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Balance is the key to running By Derek DeBono September 23, 2008 Remember the client who came to my office caressing his slimmed down stomach as though he was looking for misplaced keys? He wasn’t doing the weight-training portion of his program but loved doing the cardiovascular training. He was put back on track by reversing the order of his exercises. This week I received an e-mail from someone, I’ll call him DML, who had the opposite problem. He couldn’t get motivated to continue his cardiovascular program but loved the weight-training portion. It was suggested I reverse the order of exercises for DML as I did for the first client. It’s an interesting idea but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Case history is an important component in the development of an exercise program and is essential in navigating through problems that pop up along the way. The history of these two clients could not be more different and careful consideration must be given to what caused DML to lose his motivation for running. DML is in his late thirties, is a competitive soccer player and has been since he was a child. He continued to play soccer as an adult in order to stay physically fit and because he loved the game. He became interested in a strength and conditioning program when he began playing against younger men and injuries kept him sidelined. The running program he was given was designed to build endurance and speed for the game of soccer. Running had always been a tool he used as a means to an end - to become stronger and faster on the field. When DML began his conditioning program he developed greater confidence in his physical abilities and realized he is capable of doing a variety of activities other than playing soccer to stay in shape. His love for the game remained but his desire to keep playing competitively started to wane. The running he closely associated with the game began to feel pointless and boring. He could change his cardiovascular conditioning program to include anything but running but he would be denying himself an excellent exercise he is obviously good at. There is no question DML’s running program needs to change but there is also a psychological hurdle he must clear. He has to reprogram the way he has been taught to think about running as a training tool and start thinking about it in a context unrelated to the game of soccer. By taking a week off completely from running, DML will resolve issues related to over-training by giving his body some needed rest. A break also relieves the mental stress associated with a lack of desire to do something he knows deep down, he should be doing. When he resumes training, it should be with the objective of reducing both the frequency and the volume of his running. Frequency is the easy part. DML is currently running a total of five days a week. That needs to be reduced to three days a week. Volume is a bit more complicated because there may be a need to change the definition of volume. Traditionally, athletes define running volume in distance measured in kilometres. DML needs to define running volume in periods of time. To maintain his cardiovascular fitness DML only needs to run for twenty-five minutes at a moderate pace instead of the 16 km a week he is currently running. The biggest challenge DML faces is psychologically reframing the activity of running from a utilitarian sport oriented task to a socially-oriented, enjoyable experience. It’s difficult to pull yourself off a couch to cover eight km on a treadmill. Yes, it can get boring. Running outside relieves the boredom for a while but running the same route to the same music or thoughts will also take its toll. We can adjust the volume and frequency of the running downward but there will still be something lacking – as long as you run alone. The easiest way for DML to reframe running into something other than a conditioning tool for soccer, is to do it with someone who doesn’t play the game. He needs to run with people who run because they enjoy it. There is no shortage of running groups in the city that welcome new people with varying abilities. Like so many of us, DML is experiencing a transition in life that takes us from the limitless glory of our youth to the reality of needing to live a balanced life. He needs to take a chance on something new and get active with people whose company he enjoys.

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