Hi, I’m Maddy. I am a 4th year Medical Student here at Bristol and I am also in my 4th year of working for B:Active as one of the student activators. My role in the department has taken many different forms over the years, especially throughout the pandemic, but now that things are (hopefully!) settling back into normality I thought it was about time to take you through a typical day in my life on the B:Active team. I am currently on placement in Gloucester Royal Hospital so on weekdays I join our admin meetings remotely and keep up with the team that way. On the weekends however, I am always back on Bristol soil and so I thought it would make the most sense to talk you through my typical Saturday, as this is when I truly get my B:Active fix.
Top 5 strength exercises for runners, as recommended by a PT
Following on from our previous post, Sian from SC fitness takes a look at the best strength exercise for runners.
You may have read in our recent blog that strength training is very important for runners. Not only because it’s going to improve your running, but perhaps most importantly because it helps prevent injury. As running is a high impact sport, risk of injury is also high and I bet you have experienced – or at least know someone who has – a niggle or two due to running regularly. It’s understandable, however, that strength training – which is completely different to running – can be overwhelming when it comes to knowing what exercises you should be doing to make sure you’re getting the benefits you need. To help keep things simple and uncomplicated for you, here are my top 5 strength exercises for runners which I advise you include in your training.
A Runner’s Guide to Strength Training
Our latest blog post for the Run Series comes from Sian at SC fitness. She takes a look at strength training for runners, and where to start with building the right training plan for you!
In a runner’s world, running often takes priority – understandably! However, in order for you to improve your running, to feel good whilst you’re running and essentially for you to be able to continue to run for as long as you want to, strength training needs to be part of your training schedule too. Runner’s can often neglect their strength training for numerous reasons. Perhaps it’s unfamiliar to them and they don’t know what they should be doing, or maybe they find it tedious and uninteresting. Whatever your own reasons may be, if you want to run to the best of your ability and stay injury-free, strength training is a non-negotiable. To help you get started, here’s a simple guide of why you need to and how you can implement your own strength work into your weekly routine.
Running in Warm Weather
As the Bristol Run Community start their virtual 15ks and begin training for the Great Bristol 10k and Half Marathon, we’ve got another blog post from Queen Square Running Club coach Matt Dorber tackling how to run in warm weather!
Tips for Increasing Your Distance From 10km to a Half Marathon
Congratulations to everyone who completed the Bristol Run Series 10k. To help you to step up to the 15k and Half Marathon, Personal Trainer, Sian from SC-fitness has some helpful tips below.
Keeping Active to Combat Loneliness
This year for Mental Health Awareness week the theme has been loneliness. Loneliness is something many of us experience throughout our lives, whether we’re at university or later in life. Feeling lonely can really impact your mental health, as you may feel the absence of meaningful relationships around you. Finding connections is an important part of combatting loneliness – whether that’s with ourselves, others or with the world around us.
Keeping active is often promoted as one of the ways that you can promote good mental health; it can help improve your sleep, boost your mood and reduce stress! Regular activity can also help provide the benefits of a structured routine and help build a sense of community.
Today we’re going to highlight some of the ways you can keep active whilst also combatting loneliness.
Bristol Run Series: The 10k
With the Bristol Run Series 10k successfully launching last Friday, we’ve got another blog post from Matt Dorber of Queen Square Running Club.
This time, he’s focusing on running your 10k, from preparation to tactics to dealing with the mental challenge…
Increasing Distance: More Top Tips for Runners
Matt Dorber, local Bristol Running Coach and regular runner with Queen Square Run Club, gives us his advice on how to increase distance. This second installment in his series of educational blog posts covers more top tips ahead of the Bristol Run Series 10k which starts next week.
The series launched in January and after the incredible success of the 5k, we’re thinking ahead to our 10k, 15k, and half-marathon. Whether you’re looking for advice to help you on your virtual 10k over the next couple of weeks, or looking ahead to the in-person inflatable 15k, you can make use of this expert advice!
This time, Matt talks how to work increased distances into your training plan, listening to your body, and looking after your mental wellbeing.
Club Spotlight: Women’s Cricket
As the usual BUCS season ends and the summer term begins, it’s time for Cricket to take it’s place in the spotlight. With the Cricket Season beginning last week, the University of Bristol Women’s Cricket Club have got their first match today, and we’re all excited to see how they do. There’s no better to club to kick off the latest series of club spotlights, showcasing sport clubs at Bristol.
We spoke to Nadia, UBWCC Treasurer, who was excited to describe the “small but growing” community of the club. Read on to find out about their upcoming season, what training looks like for cricket, club social life, and how you can get involved!
New To Running? Here’s Our Top Tips
This year, we’ve teamed up with Matt Dorber, local Bristol Running Coach and regular runner with Queen Square Run Club, to bring you a series of motivations, inspirational and educational blog posts throughout the Series.
The University of Bristol Run Series launched in January and we’re hurtling towards the virtual and in-person 5k events which take place in March 2022! Whether you are completely new to running, returning after a break or a season pro, you can never get enough advice from the experts about how to make it through your events in the speediest, safest and most enjoyable way!
We’re kicking off with Matt’s top tips for new runners, from mindset to what you wear on your feet.