I was reading the latest US president Barack Obama Health report, the doctors certified him “fit to rule” but one item that caught my knee was this one : Obama suffers from occasional pain in his left knee. Medics call it chronic tendinitis.
Left knee pain is a very common injury in people who run. I remember my first year of marathon training, the left knee pain dogged me right to the day of the race. I still remember turning up at the start line holding an anti inflammation gel on one hand and the other hand rubbing the gel on the knee.
Why Left knee and not right knee?
My guess as to why the left knee and not the right knee is affected has to do with the fact that majority of humans are right handed. We use the right leg to kick stuff around and that effort makes it stronger. On the other hand, the left leg is never used seriously, leaving it a weak partner. Have you heard of the statement “USE IT OR LOSE IT!”? It makes sense to me.
Cause of Left Knee pain while running
Apart from my theory of “neglected left knee” medics say the cause of knee pain is due to excessive training; running too much. Another cause is when you suddenly switch from running flat routes to running hilly routes.
Prevention of knee pain
I believe prevention is better than cure. One way to prevent a sudden attack of knee pain is switch your running speed gradually. A sudden change of pace will be a shock to the system leading to injury.
Four step Treatment of knee pain.
Icing – The first line of treatment, sometimes this alone is enough to fix it!
A friend of mine is planning to train for his first marathon and he just sent the following 12 step marathon training planning. I don’t know where he got it from but it has a feel of Jeff Galloway, a man who has evangelized on the merits of run walk method for running a marathon.
Step 1
Plan to exercise four days a week for 10 weeks.
Step 2
Begin each session with 10 to 15 minutes of stretching, and end each session with a 10-minute walk followed by more stretching.
Step 3
Take on week one. Walk 10 minutes. Jog 2 to 3 minutes. Walk 4 minutes. Repeat five times each session.
Step 4
Get into it with week two. Walk 10 minutes. Jog 3 minutes. Walk 3 minutes. Repeat five times each session.
Step 5
Settle into week three. Walk 5 to 10 minutes. Jog 5 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Repeat four times each session.
Step 6
Keep it going into week four. Walk 5 minutes. Run 7 minutes. Walk 3 minutes. Repeat three times each session.
Step 7
Stay on a roll in week five. Walk 5 minutes. Run 8 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Repeat three times each session.
Step 8
Pat yourself on the back for being halfway there as you enter week six. Walk 3 to 5 minutes. Run 9 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Repeat three times each session.
Step 9
Recognize your growing stamina in week seven. Walk 3 to 5 minutes. Run 9 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Repeat three times each session.
Step 10
Feel good about yourself as you confront week eight. Walk 3 to 5 minutes. Run 13 minutes. Walk 2 minutes. Repeat twice each session.
Step 11
Visualize the end of your first goal as you begin week nine. Walk 3 minutes. Run 14 minutes. Walk 1 minute. Do this twice each session.
Step 12
Congratulate yourself for your accomplishment in week 10. Walk 3 minutes. Run 30 minutes without stopping.
Because carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for active muscles, athletes need to consume them on a daily basis.
Carbohydrate-rich foodsinclude: –
Fruits
vegetables (potatoes and beans),
Grains,
Breads,
cereals and some dairy products (milk and yogurt).
In general, the best diet for an athlete is one that contains a variety of foods from each of the major food groups—this will help ensure that your diet is made up of nutrient-rich foods.
Approximately 55-60% of total calories should come from carbohydrates. Athletes need to consume carbohydrates before, during and after exercise to provide fuel for the body and support overall health.
Researchers have proven black Chocolate is good for your health. Although white chocolate is not rated highly, I tend to believe white chocolate is also good for runners.
Black / Dark chocolate has 80 calories per serving whereas white chocolate has 916 calories per serving.
Chocolate as a recovery food.
I choose to eat a chocolate as my recovery food after my running work outs. Those 916 calories help to restore the spent calories.
The sugars found in chocolate are simple sugars the same that you find in a Soda. Eating a chocolate after my running exercise help me get a quick fix.
To get proper nutrition I later eat complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes and avacados.
A chocolate cannot be considered a proper food but it can be useful as a quick fix immediately after a marathon.
The biggest dilemma in running is, you try to run faster but your lungs always let you down. Running is a cardiovascular exercise, if you can improve on your breathing and how to get more oxygen into your lungs you are guaranteed to run faster.
Runners World January 2009 Issue had a great article on how you can improve on how you get more oxygen into your lungs by doing a couple of simple exercises.
To quote from the article “Just as we strength-train our hamstrings and calves to improve our ability to power over hills, we can tone the muscles used for breathing. “Exercise improves the conditioning of the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen, and the intercostal muscles, which lie between the ribs and enable you to inhale and exhale,” says Everett Murphy, M.D., a runner and pulmonologist at Olathe Medical Center in Olathe, Kansas. “When you take a breath, 80 percent of the work is done by the diaphragm. If you strengthen your diaphragm, you may improve your endurance and be less likely to become fatigued.”
Any exercise that works on your core area such as sit ups will improve the muscles around the diaphragm.
Best breathing method : The mouth or the nose?
The experts interviewed for the article swore by the mouth, the wider is your mouth open while running the better your breathing. I once tried running with my mouth shut and I swear it was horrible.
The chest breathing or the belly breathing.
I was a little bit surprised to learn belly breathing is the recommended method of breathing for runners. When you chest breathe, your shoulders get tense and move up and down. That’s wasted energy-energy you should conserve for running.
Paula Radcliffe is the one of the best female long distance runners. In this video she recommends easy runs to remove toxins from the body.
Cause of toxins in your body.
If you are feeling sore after running exercise it is because toxins (lactic acid) has built up in your muscles. An easy run can go a long way in flushing it out of your body.
Watch video on how to remove / flush out toxins from your body
My sister she is always asking me what are the best exercise she can do to get a flat stomach. I have recommended my favourite exercise, running but she refused, she wanted an exercise she can do indoors.
I researched around the internet and these were what I found
1. Good old sit ups
2. Bicycle exercise
3. Exercise Ball Crunch
4. Full vertical crunch
5. Plank on elbows and trunk, it won’t trim your tummy but it will give you a strong tummy
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