As I begin week 4, it seems a good time to be considering the 5-week long strength and flex course.
I'd appreciate some feedback from others that have chosen to do this: does it make running easier? Is it nicer to be doing some form of exercise daily? Does it actually make a difference?
The main thing holding me back is the lack of bars at shoulder level to use for the 'pull ups'. Has this been a problem for anyone else? I'm not sure how to compensate for it aside from just not doing that activity.
Thanks,
Mike
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Mike_Bravo
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Funnily enough I looked at it today and was also put off by the shoulder height bars (or lack of!) so I'm interested to see what others think of the programme too.
I have been doing the Strength and Flexibility routine as long as I've been doing C25K and I thoroughly recommend it. I'm sure it has helped to reduce muscle pain. I go to the children's play park and use their equipment for a shoulder high bar. (a protective railing with vertical bars to stop the littlies falling off the climbing frames) Then I go around the rest of the park for the trees and use the seats as a balance for various stretches. The stretches are great for your muscles!
You do get some funny looks when you do brisk walking whilst doing shoulder rolls etc. as you go.
Give it a go and see what you think. It helped me greatly on week 3 when my calf muscles were very painful - they're not any more!
Thankfully I'll just laugh away any funny looks as I'm lucky enough to have no shame in doing what's good for me. I'd think I might have more funny looks doing the press ups against a tree though!
Hey Mik3_B, Laura promises to have me doing press ups in 5 weeks. Well she really has a challenge with me. I have never been able to do them - ever! Never been able to do body lifts on the beam either. Time will tell but I do enjoy that programme better than the running. Hope you get something good from it too.
Hi Beek, I've no doubt you'll be able to do them in five weeks, and I'm glad you enjoy that programme so much - I'm looking forward to it now. I'll let you know what I get from it x
I started Strength and Flex in w6 to complement the programme on non-run days, and really enjoyed it as well as finding it beneficial. (I also did it when I had a miserable cold and didn't feel up to running but wanted to do SOMETHING).
As to the bars for pull-ups - I did the programme indoors so first I tried a big and full bookshelf but I had fears it would topple over onto me! So after that I tried using our rather high mantelpiece, which is chin-high for 5'3" me - but I always worry I'm going to wrench it out of the wall! So I can't really advise. Beek's suggestion sounds good.
All the best with both programmes - if I can do it, anyone can!
The S & F is much less challenging than the running so I would think it would be a good alternative when someone on the programme isn't up to running but, as you say, wants to do something.
Thanks as well for your telling us your experience finding the notorious pull-up bars/shelf/mantle. I've just noticed the tree in the garden does have a branch that may well qualify for the move so I'm at least more optimistic than I was 10 minutes ago.
I had a couple of tries at S&F and got half way through before breaking off to make the most of a 'free' online yoga month with Ekhart yoga (trying to do S&F and yoga and run was not making me well) and I've not gone back to it as yet. I find S&F much harder to fit into my life than C25K or yoga. The most feasible thing for me is walking on the spot or at least in a very tight area at home and using a tall heated towel rain for the pull ups.
It is great though to do something towards strength and flexibility to 'complete' the running.
I use a scarf wrapped round the banisters on my stairs, but I guess not every has those. (I get disapproving looks from my husband also...if I break something, I get the feeling I am going to be fixing it!) I mean I guess if you were handy you could work out how to bolt something to the wall firmly, and then buy a towel rail or something for the purpose? But it is a bit of a begger if you don't fancy making a wally of yourself doing it in the park...
I started S&F a few weeks into C25K. Found it really helped with the upper body muscles: I'd developed a sore muscle across the middle/top of my back, probably due to posture and pumping arms while running. It disappeared very quickly thanks to S&F.
Often get a buzz once I've completed the workout... not quite the same as a runner's high, but good for reducing stress levels... Lovely thing about S&F is that you can do the exercises anywhere and any time. I often do a few when in front of the computer or cooking.
As for the pull-ups, I haven't got any railings of the right height so, after a few experiments, I came up with this solution... a wooden broom handle lying across two chairs, with me lying on the floor underneath and lifting myself up while keeping heels on ground. Quite hard.
Also used a mantlepiece (luckily an old granite one built into the wall). A bit tough on the old hands though.
Good to hear you're doing this, I've been reading about it as the next thing to focus on since graduating from the 5k podcast.
I've found the podcasts, but noticed there were only 4 weeks. This is via the NHS site, but from what I've seen, it's over 5 weeks. I'm on android, so can't use the link provided above as it's for iTunes. Does anyone know of another way to download the full 5 weeks please? I think it will be beneficial to follow, probably not as free flowing as just running, but should help overall.
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