AUSTRALIAN ULTRA & TRAIL RUNNERS ASSOCIATION - FOSTERING AND PROMOTING THE SPORT OF ULTRA & TRAIL RUNNING.
MEMBERS
KEEPING YOUR FITNESS ROUTINE
By Kate Dzienis
It’s no coincidence there are plenty of ultra runners in our community who complement their training with strength work, but with the most recent government ruling of the necessary shut down of non-essential services such as gyms, it’s time to get creative.
Now is the time to stay positive, and not only for the sake of keeping our fitness levels up, but for the sake of our mental and emotional wellbeing. Some of us don’t have the luxury of a home gym, but there are plenty of ways to keep weight workouts and fitness regimes alive in your day-to-day life – self isolating or not.
Stick to an active routine
First thing’s first though – getting up at the same time every day and sticking to your routine is probably one of the most important things you could do for yourself if your normal scheduling has been changed (like working from home).
As tempting as it may be to stay in bed a while longer and work in your pyjamas, in the long run this is bound to have a detrimental effect on your overall mood.
Stretch in the living room
Us runners know we don’t need any equipment for a good stretch, so utilising just the floor and maybe the kitchen breakfast bar for balance is the perfect solution to a good stretch before and after a workout.
Now onto strength work
You don’t need fancy equipment for DIY strength workouts at home, and if you’ve already got a plan from a trainer or coach there is every possibility that you can stick with it.
Need little weights? Use your supermarket limit of two tin cans, or water bottles or rice packets. Want arms of steel? Bring out the ninja in you and pound out some air punches, push ups, shoulder taps and tricep push ups.
Don’t forget leg day. Oh boy, don’t forget leg day. You can do everything from squats to split squats using a chair and lunges to the ever-gruelling 45 second (or longer) wall sit.
Just keep running, just keep running
Don’t have a treadmill? Well, this is where some people across the globe have gotten super creative.
One ultra runner named Rainer Predl, from Austria, ran a decent 70km around his dining table in the comfort of his own home, whilst Australian Drew Dunstone opened up the gates from one end of his house and then through the garage to run laps (and according to his social media post he counted the number of laps per kilometre which was 40 so it was 43 x 40 = 1720 laps).
In fact, even AURA member Oliver Mestdagh from Ferntree Gully in Victoria got in on the action and did 675 laps of his house for a total of 45km in eight hours.
He said each lap of his property was 67-metres and consisted of a variety of terrain (shall we call it trail running then?!) including one-third concrete, then grass, two steps down and two steps up.
“It was physically challenging,” he said in an exclusive to AURA.
“With sharp corners and the steps, I could never really settle in on a run and even with changing directions, it quickly wore me down.
“I had a little spreadsheet counter going, which when hitting a button, registered a lap – 67-metres at a time really moves very slowly.
“What I did enjoy, however, was publishing video updates and the feedback they generated kept me entertained and going.
“Overall, this is a seriously hard challenge and the shorter the course the harder I expect this to be.”
Mestdagh also said he hoped his effort would inspire others to get creative at their residence and set their own course and challenge.
And the most important part – staying mentally strong
Keeping your mind engaged is good for your mental wellbeing and is a great way to spend time – something you might find you now have a lot of.
If you don’t have a strength workout routine, now is the time to get one; or you could go in an entirely different direction and start a creative project or get back into an old hobby like drawing, writing (race reports, anyone?!) or knitting.
You could also use the time to learn a new skill such as learning a new language or starting your own podcast or vlog.
AURA member and former vice president (2011, 2012) Bernadette Benson is a Registered Psychologist, and she has said that with staying at home a lot more these days, it was important for runners to maintain routines.
“Every day we wake up with a certain amount of cognitive energy aka thinking power,” she said.
“Routines help keep us from using up too much of our day’s mental energy in planning every little thing as if it were the first time.
“Today’s news is adding hugely to our cognitive load every day, and that leaves us with less mental energy for other things; we will undoubtedly need to alter our routines slightly but still you will get up, shower, put daytime clothes on, do what you normally do in the morning.
“If you are at home with the kids, designate recess times and lunch times, play and tea time; that reduces your cognitive load.”
She has also suggested considering family times, such as dinner, to scheme mini-adventures, which in turn provide realistic things to look forward to – perhaps a new obstacle course game, a 30-minute yoga class for the whole family, or a beach dinner set up in the lounge room.
“You are not out of control. You absolutely control how you tackle this. You are the boss of your thoughts, your plans, and your reactions.”
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