BUILD EXTRA STRENGTH WITH KELLY HOLMES

EVERYONE marvelled when Kelly Holmes returned from a seemingly endless string of injuries to claim Olympic 800m bronze in Sydney. How did she get into such good shape in so little time. She lets Running Fitness and onrunning.com in on her strength training secrets.

Hollywood stars, so it is said, are often nothing like their screen images. Apparently, although I've no first hand evidence of this, actors like Sylvester Stallone are not as muscled or tall as the big screen makes out. Personally I've never believed that, but after meeting Kelly Holmes I now see there could be an element of truth in this.

Anyone who follows athletics will know that Kelly, the Olympic 800m bronze medallist, is the tough of the track. Her physique, as pictured on the small screen, leaves you in no doubt about her commitment to her training programme. Muscles bulge and everything about her running suggests strength and power. So it's rather surprising to meet a petite Kelly, no muscles, no iron grip handshake, nothing in fact to suggest she is the superhuman athlete from the telly.

Minutes later, the truth is plain to see. Kelly is on the Stairmaster Stepper machine, eyes focused into the mid-distance. Those muscles have appeared and are beginning to work.

"Runners can't see the importance of machines like this," says Kelly afterwards. "But, because of my army background, the gym has always been a part of my training. It's never been difficult for me to understand why I should spend so much time in here."

Anyone who has ever tackled an 800m will understand this need for power. An 800m isn't really a distance race, yet you need the endurance of a marathon runner; it's not really a sprint race, yet you need the speed of a sprinter. In simple terms you need to be fast, prepared for lots of pain, but above all, strong. Look at the great 800m runners through history. Former Olympic champion Alberto Juantorena was known as 'The horse' to his training chums thanks to his incredible strength; Seb Coe lifted huge weights, two, three, four times his bodyweight; Steve Ovett ran 100 miles a week, and won the national cross country over nine miles as well as the Southern Counties 400m. In short, if you are prepared physically for an 800m, you are ready for anything.

But it is the WAY Kelly prepares that sets her apart. Most distance runners devote hours and hours to pounding the pavements and shy away from enhancing their fitness by any other means. Suggesting we miss a run and spend some time in the gym is close to heresy. True, the odd one among us might contemplate a weights session, but aerobic machines? They are for the not-so-serious, surely, for body-shapers. Kelly, however, knows differently. And, the good news is, you could learn from her.

Not convinced? Let's review the facts here. Her career has been blighted by injury. Even in Olympic year she spent as much time crocked as she did running. She did not race at all from February until August. Yet she returned to win the Olympic Trials. And within weeks of that she was fit enough to pick up a bronze at the Olympic Games, running her second fastest time ever.

This is a woman who came off the final bend of the Olympics in the lead, only the finishing line in front of her. Yes, she did falter fractionally to finish third, but read her list of injuries and you will see what an incredible job she did building up her strength to such Olympian levels.

"Let's see," she begins, before tripping out her list parrot-fashion as if it's a newly-learned group of Latin verbs or elements in the Periodic Table. "Hips, femoral nerve, calcification of the hip bone, lower leg problems," - pause for breath - "shin problems, calf injury."

It's the last that best emphasises the mountain she had to climb. "They found a 12.5cm tear in my calf," she reveals. But she never lost faith. "Oh I came near," she laughs. "But once I got the all clear, I just go on with it."

So the gym helps build strength, but how exactly? "You're using pretty much the same muscles as running. But the important thing is you don't have the impact," explains Kelly. "And this time of year it's great to train indoors because of the weather. Last year I used the Stairmaster for loads of workouts because of my injury, but now that I'm running again I'll use it as a second run. I'll run in the morning and use the gym in the afternoon."

It's an oft-repeated story. Keep yourself on the road, injury-free, and, chances are, you will run a decent time. But it is keeping yourself injury-free that runners really struggle with. Running off-road is ideal, but work constraints and family commitments mean you are more likely to spend your time pounding the pavements close to home. As you do, your muscles - particularly your calf muscles - tighten up and you run the risk of missing more and more runs as the winter progresses. But plan in a session or three indoors this winter and the picture could be very, very different.

"It's cardiovascular like running," Kelly says. "I used to lift weights, but now I spend most of my time doing this type of workout. Basically I split my time between the Stairmaster, the Stepper, the stationary bike and the recumbent bike. One to two hours a day split between the four machines is more than enough."

So it was a relieved Kelly Holmes that made it to the Olympics and importantly, a Kelly Holmes with no expectations. But did she really only train for six weeks like the papers said? In a word, no. "In reality I was training all through the winter and what I meant to say was I had only six weeks of intensive training," she says.

"I felt really, really relaxed. The main thing was that I wasn't injured, so I was determined to soak up the atmosphere as much as possible. I didn't do that in Atlanta so I really wanted to do that in Sydney. I knew I was ready to race, but if I progressed that would be a bonus."

It was that laissez faire attitude that got her to the final and it is one that a new relaxed Kelly Holmes is determined to carry through into the winter and beyond. "Sure you're nervous, but I just went out there thinking, 'I'll just do my best.' Why I passed everyone I do not know! I was just so shocked that I was leading into the home straight. I was just expecting people to come by... which they did! But for me personally, my medal was as good as gold."

It's this new relaxed Kelly that takes on this winter stronger, more confident than ever before. Look for on the indoor circuit, where she will be tackling 800m for the first time ever. "I've never done it before, so there'll be no pressure on me," she says.

And like Kelly, look for improvements from the gym. Improved strength, no matter what standard runner you are, will pay dividends at your next race or on your next run.

Kelly was using Stairmaster equipment at Larkfield Leisure Centre near Maidstone.