With the start of the London 2012 Olympic games only 8 weeks away, the first round of fitness tests only 9 days away and the start of my pre-season fitness training less than a week away, I began considering how I can avoid the type of injuries which plagued my seasons before I "retired" back in December 2009.
I've received advice on my running style before from Andy Madley who refereed on the Football League last season. I also reviewed my style myself by trying to avoid the "landing on my heel and rolling the length of my foot before pushing off" method as a means of avoiding hamstring and Achilles injuries. The problem I have is that carrying around 110Kg means there's a lot to propel around the field ...
So I am planning on taking the advice of a poster to the website linked to A&H International who posts as MattyRef. He says ...
When younger, I was a National Level sprinter, and we spent hours and hours working on the 'mechanics' of running while training.
At a slow pace or jogging, 'flat footed' is the best way to run - by this I mean the weight is evenly distributed across most of the foot. If you are, say, 10st, and plant the heel first, then every stride will receive an impact equivalent to 10st on approx. 1/2 sq. inch of foot - prolonged running like this, especially on hard ground like pavements, will damage not only the foot, but Achilles, calves, shins, hips and spine.
Flat-footed spreads the weight over the whole foot - approx. 12x3" = 36sq inches!
At a slow pace, the muscular requirements are huge as well. 10st of beef and bone to be lifted off the ground, propelled forward, and then lifted again and propelled forward.
When running faster, at a sprint, a whole different technique is required. Here the requirement is to get the weight moving forwards with the muscles and skeleton simply keeping the momentum going.
Therefore, your posture should be weight forward and the feet/leg combo actually take less of a beating - weight on the balls of the feet, and less impact with each stride. In order to keep the momentum moving forwards we rely more on our thigh muscles and upper body strength. Powerful shoulders to pump the arms (think Terminator 2) and higher knees.
During the Olympics, look at the long-distance runners compared to the sprinters:
DISTANCE = small, light wiry.
SPRINTERS = stocky, muscular, heavier.
As referees, we need to strike the balance between the two, with distance covered during a game, we need to be able to jog comfortably yet still have enough power in reserve to sprint full-tilt when required.
So when on training runs, mix it up a bit - two lampposts at a jog then sprint to the third, then jog one, turn and run backwards to the next (reverse jogging is whole different set of mechanics!) etc etc.
We've had a very senior referee retire this season purely due to the training he did - he runs marathons, jogs daily to the top of a small, extinct volcano, so all his 'training' was for distance/cross-country. The result, his Achilles shortened and he can no longer sprint to keep up with play in the higher leagues.
Fit as the proverbial butcher's dog, his body simply cannot cope with the demands football puts on it any more. He is still planning three marathons and a couple of Iron Man comps in the next 12 months though.
So if you see a fat, bald man doing elaborate running patterns between the lampposts on your street, that might just be me ... alternatively I might stick to running on grass (less impact, more endurance from my old legs) making my way around the touchline/goal line of a local football field alternating between running, jogging and sprinting, but all the time planning to get to the end of next season ... injury-free!!!
Continue reading...
I've received advice on my running style before from Andy Madley who refereed on the Football League last season. I also reviewed my style myself by trying to avoid the "landing on my heel and rolling the length of my foot before pushing off" method as a means of avoiding hamstring and Achilles injuries. The problem I have is that carrying around 110Kg means there's a lot to propel around the field ...
So I am planning on taking the advice of a poster to the website linked to A&H International who posts as MattyRef. He says ...
When younger, I was a National Level sprinter, and we spent hours and hours working on the 'mechanics' of running while training.
At a slow pace or jogging, 'flat footed' is the best way to run - by this I mean the weight is evenly distributed across most of the foot. If you are, say, 10st, and plant the heel first, then every stride will receive an impact equivalent to 10st on approx. 1/2 sq. inch of foot - prolonged running like this, especially on hard ground like pavements, will damage not only the foot, but Achilles, calves, shins, hips and spine.
Flat-footed spreads the weight over the whole foot - approx. 12x3" = 36sq inches!
At a slow pace, the muscular requirements are huge as well. 10st of beef and bone to be lifted off the ground, propelled forward, and then lifted again and propelled forward.
When running faster, at a sprint, a whole different technique is required. Here the requirement is to get the weight moving forwards with the muscles and skeleton simply keeping the momentum going.
Therefore, your posture should be weight forward and the feet/leg combo actually take less of a beating - weight on the balls of the feet, and less impact with each stride. In order to keep the momentum moving forwards we rely more on our thigh muscles and upper body strength. Powerful shoulders to pump the arms (think Terminator 2) and higher knees.
During the Olympics, look at the long-distance runners compared to the sprinters:
DISTANCE = small, light wiry.
SPRINTERS = stocky, muscular, heavier.
As referees, we need to strike the balance between the two, with distance covered during a game, we need to be able to jog comfortably yet still have enough power in reserve to sprint full-tilt when required.
So when on training runs, mix it up a bit - two lampposts at a jog then sprint to the third, then jog one, turn and run backwards to the next (reverse jogging is whole different set of mechanics!) etc etc.
We've had a very senior referee retire this season purely due to the training he did - he runs marathons, jogs daily to the top of a small, extinct volcano, so all his 'training' was for distance/cross-country. The result, his Achilles shortened and he can no longer sprint to keep up with play in the higher leagues.
Fit as the proverbial butcher's dog, his body simply cannot cope with the demands football puts on it any more. He is still planning three marathons and a couple of Iron Man comps in the next 12 months though.
So if you see a fat, bald man doing elaborate running patterns between the lampposts on your street, that might just be me ... alternatively I might stick to running on grass (less impact, more endurance from my old legs) making my way around the touchline/goal line of a local football field alternating between running, jogging and sprinting, but all the time planning to get to the end of next season ... injury-free!!!
Continue reading...
