Alex Reid´s London Marathon Training Secrets | Famously Fit

Famously Fit

follow us on twitter

keep updated on twitter

Alex Reid´s London Marathon Training Secrets

MMA Fighter and TV Star Alex Reid will run the Virgin London Marathon 2012 for the British Heart Foundation. With only a few weeks to go, groin injured Alex Reid also injured his knee and was forced to rest from running for 2 weeks. Never to be beaten, Alex got back training hard hitting 12 miles. Still nursing his groin but back on the road running, he’s managing to clock up the miles, although he does not feel he is training enough as the business of life and work takes up too much time and he finds it difficult sometimes to squeeze in lengthy runs.

In an exclusive interview with FamouslyFit.com Alex shares some of his training secrets:

Alex, thank you so much for agreeing to speak to FamouslyFit.com about your training experiences as you prepare for this great race.

Article page 1 of 6

Home Fitness Range

Shape, Tone, Sculpt

bio-synergy

Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.

There are currently no comments for this article.

Home Fitness Range

Online Nutrition Course

Mumford Phys Ed

Skin

OK FamouslyFit Protein

MMA Fighter and TV Star Alex Reid will run the Virgin London Marathon 2012 for the British Heart Foundation. With only a few weeks to go, groin injured Alex Reid also injured his knee and was forced to rest from running for 2 weeks. Never to be beaten, Alex got back training hard hitting 12 miles. Still nursing his groin but back on the road running, he’s managing to clock up the miles, although he does not feel he is training enough as the business of life and work takes up too much time and he finds it difficult sometimes to squeeze in lengthy runs. In an exclusive interview with FamouslyFit.com Alex shares some of his training secrets: Alex, thank you so much for agreeing to speak to FamouslyFit.com about your training experiences as you prepare for this great race. When it comes to sport, you are probably better known for martial arts and kickboxing. What made you decide to do the London Marathon? I have always been fascinated by Greek Mythology and the whole prospect of doing a Marathon captured my imagination. Have you ever done anything like that before? Long distance endurance sports? I used to be a paratrooper and really fit. You had do lots of endurance stuff. But that was a like 15 years ago. Since then, of course I became a professional fighter and that was all about power and muscle, not endurance. Running a Marathon with a lot of muscle weight is not easy, so I have specifically been reducing the muscle and losing the fat to build a more athletic physique You are running for a great Charity. Why did you chose the British Heart Foundation? My dad suffered from a heart attack and to be honest Chantelle has had some heart issues recently,so it is something close to me. Whilst running the Marathon captured my imagination, I needed something more to really motivate me and keep me focused. How well is your fundraising going? If any of our readers want to sponsor you, how can they do that? Absolutely brilliantly. I have exceeded by target by over £1000 so far. I have had a couple of big donations, but most of it has come down to my fans and I am obviously really grateful to all of them. Until now we have had a softly softly approach but are giving a major push in the last week or so, so I am hopeful we will raise even more. I have set up a web site www.justgiving.com/Alex-Reid . If people use a Just Giving site it brings even more money to the Charity via Gift Aid. What´s is your time goal for completing the Marathon? I am still aiming for 4.5 hours. Right now I am pushing myself hard – I think it is a bit like cramming for your exams – get the hard work in beforehand so that you can relax a bit on the day and enjoy things. I have a really busy schedule immediately after the Marathon rehearsing for WildBoyz – a new adult comedy “The Full Monty Meets Ibiza” – and then I am off to States for a part in an action feature film. I simply cannot afford to suffer a serious injury or anything. I understand you have suffered some injuries…tell us about them Actually they are not new injuries. Back in 2006 I was teaching in Thailand and ripped my groin. I also have problems with my ankles and knees – just a lot of time spent being knocked around! An army doctor said that I had the ankles of a 50 year old. Obviously with all of the running, these ongoing niggles have become more painful. And when you are running flat out and becoming dehydrated it seems to be worse. How have you managed to cope with the injuries? What steps have to taken to sort them out? It is not just about the injuries, but generally dealing with pain. I feel like I have become a bit of a Victor Mildrew really! Jacqueline Hurst has been helping me a lot – dealing with all the mind stuff. The great thing is to allow your imagination run wild – have some fantasies. So I start to think aboutbeing Flash Gordon, saving the universe; or a Knight in Shining Armour saving the princess (Chantelle of course), or being a member of the SAS having to get up that last hill to save the world. It is amazing how quickly time goes by and how much you can ignore the pain. I have been involved in NLP and hypnotherapy for a while, but Jacqueline has really helped me refocus. Tell us a bit more about the training you have been doing to prepare for the race – how much/how often? Actually, although I was full of good intentions, I only started training seriously about 5 weeks ago. As I said, I have been specifically trying to lose some of my muscle mass and my strategy has been to develop more speed. I have been doing runs anything from 10 miles, to ½ Marathons. I am just off today to do a 23 mile run. I think I will be really glad when it is over. I am going to be doing a bit of strength training as well – push ups and chin ups. Your training partner, Richard Curson, has been working out with his personal trainer, Cengiz Halabi, using “plyometrics” to build up his strength and endurance. He mentioned something about “No Holds Barred” - what is this? Oh, this is an approach to exercise that is cage fighting inspired, but I have adapted it to become more suitable for the whole family, and especially for women. So a bit more sexy really. I am launching it at The Martial Arts Show, Birmingham NEC on 12th May. Anyone can come along and take part. The DVD is being rolled out to gyms nationwide. It is fun, gets you fit and looking good! Talk to us about what you are eating. Have you changed your diet at all? If so in what way and why? Yes, apart from training for the Marathon, I just want to get fit. When you are about to become a dad, health takes on a new meaning. So I have cut out all processed foods and genetically modified foods. I hardly eat any dairy now and have cut out all the bad carbs. I love fizzy drinks, but they have gone too – I use a vitamin c tablet to give me fizz now – and have reduced the beer. I want to eat natural whole foods as much as possible. What does a typical breakfast look like for you on a training day? I almost always have porridge made with rice milk and manuka honey – a great slow releasing carbohydrate. I then have some Whey Protein, and perhaps a banana. Are you taking any supplements to help you through? I have got off all the stuff like creatine and other testosterone boosters. I am testing out my own brand of protein powder – I want to make sure it is good quality and tasting good. Apart from that I am trying to take more natural supplements only – things like all the Omegas, Ginseng, St. Johns Wort and multivitamins. What do you do to keep hydrated when you are training? Water is incredibly important – I always use filtered - but when you are sweating a lot you sometimes need something else, so I do take things that are full of electrolytes. Lucozade occasionally! With only a few days to go, what are your plans for final preparation for the race? I have my 23 miler today and then I am going to fit in another ½ marathon and some 10 mile runs. The last couple of days before the Marathon I will rest from training, but sadly cannot rest from my Celebrity life which is just manic at the moment! Yes I have been hearing about some of your projects…how have you managed to balance everything? Getting my training in for the Marathon has meant getting up at 5 a.m. sometimes because my days are so full of everything else. I do get worried sometimes about my work/life balance. There is no point in working hard and earning hard if you cannot enjoy it and it is important that I can do that as much as possible with Chantelle. So what are you up to then? It is almost a question of “What Am I NOT up to”! I am really excited about it all. I am launching my own brand – Reid. Whilst I don’t want it all to be about Celebrity, it is a bit daunting because not many Celebrities have done what I am doing – it is going to be quite far reaching and including just about everything! There is a stylish furniture range, starting with designer beds manufactured with Mammoth technology. Their beds are brilliant – its memory foam technology provides amazing sleeping comfort. These are being launched in June. Then there is my Men´s Grooming Range "Reid powered by Shave Doctor" packed with really innovative products to help guys look and feel great. There is also a Men´s Fashion Range – stylish, sleek but functional, which has been designed by Sarah Donohue and is due for launch in 2013. To run along side this will be a Fitness Range – clothing, supplements, health bars and gadgets. We have already talked about the new DVD. It is hard to find the time to fit it all in! We obviously wish you every success – to get through the race and raise as much as possible for the British Heart Foundation and with all of the exciting projects you are involved in. We hope you will come back later in the year and tell us more!