Advice from Sports Trainer: do you agree? (Read 837 times)

Yesterday I visited a local sports trainer for a deep-tissue massage in preparation for a HM this weekend. This guy is semi-retired and works out of his garage mostly treating local high school athletes, although his resume is impressive, having worked with many professional athletes including the local pro football teams. He came highly recommended from a friend who had problems with triathlon training in the past. Anyway, after the massage I mentioned that I was going for a run and he asked "on what type of surface?" When I answered "concrete" that started him on a tirade, where he was basically yelling at me for not following these training guidelines: 1) no running on pavement. He claimed that compared to running on grass or a track, pavement is twice as damaging to your legs, so you can only run half as many miles if run on hard surfaces. 2) lengthen your stride. A longer stride results in more contact between your foot and the ground, distributing the force better. And the reduced cadence means fewer impacts over the course of a run. 3) do not run more than 20 miles per week. Supplement run training with cross-training such as water-running. His proof is that a 44-year old woman client of his has won many half marathons in the masters division, typically in the 1:25 range, and never runs more than 20 miles per week training for these events. #1 did not surprise me, but his over-reaction did: He said don't bother coming back for another treatment unless I stop running on pavement altogether, or otherwise he can't help me. #2 is contrary to a lot of stuff I heard and read about running form (at least for long-distance runners). I always thought shorter stride and higher cadence was the better form. He said whoever said that is an idiot. #3 kinda makes sense, but was surprising because of how many runners easily double that weekly mileage with no adverse effects. And every training program advocates much more mileage in preparation of a HM, particularly for faster performance. I've learned that when it comes to running advice, you have to be prepared to hear a wide spectrum of opinions, and in the end you have to figure out what works for you. But what are your opinions to the advice I received last night?

First off, I hate anyone with one-size fits-all advice. There are no absolutes. .

Ditto this and everything else you said. There are a lot of people out there with opinions. If you ask my wife she will tell you that any running more then 10 minutes per day 3 days a week is overkill and that everyone should walk so they dont get hurt and you can still burn the calories........ Although there is a lot of truth to what she says and really believes, I dont think its great advice for 'RUNNERS'...... I think you have to belive what YOU belive and make it so.... -How do you avoid running on the pavement and get in any real distance?? -Lengthen your stride - and probably get hurt - I know that I get hurt when I do so.... -Not ever more then 20 miles per week - sounds good but how many really good runners run only 20? - Cross training ---- probably so but the only thing I can really do reasonable well is run...dont like to swim, dont like to bike and anything else........just doesnt work for me all that well (exception a few weights from time to time) Think this like most running advice must be taken with a grain of salt and you should do what YOU think is best and works for you....

#1 - yeah and when you find marathons and HM's on soft surfaces let me know. You run on pavement the body adjusts. You train on tracks or soft 100% and then go run a HM or Marathon on pavement and owwie. I prefer to finish HM's feeling like I can run the next day. #2 - he disagrees with virtually everyone else on the planet I think. But the world IS full of idiots. #3- hmmm. where is that list of running myths that was floating around a while ago? Something about running being bad for you?

He's an idiot.

I second that. FWIW, my orthopedist told me that the rate of running related injuries increases sharply once you hit 40 mpw. He treats a ton of athletes so I have to give that statment some deference. But, it won't deter me. Not yet anyway.

I wouldn't take advice from old an guy that spends his day massaging underage high school kids in his garage.

+1, idiot. Lengthening the stride requires you to spend more time off the ground, which physics dictates requires a greater vertical displacement, ie bounce. So you land with GREATER force when you come back to earth and put GREATER stress on your muscles and joints. 20mpw, obviously the guy is not a runner. I know a single talented runner (once defeated Bill Rodgers) who could run a 15:30 5K on 20 mpw. But he's the only one. I run half the mileage I used to and my times are less than half as impressive!

He's not a runner himself, and I'm always hesitant to follow non-runners' advice. I've been following the advice and training plan from my podiatrist, who is a former marathoner that ran 70+ mpw in his day, and so far hasn't steered me wrong. Thanks to everyone for the re-assurance that this guy's advice is a little nutty. Maybe he was trying to scare me away from future appointments so we would have more time to massage the underage high school kids...

1. WRONG 2. WRONG 3. WRONG