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Alex Comery Personal Training, Unit 2, Mabgate Junction, Skinner Lane, Leeds (2025)

07/03/2023

Ottawa International Marathon 2023🏅

Committed to it now 🏃‍♂️

Think I needed to to get my head in the game 🧠

Canadas fastest marathon… let’s see ⚡️

Least that means no rolling hills at 23 miles again 😖

Last chance to run a decent BQ time for a chance at 2024 registration 🥇

12 weeks to go, only 15 weeks to do any kind of meaningful training.

When I first eyed it up in October after the 2:59 I thought 2:52 would be doable 😅

Just gonna push training, probably a little more than I should and a little more than I’d advise anyone to ever do and just see what happens.

🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡

04/03/2023

An effective warm-up is not just important, but essential for optimum and injury-free performance.

When you warm up, you increase blood flow to your muscles, which delivers oxygen and nutrients to them.

This, in turn, improves their elasticity, making them more flexible and less prone to injury when we run or lift🏃‍♂️

A good warm-up also lubricates your joints, allowing them to move more freely and reducing the risk of wear and tear.

By mirroring the movements you'll be performing during your run or in the gym you prepare your body for the physical demands that will be placed on it.

This includes mobilisation drills that activate your muscles, get your heart rate up, and increase your body temperature, all of which are crucial to optimise performance.

But there's more to it than just the physical benefits. Warming up can also have a psychological effect, getting you in the right mindset for your run.

Research has shown that a good warm-up can improve performance, and it's one of the most powerful tools at your disposal. 💭

By doing a pre-performance routine, you remind your body of what is to come, making it easier to get into the zone and perform at your best.

And one last note, you should know the shorter and more intense the event, the longer the warm up should be.

This is because events of shorter duration often require increased levels of force through the body, as well as little or no build up from start to all-out effort.🔥

So if you're racing a 5k compared to a marathon your warm up should last longer and look a little different as you'll be exerting a lot more force on the body from the get go.

Avoid static stretching in your warm-up, as it can be detrimental to performance and increase the risk of injury. Instead, stretch warm muscles post-event when they are more pliable.

Don't underestimate the importance of warming up!

It's a crucial part of your performance and injury prevention, so make sure you do it and do it right.

Happy running! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Let's hear your own warm up routines down below 👇👇

01/03/2023

10 Things I Learnt From My First Marathon That Could Help You With Yours.

1. Sleep is king 💤

Do your ice baths, use your massage guns, but if you’re not getting 7-8 hours of solid sleep each night your recovery is not optimal.

2. A good workout workout is better than a great one 👍

Consistency compounds, a good workout every week is better than a great workout every 3 weeks.

3. Threshold training is key 🔑

Training at and around your lactate threshold pace is key for Improving speed over distance. I would look to be doing this at least 1-2x a week.

4. Footwear matters 👟

Don’t buy a brand, buy the shoe that fits your foot. Everyone is different, the wrong shoe could cause some pretty nasty injuries.

5. Strength train 🏋️

The benefits speak for themselves. Decreased injury risk, improved running economy, quicker recovery to name a few.

6. Fuel ⛽️

If you only put £10 of petrol in your car you’ll only get £10 worth of mileage back.

Fuelling the days prior to and during your longer runs is key, if you hit the wall 20 minutes before the end it’s not your fitness failing you it’s your available energy/fuel that’s depleted.

7. Lighter doesn’t mean faster ⚡️

For many years I was under the impression that the less I weighed the faster I’d run.

When you think about it, restricting calories and failing to fuel is only going to negatively effect your recovery and your workouts.

8. Don’t fixate on your long run 🏃‍♂️

Many will fixate on the long run or the 20 + miler as the run that ‘matters’.

In reality not one long run will get you over the finish line, volume compounds.

9. Know the difference between soreness and pain 🏥

Something that comes with experience. Don’t run through pain, soreness however if you ease into your run you’ll be fine.

10. Know why ❤️

Know why you’re running, if I wasn’t motivated I’d just imagine crossing the finish line and it would drive me through.

What has running taught you? 👇👇

24/02/2023

🏋️‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Fuelling for exercise: How should you fuel? and should you fuel the same for a run as a gym workout?

The answer is both YES and NO. While the concept is the same - carbs for fuel - the timing and types of foods you'll want to prioritise will differ depending on the activity.

When we exercise, our bodies use glycogen, a form of carbohydrate stored in the liver and muscles, as a primary energy source.

Carbohydrates can be found in various foods. The amount and timing of carbohydrate
intake can impact the availability of glycogen and ultimately, your exercise performance.

⏰ For training runs, it's important to eat a little while before (around 60-90 mins) to avoid digestive problems. This allows time for digestion and the delivery of nutrients to the muscles.

Consuming a high-carbohydrate meal, such as oatmeal or a bagel, can help increase glycogen stores and improve endurance.

However, it's important to avoid high-fat and high-fibre foods as they can cause gastrointestinal discomfort and hinder performance.

🏋️‍♀️ With gym sessions, you can probably get away with eating closer to the session. However, it's still important to avoid heavy, high-fat meals that can cause discomfort and the feeling of bloatedness during exercise.

Ideally eating a small snack, such as a banana or oatmeal, 30-60 minutes before exercise can provide a quick source of energy and improve performance.

Additionally, consuming a carbohydrate-rich meal after exercise can help replenish glycogen stores and promote recovery.

In summary, the amount and timing of carbohydrate intake depend on the type of exercise and individual preferences.

Consuming a high-carbohydrate meal 60-90 minutes before running can improve endurance, while eating a small snack before gym sessions can provide a quick source of energy.

21/02/2023

My 3 Favourite Marathon Workouts;

I used these specific workouts in the build up to my sub 3 hour marathon.

I’ve also used the same or similar with many others to help PB their races.

Keep in mind in you’re a slower runner, time based training will suit you more than distance based but the structure can stay the same!

1. Progressive 3 x 10km

2km Warm up
10km >10s than target pace
1km float
10km @ target pace
1km float
10km < 10s target pace
2km Cool Down

The aim here is to start slightly slower than race pace and finish slightly quicker.

2. 5x5km

5km @ target pace
1km float
x 5

A really nice workout, and a really nice way of splitting up the intensity across 5 blocks totalling 25km of effort (you can do less repeats).

You can also play with the pace during each block and treat it like workout 1.

3. 2 Miles On/ 1 Mile Slower

2 Miles @ Target Pace
1 Mile 45-60s Slower
x7

Again you can play with the mileage by changing up the number of repeats.

I used this workout in the build up to my sub 3 and really enjoyed it.

It helped in particular with sustaining pace over distance as you never truly slow down.

If you’re struggling for what to do on your long marathon workouts give these a go!

Like and follow for more!

15/02/2023

1 EFFECTIVE TIP TO MAKE EASY RUNS EASY

As runners we spend 80% of our time running at what should be considered an ‘easy pace’ and, if you’re currently not doing that I suggest you start.

Running at this easy pace is where we build our foundations, build a massive aerobic engine and, stress the body in the correct way to bring about the desired adaptation from training.

But what is ‘easy’, can it be defined as a specific pace like a desired race pace or, is it more dependant on circumstances on the day.

The first thing to note is that your body doesn’t understand pace or distance, it doesn’t work in minutes per mile or km, rather your body understands and works in perceived effort over a period of time.

The next thing to understand is the numerous factors that can cause this perceived effort to change day to day;

- Sleep Quality
- Nutrition Quality
- Alcohol
- Temperature and Humidity
- Stress From Training the Previous Day
- Stress From Life
- Terrain Your Running On
- Caffeine Intake.
- Illness

These can all cause your perceived effort to change.

So a pace that felt easy and was easy one day, could actually be too quick to apply the correct stress on the body the next day.

This is why we can’t define our ‘easy’ runs with a specific pace, many of them may fall into a very similar pace bracket but, there will be days where this pace is much slower or much quicker than you’re expecting it to be, and that is fine.

This is why we should run these easy runs to a perceived effort rather than an exact pace, monitor your heart rate and not the pace your watch is telling you you’re running at.

Many runners will fall into the trap of trying to keep this easy pace the same on every run, meaning quite a few of the miles they’re running are being done in what’s called ‘the grey zone’.

A pace too quick to be considered easy, but a pace too slow to really bring about proper adaptation from quicker running.

So next time you’re out on your easy run forget about running a specific pace, instead monitor your heart rate and perceived effort aiming to keep it below your maximum aerobic heart rate.

13/02/2023

3 RULES TO LIVE BY FOR MASTERING THE LONG RUN

Are you someone that struggles with your longer runs?

Whether that’s how far to run, hitting the wall or constantly getting injured doing them.

If that sounds like you keep reading…

Here’s 3 rules to live by when tackling the long run.

1. 33% OR LESS

Your weekly long run should make up no more than 1/3 or 33% of your weekly volume.

Pushing any further than this is increasing your risk of injury and increasing your recovery time which could negatively effect the following weeks training.

2. 3 HOURS OR LESS

Your long run should be no longer than 3 hours, 3:15 at the very most even if you’re a 4-5 hour marathoner.

Pushing past this 3 hour mark you’ll hit the point of diminishing returns where you start to do more damage than good.

Just like the 33% rule this will significantly increase the chance of injury whilst increasing recovery time.

3. VOLUME COMPOUNDS.

Following on from above, not one big run will decide whether or not you complete a marathon

You don’t need to run 20+ miles in training to finish.

The work you put in over weeks, months, sometimes years is what will get you to the finish line.

If you are someone who is running 4 hour + marathon try adding in back to back long runs or, include a mid long run during the week to help increase volume but keep intensity and injury risk low.

Don’t spend your week dreading the weekend, the long run is just another part of your training, not the deciding factor sp don’t get hung up on it.

30/01/2023

Here’s a picture of me recovering right after a marathon, so that begs the question…

Where should you be investing your time, energy and money when it comes to recovery?

Here’s one tip for you, the answer isn’t on a £200 Theragun.

Truth is you can’t outrun a poor lifestyle.

So, let’s talk about what does work.

1. Stress

Firstly we need to recognise that stress is stress, whether its physical or mental stress.

You’ll have a hard time recovering from your training if you have other stress going on in your life.

Whether that be work, a relationship, your social life.

If this environment is constantly leaving you drained then eventually something will give, usually that will be your running and performance in the gym.

2. Good Quality Nutrition

What you eat matters.

Your food is your fuel, not only for your training runs but also for your recovery.

Helping to restock glycogen stores and repair muscles after a workout.

If you’re training for something as big as a marathon you should not be focusing on cutting out food groups or cutting calories.

3. Good Quality Sleep.

I think runners should aim for 7-9 hours a night.

Focus on the quality of your sleep too.

Make sure your screens are away.

Make sure the rooms got no outside light coming in (Use an eye mask if it isn’t possible).

Finally make sure the beds comfortable, sleeping on a 12 year old mattress won’t do you any good.

Finally, and maybe most important…

4. Train at your current fitness level, not the one you want to be at.

None of the strategy’s above are going to work if your training is just too demanding.

If you’re training at a pace way too fast for you, if the volume is way too much then you’ll find yourself in a position you can’t recover.

You’re body won’t have time to absorb the training and adapt before the next hard session and eventually you’ll get injured or burn out.

26/01/2023

Then off-season is an important time for any runner.

It’s a time to take care of any little niggles and lay some solid foundations for the build up to your next race.

So what should we do during the off-season?

Building a strong aerobic base is a vital part of improving your running, and using the off-season to lay foundation is key.

But just because the end goal is to become a better runner, It doesn’t mean every aerobic workout needs to be a run.

In fact any exercise in which you can apply moderate aerobic stress to the body will help.

Keeping the heart rate around 60-80% of your max.

So what can you do?

✔︎ Run
✔︎ Swim
✔︎ Row
✔︎ Walk (Depending on fitness level)
✔︎ Anything that applies moderate aerobic stress.

This can be particularly helpful for...

✔︎ 𝙄𝙉𝙅𝙐𝙍𝙀𝘿 𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀𝙎 that can't run, allowing them to keep up some base level of fitness.

✔︎ 𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙍 𝘼𝙏𝙃𝙇𝙀𝙏𝙀𝙎, being able to split aerobic training between running and lower impact exercises will help ease the burden on the body.

✔︎ 𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙔, if the legs are sore and tired a run may not be smart and could even be counter productive. However keeping the body moving with lower impact exercise can still give the aerobic benefit without stressing the body helping speed up recovery from harder sessions.

✔︎ 𝙑𝘼𝙍𝙄𝙀𝙏𝙔, Running 4,5,6 times a week can get tiring and mind numbing, so especially
In the early stages of any programme utilizing some other forms of exercise can help keep you accountable and keep the enjoyment level high.

🏃‍♂️

So if you need help programming to build yourself a bullet proof base drop me a DM with the word ’BASE’ to find out just how we can do it!

24/01/2023

TRAINING TIP

The 3 Main Running Systems You Want To Improve To Cross That Finish Line!

➡️V02 Max

Vo2 max is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen your body can utilize during exercise.

Working some VO2 max training into your programme will help to improve anaerobic endurance.

These should be shorter repeats done at a 1/1 work to rest ratio.

➡️Lactate Threshold

The fastest pace you can run at where your body won’t generate more lactate than it can clear.

Running at this pace will allow your body to become more efficient at clearing lactate meaning you can run at race pace for longer.

When running at this pace repeats should last from 5 - 60 minutes, allowing roughly a 5/1 work rest ratio.

➡️Aerobic Endurance

Your base level of fitness, 80% of your training should be done at this level.

Done correctly it can help teach your body to utilise fat stores as an energy source rather than muscle glycogen, pretty useful towards the backward of a marathon!

19/01/2023

A gym can be a pretty daunting place to enter for the first time.

It can be pretty overwhelming seeing all the equipment and all the people, especially if you're new to the environment.

I know how you feel, I've been in that same position, everyone has one time or another, stepping into the gym and wondering what the hell you're meant to do.

There's a lot of misinformation around and being bombarded with it can lead you to leaving more confused than when you entered.

So where should you start?

And the answer is not with 10 sets of bicep
curls whilst you stand in front of a mirror looking at your juicy pump.
No matter your overall goal, there's some basic movement patterns that everyone should get comfortable with performing.

These movements are crucial for building a strong, functional body but...

They also transfer over into 95% of everything else you'll do.

So you could say they're pretty important.

These movements can be regressed as much as needed for each individual and built back up until they're able to be performed well enough and safe enough to add load.

So when you eventually do pluck up the courage to enter the gym for the very first time, follow the plan above.

If you're not too sure what this means, ask for help or watch a few videos before you go.

Rinse and repeat these until you get good at them all and then start to add weight.

You'll see much quicker progress and feel much more confident much quicker.

P.S. Ignore the donkeys in stringer vests huddled around the mirrors who, tell you to curl dumbbells way too heavy with more momentum than a bullet thats been shot from a sniper rifle.

They're the actual ones who have no clue what they're doing

16/01/2023

TRANSFORMATION—> 🏃‍♂️

My first race vs my most recent race

I put everything into that first race.

As I put everything into that first marathon.

A 7 year difference between the 2 pictures.

A 52 minute 10km vs A sub 3 marathon (or 4x 41:30 10km back to back 🤯)

An average pace of 5:10 vs 4:15.

Crazy to think I was running almost a minute quicker, over 4x the distance.

I’ve learnt a lot about running, how to run and, how to coach people to do the same over the last 7 years.

But for me it’s always come down to 2 things…

Consistency & Discipline.

Running requires consistency.

If you only train when you feel like it you won’t get very far.

It took me a while to figure that one out.

Running also requires discipline.

This doesn’t just mean dragging yourself out the door in hurricane conditions at 5am on Saturday to run 20 miles, that’s the easy part…

But also knowing when to back off, listen to your body and not push through something that you don’t need to.

Some runners (including myself) struggle sitting on the sidelines, but sometimes you have to suck it up and realise the bigger picture.

Can’t wait to make that most recent race look slow but until then, enjoy my rambles.

P.S. if you want to get faster yourself just drop me a DM with the 🏃‍♂️ emoji.

Let’s see what we can do.

Alex Comery Personal Training

07/03/2023

04/03/2023

01/03/2023

24/02/2023

21/02/2023

15/02/2023

13/02/2023

30/01/2023

26/01/2023

24/01/2023

19/01/2023

16/01/2023

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