Improving how Cameron runs (and runs the country)..

As the British Prime Minister took to the streets with his trainer over the weekend, I'm sure he had greater concerns on his mind than his running technique, but unfortunately for him the british papers thought otherwise. Pitting his running style against that of his wife Samantha's, the papers highlighted how Cameron's heavy legged mechanics predisposed him to, at best, the humiliation of being outrun by his wife, and at worst, arthritis and other degenerative ailments.



Sadly, the likelihood is that if Cameron's technique is as poor as the papers claim, eventually his body will succumb to the aches and pains that plague so many runners who do not follow strengthening and corrective programs, including back pain, knee pain and overuse injuries stemming from reduced mobility.

As the London Marathon draws nearer and with British summer time officilly upon us, more and more people will be motivated to hit the streets in a bid to get fit and lean. However what most people don't realise is that running is actually a high intensity plyometric exercise which involves 1000s of repetitions of the same linear movement in each stint.

Think about it. If you haven't exercised for a year, would you go into the gym and perform 1000 deadlift reps? I think not. And yet this is actually a LESS intensive exercise than jogging.

What happens when deconditioned individuals hit the streets without adequate preparation is that, with the body more often than not lacking full mobility due to lifestyle (for example, short hip flexors & tight pectorals from sitting at a desk, tight rectus femoris from wearing heels, weak core from poor postural integrity, & often inadequate lubrication of the joints due to poor diet) compensatory movement patterns are adopted in order to get you from A to B (the brain is very adept at finding a solution to the task you wish to complete, so if the optimal movement pattern is restricted, it will adopt another method of achieving the same goal. The result? Muscle overuse, incorrect weight distribution through the feet, ankles, hips, knees and back, consequently disadvantaged joints and muscle guarding as a result.

What this almost invariably leads to is pain. Which is not particularly motivating, and probably the number one reason most people give up even the most enthusiastic of running campaigns.

The David Cameron story highlights just how important full movement screens and kinetic chain assessments are, and why it is essential to identify, correct and strengthen weak movement patterns regardless of whether you are a weekend leisure runner or an Olympic Athlete. NO ONE wants to be in pain, and most running related niggles are preventable with a well programmed resistance training programme.

At Phoenix Pro, we screen every single one of our members to identify exactly what their weaknesses are and establish a clearly defined route to running fitness (with injury prevention being a key aspect of fitness).

For anyone who is keen to start running, or is finding it heavy going and hard to improve despite their best efforts, we are currently offering a 30 day trial at Phoenix Pro for just £69, which includes our full evaluation, individual program design, 4 x fitness coaching sessions and full use of our state of the art gym and class program. And for David Cameron? One has to beg the question that if his mechanics are as poor as the biomechanists are proclaiming, why he is out pounding the streets rather than strengthening his body in the gym. He'd probably feel a hell of a lot better for it.