With New Year’s resolutions about and trendy classes popping up every January, one New York class has been steadily gaining popularity, and with good reason. Mile High Run Club is designed to help you RUN.
Many cardio-based classes don’t look at form or function, but this is not the case with Mile High. These classes are designed with specific goals in mind that work within your pace so even if you are not a runner or are just starting out, you’ll be able to participate in the workout class safely.
Mile High Run Club builds foundations and incorporates strength and power training, all of which are essential to helping increase distance while staying injury free.
Why Mile High Run Club is Great for Runners
As physical therapists, we see many running injuries occur from increasing your distance without first increasing your base strength. Runners that can efficiently run 10 miles but increase to 15 miles without any additional muscle strengthening often wonder why their muscles are unable to accommodate for the other forces and start to break down, thus leading to overuse.
By adding strength training or classes like the ones offered at Mile High, many injuries may be able to be prevented. Mile High Run Club has plenty of benefits that make running both safe and enjoyable:
1. The Instructors
The instructors at Mile High Run Club are not only fitness professionals but also actual running coaches who understand both form and function. Their expertise ranges from certifications as running coaches, NCAA track stars, nationally ranked triathletes to ultra-marathoners. This is important because you want an instructor who not only understands running but can adjust the process accordingly to keep you injury free.
2. Lively Environment
Running is typically an individual sport. Mile High Run Club makes your run more energetic, inviting, and fun by having it take place in a group setting. In these classes, you can set your own pace while still feeling the energy from the group as you would with a race setting, with each coach adding their own musical flair to their classes.
3. The Learning
Running is not all about running. As physical therapists, we stress over and over the importance of warm-up, cool-down, stretching and strength work. Most runners will tell you they have no time to fit these activities into their schedule, so a class like ‘The Build’ at Mile High is a great option to incorporate them into your workout easily. The Build uses intervals with hills at your own pace to increase your heart rate, combined with floor moves like triceps extensions and kettlebell rows, activating muscles that are important to running yet not necessarily the focus of a typical gym program.
Runners need to cross train to improve and prevent injury. Book a movement assessment with your local SetPT physical therapist to build an exercise plan customized for your running goals!
4. State-of-the-Art Equipment
Treadmills are not uncommon in gyms, but having the right treadmill design for high volume and shock absorbency is hard to find. At Mile High Run Club, they use the WOODWAY Treadmill, which is ideal for the sport. These treadmills are designed with a specific softness to eliminate shock absorbency on joints, as well as a slat running belt with a curve to reduce friction. The combination of these functions means that the treadmill won’t change your mechanics during use, thus allowing for proper running mechanics.
5. Beginners Welcome
If you love a good workout but don’t run on a regular basis, Mile High suggests the ‘DASH 28’ class. Dash 28 starts on the floor with an active four minute dynamic warm-up and then moves to the treadmill for 28 minutes total, including cool-down, with runners typically running between two and three miles, depending on the pace they set. After the run, there are 10 minutes of strength and power training focused on muscles related to optimizing running.
For more information, contact Mile High Run Club or our SetPT New York location to find out if a running class is right for you.