MOST Magazine Fitness JUN'15 ISSUE NO.2 | Page 58

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. 58 || FITNESS M A G A Z I N E || JUNE 2015 || EDITION 1 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 >>>