The UK's leading personal trainer and best-selling fitness author, Matt Roberts, gives his winter tips in conjunction with the launch of the dhb reflective run jacket.
1. What are your winter running kit essentials?
Compression tops and bottoms that sit well under your usual running kit are great for the winter as they keep you warm without making you feel restricted. I would also recommend wearing a beanie or head band as well as high visibility kit such as the dhb Reflective Run Jacket.
2. How should runners stay motivated when training through the cold and dark winter months?
Find your deep reason for running. Dig a little bit deeper than some of the more superficial reasons like weight loss or general fitness. Ask yourself why losing weight and being fitter are important to you. Once you’ve found a deeper reason why, write it down and stick it somewhere so you will see every day. This little daily nudge should help to keep you motivated.
3. What’s your top tip for an event novice who has just signed up for their first race?
Find a good novice running program and stick to it. Adherence to a training schedule will be one of the defining factors in your performance on race day and how well you recover afterwards.
4. Would you recommend combining strength training into running training and how might you schedule these workouts?
Yes, I most certainly would. It’s hard to talk specifics because it depends on many different variables for each individual but in general 1 or 2 full body strength sessions a week should be included.
5. What’s the most effective training method for increasing running speed?
It’s hard to generalise here as there could be a number of variables limiting an individual’s running speed. For example, it could be running mechanics, it could be power production, it could even be breathing mechanics. The key is to establish the limiting factor and work on improving that.
6. Are there any new fitness trends we should be looking out for in 2017?
The accuracy, usability and wear-ability of fitness technology is improving year on year. I think there will be more devices utilising things like heart rate variability, which can help guide how hard you should train on a particular day.
dhb Reflective Run Jacket £45.00
www.wiggle.co.uk
