Client Success Story: Bec’s journey into running

Today, Longevity Exercise Physiology Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Marrickville, Castle Hill,  Randwick,  Pymble,  Kingsgrove,  Neutral Bay, and Coburg, would like to share another client win! This is a story about how we have been able to help one of our clients learn to run again, for the first time in years!

“I will never run again.”

It’s a thought that goes through the head of 90% of our clients once they reach 50. The same thought was had by one of my clients, Bec*, aged 73, even in her thirties. Bec played hockey at school, which was her last memory of running, and she hasn’t thought about it since.

Bec was initially referred by her dietician to Longevity in 2021 to manage her weight and cholesterol. Additionally, she had been diagnosed with osteopenia, so she was also interested in the benefits of exercise to improve her bone health.

Bec’s main goals were to stay fit, healthy, and active, to keep up with her two young grandchildren, and to improve her bone health. Bec enjoyed walking, but she was unsure about how to do strength training on her own.

Since she started, we have been training weekly in the park together. (This was when we didn’t have access to the gyms during the COVID lockdown!)

Bec’s training

Running had never been one of Bec’s goals. She simply wanted to be strong and be able to walk fast to keep up with the kids at the park as well as her marathon running friends. She was worried about her osteopenia, so we discussed different modalities of exercise to help her bones, including high intensity resistance training and impact loading exercise.

We had done jumps, hops, and step-ups, but Bec wanted to try something new. This is when we started to think of running. Running is a great weight-bearing exercise that can be used in conjunction with resistance training to help maintain or improve bone mass.

We started simple – 2 intervals with rest in between, then increasing to 3, and so on. Now, Bec can complete up to 6 intervals of 50m sprints!

Just recently, we have begun attempting some longer distance running. Bec ran 300m in 1.49 minutes without stopping – something she never thought she was capable of. Considering Bec hadn’t run for over 50 years, this is truly amazing!

How can we help you learn to run?

Bec would never have been able to return to running safely had she not been under the supervision of a Longevity  Exercise Physiologist. Although running is great for bone health and cardiovascular fitness, if introduced too quickly there is a risk of developing an overuse injury. An Exercise Physiologist will guide you through you’re journey into running in a way that is sustainable, and guaranteed to help you enjoy the process!

At Longevity Exercise Physiology, we have developed systems to help our clients learn to run, by working on both cardiovascular fitness and strength.

Our practitioners have guided their clients through these steps, with modifications based on each clients’ different needs. We have successfully helped not just Bec, but many other clients return to running – clients who, like Bec, also thought running again was just a fantasy.

Bec is absolutely stoked with her progress and is now more motivated than ever to keep improving her running distance, her aerobic fitness and her bone health!

“Until I met the Longevity team, I did not realise how important exercise is, and certainly how motivating it can be when you see the results. I never thought about running, and now, I can run longer than I never thought I could. It makes you stronger, improves your balance and makes walking easier.” – Bec*

Although, she isn’t planning to enter the City2Surf this year, Bec has made it clear that completing it, either walking or running, will be one of her exercise goals for 2024.

That is the power of training with a Longevity Exercise Physiologist – we motivate you and help you achieve things you thought were so far out of reach, in a progressive and safe manner. We will help you set exercise and lifestyle goals and map out the steppingstones to help you achieve those goals, no matter how big or small.

All you have to do, is make the first step and call 1300 964 002 to book an appointment. We offer free 15-minute consultations with an Exercise Physiologist to answer any questions you may have.

*Name changed for privacy.

Written by Shannon Coolican.