Starting a new season with an injury can feel utterly deflating, but it doesn’t have to. There are definitely ways to keep your spirits up, your fitness building and make significant improvements to your swim, bike or run. Taking the time to honour your injury while finding alternative ways to keep moving can even help your in-competition mental game. Being forced to be flexible, patient and in control of the negative emotions that no doubt emerge when you’re sidelined from doing what you love, can actually make you a better athlete.

Running injuries are the most common in the sport of triathlon due to the weight-bearing pounding it puts our bodies through. While water running and the elliptical are both great options for simulating our run training, neither perfectly mimics the mechanics of running. However, thanks to NASA-designed technology, we have a remarkable (and still relatively newly accessible) alternative. The Alter G (antigravity treadmill) allows athletes to run at a portion of their body weight while maintaining optimal run-specific mechanics and an aerobic intensity comparable to fully-weighted run workouts.

How does it work?

Slip on a pair of the neoprene shorts provided (there’s likely to be an array of sizes available). The shorts have a circular ring at the waist with a zipper on it and look something like a tutu! Step into the unit, adjust it to the correct height (you can and should play around with this to find the most comfortable setting), zip the shorts into the plastic, air-tight chamber and set the calibration. The unit takes a minute to calibrate your weight and then employs air pressure to lift you, allowing you to reduce the tension up to 80 per cent of your weight, with the precision of one per cent at a time. This graduated process allows athletes an optimal return to pre-injury loading while minimizing the risk of re-injury.

 

As you progress in your rehab, you can even start to do intervals on the Alter G. In some cases, overspeed work can actually help you run in better alignment—forcing you out of compensatory habits that may have lead to the injury. This is useful neurologically as well (not to mention that running a 6:00/ mile pace at 65 per cent of your body weight is a real ego boost!) You can dial in speeds as per a traditional treadmill, but you can also adjust incline and do hill repeats on there (the incline goes up to 15 per cent).

What to wear?

Wear what you would wear while running on a standard treadmill. The airtight chamber does get warm, as do the neoprene shorts. Longer, tighter shorts tend to be better as they won’t ride up under the neoprene ones.

 

Where can I find an Alter G in Toronto?

It’s taken many years for this to be the case, but finding a unit in Toronto is easier than ever before. There are now three in the city. The prohibitive costs of the units made them hard to come by and train on, but some places now offer package deals.

Our favourite place to train on the Alter G is at The Runner’s Academy (918 St. Clair West) because 1) you’ll likely spot an Olympian or Pan Am medallist training there and 2) you can double up a session with a treatment by one of the chiropractors, physiotherapists or massage therapists who can also help you set up a return to run protocol on the unit. We are also loving their one month unlimited pass for $200.

If you are an east-ender, you might consider trying the unit at the Toronto Physiotherapy at 442 Danforth.

For those of you lucky enough to have a student membership at the University of Toronto, you can potentially get on the unit that is located at the Goldring Centre.

Wherever you go to get on the Alter G, be sure to take an open mind, a positive attitude and a commitment to embracing your rehab plan with the same dedication as you approach your regular training and racing. If you remain open to the process, an injury can encourage a confrontation with the habits and circumstances that may have lead to the injury in the first place. Why is this a good thing? Well, for one, maybe your old way of doing things (ie: skipping your activation exercise, dropping your strength session, not getting enough sleep, enough calories, enough active recovery, hammering too hard, too often) needs some attention. Rather than focusing on anger, sadness or frustration, consider approaching your injury as an opportunity to renovate the system and your general approach to training and racing. Not only will this get you closer to race shape, but it will also make you a stronger, wiser and more well-rounded athlete!