Kathy

Personal Background

Kathy, a 67-year-old retiree and mother of four, has been 20-to-25 pounds overweight for the past 20 years. Earlier in her life, Kathy was very active, playing competitive league racquetball and running 5Ks and 10Ks regularly. In her late 40s, Kathy went back to school to get her masters. She then started her second career as a therapist, and her physical activities and sports participation stopped. Kathy tried countless fad diets over the years, with poor results. She took up golf and wanted to be able to walk 18 holes, and even dreamed about getting back into local fun runs. A large motivator for Kathy was she wanted to lose 15 pounds prior to her sons wedding.

Prescribed Program

Kathy began her PIV experience with an in depth consult with a Performance Specialist to evaluate and assess her past history in sports, injuries and medical assessments. She mentioned having balance issues, along with the ongoing occurrence of shin splints any time she attempted to start running again.

We determined Kathy needed a complete physical evaluation to get to the bottom of some of these issues. The focus of the program would circle around the wedding date as a primary goal and motivator, with a secondary objective to correct the structural imbalances and work on her general fitness. While she concentrated her efforts here she could simultaneously improve her strength, flexibility and running technique to improve her efficiency and greatly reduce the risk of injury. Kathy also needed to dial in her nutrition so she would learn what she should and shouldn’t eat, and when.

  • BLOOD LACTATE TESTING & HEART RATE TRAINING: Kathy didn’t know how to exercise- how to pace herself so it would maximize her ‘fat burning potential’. She worked with Phase IV’s Exercise Physiologist, conducting a BLT for run to determine her ideal training zones.
  • FORM: Then Kathy needed to have a head-to-toe Structural Exam by a Physical Therapist to assess her structural strengths, weaknesses, and imbalances. Kathy had torn a rotator cuff two years earlier when she slipped on some ice and this would need to be taken into account when designing her program.
  • FUEL NUTRITION COUNSELING: A Phase IV Registered Dietitian conducted a dietary analysis for macro and micronutrients. This provided the information necessary to guide Kathy in her diet adjustments. She was excited about learning the science behind her nutrition and how she would reengineer her body to burn fats in order to maximize her weight loss, and properly fuel her throughout the day.
  • SPEED LAB: Continual shin splints were prohibiting Kathy from getting back to running since she had gained the weight. A Physical Therapist and Performance Specialist analyzed Kathy’s running stride through a video & computer assisted run stride analysis and coaching session. They assessed her stride frequency, knee rise, foot and leg position at foot strike, and upper body carriage to determine efficient biomechanics. Her new running style did away with her shin splints allowing her to enjoy her newfound activity. A recommended shoe change, limb length correction, proper exercises, and drills helped to improve efficiency and prevent/resolve injury.
  • FULL SEASON STRENGTH: We designed a personalized training program for Kathy. She was taught core strength, posture exercises, Periodization weight training, stretching, and plyometric exercises specific to each Periodization phase. Her program was designed to peak her fitness for her son’s wedding.
  • ENDURO: This customized running program was a detailed Periodization training program that gave Kathy heart rate specific daily workouts based on her needs and Blood Lactate test results.

Results

The program designed specifically for Kathy showed she had a leg length discrepancy that was immediately treated and incorporated into her training program. This resulted in a significant correction to her balance and resolution of the chronic shin splints. Kathy told us she felt “enlightened” as a result of gaining so much knowledge about her body and how it worked. She said this gave her the confidence in her program and she was doing all the right things for her physiology. Kathy’s enthusiasm helped keep her motivated and she met her weight goals, looking and feeling great in her dress on the wedding day. She has also entered several local charity ‘fun’ run events and plays golf weekly at her country club, walking the course.