FMM: Is a body either built to be a runner or not?
JH: The human body is made to walk and run for
survival. Some of us are better suited for speed,
others can run forever, but we all have the capacity
to run.
FMM: What about large breasted women, what
is your advice for them if they want to run?
JH: The days of wearing an ace bandage for a
support bra are well over. These days there are
all sorts of bras for every type of activity in-cluding
high impact sports like running. Smaller breasted
women tend to prefer a compression style bra,
while encapsulated bras are made for high impact
sports for larger breasted women. The key is
to find one that feels comfortable, fits well and
survives the bounce test. When try-ing on bras,
run in place to see how it feels at impact. If your
girls are moving all over the place and it hurts,
keep looking for another bra. Some great brands
are Skirt Sports and Brooks - Moving Comfort.
FMM: What about joints and running?
JH: Weight bearing activity is actually a positive
for maintaining our bone density. The key is to
develop a running program that is suited to your
personal fitness level, how your body responds to
running workouts and your live schedule. Some
runners do well to run 4-5 times per week, while
others respond much better to 2-3 runs per week.
Listen to your body and develop a personal plan
that works for you.
FMM: Is it important for runners to do weight
training for their leg mus-cles?
JH: Absolutely - yes! Because running is a
repetitive motion (right, left, right left) there is a
wear pattern that can cause muscle imbalance.
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This can cause create both muscle and joint
tightness and weakness at the same time which
can lead to aches and pains, especially if training
for a long distance race like a half marathon. A full
body strengthening pro-gram will aid in maintaining
healthy muscular balance, and improved running
form and overall life performance. This is
especially important as we all age. This is why
I created the Runner’s Strength 1.0 Workout on
the PEAR Sports app. It’s a total body strength
workout that can be done anywhere (on the road,
at home, the office or the gym) and it is geared to
the specific needs of a runner.
FMM: Is there a point when a person runs too
much? Or is it, if your body can take it, keep
running?
JH: We all have a maximal running threshold that
if we push beyond it we can end up hurt. Like
other sports, some people are set up with optimal
anatomy and therefore running is less demanding
on their bodies. An elite runner might cover 10
miles in an hour, where an everyday mortal might
run it in an hour and forty-five minutes. That is 45
minutes more time on the body to cover the same
distance which is significant. This is why I coach
my runners by time rather than distance, as it
allows every-one to gain the most from the time on
their feet and dial in their running based on quality
rather than quantity.
FMM: For runners and walkers, what is the best
way to take care of toenails and feet?
JH: It is wise to keep your toe nails trim and get
fitted for walking or running shoes at your local
running retail store. Doing so will allow you to
move in a shoe that will support your foot type and
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