Chronic injuries like piriformis syndrome, achilles tendinitis, Knee pain & ITB friction syndrome, plantar fasciitis, are all common running injuries that could easily be prevented if a well designed strength training program was implemented. Having been a very keen distance runner for a long time myself, I am very aware of all the injuries associated, and experienced first hand many of the most annoying and painful injuries in my time. For what seems like a fairly gentle sport, I have had more injuries from running than playing football. Having said that all these injuries I am referring to occurred before I discovered how to actually prevent them. All of my best times as a distance runner were not until I was 35 years of age, when I was finally running pain free and really taking my running to new levels. I am now 47 years of age and can still get out and hit a 20 minute 5km within a few weeks of training and always without pain! So what is the secret? Well it was not from running more, in fact my best times were when I was running less! The secret was using strength training and working on my running technique. I found the perfect combination of strength training, stability training, postural retraining, movement skills and more efficient running technique that allowed me to reach my potential. If I had of known this many years earlier who knows what I would have been able to achieve. I have since used the same methods for assessing hundreds of runners and sporting athletes to overcome some of the most annoying and chronic injuries preventing them from enjoying their running or sport. In this article, I am going to show you these secrets and also what I have found to be the common traits so you can prevent them from stopping you in your tracks.

Understanding the importance of posture and how to assess and correct faults should be the priority of every rehabilitation program. To take it one step further this also should be the priority of every sports and strength program because a person who moves in close to perfect posture moves most efficiently. Apart from injury prevention, improved performance is the secondary gift of improving posture. Unfortunately this type of training is completely ignored or misunderstood by most people resulting in poor response to rehab programs or sports performance. Often multiple injury or new injury can and does occur when postural problems are not addressed much to the frustration and despair of the person in pain. This article we will show you some of our simple assessment methods, why and how you to correct your posture and some of the best exercises that produce significant results to prevent injury and improve performance.

Personal Training & Fitness industry has exploded over the past 10 years with the help of reality TV shows like the Biggest Loser and the evolution of bootcamps, crossfit and various other forms of fitness training. I myself have been a Personal Trainer for nearly 11 years now and have seen so many things change, some for the better and some for the worse! And while PT is more popular than ever it has been around a lot longer than people think. If you look at most professional sports they had a coach who not only helped them to excel at the skills needed for their sport but was very much a fitness coach too. Boxing is a classic example, I always think of the old guy Mickey who was Rocky's coach in the Rocky movies. Tennis, athletics and even team sports like football and basketball had some element of personal training or fitness training because it was absolutely necessary to take you to the top of your game. It was used purely for performance and injury prevention. How it became so prominent as it is today in gyms all around the world is hard to say what ignited this but one thing is for sure it coincided with the increase in sedentary office jobs, and reduction in manual labor. And while a personal trainer would have been completely ridiculous 100 years ago, this profession is needed now more than ever. With the addition of technology to make our lives faster and more luxurious it has come at a huge cost to our health. Even our kids needing trainers to teach them how to play! This article will explore what the idea of personal training is all about and who needs it the most.