Stretching is one of those subjects that divides opinion. Some runners love stretching, others hate it. Some people can run their whole life without stretching and remain injury-free. Others find they can’t string together two weeks of uninterrupted training unless they stretch regularly. The bottom
The Nike Pegasus Trail is a great all-rounder. It is equally as comfortable on the road as it is on the trails. With a medium stack height, a decent amount of cushioning and a 10mm heel-toe offset, it is a shoe that I think most
Self isolating? Try this 10-Minute Indoor Cardio Workout For Runners
Race Report – Ed Larkin Alpine Challenge – 23 & 24 November 2019 The Start: It was 5:00am and here I was standing in the early morning alpine chill with about 100 other runners waiting for the starters gun for my first 100 miler. As
What your body needs to remain injury-free will vary a lot from person to person. For some, regular stretching and rolling is enough. For most, regular run-specific strength training will make a huge difference.
I have seen quite a few runners in our physio clinic recently who have been told by their health care professional that they will need months off running to recover from their injury. The injuries vary from hamstring tendinopathies, plantar fascia tears, stress fractured feet,
The majority of trail events include a lot of downhill Most people focus on running uphill and forget to include downhill training in their event preparation All the uphill training in the world won’t help you on race day if your legs are “cooked” before
How stable are your ankles? Ankle sprains are one of the perils of trail running. At many of the trail events I compete in, there are queues of people lined up at the medical tents after the race with sprained ankles. A lot
Caveat: The Body Mechanic does not endorse the drinking of any alcohol as a means of testing this theory. Does This Sound Familiar To You? A common example of a statement from a new client is: “I ran 25km on Sunday, and my Achilles
Running is a great way to get rid of a few extra kilos. But running alone wont make the difference. You can’t ignore your diet! In fact, you could find yourself gaining weight if you over-fuel your body. Nutritionist and endurance athlete, Tamara Madden,
Cyclists typically get tight through their lower backs, hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes. Some of this muscle tension is caused by cycling, but a lot of the tension is caused by our modern lifestyles which involves too much time sitting in chairs. Too much tension
13 MINUTE PERSONAL BEST – THE BEST FEELING IN THE WORLD! Growing up I was never much of a runner and in my youth till my mid-twenties my main sporting pursuit was sailing, after which I really “let myself go”, putting on weight and
Bike Fits Are For Everyone! Whether you are new to cycling or you have been riding for years, a bikefit is essential to your comfort, performance and efficiency on the bike. A properly fitted bike means that you will be in a riding position that
Foam rolling is a great way to “self massage” your body. Some people respond better to foam rolling than to stretching, others find that stretching works best. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to successfully managing your body. However, in our experience, some form of regular
Thanks for signing up to the Bowral Classic Training Plan A copy of the 8 week plan will be sent to your inbox. Be sure to schedule in all your training sessions and keep an eye out for your strength and body maintenance exercises. I
YOU NEED TO TRAIN DOWNHILLS TO RUN A GREAT UTA22 Are you running the UTA22? Are you worried about all that hill climbing and the final 1km grind up the Furber Stairs? DON’T. It is actually the downhill that you need to worry about. This
Imagine your body is a cookie jar. Life is a constant balancing act of putting cookies in, and taking cookies out. You need your cookie jar to be ¾ full most of the time. If it is less than half full you’ll be feeling
HOW MANY STEPS A DAY SHOULD YOU TAKE? 5,000? 10,000? 20,000? Is there a number of steps you should strive for? How many steps should you do, to be able to consider yourself a healthy human being? Humans were designed to move. Our body’s want
We, at The Body Mechanic, are big advocates of standing desks in the workplace. Most of our clients spend 30+ hours a week sitting at their desks. This can have a detrimental effect on your general health, and also on your chances of developing heart
Lunges are a great exercise to improve the strength in your glutes, quads and hamstrings. They also help to improve the stability of your hips and pelvis, and they engage and strengthen your “core” muscles. Completing a simple lunge routine regularly, will make a
Skipping is great for Cyclists and Runners Skipping is a great way to help improve your running and cycling performance. With the correct skipping technique you can strengthen your calf muscles, achilles tendons and the intrinsic muscles in your feet as well as improving your “core”
The Gluteus Maximus muscles is the biggest muscle in your body, and if it doesn’t function properly (and subconsciously) when you ride or run, then you are going to be using other muscles to compensate. By functioning subconsciously, I mean it should just work. You shouldn’t
Tahoe 200. 205 miles , 331 km’s. 10,000 + metre’s of ascent and descent. 100 hour cut off. “The Tahoe 200 is an incredible journey around the largest alpine lake in North America. The route circumnavigates the sparkling, clear blue waters of Lake Tahoe
Whether you are new to riding, or someone with decades of riding under your belt, a proper bike fit is a great way to ensure you are comfortable on the bike. Being set up in a comfortable position should be the number one priority of a bikefit. Riding in
Welcome to The Body Mechanic’s training program for the Can4Cancer Walk. Continue with these daily habits Buy a fitness tracker (like a Fitbit or a Garmin) to track your daily steps. Aim for at least 10,000 steps /day, even on days when you are
Are you on the right pedal system? Why pedal choice varies based on conditions I remember a review of a high-spec Ducati where the reviewer spent 90 percent of the article berating the bike: the suspension was too stiff, the clutch too heavy and the
Ultra Trail Australia – Stretching or Strengthening? The answer to this question depends very much on the individual – but if I was forced to give a one-word answer I’d say “neither”!!! You would be more likely to get better results by focusing on
Training + Recovery = Improved Performance How much time, effort, thought and planning goes into your training each week? How much time, effort, thought and planning goes into your active recovery each week? If you want to improve your performance (race faster) then you need
Improve the mobility in your back, hips, knees and ankles using this easy squatting activity According to evolutionary scientists, our bodies are still primarily designed to be hunter-gatherers. For 2 million years we have evolved to spend our days migrating (walking), foraging for food,
It is well known that exercise is good for the heart, lungs and brain. But there is one part of our body that is often overlooked: our bones. As we get older, our bones become less dense, which can ultimately lead to them becoming weak