Haven’t done any sport in ages and want to get back into it for a run? Follow the advice of Pr Paul Menu, President of the French Federation of Cardiology Poitou-Charentes and member of the CNOSF medical commission.
Sports coaches, without necessarily having appropriate training, bloom like swallows in the spring. The emergence of “well-being specialists” rivals that of sports-health-food specialists and in the kiosks at the station, there are more than 30 magazines devoted to Running, well-being and zen-attitude. Unfortunately, the scientific basis and the level of proof of the proposals of these articles for your well-being is often lower than that of the performance of toothpastes or detergents that we see on the small screen. So why is it so complicated to give the five or ten basic rules to follow for a resumption of activity?
TO EACH HIS PROGRAM
Because each of us is very different and it is obviously illusory to offer the same program to a 10-year-old child, a teenager, a pregnant woman or a 65-year-old senior. The advice for a young woman who wants to get back into some sport on the occasion of a charity run for children or a fun activity is not at all the same as that to be offered to a woman who runs 3 times a week and wants to perform under two hours at the half marathon.
REGULARITY IS KEY
What is recognized and demonstrated in the field of health benefits is that it is not the intensity, the quality or the duration of the effort that is the most important but the regularity. Doing 3 km a day, every day of the week (3×7=21) is much more efficient than 21 km once a week. What is less often explained is that the key to regularity is motivation and that motivation is dependent on the why. What drives you to want to resume this physical activity or even sport? Is it to be able to put on those little size 34 pants that you love so much, is it to lose weight, to eliminate the stress of the day, or to treat yourself. This question remains essential because if the answer is not sufficient to give you the necessary willpower, it is essential to stimulate regularity. When we know why we are doing it, it is always easier and when we do not know where we are going, we are very likely to go nowhere.
NO ONE WILL PUT ON THE SNEAKERS FOR YOU
What is the basis of sports competition is the ranking and the opponent. Wanting to join the top 100, beat Olympique de Marseille and avoid the chocolate medal at all costs are the engines of progress in sport. It is the fierce desire to be the best that allows Martin Fourcade or Laure Manaudou to get up at five in the morning to train. In the sport-health dynamic you have no adversary “the worst thing is not to be inferior to an adversary, it is to be inferior to oneself. And this is the most important point, no one will put on the sneakers for you. It is only on you that you have to rely on pressing the pedals or doing an extra length of pool, not on the lifeguard.
RUNNING WITH SOMEONE CAN INCREASE YOUR MOTIVATION
Even if this does not change anything in point 3 and you remain solely responsible for putting on your sneakers, the notion of team and group can increase your motivation tenfold. Knowing that three friends are waiting for you at the entrance to Parc Montsouris will be much more stimulating than the discouragement caused by a slightly low temperature or a light morning drizzle.
These 3 points being noted in the preamble and with all the reservations that this implies, what are the essential rules to follow for a woman aged 30 to 45, non-smoker (if you smoke more than 5 cigarettes a day, medical advice is essential) with a BMI < 32, who does not train regularly and plans to do a charity run? From the outset let’s say that it is possible without taking big risks on condition of precisely respecting these rules and that, nothing is more pleasant than crossing a finish line for the first time and reaching the objective that you had set yourself up especially if it was for a cause close to your heart.
RULE #1: BE EARLY
In the four weeks preceding the race, you must first train over short distances 3 km to 4 km, at least twice a week, and preferably in the morning. The real race should never be your first time. It is obviously complicated to do this training in the morning, it often seems impossible, but we must tell you that in the evening it is often even more complicated.
RULE #2: DRESS APPROPRIATELY
Equip yourself. Even if you don’t envisage there being a sequel to this ordeal (and you’re wrong) it’s useless to consider bringing out the sneakers you had in college, the same for your underwear if you don’t want to get burns and misplaced irritations. It is important to have quality clothes and to go out well covered (muscle performance is higher when the body temperature is high)
RULE N°3: HYDRATE YOURSELF!
Hydrate properly. Hydration remains essential even and especially during training. You must drink before a large glass of water every 15 minutes, drink during there also every 15 minutes (it is essential to stop to drink quietly at each break) and finally drink afterwards. Energy drinks on 5 km are not essential.
RULE N°4: ADAPT YOUR DIET
During the month preceding the race, food is essential. Thousands of tips exist on many sites, not always properly documented. Schematically, food in the three to four weeks preceding your race and during training should include, for bones (tofu, cashew nuts), for muscle building (vitamin E, almonds, spinach, avocado), for strength muscle (egg and red meat), for the protein load (vitamin B6, bananas, chicken, squash). Overall, fruits and vegetables should be preferred. Finally, three to four hours before the race itself, a good ration (150gr) of slow-acting sugar such as fresh pasta remains essential, especially if you have avoided them the month before in favor of brown rice, lentils or quinoa.
RULES #5: PLAN YOUR WORKOUTS
It is essential to plan all of your training, your diet and to take a regular rhythm, especially for your sleep. Do not improvise, it is not at the last moment and because there is nothing else to do that you will find the strength and the courage to change your habits! So make a real, realistic schedule (no need to overbook, persuading yourself that if you do half of it, it will be good).
Finally, if indeed you are not too sporty and if you have not taken care of your body for a long time, I will add the following advice:
VARY THE ACTIVITIES
A bit of cycling, a bit of swimming and a bit of stretching will work the other muscle groups. Do limbering up, stretching before and after. A good warm-up prepares your muscles and your brain and is essential for the proper elimination of the toxins that you will produce.
DISCONNECT
Don’t be obsessed with the chrono, the scales and the various health applications on smartphones (that will be for later). If music helps you run, great to enjoy it, but with the phone off. Log out.
SLEEP TWO HOURS AFTER WORKOUT
To rest the muscles that you are going to use, you must sleep well and allow a minimum of two hours between effort and falling asleep (same for food). Run in the morning, have dinner early and the last hour before bed, remember to take a little “quiet time” without a screen, without Kill Bill and away from the coffee machine, it’s the best way to feel good. fall asleep
