Bunkies First

Whether it’s your hip, knee, ankle or back that feels unstable, the sports therapist Benita de Witt always uses The Bunkie Test, which forms part of her Lyno Method for keeping athletes on track and injury free.

For those runners who do bunkies on a maintenance programme, do you do them before or after your run?

I’ve discovered that doing them before I run is better as it elevates my heart rate and activates all the fascia lines (connective tissue) which in turn activates all the necessary muscle groups preparing me for the session ahead.

A great pre-run warm-up routine
* Ten minutes of walking. If you’re able to start your workout at the gym, do ten minutes of rowing, cycling on the spinning bike or walking on the treadmill.
* Followed by bunkies. Doing six sets of six seconds on each bunkie.
* Then head out the door and have the run of your life.

And what to do if there are no bunkies at your gym?
Simply do them at the lat-pull down machine. Place a mat in front of the machine and lower the seat to the appropriate height so that your shoulders and feet are in line when performing the movement (pictured).

Got your own innovative way of performing bunkies?
Tell us about it and send your photos to online editor Kari Peters – kpeters@touchline.co.za. Use the subject line: BUNKIES. They may even get posted on the site.

Never heard of bunkies before, see the July 2008 edition of Runner’s World magazine or visit Benita’s site for an illustration of all five positions.

When doing bunkies for the first time, you should be able to hold each position for 30 seconds on each side. The positions you can’t hold will show which muscles need to be strengthened. Do the five-step test and ask your physio or biokineticist to give you a programme.

Photograph by Robert Katana