Program Profile: Jonathan

Personal Background

Jonathan, a 41-year-old endurance athlete was looking to balance work, social life and family time. He always enjoyed running and training but no longer has the time or expertise to set up a structured program. He wanted to find the time to train seriously and effectively and achieve his goal of qualifying in his age group for the Boston marathon. He would also like to remain injury free and increase the likelihood of competing into his golden years.

Prescribed Solution

The first step for Jonathan was to consult with a Phase IV Performance Specialist and evaluate and assess his past history in sports, injuries, medical assessment and competitions. Physical Therapists, Exercise Physiologists and the Coaching staff analyzed his medical history and current fitness level along with an in-depth look at his current training regiment (incl. current volume, intensities, a general talent assessment, available time to dedicate to training). Finally, the experts at Phase IV developed a combined exercise and nutritional program to achieve his goals, with both a short and long-term plan to best achieve them.

It was determined Jonathan needed to focus on his base conditioning. While he concentrated his efforts here, he could simultaneously improve his strength flexibility and technique, thus gaining the efficiency he needed. The plan was also designed to reduce the risk of injury. Jonathan dialed in his nutrition to support his training program. Jonathan’s comprehensive Phase IV program included:

• AERO COACHING: An ongoing coaching and mentoring program where Jonathan received a daily training program, updated weekly, with daily coaching interaction as desired.
• BLOOD LACTATE TESTING & HEART RATE TRAINING: Prescription for run to determine his ideal training zones.
• FORM: Head-to-toe Structural Exam by a Physical Therapist to assess Jonathan’s current structural strengths, weaknesses, and imbalances, and take into account injuries both past and present.
• FULL SEASON STRENGTH: A personalized training program to instruct him in core strength, posture exercises, Periodization weight training, stretching, and plyometric exercises specific to each phase. His program was designed to peak him fitness for major events.
• SPEED LAB: Video and computer assisted run stride analysis and coaching session. Assessed his stride frequency, knee rise, foot and leg position at foot strike, and upper body carriage to determine efficient biomechanics. Additionally, state of the art Dartfish™ video analysis software was used, making this the most comprehensive gait analysis available. Shoe changes, limb length correction, exercises, and drills were prescribed to improve Jonathan’s efficiency and prevent/resolve injury.
• NUTRITION COUNSELING: Personalized dietary analyses for macro and micronutrients were determined to adjust Jonathan's diet in order to maximize his performance and properly fuel him throughout the day.

Results

The program designed specifically for Jonathan prepared him for the rigors of his lofty (but attainable) goal of qualifying for Boston. He met this goal, and was able to remain injury free (which kept the family happy). Throughout the process he enjoyed the added confidence gained by having a team of experts supporting his entire process.