Inside Muzhingi’s training regime
THE athlete’s ultra-lean physique was in motion at 20 kilometres per hour. He was past the sweating point; his face was dry and intent, but it told a tale that the man had sweated profusely earlier on. Wearing a loose red vest and what we used to call jogger shorts, the athlete seemed oblivious to the curious stares of people milling in the street. Behind him his local coach was driving at 20 kilometres per hour. Should the athlete slow down the coach would sound the hooter as an indication that the athlete was slacking down and should maintain the 20 kilometre pace. I could see the man had it and I thought he was about to stop but he still had some 6 kilometres to go back to his starting point.
Some weeks ago I stumbled upon Stephen Muzhingi (40) as he was going through his fitness training. He allowed me to discuss his fitness training schedule with his coach Mukoma Andrew Kwirirai (46) as he calls him.
Muzhingi was conditioning for the Two Oceans Ultra-Marathon held in Cape Town on the April 15 this year and subsequently for the Comrades Marathon which will be held on June 4.
According to Kwirirai, Muzhingi was using the Two Oceans as part of his training for the Comrades Marathon which Muzhingi has previously won the three consecutive times before .
Muzhingi’s attitude and work ethic clearly shows what separates winners from participants. Muzhingi trains almost every day. Rest comes through instinct, that is, when the body tells him it is battered and needs a rest. Training varies; it can be straight distance running alone, or in combination with other methods of training or cross training.
They also condition the upper body by doing exercises like dips and press ups for chest arms and shoulders, sit ups for abdominals and hyper-extensions for the lower back. Kwirirai stressed the need to condition the ankles, knees, calves and thighs as these body parts bear the brunt especially when descending the steep slopes. For this they do jump squats and calf raises.
Muzhingi’s training comprises of training circles that range from four to eight weeks. The idea of cycling or training in phases is to make sure that he peaks at the right time. It is impossible for any athlete to maintain peak all year round.
The early phases training of can be longer than eight weeks but the preparation has to be a maximum of eight weeks and not longer. The starting phase also called the base phase is the most important because it is the adaptation phase that conditions the muscles. If the muscles are not conditioned he will experience muscle swelling and there are possibilities of rupturing tendons or tearing muscles.
Because the Comrades Marathon is won in five-plus hours, his muscles have to sustain a three-hour run on a constant high speed, hence the 20km/hr exercise done during the final preparation phase.
They also do some 600 or 1 000 metre sprints during this phase. This is an interval training of sprinting followed by one minute rest. The terrain for the Comrades is mountainous so they practice in Shawasha hills, working on both the ascent and descent aspects.
Tapering is the last phase. After months of training they reduce the training load to help ease the stress and ensure the body recovers so that Muzhingi will be fresh for the race.
On this particular day the training session had started at 9 am and ended 4 pm. They started in Warren Park went up to Shawasha Hills and back. Surely his type of training is not for the faint hearted but, what makes him tick, is it talent? I asked.
“He has guts and is disciplined, that is what it takes. When he is confronted with a hilly terrain he will wear the face of a lion ready to conquer the mountains. Age and many years of running has made him tough, increasing both bone and muscle strength.”
This came from Kwirirai who himself is marathon runner. Kwirirai is also studying for a Physical Education and Sport qualification.
When he speaks of athletic exploits, he raises his usually small voice to a very powerful voice and speaks with so much conviction and passion such that he gets carried away. We could not help laugh every time he got into it and I understood why Muzhingi found in him a useful motivating coach.
I think running is the most popular way of exercising. To me, it is just a higher degree of walking, but to athletes like Muzhingi there is something called running style which plays an important part in winning or losing a race.
So every training day they take videos, write down their training routine and they share them with a manager in South Africa who assists in analysing his running style and so far they are happy with his style.
The expert also studies the territory and the climate and when Muzhingi goes there some days before the tournament they will work on helping him to acclimatize and familiarise with the terrain.
I asked why Muzhingi does not use music for inspiration and he says, “Look at his attire, he has nowhere to put the phone and besides the phone will add weight. He will not use music during the competition, so we try to match the conditions of the competition as much as possible in order to make the training sessions valid.”
Training sessions that are done in the manner that do not match those of the tournament lack validity because the athlete still has to adapt and acclimatise to new conditions, but this becomes easier if the athlete is fit.