This month Fitness 2J2 had the opportunity to provide programming and instruction in the community of Stanley Mission First Nation.

We worked up to a fitness challenge of a 1km, 2km walk and a 5km Community Fun Run on the last day of the week. The run was a huge success involving over 400 students and community.

Two weeks before arriving in community the NSCRD coordinator Prestin Fleming along with the Physed teachers implemented a learn to jog/run package that Fitness 2J2 had sent. Once in Stanley Mission we were able to build on the programing, and had a good baseline of functional fitness to work on.

We talked about a couple of running terms "Over-striding" or "Over-extension" it is a common mistake runners make when they try running faster. The mindset is "if I reach out with my leg, I'll cover more ground therefore I'll run faster."

Stride length isn't determined by how much you reach out with your leg. Stride length is determined by how much power you generate from push off on your stance leg (the leg in contact with the ground).

The faster you run, the more power output and energy you will have to generate in your legs and your entire body, thus covering more ground. The slower you run, the more it looks like you're shuffling on the spot, in the army we call it "airborne shuffle".

The week in Stanley Mission went by quickly, Fitness 2J2 was honoured to share some further programming with teachers and community members including 593 people through the door in 44 classes to add onto the strong sport and rec already enjoyed by the community.

Here is a learn to run package…..try it!

Week 1 (1min light jog/run 1min walk. 16 mins four times during the week). Start with light warm up, and 10-15mins of body weight conditioning then the above cardio portion (1&1), ending with light cool down.

Week 2( 2min light jog/run 1min walk. 18mins four times during the week). Start with light warm up, and 10-15mins of body weight conditioning then the above cardio portion (2&1), ending with light cool down.

Week 3 (3min light jog/run 1min walk. 20mins four ties during the week).  Start with light warm up, and 10-15mins of body weight conditioning then the above cardio portion (3&1), ending with light cool down.

Check out these other tips from Fitness 2J2:

• Dealing with muscle soreness
• Warm-up for your run/jog
• Training vs working out
• Achieving your fitness goals