Getting Serious About Sports Training

Whenever I watch the Olympics, I am inspired by the dedication and hard work of Olympic athletes, and awed by their training programs. I’m also a bit jealous of the professional support they have to help them perform their best–from trainers, to massage therapists, to registered dietitians. I was interested to learn about a local company that offers similar services to any athlete who is serious about sports training.

As explained on their website, the Endurance Athlete Center in Falls Church, Virginia offers physical therapy, massage, personal training, podiatry and nutritional services to triathletes, runners, cyclists, swimmers, and adventure racers. In February, EAC had an open house for the local Moms Run This Town groups, and we got to see their facilities, workout with their trainers, and hear presentations from their professionals. 

The open house started with one of the personal trainers, Kavon Atabaki, leading us through a mini bootcamp program with exercises that we could do as dynamic warm-ups and for core strengthening. While many moves were familiar, few of us had ever done this clamshell/side plank combination.

(Putting It Into Practice – Hotel Gym Selfie)

The podiatrist, Dr. Lane, gave a presentation on running shoes. It was really nice to get hardcore information from a knowledgeable person without a sales agenda. He had us test our shoe sizes by removing the insoles and standing on them. With a properly fitting shoe, both feet should fit fully on the insoles with a bit of extra room above the toe.

If you know Anne from Fannetastic Food, you already may know that she is their resident registered dietitian.  She gave a great presentation on “The Top 5 Nutrition Mistakes Made By Runners.” I may be guilty of #1, #3 and #5 — yikes!

Kerri Kramer, one of the physical therapists, gave a presentation on running form, and explained typical poor running forms that lead to common running injuries. After listening to her explanations, I think we all will be trying to run with our chests out and our butt cheeks squeezed tight! 😉

After the formal program, we had an opportunity to ask questions about any specific injuries we were dealing with. Since I am healthy right now (knock-on-wood), I used the time to try out their Alter G treadmill.

I had never heard about Alter G treadmills until Laura mentioned it as part of her injury rehab last summer, and recently Miss Zippy has been using it for the same reason. The manufacturer calls it an “anti-gravity” treadmill because you can select to run on anywhere from 20% – 100% of your body weight. They had me try it at 65% and it definitely took some getting used to. At first it felt like my feet were barely touching the ground!

The EAC offers a 2 hour running assessment that covers flexibility, strength, foot type, and range of motion, and a slow motion video analysis for running technique and position. While I’m not that serious about my running, I think it might be worth it as an investment in my long-term running health–to identify specific muscle weaknesses, improve my running form, and keep me running injury-free.

Have you ever had a running assessment?

Are your running shoes the right size?