A Foundation of Strength

injury prevention for runners
Being a strong runner takes more than just logging in the miles every week. It takes hours of dedication doing the supplemental work, which usually involves massage and chiropractic appointments; self massage (self myofascial release) and trigger pointing; various exercises to strengthen the feet, hips, core, and legs; stretching sessions and maybe some yoga; and lastly maybe some contrast bath therapy or walking around your house in compression gear, hoping to speed up recovery.

What ever your “supplemental” work ritual entails, make sure it adds to the bottom line: making you a faster, more efficient, stronger runner.

Build a foundation of strength so your body can handle all the miles.

Remember, you get what you train for. So, running more miles per week or adding in more intense running workouts will make (should make you) a faster runner, to a point. However, sometimes, doing more for the sake of doing more isn’t always a good idea. Every runner is different, but there will be a point where your body will start to feel little niggles from all the pounding. Supplementing your running with strengthening-type exercises should build a more resilient body, capable of handling the pavement. So, challenge yourself by adding in more miles per week or running at a higher intensity a few times per week, but for the sake of your season, add in strength and core training accordingly.

Everyone has a different vision of what type of weight lifting runners should do, whether it’s high rep sets with minimal breaks to low reps with heavier loads and longer breaks. Some think a leg press is better than a squat, while others think a knee extension hits the quads better than a lunge (yes, it burns more, but isn’t optimal). Also, some have no idea, and that’s why you’re reading this blog. I want you to use StrongerRunner.com as a resource for making you a stronger runner (duh!).

I won’t get into the details in this post about what exercises to do and what not to do. Here’s a post where I discuss some great lower body exercises for runners and here’s another where I discuss some of my favourite core exercises for runners.

Remember, build a foundation of strength so your body can handle all the miles.

Run strong and have a good run today,

-Jon

photo credit: ericmcgregor via photopin cc

Krissy Hussey

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I originally joined JKC because I was anxious about passing out and embarrassing myself since I hadn’t weight trained in a while and I’d hoped to find somewhere sympathetic. My husband @terry_hussey had been training at JKC and his success there made me miss the achievement you feel from a good workout. I went to meet Jon and immediately knew it was going to be a safe space for me. I was never judged for the fears I had and where I was starting from. Jon and Thomas made sure to check on me often, and found a way to challenge me but make me feel secure at the same time, and Terry and I were able to book sessions together, so working out became a shared win for us!

JKC is different from other gyms because of the personal growth you have outside JKC (the sessions inside JKC creates a great positive feedback loop!). You gain self confidence, learn how to show up for yourself, meet a community of newfound friends, and get the support of your trainers who are behind you 100%. I’ve left a scattered workout so proud of myself I’ve honestly shed a tear in the car on the drive home. JKC is the mental health relief valve I need to stay positive, and keep my anxiety and health related fears at bay.

Dane Woodland

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

I came to JKC through recommendations from my peers from lululemon. As a current ambassador, I’ve been introduced to legacy ambassadors, like Jon, and I knew a bunch of other people from the store were working out here so I wanted to give it a go. I often dread lower body workouts so I started coming here to do legs. I’ve had such great progress that I now come twice a week— and, I no longer hate leg day!

I’ve never experienced this sort of hybrid between group workouts and personalized service. Many group strength training services offer a sort of one-size-fits-all workout for the general population, which has never been of interest to me, because I want my workout tailored to my needs! I LOVE that you can be in a group setting while doing your own personal program; I love the camaraderie and community at JKC, and, I’ve seen incredible results thus far! Jon is always so attuned to what I need.

Emily Noble

I recently visited Newfoundland for one month, and was looking for a good place to train while I was there. Jon and the team at JK conditioning really took the time to assess what I already knew, and set achievable goals for the time that I had with them. The gym was such a great place to push yourself. It had everything you needed, but more importantly it had a well organized, very knowledgeable, and really motivating group of trainers to push you at each workout. Not to mention a really nice group of other members who also motivated me to go that little bit further. I would highly recommend the gym to anyone who has a goal and wants to find a place to help them achieve it.

Chris Stratton

I had been struggling with work-life balance resulting in not exercising or playing hockey as much as I had been doing in the past. In addition to being out of shape, I was starting to experience some back/shoulder issues and realized I needed to make some changes. Around this time, a friend (who was also a client) recommended JKC and that’s when I started!

You really feel part of a community where everyone is welcoming and supportive. You get a program that is designed specifically to achieve your goals, with the ongoing coaching, progress tracking and support required to achieve them. The JKC team are very knowledgeable about fitness and conditioning, and very engaging with everyone to answer questions or discuss anything and everything training related. I also like the flexible scheduling and gym times that work for my schedule (I like early mornings and evenings).

Dave Sullivan

I’ve always struggled with both my weight and anxiety throughout my life. As a writer you live a pretty sedentary lifestyle filled with both realistic and unrealistic deadlines, so I needed something to get me off my butt and to get me moving. JK has been a godsend during this past year and a half in particular. The pandemic has been tough, but workouts with both Thomas and Jon have really helped reduce the stress and strain of a global pandemic, and added an anchor of normalcy back into my life — which has been worth its weight in gold.

JKC has created an incredibly inclusive environment that’s filled with all kinds of supportive folks from all kinds of different backgrounds. For folks like myself, being surrounded by people with such athletic ability can be intimidating in most gyms. It can actually be a deterrent, and it sometimes has been for me. But, at JKC it’s far from that — it’s inspirational. Everyone supports one another. Which is something that’s not easily found in this day and age, inside of a gym or out. Not to sound like a total cheeseball here, but it really feels like a family.

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