Grab a pen and paper, because here are 5 moves that Physical Therapists swear by for an injury-free year! Ready, here we go!
1. Foam Roll: Calves and Quads
Okay, so this is a no-brainer, but raise your hand if you’re actually foam rolling like you’re supposed to…that’s what I thought. (It’s okay, I’m not either. This is a safe space. We can be honest.) According to Mike, “Foam rolling is one of the best ways to keep muscles healthy and hydrated. The most important thing to remember while foam rolling is to move slowly up and down the muscle, remembering to turn the body slightly to get the outer and inner parts of the quads and calves.”
PRO TIP: Try foam rolling before you run in addition to after. “It will help warm up the tissues by improving circulation, which will hopefully help prevent pain.”
How often should you foam roll? Daily.
2. Trigger Point: TFL
If there’s a discomfort runners know well, it’s a tight IT band. But it turns out, our IT band isn’t a muscle and really can’t get ‘tight.’ “However, it does attach to a small muscle towards the front outer hip called the tensor fascia latae (TFL), which can get overworked and tight in a lot of runners causing it to pull on the IT band and create a sensation of tightness. It can be released with foam rolling to a degree but since it is a small muscle, I find that digging in with a lacrosse ball is more effective.“
AMATEUR TIP: The use of expletives makes the experience a lot less painful.
How often should you dig away? Daily.
3. Hip Flexor Stretch
If you spend the majority of your day sitting, the hip flexor stretch is for you. “The most obvious way that tight hips affect running is that runners can’t let their legs extend behind them in their stride. Normally the hip flexor would act as a rubber band, getting stretched out and then recoiling as you pick your foot up. Since most people are too tight to allow it to get properly stretched out, they then overwork the muscles when driving their foot forward.”
PRO TIP: Add this stretch to your warm-up.
How often should you do it? DAILY.
4. Squats
Tight quads, weak glutes, and weak hamstrings. Sound familiar? It should, because it’s the norm for most runners. “This muscle strength and length imbalance is one of the biggest reasons for pathology in runners along with poor running form and mechanics. Squats are a great way to build a strong foundation for running. Varying the foot position is a good way to ensure you’re hitting all aspects of the muscles.”
PRO TIP: “If you feel like your form isn’t great, try changing it to a ‘Goblet Squat’ by holding a light dumbbell vertically against your chest with both hands. It may sound counterintuitive to add weight if your form isn’t perfect yet, but the small weight can help shift your center of mass and make getting into the squat position easier. Then, once your form improves, try to up the weight.“
How often should you do it? Three days a week. Try starting with just a set or two and then building up to 3-4 sets of 10-20 repetitions.
5. Walking Lunges
Why walking lunges? Because they mimic running!
PRO TIP: “Take a big step forward, try to keep the weight evenly throughout the foot but prevent the knee from moving forward too much. Shift as much weight as possible onto the front leg (while preventing the knee from moving forward over the toes) and then reach forward and down right in front of the lunging leg’s knee. Reaching forward and down helps counterbalance your hips and makes it easier to keep the knee back. You should primarily feel this in the hamstring and glutes.”
How often should you do it? Three days a week. Work up to 3 sets of 10 lunges on each leg. As it gets easier, try adding weight by holding a medicine ball or a dumbbell.
And there you have it! For more tips, contact me and I’d love to schedule a free consultation.
