Performance Tips

Every month on The Locker Room we have a new 30-Day Challenge. These challenges have varied from 3-minutes of stretching, 5 serves of vegetables, foam rolling your quads and even "dry-July" which was a month with no alcohol. The challenge that I have found helped my running the most, was...

Learn how to go from hating it to being addicted. Have you ever tried running and hated it because it "hurts too much" or it is just "too hard"? This is the most common reason people give up before they really even get started. Right now, while many gyms are...

Collagen supplements have become extremely popular with athletes in the past year or so. What is it and what is all the fuss about? Nearly 2/3rd of all visits to the physio for sportspersons are due to a musculoskeletal injury. Weakness within the extracellular matrix (ECM) is often the cause...

Have you ever wondered exactly what alcohol does to your health and what the implications are of drinking too much long term? The process of metabolizing alcohol via the liver requires a number of essential nutrients. As the liver uses up its supply of these nutrients, the blood stream is...

First of all, I have to concede that however fantastic strength may be, it does not replace running. Let's look at what I would consider the priorities when you are planning your strength sessions. Running Running must come first if you want to improve at running. That probably doesn't come...

Part 5. Holy toledo, how did we get here? Probably because calvies are the best weapon in your running and injury prevention arsenal. Anyway, part 5 means we can skip the intro and jump into the different types of strength specific to our calvies. Specific Calf Strength for Runners Heavy...

Recap Your calf complex is the number one centre of propulsion and tolerates 6-8 x body weight of force each and every step. Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3 in this series for specific strength, length, and function goals to suit your current level of training. The...

I hope you can gather that this series is focused on encouraging you to take ownership and accountability for your body, look after yourself, and look for some low-hanging fruit to work on improving your running. This is not a comprehensive battery of tests, but is designed to keep you...

Did you win last year's UTA100? Are you leading the Sydney Trail Series? Did you run 2:02 in Berlin? The guys/girls who get these top results are masters at training hard, but even better at managing their bodies and remaining injury-free. The vast majority of runners get injured every year,...

How can you beat the exercise rut before it beats you? It happens to the best of us – the mornings get colder and darker, we snooze the alarm that one extra time. Before we know it we are out the door and on the way to work without completing our...

Does This Sound Familiar To You! (Note: The Body Mechanic / TBM Locker Room or Valaar do not endorse drinking alcohol to test this theory.) A common example of a statement from a new client is: “I ran 25km on Sunday, and my Achilles started to niggle at 20km, but...

These strategies will supercharge your performance. A fellow runner recently asked what tactics people used to push through the last portion of a hard workout?  This is a brave question because we all like to think of ourselves as hard units who never quit or back down.  It resonated with...

You hear the voice in your head telling you to do an ultramarathon. The idea seems appealing at first and you have a moment of fantasy where you believe you can do it. Then 5 minutes later you have noted 1,000 excuses as to why you shouldn't. I'm not ready...

Photo credit: Tour De Trails - Warburton Trail Fest. “What you wish you knew when starting out, based on what you know now”- now say that 5 times over. Tongue twister and mind boggler. Nonetheless a great question to reflect on and share with you so we can all learn...

For the past 2 years, I have struggled with running.  I haven't had any acute injuries, no strains or sprains, just chronically sore hips and back that made running both completely uncomfortable and 100% not enjoyable.  I'm a stubborn mule sometimes, so I persisted in the hope that it would...

The Health Creation Centre’s mission is to help everyone in our community to MOVE THROUGH LIFE !  With the current challenges we are all facing, HCC wants to give your team access and resources to health services wherever you are.  _ We offer online virtual Osteopathy consults. We also can...

Take A Break I’m sure we all know the productivity and creativity benefits of regular work breaks, however knowing and doing are two different realities. We are all guilty of getting engrossed in a task and not moving for hours until we get screen blind, stiff necks, and aching backs. ...

These are strange times. The world feels like it is in some sort of meltdown, and the uncertainty it is causing is very stressful. Running is often the best form of “therapy” to help deal with stress, so if at all possible you need to keep running. It is easy...

Immune Boosting Tips:  Food/Lifestyle Bone broths - this is simple, affordable and highly effective, there is a recipe on my website Anti-microbial foods - Garlic, Onions, Oregano Anti-oxidant foods - Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, opt for a wide variety of colours Sunshine /Sauna  - viruses dislike heat, so sitting in direct...

Bloating, indigestion, reflux, nausea, excessive gas or wind, abdominal pain and irregular bowels are extremely common symptoms reported by many people and are associated with poor digestive function.  Did you know that poor digestion can also cause fatigue, headaches and lack of concentration?  There are many causes of these annoying...

HOW SOON SHOULD YOU START RUNNING AFTER AN INJURY? I have seen quite a few runners in our physio clinic recently who have been told by their health care professional that they will need months off running to recover from their injury. I have also had many emails from injured...

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET YOUR CAR SERVICED? Every 10,000 kilometres? Every 6 Months? or do you wait until it breaks down, then call the tow truck or roadside repairs to come and get you out of trouble? Reaching the point where your car has broken down is somewhat inconvenient....

By Coach Zac Newman ( Coach/Founder of Run2PB) There are many pieces to the P.B puzzle, it’s definitely not just one session, its a culmination of lots of dedication, commitment and consistency. Whether you are trying to crack the 25min for your next Parkrun or Sub 3hrs for the Marathon,...

Hemp seed benefits are many, they have an excellent nutritional profile, and are a sustainable and affordable source of protein. For a long time, the value of hemp seeds as part of a healthy balanced diet has gone unnoticed due to their origin, the Cannabis plant. Although marijuana comes from...

Achilles injuries can be, both literally and figuratively, a runner's Achilles heel. As one of the most common injuries seen in private practice, achilles injuries most commonly occur due to overuse. The majority of tendon overuse injuries occur due to overtraining, excessive intensity or distance increase, or a change in...

Creating a running plan for a whole year in advance will help you to achieve your goals.  It might sound like overkill, but it will make a huge difference to your running. It will help to minimise the risk of racing too often and breaking yourself, and it will also...

Factors that influence your weight Regardless of which dietary protocol you follow (low fat, keto, paleo, plant-based, vegetarian) a calorie deficit is the only way you will lose weight, and eating more calories than you are expending is the only way to gain weight. This is also referred to as...