Happy new year! As we say goodbye to 2017 and welcome 2018, one of the most common things to do is setting yourself some new year goals, targets or resolutions. Whilst this can bring about a positive change, there can also be consequences. Goal setting needs to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound). They need to be well thought through and intelligent.
I love the fact that people want to achieve something and or perhaps change something they don’t like about their lifestyle. However, generally speaking these goals are very hard to achieve or they are asking for trouble. I would rather see a change of lifestyle rather than trying to stick to something for January, which generally means it is only short term. A perfect example of this is to go from no training at all to wanting to be at the gym 5 times per week, or go out running every night with the hope of running a half marathon shortly.
It’s great that you want to get active, get healthier and lose some excess body fat. However in our injury clinics one of the most common factors that cause injury is a surge in volume to ones training. This is what we class as a spike in loading. Too much of a spike in load/volume is generally not the best thing as our body doesn’t have time to adapt to these new forces. We know there is a relationship between high training loads and injuries. On the other hand, we know that training does have a protective effect against injury, we just need to find the correct balance.
A paper published by TJ Gabbett was the first of its kind to find a ratio that might help predict injury. If you want to read more about the training injury prevention paradox then head on over to the British Journal of Sports Medicine here.
Our advice to you for 2018
By all means, set yourself some goals which you think are going to improve your lifestyle. Just make sure these goals are well thought through and get some feedback from a local expert. For example, if a goal of yours is to complete a half marathon then it would be wise to follow a strength and conditioning programme alongside your running to help improve movement and strength. This is why in our free half marathon programme we have included training days that involve stretching, foam roller work and strength work. If you fancy giving this a go, then head of over to the free download page here. The thinking and planning are done for you.
If you need help and structure with your goals you can book online here.
Hope you have had a lovely Christmas.
The IAC team
