By Cindy King-Williams
I have been doing Body Pump by Les Mills (‘Pump’) for nearly
15 years. Sometimes I wonder why I do it, and if it benefits
my running.
For those who are not gym junkies, PUMP is basically a group
workout of high-repetition and low weight with classic
weight room exercises such as squats, bench presses, and
bicep curls.
As a way to justify my enjoyment of the class, I can easily
come up with benefits of Pump classes for runners:
1. Timing: Because the class is at a set time, it means that I have to get there on time, which forces me out the door. I am the first to admit that I don’t love to do strengthening, so an hour class forces me to train.
2. You can do it after a hard workout, leaving rest time before the next session. When my daughter was younger I worked four days a week, with Wednesdays off. I would do a speed session in the morning, and then PUMP at 10.30am while she was in the gym’s child care. My next speed session was on Friday morning, so by doing my strength training almost immediately after my hard session, I was ensuring that my body had 42 hours to recover before my Friday morning speed session.
3. The class environment challenges me more than if I were doing exercises on the gym floor on my own. If someone else can keep holding that plank at the end of the abs section, then I can too!
4. It gives us runners something to do on non-running days. When I was younger, I used to be able to run more, but age and managing chronic injuries mean that I am restricted to running 4 days a week. Cross training with PUMP not only strengthens my muscles, but provides me with the ‘stress relief’ daily exercise provides. The combination of set moves and catchy music provides an ideal environment to switch off and check out from the rest of my life. Dr Sarah McKay at yourbrainhealth.com.au wrote about how meditation doesn’t really ‘work’ for her. But she finds the predictability; rhythm and movement of Pump can help her mind still. I can definitely relate.
5. Upper body strength – let’s face it, you don’t get great guns from running – but you do from PUMP.
6. No matter where you go, Pump is the same. We runners like consistency and BodyPump definitely gives you that.
The bad news? Basically, from a purely physiological perspective, it is not the best cross training activity if your primary goal is running training and performance. I came to this conclusion after a discussion with Rob O’Donnell from Southern Suburbs Physio Centre in Melbourne www.sspc.com.au. Not only is he a former elite distance runner, but he also specialises in the field of athletics and running injuries.
As Rob put it, “Strengthening for runners can be a very important part of a training program, especially in relation to injury recovery and prevention. A lot of the squat type of exercise in Pump will help with gluteal, hamstring and quadriceps strength which may help with pelvic stability. Running should always remain the cornerstone of all training programs and any extra core based strength work needs to be as efficient and specific to you as possible, so as not to fatigue you for the main running sessions. The type of exercises done in the Body Pump type classes often will not fulfil these criteria. Everyone is doing the same type of exercise and many of the exercises are not relevant for runners. That said light weights and many repetitions is a fairly safe way of adding in some strength work but technique remains important. You are probably better getting a well-designed individual program from a good sports physio specific for your needs”
If I haven’t put you off by the science, here is what I
recommend runners remember when choosing to do a Pump
Class:
1. If you can, go with a friend to your first class. They
can help set you up and show you the ropes and etiquette.
2. I consciously remind myself in Pump classes that Pump is not my primary sport. So, when the instructor challenges us to triple our weights on squats, I know that I have worked my legs on hills that morning, and so don’t succumb to the peer pressure of trying to increase my weights to the point that will tire my legs for the next running session.
3. If some of the exercises are not right for you, you need to have the confidence to customise some of the exercises for yourself. For example, because of my problems with my feet, and cant effectively do lunges. So I just try to unobtrusively do my one-legged squat exercises that my physio has prescribed for me.
4. Never do Pump before running. As O’Donnell put it - “All strengthening exercises should be done post running. Doing strength work pre running has been shown to lessen the cardio benefits from the training and also if you are tired from the strength program you are likely to lose form with running and that can lead to increased risk of injury. Fatigue is the biggest factor leading to loss of running form and therefore increased tissue load.”
5. Focus on proper posture and form – the last thing that
you want to do is get injured from cross training – regular
running gives you enough of an opportunity to get injured….
This focus on form and correct body movement can translate
well to focusing on your running form as well.
My conclusion? Purely because I enjoy it, I will continue to
go to Pump Class. But not before a run, always focusing on
form, and not too hard!
If you are interested in adding PUMP into your running
program, contact expert running coach Sean Williams
(sean@melbournepack.com.au) so that this can be customised
into your training plan. If you want a more specific weights
plan for running, you can contact Rob O’Donnell at
www.sspc.com.au.
Who is Cindy? Cindy is an accredited distance running coach, and an accomplished runner in her own right. She has twice competed for Australia in Mountain Running, and continues to place well in her age group in fun runs. As a full-time working mother, running is one of her biggest stress relievers. Her goal is to try to stay quicker than her daughter Matilda for as long as possible.