Only 6 weeks left and getting back on the wall

Well there's only 6 weeks left to the BIG DAY; The Brighton Marathon on April 6th where I find out if all this training has been worth it. Training has been going well and I had my best run so far on Thursday. I took the day off from work and did a 17 mile run from Littlehampton to Worthing, along the coast with a friend. It was nice and flat with beautiful views. If I can do 17 miles, I can 20 miles and if I can do 20 miles, then I'll be able to push myself to do 26.2 miles on the big day. A few more training runs to go before then though! How have you been getting on with yours? Any tips you'd like to share with me?

The threshold training I've been doing to build up my endurance has also been getting tougher. Recent sessions have consisted of 4 x 6 minutes of running at effort level 7/8 with a 2 min jog in between, 5 x 5 minutes with a 1 minutes jog in between and a really tough session of 10 x 3 minutes with 3 minutes jogging in between. If it makes me a better runner and more able to do really well on marathon day, then I say, bring it on. Plus it's always really good to test and push yourself - you in with me?

Well what else have I been doing apart from running? As well as my regular strength and conditioning training, I've also been doing quite a lot of climbing. I had a break from it just before Christmas and over the festive period but it felt good to get back onto the wall at the Adur Outdoor Centre in Shoreham. That's where I climb quite often, it's a good indoor smallish wall. There is a new wall opening up at Withdean Stadium soon which I'm very excited about as it's near where I live so nice not to have to go all the way over to Shoreham for a climb. It's being run by a company called High Sports who also have another wall over in Crawley at the K2 leisure centre. I'll still go over to Shoreham sometimes to climb though as it's nice to mix it up and climb at different places. I've recently been on climbing days out to the White Spider climbing wall in Surrey, very close to London and The Reach Climbing Wall in South East London. Both were great days, the White Spider Centre is fantastic and one of my favourite places to climb. It has so many fabulous climbs, all different levels from easy to really tough. The Reach is really good as well but not as good as White Spider in my opinion. It does however have a great cafe with lots of homemade cakes, gorgeous toasted baguettes, sandwiches, pasty's and even does some more substantial food as well. Only negative bit is that it doesn't cater for gluten free people which I always find a bit frustrating and means I've often been tempted to be naughty and eat a little gluten and wheat on the side. The White Spider Trip was organised by the women only Vertigirls climbing club, which I'm a co-director of and the Reach trip was organised by the Adur Centre, with more trips planned to look forward to.

I've been climbing now for about 4 and a half years and really do love it. I'm not the best climber in the world and probably never will be but that's ok with me and the enjoyment I get from it is enough. I've been climbing in quite a few places in the UK, such as the Lake District, Cornwall, Portland, Dorset, winter climbing at the Cairngorms and Derbyshire, otherwise known as the Peaks to climbers. I've also been up to the Roaches which is another part of the Peaks. Overseas I have climbed in the French Alps in a beautiful place called Ailefroide which is on the Italian border, close to Turin and also been on several climbing trips to the Czech Republic. If you love climbing you've got to try them!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great healthy week ahead. I've got a full week of training planned but resting next weekend as I have the Steyning Stinger half marathon which is really exciting. It's a trail on the Downs and is supposed to be really tough, very hilly and a bit daunting but I'm really looking forward to it :)

Bye for now,

Leonie x

Marathon Training Continued....

GETTING DOWN WITH THE TRAINING

Well Marathon training has well and truly started, I've been pounding the pavements with Run Brighton on Sundays, carrying on with the runs with my running club on Thursdays and doing my regular Friday early morning runs in Stanmer Park. Friday is a really early morning session, my friend Fiona picks me up at 6.30am, Stanmer Park at 6.45am and do a wonderful beautiful 5 mile trail run. For those of you who haven't been to Stanmer Park before you really need to go and see it, It's so beautiful and is one of my favourite places to run. When we do the run on Fridays, it's a little dark starting out but it soon lightens up and it's wonderful to see the early morning sun coming up. Highly recommended :) I much prefer trail running, road running is ok but I find it a little boring, nothing better than trail running, getting out into the countryside, so beautiful.

As well as the running, I'm also doing regular bootcamp sessions in the week in order to work on strength and conditioning and core, which is so important in marathon training. I've also been doing some training called Kenyan Hills, which is a delight. It's very tough but lots of fun. Hill running is so important in marathon training as it builds up endurance and that is what you will need at the 20 miles stage, when you want to give up with only 6 miles to go - this is what will take you over the finish line. I have been doing the Kenyan Hills up Preston Drove, you simply run up and down a hill, not all the way to the top, just some of it, run up and down in sets, interval style, so I started doing 4 sets of 5 mins with 90 seconds recovery which is still light jogging. We've now stepped it up to 5 sets of 5 which is great but obviously tougher. I'm hoping to step it up again to 4 sets of 6 minutes.

The training in the cold wet weather has been going ok, quite pleased with myself as anyone who knows me knows that I hate the cold and can't stand the wind.  I much prefer the rain, running in the rain is great, always makes me feel alive, as if I'm taking on the elements and if it's raining, it's usually a bit warmer.

For the long runs on Sundays with 'Run Brighton', I now have to get up at 6.00am which is a bit of a killer! I don't mind getting up in the week for work that early or for early morning bootcamps but I'm finding it a bit tough on Sundays.  What's particularly worse is the fact that I have to eat porridge so early, around 6.20-6.30am which really isn't particularly appealing. I don't know about you but I can't eat as soon as I'm awake, I usually give myself about an hour before I eat and then eat breakfast at work. If like me you hate eating straight away then you need to plan ahead as it's never a good idea do a run more than 5 miles with nothing in your system! To be honest, the running is ok so far, it's the timings of getting up so early, forcing porridge down your face so early and getting all the timings right, that's the hard bit. I think I need to play about with it all and try different things over the next few weeks. A friend from the running club said it's a good idea to eat quite early on a Saturday eve so from now on, I'm going to try and eat at 7.30pm and eat pasta to give me energy for the next day. I think I should try eating a smaller bowl of porridge on Sunday mornings as well, that might help!

Well that's it for today - if like me you're still training through this weather then you'll probably look like I do in the photo with all the wind and the rain but keep going! Get those timings right and fuel yourself well so you stay well throughout your training. 

See you next time, 
Leonie 

Am I Crazy? What have I Done?

Well I blame it on the Guinness totally! What am I talking about? I went to my running club's AGM last night and had 1 pint of Guinness and a friend talked me into running the marathon didn't she. I've always said I'd never do a marathon, as there's too much training involved, you have to be so committed and dedicated, especially over the tough winter months and I've always said it's too much as I hate the cold weather and it doesn't interest me. However, much to my surprise I said yes.

Can I just add that in my humble opinion my running club is the best running club ever, Brighton & Hove Women's Running Club, formerly called Running Sisters. Such a lovely group of ladies, so supportive and friendly. If any of you ever decide you want to join a running club, you should definitely check this group out. (Shameless plug I know!)

So where were we, back to the marathon, oh yes. I'm still trying to get my head around it, how bad can it be, surely if I put in the training it will all go to plan.....I have done the Barns Green half Marathon recently which is a bit undulating and that wasn't so bad, I enjoyed it and glad I did it. So really the marathon is the next logical step up and I do love a challenge. Also the Brighton Marathon starts from right outside my house, right opposite Preston Park so I really have no excuses. I plan to train with a group called 'Run Brighton'. All my friends say how great it is, they do great long runs on Sundays and the runs are really good and structured. Training starts with them in the next few weeks.

I've checked out the charity places and decided to raise money for the WWF .........no not the World Wrestling Federation, the World Wildlife Fund. People who know me know that this charity is really close to my heart and I support it a lot of the time. I'm particularly fond of chimpanzees and gorilla's and friends in the past have said that there is a particularly close similarity between myself and chimps, I've got no idea why! On a more serious note WWF is a charity that is really close to my heart, I think it's increibly sad that species are becoming extinct all the time and animals are losing their territories and organ-utans are losing their homes because of the world's ever increasing need for palm oil. One of the benefits of raising money for charity is I'm hoping the training over the cold miserable winter months will be made more bearable because I'm raising money for a charity that is really close to my heart. During those frost bite training sessions I can say to myself that I'm doing it for the animals, a good cause and it doesn't matter how long it takes me to finish the marathon as long as I do it. Also now that I am doing it for WWF, there's no way I can back out, I'm in for the long haul whether I like it or not. Anyway, I'm off for a training session I'll leave you with my final thought: The Panda Made Me Do It! :)

I'll be back shortly with how my training has gone so far - do get in touch if you have any questions or if you're running the marathon too!

Leonie x

Introducing Maria Pali - Our Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage Therapist!

My name is Maria Pali and I’m an Advanced Clinical and Sports Massage Therapist based at Target Body Training. I originally trained as a holistic therapist in the 1990’s but felt inspired to become a sports massage therapist when I trained for my first marathon; The Inaugural Brighton Marathon. Next month I will have completed my 50^th marathon and my passion for helping people out of pain and injury (as well as my love of running) hasn’t stopped.

So what does a Clinical and Sports massage therapist do? I specialize in treating the soft tissues of the body. By this, I mean the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia, which is a type of connective tissue and is implicated in many injuries and pain.

Soft tissue conditions that I have treated range from back and neck pain, piriformis syndrome, frozen shoulder, migraines and headaches and RSI’s. Injuries I have treated include tennis elbow, rotator cuff injuries, sprains and strains and running injuries. I also have experience working with arthritic conditions and fibromyagia.

I use a range of techniques including deep tissue and sports massage, myofascial release, ultrasound therapy, kinesio taping, medical acupuncture and hot and cold applications. Treatments are tailored to the individual and often fuse several techniques.

I don’t just deal with pain and injury. I also offer 2^nd and 3^rd trimester pregnancy massage as well as luxurious hot stone massages.

My neck and shoulder treatments are particularly popular. They not only help to alleviate pain but can also be incredibly relaxing.

It’s great to be part of The Target Body training team and I do look forward to meeting you.

So you have met the whole Target Body Training Team - we'll be back tomorrow for another blog by Leonie Moore - See you then!

Introducing Personal Trainer, James Myers

Hey guys!

Last week you met Leonie who leads our boot camps. Today we're introducing you to James Myers! He is also a Personal Trainer and knows what it is to live a busy life but take the plunge and change an unhealthy lifestyle to one where he saw results. Here's what he says below:


Having been in the restaurant business since my 20s I decided 25 years on to sell my restaurants and make a career and lifestyle change.
I’ve always loved sport and been a member of a gym, however late nights, socialising and partying always seemed to take their toll both energy wise and time wise.
In 2010 I decided that a change of career should mean a change of lifestyle, I'd had enough of feeling unfit, overweight and permanently tired.
Within 6 months of the change I had dropped 22 pounds in weight and felt good again.
This was achieved through a change of diet, combined with a consistent, simple and enjoyable training workout program.
Having qualified in Personal Training at Level 3, Kettlebells and Padwork, I can help you to achieve your goals be it weight loss, muscle gain, core training, increased flexibility and agility or general fitness training .
I can design exercise programs that work within your lifestyle and give nutritional advice that is sensible, balanced and manageable.


Let’s set a goal and work together to achieve it.
I DID IT FOR MYSELF....NOW LET'S DO IT FOR YOU!

James knows what it is to change a lifestyle into one which is healthy long term. He is happy to do some FREE half hour sessions to introduce himself and let you meet him before you decide to commit. If you live in the Brighton and Hove area and could do with a free half hour consultation then give us a ring below and we'll get you booked in asap! If you missed last weeks blog then hit the link below to see our latest video. 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152102173607318&set=vb.102896623091486&type=2&theater

info@targetbodytraining.co.uk
07809369506

See you soon!

Hannah
P.S. Don't forget to get down to Preston Park on Saturdays at 10,30am and Wednesday mornings at 7am  for boot camp - it's only £5!!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone! I haven't posted anything for quite a while so thought it was high time I did! I hope you had a great Christmas and are excited about what 2014 will bring. At Target Body Training we have been working hard behind the scenes and we have a couple of new team members that I'd love to introduce you to. You will be hearing more from them in this blog as the weeks continue. They'll be sharing their passions, snippets of helpful information and answer any questions you have about fitness, injuries, eating habits and much more. 

To kick us off we have the one and only Leonie Moore! Leonie has been running our boot camps for a number of weeks now and is fantastic at it - you can see her in action in the Target video featured here https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hannah-Smith-Personal-Training/102896623091486

Leonie is an inspirational trainer and excellent motivator, who believes fitness should be fun. The bootcamps combine resistant and cardio work, which help you get fitter, stronger, improve your core strength and help you lose weight as well as being really good fun. Leonie likes to show people that getting fit doesn't always have to be in a gym. She has level 2 in Gym Instruction and level 3 in Personal Training qualifications, as well as being fully qualified in Kettlebells Instruction and a fully qualified Boxercise Instructor.

As a Personal Trainer, Leonie is passionate about helping clients reach their potential, getting the best out of the sessions and achieving their goals. Leonie will work with you in order to design exercise programs that will push you in order to get the necessary results but are also realistic, as well as being highly enjoyable which is so important in fitness because let's face it, if you don't enjoy it you won't continue doing it. Leonie is also a co-director of a women's rockclimbing group and regularly plays league tennis in the Brighton & Hove Parks League.

I've had the privilege of working with Leonie for a while now and she continues to amaze me with her excitement for learning new things and dedication to her work and you. If you have any questions for Leonie or anything mentioned above do drop us an email and we'll do our best to get back to you asap. 

That's it for today but we'll be back tomorrow with some more news!

How to treat shin splints

Target Body Training has a new team member; Rebekah Mcdonald.

Rebekah is a fantastic sports massage therapist and qualified with VTCT. She is also a level 3 sports development coach and with this volunteers with Brighton and Hove athletics team where she meets a range of athletes, competitive and non-competitive.

At Target Body Training she offers a professional and bespoke treatment within the comfort of the treatment room in Hove. She offers both deep tissue sports massage and relaxing massage. She is passionate about what she does and the incredible benefits that sports massage can have. Sports massage can produce a number of positive benefits ranging from improved posture, improved circulation, improved ranges of movements and speeds up injury recovery.

One of the most common injuries for runners are shin splints especially with Brighton Marathon fast approaching. They are painful and prevent you from further training. Rebekah as a keen runner herself shares her top tips:

It's coming to that time of year! All preparations are well under way for the marathons. The organisers, the volunteers and the supporters are all getting ready to give their all to play their part on the big day and if you’re brave enough to run it then you’re nearly there!

For new marathon runners, I can imagine your training may have been difficult to begin with, but now I reckon you're running at least 17 miles blissfully! And for the more experienced marathon runners...well you know what to expect on race day. Regardless of your level of experience, I know there is one thing that I hope I never get whilst training, the Shin Splits!

Shin splints, also known as tibial stress syndrome is one of the most common injuries when it comes to running. The pain can occur during or post exercise and in extreme cases, it can be felt constantly. Depending on the exact cause, the pain may be located along either side of the tibia or in the inter. The area may be painful to the touch even swollen muscles can sometimes irritate the insertions in the feet, causing them to feel weak or numb; this is often in extreme cases.
 There are a few possible reasons for the cause of your shin splints so I would always recommend seeing your physio or sports massage therapist to see how to prevent them long term. Once shin splints occur, the main thing people get told is to rest but for the keen runner, you want some tips on how to speed up recovery and get back on the track, so here are my top 3 on how to reduce the risk of getting shin splints and of course, how to treat them.

1)   Stretching

Stretching is an effective way to get rid of shin splints, it also helps reduce the risk of shin splints occurring. The gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (collectively known as the calf) can contribute towards pain in the shins when they're holding a lot of tension, so stretching is a simple yet effective way to release some of the pressure on the shins. Take a look below at the photos to show how to effectively stretch these muscles:  

Hold each stretch for 15-20 seconds and repeat 2-3 times as shown, before and after training, a great time for stretching is after a hot bath or shower when the muscles are really warm.

Below shows how to roll your calf muscles either with a foam roller or with a cylinder shaped object like a water bottle. Roll with a little pressure on the bottom of the calf muscles about 2 inches above the achilles and towards the top nearer the back of the knee. This will target some of the trigger points within the gastroc and soleus. 

2)      Insoles

For many runners, including myself, my feet pronate causing discomfort to the soles. There are 3 different types of pronation;

Over pronantion - the outside of the heel firstly makes contact with the ground. But as the stride continues, the foot rolls inward more than it should, which is why it is called "overpronation." The foot and ankle have problems supporting the body, and shock isn't absorbed efficiently. Lastly the front of the foot pushes off the ground using the big toe and second toe.

Under pronation- the outside of the heel makes initial contact with the ground. However, the inward movement of the foot occurs with less rolling in than for those with normal or flat feet. Forces of impact are concentrated on the outside smaller area of the foot and are not distributed as efficiently. Most of the work is done by the smaller toes on the outside of the foot when pushing off.

Normal pronation - the outside of the heel makes contact with the ground. The foot then rolls inward and comes in complete contact with the ground, it can support your body weight without any problem. The rolling in of the foot distributes the forces of impact. This movement is called "pronation," and it's critical to shock absorption to prevent lower leg injuries, being shin splints.

I wonder whether you know how you run? If you don’t or you’re uncertain I would recommend going to a sports shop and they will evaluate your running technique and be able to recommend a bespoke insole for your shoes that would give the correct support to your feet, either that or the best running shoe for you. I can highly recommend ‘Run’ on 46 Blatchington Road in Hove, www.run-shop.co.uk they will provide a thorough gait analysis and provide you with the correct information.  It is so effective and makes such a difference and will also reduce the chances of shin splints.

3) Massage
 

Sports massage is great for treating many sports injuries. Concentrating on the affected area to release the tension within the muscles releases pressure upon surrounding bones and muscles. For many marathon runners this has helped reduce the pain in the shins. Because we know how debilitating shin splints are we at Target Body Training are offering half price treatments for the next 2 weeks. The Brighton Marathon is in 10 days so whether it be pre-race massage or post race relaxation then book in early to avoid disappointment at info@targetbodytraining.co.uk 

Take a look at other treatments we offer at www.targetbodytraining.co.uk/sports-massage

Remember

Pay attention to your shins. When you can feel the pain during running, stop and stretch to see if that helps. If it doesn't make any difference I recommend going home and resting with application of some ice to reduce any swelling that may occur in the muscles. However, don't avoid exercising altogether!  Alternatively you can do other activities like swimming, keeping you active but keeping the weight off your legs.

Warm up and cool down properly before and after any training!

Drink plenty of water. Water will also keep the muscles hydrated reducing fatigue after long training sessions. 

All the best to those doing the marathon!

Rebekah McDonald