WHY I RUN WITH KING.

Written By: Brandon Lum

Consistency is King - a statement commonly heard echoed as one finds their place at King: Strength and Performance - a sentiment many would agree with, but not necessarily follow. As a multi-sport athlete, I’ve been drilled to practice, practice, practice; to run consistently, whether that be 4-5 times a week, or running two-a-days. Traditionally, an average week for an average amateur runner consists of some kind of a long run, some form of speed work, a base run, and a recovery run. You can sprinkle in different flavors and some extra toppings to make it fun/exciting, but ultimately that’s most weeks.

Let’s try a little scenario:
You’re planning on running a half-marathon, maybe this is your first half or maybe you’re a bit more seasoned and this is your fifth. You have a typical 9-5, so you need to run either really early so you have time to stretch, shower, and then get to work, or you run in the evening after work, though a little tired, you won’t have to worry about falling asleep at your desk. Maybe you also have a goal of a certain pace or maybe a certain finish time. You decide you need a plan that fits your schedule as well as get you to the finish line in the time you want so you look online for some kind of running plan, find something suitable, and then start running. Race day comes, you run your race and finish, congratulations! The next few questions/answers that pop up usually consist of: 

• Do you want to run another? 
• Do you want to try for a longer distance or a faster time?
• Are you READY to run another?

All these questions are valid, but it starts somewhere. After you’ve decided you’re mentally ready, now you have to prepare yourself physically. What’s the plan? Find a new plan or maybe use the same plan, run a little faster, a little harder, and hope your finish time is better than your current one? Eventually you hit a wall, whether that be limitations of your body or mentally you’re just done. One thing people may not realize or notice, professional athletes at the highest levels don’t just become the best by just doing the same thing over again and continuously beating up their body without the very least taking care of it. There was some news floating around a bit ago, Lebron James - Basketball Player, considered by many as one of the greatest of all time - spent ~$1.5 Million on his body each year to make sure he’s in tip-top shape for all the abuse he takes. Eliud Kipchoge - Marathon Runner, considered by many as the greatest marathon runner of all time, first individual to break the 2 hour barrier for a marathon - gets a massage after every run, takes an ice bath after every run, and even trained in a gym before starting his world-record breaking races, of note, specifically revolving around his 2019 year consisting of his record breaking marathon in Berlin (2:01:39) and his mind-shattering 2 hour barrier marathon. These two individuals specifically, considered at the top of their field, don’t just compete in their respective sport and do nothing else. They take care of their bodies, whether that be nutrition, sleeping at a reasonable time for an appropriate amount of hours, taking “easy” days for recovery, working hard on “hard” days, and also many hours in the gym. We don’t all have $1.5 Million to spend on our bodies and we don’t have top tier coaches or masseuses to tell us how to train or how to recover or what to eat. Some of us go to a gym, MAYBE get a personal trainer/coach, drink beers, eat junk food or fast food, hang out late, have a job, spend time with our friends and family.

As an athlete, I’ve always felt that a strong foundation builds for performance. You have to walk before you can run. In the case of strength training, you have to have strong enough muscles to help stabilize your skeletal structure to take on the beating of whatever activities you plan on doing. I joined King: Strength and Performance because I’m a strong believer that Consistency IS King. I saw that there was a great benefit to strength training as a base to not only help avoid tacking on more injuries to my long history, but also to help me perform at a higher level, consistently. I may not become the world’s fastest runner or a name that is known in every household, but I’ll be sure to be known amongst my peers as an individual that puts in the work and time to make sure I am still competing 20, 30, 40 years from now.