It might seem obvious at first that a personal trainer can improve your running. After all, isn’t it their job to help improve peoples’ fitness?!
Before you hire a personal trainer to help with your running, you need to know that not all trainers are created equal. You will want to make sure the trainer has running experience.
- How long has s/he been running?
- Does s/he run for fun or for competition?
- How much experience does s/he have working with runners with your experience and fitness level?
Also, make sure your personalities are a match. You will be working closely with your trainer throughout your training cycle. Being able to talk freely with your trainer and not feel judged increases the effectiveness of your working relationship. Find a personal trainer who understands the constraints of your life– hello, working mom of three kids who is also going through perimenopause!
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It might be surprising to learn that not all of the work of personal training for runners is done in the gym.
Let’s take a look at three specific ways hiring a personal trainer for runners can make you stronger, faster, and at the top of your game:
- Strengthen and lengthen
- Plan to peak
- Up your mental game
STRENGTHEN AND LENGTHEN
One way a personal trainer can make you a better runner is by observing your running gait and overall form. These observations will likely reveal that somewhere in your body you have muscular imbalances. The trainer may also notice the way your torso and arms move. Perhaps these patterns indicated that form improvements could increase your running economy.
For example, it’s typical for runners to have overdeveloped quadriceps muscles and weak gluteal and hamstring muscles. If this is true for you, your trainer can teach you exercises to help the glutes fire more fully. Even more importantly, the trainer can observe your form and teach you cues to ensure that you are performing the exercise effectively.
Muscular imbalances sometimes appear not due to lack of strength but due to lack of flexibility. In this case, the personal trainer can teach you appropriate stretching exercises. When the muscles are back to working within their full range of motion, they will be more efficient.
Form improvements could be as simple as changing the path the arms track as they swing. By breaking this movement down for you, a quality trainer could identify where strengthening or stretching (or both!) could benefit your form. A more efficient arm swing adds power to your run.
When taken together, greater strength, improved flexibility, and form efficiency translate into improved running times.
PLAN TO PEAK
Another way a personal trainer can help improve your running is by designing a personalized training plan. This is especially important for runners with goal races, particularly if you are looking to try to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
A plan designed especially for you can take into consideration your unique physical needs and your schedule. Different from a training plan you might find online, a trainer-designed workout plan incorporates specific strength training and stretching (to correct those muscular imbalances). It is also tailored to your fitness level and can be tweaked as necessary during the training period.
If you travel a lot or are training through the flu-ridden winter, a trainer can help you adjust for missed workouts. Having an experienced professional who can offer advice as to when it is best to skip a workout entirely or how to make it up without throwing off the whole plan is reassuring.
Furthermore, a quality personal trainer will have a thorough understanding of the concept of periodization. This mean your training plan will build up and back off appropriately in cycles. This periodization helps your body adapt safely and lowers your risk of injury.
If you are looking to peak for a race, getting to the starting line healthy and whole is key to your success.
MENTAL GAME
While most people think of personal trainers as people who can tell you what exercise to do and for how many sets and repetitions, quality trainers are true coaches. They are looking to bring out the best in their clients. They understand how the tools of psychological motivation can help people meet and exceed their goals.
And anyone who has been running for a while knows how important the mental game is to our sport.
Every runner hits low points during a training cycle, especially if it is several months long as it is for marathon training. A personal trainer can coach you through rough spots in your training. Having someone with experience on your side can help remind you of all of the work you have already invested.
A personal trainer is valuable not just for writing workouts but for post-workout rehash conversation. By asking questions about what you learned from difficult workouts, you will gain insight into how you can adapt for race day.
Visualization is a strategy used by elite athletes to control the anxiety of competition. It works for runners of all fitness levels! Your trainer can talk you through what to expect pre-race, discuss possible race time scenarios—and how you will react to them—and then have you visualize yourself completing the race happy, healthy, and whole.
When you consider how much time and energy you invest in training, hiring a personal trainer to improve your running is worthwhile. By boosting your whole body strength and flexibility, designing a workout plan so you can peak at the right time, and sharpening your mental game, a personal trainer may be just the secret to your running success.
Karen Shopoff Rooff is an ACE certified personal trainer and health coach with more than 20 years’ experience running marathons and ultramarathons. The Marathon Finish Line blog is for informational purposes. Please seek advice from a medical practitioner before engaging in a new fitness program.