In the video below I talk about a discussion I had with a few of my clients on my running boot camp. The conversation was about how they believed that if you run you just need to put up with niggles and injuries and par for the course.

Unfortunately, stats show that they are right, at least 50% of all runners will get at least 1 injury per year that prevents them from running for a period of time. 

In my mind, this is simply not acceptable. Why on earth does a sport that has no outside interference from other participants, involves almost zero rapid direction changes and has so much money invested in shoes and equipment to prevent injury have such a huge incidents of injury?

Well it's simple, in my mind there are 4 reasons. Check out the video below for my top 4 ways to avoid running injury so you can train with more consistency, get stronger and faster.

If you would like some help with your running technique and you would like to learn strength and conditioning techniques that will help prevent injury and turn you into a more efficient runner, then why not hit the button below to find out more about my Faster Running Boot Camp.

In the video below I take you through a couple of common squatting myths and help you to make some slight functional tweaks that will allow you to squat deeper, safer and stronger.

I hope you enjoy the video. Please let me know how you get on in the comments section below.

This is my signature transformation program just for men who are struggling to make gains in the gym and want to drop unwanted fat, build muscle, move better and get fitter and stronger. 

As well as world class training, you will also receive full nutrition support and as much help and guidance as you need every single step of the way. 

​Hit the button below to find out more...

So this is something that seems to be a bit of a hot topic in the weight loss and nutrition industry right now. Its in the early stages of research but the results look pretty promising so far.
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So a an industry, we have known that your gut bacteria profile can play an important role in the health of your digestive system but up until now, we weren’t really sure that it had any significant effect on weight loss.

We are still not quite sure about the mechanisms that makes a poor bacteria profile inhibit weight loss but we do know that improving the balance of good bacteria in your gut can help you kick start the process and speed a few things up in your weight loss process.

From what we know so far the specific strains of bacteria that helps you boost your weight loss potential are “LACTOBACILLUS” and “BIFIDOBACTERIUM”. These help you top up your good bacteria, that aid the digestive process, allowing you to absorb nutrients better from your small intestine.

So how do we get this into our diets to help speed up weight loss and improve our health?
Well, there are specific foods that are rich in these strains of bacteria and are also rich in other minerals that will help you achieve good overall health.

Top 5 Foods To Improve Gut Health

1. Organic Natural Greek Yoghurt

A nice summer breakfast could be
 
2 spoons of natural Greek yoghurt
2 heaped tbs of raw porridge oats
Handful of mixed berries
Handful of mixed nuts
 
Mix em all up in a bowl and enjoy.
 
You could also add a large tbs to your morning protein smoothie too.
 
2. High Quality Dark Chocolate 

Chocolate itself doesn’t contain probiotics, but it was found to be a very effective carrier for probiotics. Chocolate helps them survive the extreme pHs of the digestive tract to make it to the colon. Because of this protective ability probiotics can be added to high-quality dark chocolate.
 
3. Micro Algae
 
Supplementing with wheat grass and spirulina would be a good way to improve gut health as it will naturally nourish the good bacteria already in your gut, helping them grow and multiply
 
4. Sauerkraut
 
Made from fermented cabbage. It is naturally high in live bacteria cultures as well as being high in vitamins A,B,C and K
 
5. Miso Soup
 
Makes a great little snack, along with some chicken to help with the protein intake. Has great traditional healing properties and has been proven to be rich in a huge variety of nutrients.

Add these into your current nutrition regime to help boost healthy live bacteria that will certainly help you improve your digestive health and could go a long way towards helping you to finally get rid of that unwanted body fat.

These are simply my signature conditioning programs that will give you all the tools to help you succeed in your weight loss journey. 

If you are struggling to get results with your current gym program or you are need a little help and guidance with your nutrition, then these programs offer a comprehensive a nd cost effective way to get amazing results in your training. 

Hit the buttons below to find out more about the programs and apply for one the exclusive places, so I can help you get amazing results in your training.

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Getting runners and endurance athletes to understand that they need to be doing strength training in order to run or perform their sport more efficiently and avoid injury is an ongoing personal crusade of mine. I am determined to convince the runners, triathletes and cycling fanatics of Yorkshire that strength training will not only stop them getting injured on a regular basis but also make them more energy efficient in their chosen sport and help them get faster.

When I talk about this with clients, I get the same old things popping up.

“I don’t want to get bulky as it will make me heavy and slow”

“If I spend time strength training I will have to give up a run or a cycling session which will stop me progressing”

“It’s just running, I don’t need to be strong to run”

So, I deal a lot with recreational running injuries and the simple fact of the matter is this…

“About 90% of all injuries I see are a direct result of the athlete not being strong enough to to control ground reaction forces over a significant period”.

Therefore, almost all of my running based rehab is more like low level strength conditioning, as opposed to soft tissue work and flexibility training.

Let’s Look At The Facts

1. Running is a relatively dangerous sport

50% of all recreational runners WILL pick up at least one injury on an annual basis. Meaning that if you take up running as a sport or hobby you basically have a 1 in 2 chance  of getting injured at least once per year (Van Gent et al 2007).
 
2. What Causes of Running Injury?

The study by Van Gent above sights the main cause of running injury as overuse. Basically, running too often and covering too many miles. This is backed up by a study by Messier et al in 2008 who went on to add that accumulation of forces greater than the stress capabilities of muscle and joint structures also play a part. So basically every time your foot hits the ground, it does so with 1.5 to 3 times your body weight. Over the period of a run or race your muscles and joints are having to deal with literally tonnes of force. Other factors such as poor hip biomechanics, specifically poor hamstring flexibility and load tolerance were also found to be significant.

In a 2010 study Powers found that abnormal hip mechanics and in particular poor glute and hip abduction strength were an important indicator in knee injury among runners and as result a lot of the strengthening work done for runners should focus on improving the functional strength of the muscles in this area. (glute med and max, TFL, lateral hamstring).
 
3. Do training shoes make much difference?

There are some pretty impressive claims made by shoe manufacturers in relation to the performance and injury outcome you can expect by wearing their shoes. When we look at proper, peer reviewed studies (ones that have no interest in lying to you to sell trainers), we find that running shoe prescription has little or no benefit on injury risk (Knapik et al 2014, Richards, Magin and Callister, 2007). These are just 2 highlighted studies, there are hundreds more saying the exact same thing.
 
4. What are the benefits of strength training?

Well in short, the benefits of strength training are:

• Better overall endurance
• Better running efficiency
• Faster run times
• Reduced risk of injury due to improvements in running mechanics.

Please don’t just take my word for it however, all of the following studies have found these benefits when using a variety of strength training protocols to investigate their effects on running performance (Ronnestad and Mujika, 2013; Sato et al, 2009; Storen et al, 2008; Ronald et al, 1997; Taipale et al, 2013; Saunders et al, 2006)

5. What type of training is best?

Well the studies quoted above identified a variety of different training options. They looked at high rep and low weight, high intensity training (heavy weight and low reps) and power based training (plyometrics including hoping, and jumping etc). Believe it or not, it was the heavy stuff that came out on top, with power based training coming a close second.

So from this we can pretty much determine that to get the most benefit from any strength training protocol, we should be looking at combining high weight and low rep strength training with power based training to strengthen the hips and legs (with an emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings) and the core muscles such as the abs, obliques and lower back.

WARNING! Don’t start your strength training program by jumping straight into plyometrics. Start by adding simple strength exercises like squatting, lunging, split squats and deadlifts into your routine. Nail the technique of these with just your body weight then start to add additional weight. Only when you can exhibit confident control of these movements with some extra weight should you then progress to power and plyometric activities.

Starting a strength training program in this way will help prevent you from picking up injury performing the training that is supposed to prevent you from picking up injuries in the first place.
 
6. Will strength training make me bulky?

In short, NO. the type and volume of strength training, combined with your running endurance training will not make you bulky. It takes a lot of time and dedication to put on weight through muscle mass. As a runner or endurance athlete you will simply not be doing it in the volume required or consuming the volume of protein required to build muscle at a rate that will hamper your running performance.

In fact, the study by Ronald et al (1997) found that female distance runners who took part in the study were able to significantly improve their running efficiency and performance by increasing their overall body strength. During which time, there was no change to their overall body composition as a result of the resistance training.

In Conclusion

So after reading all of this, I am now hoping that you might be convinced to start a strength training program to give you more longevity, avoid the disappointment of injury and run a bit faster and get more PB’s.

In fact, I am sure that staring a good running strength program will revolutionise the way you run and think about training. It will make you feel stronger, more toned, more athletic and more excited about what is happening with your running training because you are getting faster all of the time.

If you would like to start a strength and conditioning program that is designed specifically to enhance running performance then you need to get on board with my Faster Running Boot Camp.This is a monthly program designed specifically for runners and is guaranteed to make you:

• Stronger
• More powerful
• More flexible
• More efficient

Not only will you be working on specific running conditioning drills, you will also be shown how to improve your running gait so you can transfer your newfound strength into a faster and more efficient running style.

Hit the button below to apply for a space on the program

How to get your glutes fired up to improve your running efficiency
 
As I have mentioned before, our glutes are really important, in that they help us stabilise and control our hip, knee, ankle, foot and even our lower back. They don’t do this by themselves however so for best results we need to understand how they do this and how to train them effectively to improve your running function
 
Figure of 8 Relationship
 
This is a big one and is often missed by a lot of trainers and therapists. It relates to the relationship between the muscles at the front of your hip on one leg and the muscles at the back of your hip on the other.
In layman’s terms, your hip flexors, adductors and quads of your back leg should help your glutes and hamstrings of your front leg. So if one of these muscles groups at the front of your hips is tight and weak on one leg it will affect how the muscles at the back of your hip function during running on the other leg.
Because of this, we need to think about how we move when we run and try to replicate that to some extent in the exercise choices we choose to help us improve how we run and move.
 
Integrate Instead of Isolate

Instead of using exercises like clams or donkey kicks that only work the glutes, we should instead focus on more integrated exercises that will help this figure of 8 relationship improve and get better. So we can still target the glutes as well as improving what the other muscles do around them. This will stimulate your nervous system better and have a far more effective carry over into your running.
 
So ditch the clams and those other lying down Jayne Fonda type exercises and give these a go instead. I promise you, your glutes will thank you for it.

Launches Wednesday May 2nd 7:15pm. 
First session is FREE
This is not like other running programs, its not just turn up, go for a run and pick up an injury. Instead, this is a focused program that will help you improve your running technique, get stronger and become more energy efficient.

FACT! At least 1 in every 2 runners will get injured at least once per year. I see injured runners at the clinic on a daily basis, they all have a couple of things in common.

1. They are not sure how to program their running training 
2. They are not strong enough in their hips and core to control the ground reaction forces in running
3. There are flaws in their running gait directly associated with their pain or injury.

On this camp I help you highlight and fix common gait deficiencies that are associated with injury, put together a balanced and manageable training program for you and show you how to warm up properly and improve your functional strength to make you a more efficient runner. Helping you get faster and avoid injury.

If you would like to find out more about the program, or book a free session hit the button below and apply now!

5 spaces have already gone, even before I have started to advertise. There are only 10 left and I don't expect them to last long.
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I look forward to hearing from you.

As promised a little while ago, here is part 2 in my "Functional Calf Care Series". In this edition we take a look at the biggest muscle in our calves and the one that is most visible, the Gastrocnemeus.

In the video below I take you through the role of the gastroc in during running and share some really cool foam rolling and dynamic mobility drills that will help you keep this and the other muscles in your calves healthy. Not only will it help you avoid injury but also help improve your running efficiency too. Click Here to check out Part 1 and click on the video below to view the latest installment in my Functional Calf Care Series...

WEDNESDAYS 7:15PM @ Faster Fitness Solutions, Unit 5 Denby Dale Industrial Park, HD8 8QH
£25/Month (FIRST SESSION IS FREE)

Boot Camp designed specifically for runners to help them avoid injury and become more fluid and efficient when running.

On the camp you will learn:
- The real factors that contribute to running injury
- How to Warm up effectively for running
- Why strength training will make you a better runner
- How to integrate strength training into your training schedule
- 3 key running technique cues that will transform your running gait

There are just 10 spaces available on the camp so please book quickly to avoid disappointment.

As well as the weekly coached sessions you will also be provided with comprehensive training videos to help you improve your technique and work through strength and  conditioning drills that are guaranteed to make you a better runner.
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Hit the link below to find out more and get in touch to book your free session

These are for men and women who are tired of going round in circles and want a proven strategy to lose weight and transform their body image.

My 14 day program gives you the chance train with me for 14 days so you can see what I do and find out how I get great results with all my clients. By training in small, focused groups (max 4 people) I can give you all the help and support you would get in really expensive 1:1 training packages. Plus you get a load of comprehensive nutrition resources and a whole host of other cool stuff that will guarantee you get results

Hit the button below to find out more....

So this is something I see a lot in the fitness industry. Planks being performed incorrectly, even when taught by personal trainers. People's posture is all wrong, either their ass is too high in the air, meaning they get very little benefit from the movement or their hips are sagging in the middle, putting a great deal of pressure on the lumbar spine.
In the video I share with you a great little adjustment, where you can really target your abs and improve your strength and stability in the plank position.
WARNING! THIS WILL CAUSE YOUR ABS TO WORK VERY HARD

WEDNESDAY EVENINGS AT 7:15PM
£25 PER MONTH (FIRST SESSION IS FREE)

This is not a turn up, do some running and go home sort of session. Instead, each session on the boot camp is designed to help you develop a fluid and efficient running gait that will make you run faster and help you avoid injury.

It is perfect for beginners who want to make that initial start and for intermediate runners who want to get a bit stronger and improve their running style. Each session is run by a personal trainer and sports injury therapist who is a specialists in running gait training. You will be encouraged to work and develop at your own pace throughout the program so don't worry about competing with anyone else just turn up and let me help you enjoy running without having to worry about those pesky injuries holding you back.

Hit the button below to find out more

Calf injuries are a very common injury among runners and other athletes. In the video below we look at Part 1 in my "Functional Calf Care" series. Here we focus on the Soleus and Posterior Tibialis muscles and their role during the gait cycle, and in particular their role in absorbing impact forces during landing.

Please check out the video below and give the foam rolling and dynamic mobility drills a go to keep your calves healthy and strong for your runs.

At Faster Fitness Solutions, one of the specialist areas I cover is injury rehabilitation and running injuries. In these assessments I use a combination bio-mechanical screening drills, treadmill video analysis and hands on assessments to get to the bottom of your pain and help you devise a clear strategy to ensure it goes away and doesn't come back. 

If you would like to find out more, please get in touch by clicking on the button below and filling out the short form.