Running

John Nuttall, coach to 10,000m medallist Chris Thompson
• Running strengthens the body, increases flexibility and is great work for the neurological system, heart and lungs. Because it’s a loading exercise, it offers a heck of a lot of benefits in terms of preventing osteoporosis further down the line.

• Somebody starting out should begin very gradually. Do three 20-minute jogs in the first week and increase by 10% each week. At first, you should be able to have a chat with somebody as you run. After six weeks, you can integrate some slightly quicker work, but not before.

• If you feel any muscles getting tighter and tighter, stop. Get a massage, elevate it and wait for the inflammation to go before you try again. A dull ache in the bone is a bad sign and suggests a stress fracture.

• Number one mistake is inadequate footwear. If you have flat feet, you need a stable shoe. Good retailers can assess you and offer advice.

• Pick your surfaces wisely. If you’re not used to running, the last thing you want is to run on concrete. I recommend flat off-road running, trails in a wood or grassy park – the loading stress is significantly less on grass. Avoid hills at first – running down a hill stresses the body a lot.

• Don’t stretch before running – the muscles aren’t ready. Just start off at a slow pace: the first 10 minutes of any run is the warm-up period. Stretch after running and replace fuel used with carbohydrates and fluids within an hour of finishing.

Cycling

Shane Sutton, head coach at Beijing and current head coach of Team Sky, working with Bradley Wiggins
• Any cycling can only be good for you. As long as you’ve got a good set of brakes and a good range of gears, it doesn’t matter about the bike. It’s an outdoor activity, so not boring. That’s key compared with the gym.

• The best way to get started is to Google your local club. They’ll do all categories of rides – slow, medium, fast – and cater to all parties. You’ll go on rides around your area and learn all the routes. It’s a social thing, too.

• The most common mistake is riding a bike that’s too big for you, making it harder to get on and off, and to handle when cornering. You should be able to sit astride it with your saddle at a reasonable height and touch the ground comfortably with both sets of toes. Your leg should have a nice little curve and a slight bend in the knee when your pedal is at the bottom of its stroke.

• People often cycle in too big a gear, so they end up pushing instead of pedalling. You want to have a nice medium cadence of 60-70 rpm for a beginner. A big gear means you’re going slower, which isn’t working your cardio so well. In children, it could also risk causing a hernia.

• Like any sport, consistency is key. I keep in reasonable shape with three two-hour rides a week. It’s better to do five one-hour rides to work than one five-hour ride on Sunday.

• Finally, be sure to stretch glutes and hamstrings when you get off or you’ll end up with a very sore arse.

Race walking

Andi Drake, coach to Johanna Jackson, Commonwealth Games champion and UK record holder.
• Anyone can try race walking. As with normal walking – and unlike running – you always have one foot on the floor. One big attraction is far fewer injuries: in a run, the force on your foot is about five times your body weight; in a race walk, it’s twice.

• The race walk differs from the normal walk in that, when you put your heel to the floor, your leg has to be straight and has to stay straight until you pass the vertical upright position. You then bend it to bring it back through and start over again.

• The natural inclination if you want to go faster is to run – you have to practise not doing that. A 45-minute training session with a coach will give most people a workable technique.

• Having one foot always on the floor means your stride length is smaller than a runner’s. To exploit that, race walkers twist their hips for a longer step, and to counterbalance that they rotate their upper body. Work on your core stability to control that rotation, by sitting upright on a physio ball or doing squats.

• Practise on a flat surface such as a towpath or athletics track for short periods at first. Do 30 seconds, rest, then do it again. Start by walking purposefully with a stride, then make it more dynamic by using your arms. As you build up, you can manage four to five minutes. The technique will be new to your muscles, so take it slowly and alternate with five-minute jogs.

Swimming

Bill Furniss, coach to Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington
• Swimming uses just about every muscle in your body. It’s weight-supported – you don’t get the impact you get with jogging or squash – so suits all ages, especially older people. It’s also a great cardiovascular sport, working your heart and lungs.

• Start gently – two or three times a week, for 30 minutes – and build up gradually. Swim within your limit, so you’re only a little out of breath.

• All strokes are good. The best for overall fitness is the front crawl, but it’s good to alternate strokes so you are working different muscles, and it stops things getting boring.

• Instead of swimming 40 lengths continuously, do 10 sets of four with 20 seconds’ rest between sets. Swim at a firm pace you can maintain. Mix up strokes – say, five sets of four lengths backstroke, five of crawl.

• The best way to swim fast is to improve your streamlining. The straighter you keep your body in the water, the less resistance and the faster you can swim with less effort.

• No matter what stroke you do, the crucial thing is breathing. A lot of people hold their breath or don’t breathe naturally. With breaststroke, breathe in as you pull your arms back; gently breathe out as you push your arms forward and put your face in the water. Wear a nose clip if you’re nervous about breathing in water.

• Relaxation is key. Breathe gently, and say to yourself as you swim: “Keep it long, keep it smooth, keep it fluent.” You’ll swim a lot better.

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