By Amy and Grant

Amy says;

“Life’s full of small milestones. This week I made it out for my first jog (let’s be realistic here and stay away from the word run), in a very long time. For me, it signifies an important step on the road to regaining some of the fitness I’ve lost over the last 7 years, through multiple pregnancies and back problems. It’s also a rare activity which the kids can’t really tag along with (yet), so gives me some much needed alone time, and headspace that is almost completely absent from the rest of my life at the moment.

So how was it? Well, I’ve made it out 4 times over the last 7 days and it’s been pretty good. Going to be a slow, slow road but I’m setting very small goals. I guess I was disproportionately achy considering the tiny distance I covered, but I suppose that’s what you can expect when you’re starting from scratch. It’s been a good 7 years since I was a regular jogger so I have a lot of ground to make up”

Grant says;

“Amy is right to take it very slowly and cautiously. She has had periods of low back pain prior to becoming a mother.  The three episodes of disc pain and associated spasm over the last couple of years waves a huge red flag, especially when also associated with 4 pregnancies in 7 years.

If approached correctly, then jogging will improve her strength and overall fitness, as well as help reduce stress by giving her a precious few moments sans kids. However, any recklessness (of which Amy is prone), will be likely to carry a high price.

I have recommended no more than 10 minutes continuous jogging initially (supplemented by walking). Only running on the flat (walking up and down hills) and generally taking the pace very slow to start.  This should enable her back and cardio-vascular system valuable time to adapt.  She has managed 4 runs and apart from some expected post-exercise soreness, seems to be coping.  She can increase her runs to 12 minutes next week, same rules, and we will continue to gradually increase this up.  Once she is able to run 30-45 minutes comfortably, and if her back is well, then we can consider a few hills.

I have also recommended Amy trains in her regular running shoes, not her five fingers. In my opinion, it will be less risky for her to condition to jogging gradually in shoes she is used to and then carefully transition across.

It is also important to continue the good habit of nightly Pilates based core stability work and stretches that Amy has established.”