COACH’S CORNER - How To Get Your One Percenters Right by Mario Buchs

I soon realised with being injured a lot and as I age, that looking after the little things and being consistent will pay dividends in the long run. So, what exactly are these little things, or what we call the One Percenters?

Stick to Your Plan and Trust the Process/Coach

At this point in time, it can be easy to skip that long run, or cut a session short because you are not feeling it today. You most likely have a plan to help get you to where you need to be for your big race.

Each session will be building on the last, so it’s important to keep your training consistent.

Have a rest when you need to, but make sure it is for the right reasons and cross off each of those training sessions when you complete them. Keep the streak going and you won’t want to miss a session.

Staying Hydrated

Especially in summer months, it allows the body to keep energy levels up so you can recover better and perform for longer. Although it’s less important for a shorter race, research suggests that being only 25% dehydrated could lead to a 3% performance loss. Not much in the scheme of things but could be the difference between beating your PB or not.

I go by a daily intake of 1liter of fluids per 25kg of bodyweight plus whatever I lose through exercise. PLUS I add sodium to much of my daily hydration. At the end of the day water alone is not a great lubricant for our joints and ligaments.

Core Body Workout

We all know we should be doing these workouts. As coaches we can help with an array of core work exercises. Most of the time these workouts can be completed in twenty to thirty minutes, so there is no excuse.

Lift

Not take the lift, but lift heavy, awkward objects. Works the core (see above). Of course start with manageable weights and work yourself up. If you’re building endurance or full body strength, grip strength improvement indicates training success!

Eating Right

I’m not trying to get people to stress about what they eat (I’m not qualified to do so anyway), I don’t even log my own calories but it’s really important you are getting as many nutrients as possible from the amount of food you are eating. Just like staying hydrated, making sure you are eating properly, ensuring you have enough fuel in the tank.

Taper Properly

If you are setting up your own training plan, make sure you discuss this if you have access to one of the coaches and think long and hard about your taper before a race. A taper is not cutting back on your running mileage the week before a race. A proper taper should have you ready for your race feeling fresh and running stronger and faster than you ever have.

Sleep and Recovery

You need to give yourself adequate time to recover, with your training suffering if you are not getting enough sleep. Pre-race nerves can play a part in not getting enough sleep the night before a race. Don’t let this stress you out, as long as the previous night before the race was quality, you shouldn’t be effected on race day.

Stretching and Massage

If you can’t get a sports massage, make sure you can at least stretch daily. Massage balls( or golf/cricket/tennis balls) and rollers are a great way to relieve pressure in muscles and can be a good substitute for a massage. I foam roll every night in front of the TV. Stretching can be done easily at your standing desk.

Last but not least let’s have a look at some easy ways to get these little things done.

• Be consistent as much as possible with everything in terms of your running
• Stand on one leg when you brush your teeth
• Put on your socks and shoes while standing on one leg
• Have a water bottle everywhere
• Get off/up from the chair without using your hands
• Take the stairs instead of the lift
• Sleep in the evening not in the morning (because this won’t happen...as we have to get up early for work/life/run etc) but do what you like and when you can fit it in and keep things simple
• Massage/sauna/cold water immersion
• Reformer pilates/yoga/meditation

mario buchs is an accredited recreational running coach and coaches with trt running in sydney, nsw, featuring a strong background in ultra running. if you would like more information on being trained by mario, click through here to our aura endorsed coaches page.