This is NOT going to hurt – Fitness Journey

Well, actually it did hurt… and it hurt quite a lot. The only thing I managed to avoid was the stinging chaffing, which is one of the many little delightful bonuses you can get from distance running.

In an ill-advised catch-up in training – with a belated entry to Belfast Marathon now just nine weeks away – I set off on a much longer run than I had been used to over the last few weeks. The cramming didn’t work out and I staggered the last few miles home wondering when I would ever recover from the ordeal I had just put my body through.

I should have known better; I’ve been down this road before, so to speak. It’s all about incremental increases – slow and steady – I could hear my battered quads, calves, hamstrings, toes and tendons all scream in unison.

This two-and-a-half hours of self flagellation on Sunday morning also forced me to hastily cancel my next session at Source gym booked in for 7am on Monday morning. The first squat would have knocked me straight out. Burpees – not a chance.

Anyway, lesson learned and surprisingly the recovery has not been as bad as I’d feared.

All being well, I’ll be back in the gym with more rational thinking people than myself and where the exercise programme set out for me, is not going to leave me stumbling around like John Wayne the next morning.

“That’s the most important thing about training, is to increase the load slowly and gently,” Niall Hollywood from Source gym told me.

“Yep, I know, I know all that… and my poor legs know it too,” I responded in our weekly catch-up call.

“When we change up the training programme for our customers after six weeks, we have to make sure that any increases are manageable, we do not want anyone leaving here in pain or thinking that the training is too much for them.

“Recovery is really important. If we are going to make any progress in building strength, that’s where the changes need to be gradual, so that the body does not become over-loaded and start breaking down.”

Surely this is all common sense, but every so often, it does need to be spelled out in these simple terms.

Running has been a largely solitary pursuit for myself over the last few years – I had been a member of a club for a while, but the constant chat of PBs and time splits, all became too serious.

But I have missed a few scheduled events through injury – often a result of over-training. And I know that’s where the structure of a running club may have helped prevent my bloody-mindedness.

At the Source gym – it has been different. I have been training with people, and while our limitations and strengths may all be different, the central objective is the same, to get fitter, stronger and healthier.

The sense of community and solidarity with each other’s efforts to improve are what make this form of training such a success for the members who sign up.

As Niall – I hope jokingly put it – “Some of the longer Source members talk about the gym, like it’s a religion, that’s how much it means to them.”

Before he quickly adds, “We’re not a cult, but you know what I mean.”

This sense of togetherness will again be in evidence this weekend, when Source members take on a hike to the summit of Slieve Gallion.

“We have found that when people make these connections, going to the gym is a lot more than just about health and fitness,” Niall continued.

“Health and fitness is not just something you do for six weeks – it’s for life. What is great to hear, is that going to the gym for some of our members is the highlight of their day. They really look forward to it and the positive effect it has on them. Some of these people would say they were no good at PE in school or did any sport when they were younger, and they can’t believe it themselves that they are now regular members of a gym.

“And the reason that it sticks, is often that sense of community and common purpose they find from training with other people.

“As instructors, it is really pleasing to see the change in people from coming to the gym. Of course from a business perspective we want people to stay with us, but it’s more than just that, it’s about the common goals that we all work towards and helping people to improve their lives both physically and mentally.”

With week three completed at Source, my wobbly left shoulder is continuing to make steady progress and the increased posture strength – probably core strength – is more noticeable. You see Michael – incremental increases are the way to go.