar, held on a beautiful day in October, was conducted by the Director of Liverpool based AquaRunning Ltd., Terry Nelson, one of the world's leading experts in this form of sports and fitness training.
Terry Nelson, a former midfield player with Liverpool FC was forced to retire from the game through repetitive injury. Having left football he began a career as a paratrooper but was devastated to receive the news that he would face death within six months due to kidney
failure unless he had an urgent transplant. He refused to believe the diagnosis, continued hard training, came close to death and was forced on to kidney dialysis for the next 2.5 years. In 1988 his brother, Dean, gave up his own military career and donated one of his kidneys.
To repay Dean he decided to become the fittest transplant patient in the world. He began running and 15 months after the transplant he completed the London Marathon. From this he went further and with expert coaching he swept the board at the 1992 British Transplant Games by winning gold medals in the 400m., 1500m and 5000m. He was then selected to run for Great Britain at the World Transplant Games in Vancouver, Canada in 1993.
Sadly, 12 months later and only 6 weeks before the World Champs, he was again given a devastating diagnosis. Not only had he suffered a badly broken metatarsal in his foot, but he was also told his transplant was rejecting. He dismissed the diagnosis and searched for a way to keep his running dream alive. He found the answer in a magazine article from the USA about aqua jogging. He sent off for the equipment which would enable him to begin intensive running and training in the deep end of the local swimming pool.
With guidance from Coach Ted Forshaw, Liverpool physiotherapist Phil McAuley and Dr. Malcolm Brown of the GB Olympic Team, he progressed so well that within 6 weeks his foot had healed and he convinced the medical staff that he was fit to compete.
He won Gold and became the 5000m World Transplant Champion, ( the toughest event in which a transplant athlete can compete ) in an amazing time of 15min 59secs.
After this success he came back to England and a week later ran in the British Transplant Games where he picked up two more gold medals at 1500m and 5000m, but by then he was seriously ill and forced back on to dialysis.
The average waiting time for dialysis is 2 years, but sadly Terry spent the next 11 years awaiting a second transplant. Although very ill, unable to walk unaided and confined to a wheelchair for 3 years he continued his deep water running regime in the pool where it became his therapy.
In March 2004 Terry had his second transplant, following which he decided to focus on training- putting to use the skills, experiences and knowledge he developed whilst running in the pool.
Over the next 2 years he spent his time traveling the world researching and testing the most advanced and highest quality aquatic resistance equipment and he is now the UK's leading aqua running expert. In June 2006 he launched his company AquaRunning Ltd.
For my part I use AquaRunning not just to aid in the avoidance of impact related injuries but as a regular method of training. I now find my flexibility and pace has improved and after Terry's additional guidance I have just won the Silver medal and trophy in the Andalucian Mountain Running Champs, ( age cat 55 plus ) a 35km race, finishing 67 th overall from 290 starters. An event like this would usually cause me a lot of hip pain but this time no problems and I recovered very quickly after a session in the pool the next day and an evening massage by Team masseur Samantha Elliott, to such an extent that I was able to complete the 48km Maroma Mountain Challenge 5 days later. (more on this in another article.
In a nutshell; an AquaRunning work out of around an hour a day can help you;
- Lose weight effectively.
- Ease arthritis pain.
- Recover from surgery.
- Train for sports.
- Prevent sports injury.
- • Slow aging effects.
- Treat back or joint pain.
- Maintain fitness levels.
- Alleviate fibromyalgia and MS.
- Improve balance and agility.
- Maintain cardiovascular fitness.
- Stay fit during pregnancy.
This is how it works.
You are suspended up to your neck in deep water by a flotation belt called an AquaJogger. Water's buoyancy virtually eliminates the effects of gravity supporting 90% of the body's weight. You can breathe normally like you do on land as you move through the water but your feet don't touch the bottom of the pool so there is no impact.
Water also provides resistance to movement in all directions ranging between 4 and 42 times greater than air depending on the speed of movement. As your body is submerged, the hydrostatic pressure around you pushes equally and helps the heart circulate blood by aiding venous return, ( blood flow back to the heart ). The improved cardiac function, lowers blood pressure and your heart rate is around 10-15 beats lower per minute than for same effort on land but with the same training effect. The hydrostatic pressure also assists the body in tissue healing and sets in motion a host of other benefits.
Deep-water running uses all the major muscle groups of the body providing total body conditioning. The support of the water decreases gravitational pull and dramatically reduces stress on joints, muscles, bones, tendons and ligament. Neuromuscular trauma is eliminated.
You can enjoy almost any activity in water that you traditionally do on land, including, running, cross country skiing, aerobics and dance moves. With the addition of other items such as Webbed Pro Fitness Gloves, DeltaBells ( water exercise dumbbells ) and TriFit bars ( with which you can improve your golf swing ) the water's resistance can be increased thereby adding to the intensity of your workout. The range of possibilities is endless.
A more recent addition to the AquaRunning range is the Aquatic Training Shoe. These have been mentioned in the running press and could almost be dismissed as a gimmick – until you try them.
Creating fatigue as quickly as possible is what it's all about when it comes to pool running and the shoes do exactly that, ( when combined with the belt ). They enable you to maintain a more natural leg movement, while at the same time super-loading your muscles so you can create workouts that will tire you very quickly, but not damage you!
For a very low start-up cost it is possible to turn your local swimming pool into a gymnasium and with some basic instruction, a guide book and a work out video/cd you can begin to enjoy all the benefits of AquaRunning and optimize your available training time. Just think, no more pounding the pavements on a dark, wet evening or watching the TV as your hard won fitness disappears because of an injury.
If you are interested in learning more about this low cost and extremely effective way to train, remain healthy or even regain lost health, please contact;
Terry Nelson, AquaRunning Ltd. Telephone: 0151 225 0213 or Email: terry.nelson@aqua-running.com.
For further information about our fixed base running and cycling programmes, our Sea and Summits road cycling tours and our unique Trail Running tours please email: info@axarsport.com for a free cd., or view websites; www.axarsport.com or www.trailrunspain.com .
Paul Bateson
|
|
Poniente Granadino, Andalucia, Spain. |
|
|
