How Abhinav Got His Groove Back & Ran His Fastest 5K Ever!

_{by, Abhinav Sharma from adidas Runners India}

New Year’s resolutions – easy to write down, difficult to adhere to. Following a major shoulder reconstruction in August 2017, I had only one resolution in mind – to get back to my pre-injury shape, muscle tone and cardio endurance level.

From Running PB to injury

Coming off a very fit running season, where I set new PBs for 10K in consecutive months, I sustained a serious football injury that required surgery. Months of rehabilitation work left me low on motivation, unable to move naturally (my arm was in a sling for 6 weeks), and losing muscle tone gradually. When I first ran after four months, it was a struggle to even finish the distance.

The challenge: Getting back in shape

Despite being the coldest month of the year here in India, I was determined to jumpstart my fitness and running regimen. Having identified strength, mobility, and cardiovascular exercise as the three pillars of overall fitness & health, I looked to adidas Running to be my companion for this ambitious challenge. I jotted down different goals for each of my three pillars: running a 5k every day as the cardio challenge, following an adidas Training workout as the strength training bit and a series of daily yoga practices as the mobility regime.

Motivation was sky-high AT the beginning

The first few days were a breeze. Motivation was high, the legs and the mind were fresh, spirits were high and I was finally able to get some miles under my belt and try out a few bodyweight training exercises. I started light with Alpha and Bravo workouts (you can check them out under ‘Standalone Workouts’ in the adidas Trainin app) and also mixed in a few ad-hoc workouts full of bridges, crunches, inchworms, and the like – without putting too much strain on my recuperating shoulder.

The struggle is real!

During the winter, temperatures can be in the range of 8 – 12 degrees Celsius (which is cold for India – where we don’t have indoor heating), and working a regular 10-hour workday meant that I was more often than not running at the end of the day. In cold temperatures, my daily schedule became running – yoga – strength training. This meant that I had barely any reserves to finish anything more than a 6-10 minute workout. On weekends, and days where I found some spare time, I put in a few more challenging workouts from the adidas Training app – Hotel & Foxtrot being my favorite.

And finally…I started to notice real change

With this regimen, I realized a lot about my own body. There literally is no limit to what we can achieve physically and mentally if we go about it in a steady way. Cutting out late nights completely and keeping unhealthy food and alcohol at a minimum helped me kick it into high gear.

Additionally, I was burning 400 – 650 calories a day which was putting me in a pretty high caloric deficit. I needed to amp up my intake to stay afloat. When I increased my calories, I shed an inch around my waist, gained 3 kilos of muscle by the 25th day and reached my weight goal at the end of the month – something that I have struggled to do for a long time.

The hard work and determination paid off

On February 4, 2018, after resting for three days, I ran my fastest 5K of the last three years! I also tackled the Juliet Standalone Workout in the adidas Training app and I am finally able to put my full body weight on my injured shoulder.

The road ahead & my future goals

Using adidas Training has considerably upped my fitness game. It allows me the flexibility to plan my workouts around my travel and work schedule. I am proud to say I ran my first ever half marathon this year, on February 25th, and finished in 1:48:41! Next, I plan on using the adidas Running app and the 10K Training Plan for a race in May!

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