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One of your colleagues decides to (re) get in shape and wants to run 5 km with you during the next Corporate Challenge? How much training can he afford to do in his first week of running?
This is the question that a study published in 2018. The study was carried out on beginner runners with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 35. The group was split into two:
- One group ran 3 km per week, with 3 sessions of 1 km per week;
- One group ran 6 km per week, 3 sessions of 2 km per week.
The protocol lasted four weeks and the distance to be covered each week increased by 10%.
Which group do you think was injured the least?
The group that ran the least was about 30% less likely to be injured than the group that ran more, at the end of 4 weeks. Moreover, what is also interesting is that when we look at the number of injuries per kilometer traveled, the risk was also lower for those who ran less.
It would therefore not be the total amount of kilometers driven that would lead to injuries, but the rapid increase in the number of kilometers driven that would cause the injuries. Obviously, as in all studies, some questions remain unanswered:
- Does this apply to runners of all weights?
- How fast should the number of kilometers traveled per week be increased?
- Would injuries be reduced even further by reducing the number of kilometers to be traveled?
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Totally agree! This happened with me last year, following overtraining, I ended up hurting my menisci and it prevented me from running and cycling since last summer… Anyway, operated in September and I start my walk, fisio, gym, by a month a running and walking program, this time, respecting the increase in km 😉
The thank you box
I started racing at 54! I really got there little by little. 2 minutes of running 4 times. Then 5 then 6. Then 2.30. Then 3 minutes... it's nothing for some but I continued regularly. Without worrying about the mockery. “How long are you running?” 10 mins. It's nothing, 10 minutes. Well, that’s 10 times more than you who don’t run.” 15 months later I run 10 minutes twice. And I am proud of myself given my overweight and my late start to physical activity. And if someone had told me I would like that 5 years ago I would have laughed.