Written by sportsmed Exercise Physiologist, Josephine Trimboli.

September is an exciting time of year at sportsmed, as spring rolls around and City to Bay preparation ramps up. We absolutely love seeing our community engaging in physical activity, whether that be running or walking in the event!

With less than three weeks to go until the big day, it’s important your body is well prepared to meet the demand of the event and the distance you’ve nominated. If you feel like you’ve left your preparation a little late, don’t panic! There are some things you can do from the comfort of your own home to ensure you’re ready to go!

1. Move regularly

We love that the City to Bay motivates even the couch potatoes out there, but if you haven’t been training consistently leading up to the event you may be at an increased risk of injury given the physical demand may be far greater than your current capacity.

Reduce your sedentary time by engaging in a walk or run each day, and try not to sit behind your desk for too long. It’s important to establish a pace and distance that is comfortable for you and build your tolerance at this level. As this becomes easier, you can then start to increase your pace and/or distance.

2. Integrate resistance training into your weekly routine

Unfortunately, just because you have the muscles doesn’t mean you’re always using them – sometimes muscles get lazy!

Resistance training is a great way to improve muscle activation and recruitment, which is key to minimising your injury risk, as well as encourages stride efficiency and coordination so you can run more effectively.

With reference to runners in particular, resistance and strength training is often neglected in favour of getting miles under the belt, or due to the fear that strength training will make you big and bulky, and therefore slow you down. This certainly is not the case unless you are frequently lifting very heavy weights and consuming a lot of calories.

Not sure what resistance exercises to do? Try the below exercises to get you started! They’re easy to do at the gym, or at home with minimal equipment:

• Calf raises
• Glute bridge
• Squat
• Crab walk
• Single leg arabesque
• Deadbugs

Once these exercises become easier, you will need to progress them to continue to see a change in strength.

Want to take your training to the next level?

If you’d like more tips on how to prepare for the City to Bay or would like to increase your running performance in general, make an appointment with one of our Exercise Physiologists.

sportsmed Exercise Physiologists are available for appointments at our Stepney Healthcare Hub, as well as our Morphett Vale, Blackwood and Mitcham Branches. To make an appointment or enquiry contact 08 8362 8122 or email physio@sportsmed.com.au  

Happy running!