Physics...Physiology...Physical Therapy

Video: My Big Toe is That Important to Running?!

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Do you realize how often runners lack flexibility in their big toe? You might not think that one toe could be that critical to running properly. However, any restriction in how well your big toe extends can throw a major monkey wrench into your running form…as well as cause pain in your foot!

The last part of your foot to touch the ground as you push off is your big toe. When it can extend enough, it allows your foot to gracefully and efficiently go through the push off phase. When the big toe does not extend well, your foot has to find another way to get around it.

Picture a pole-vaulter. When the pole can bend properly, it is able to generate a lot of power to propel the person up and over the bar. Now picture the same pole vaulter trying to vault with a rigid pole. What happens? He probably glanced off to the side and got hurt!

In the same way, when your big toe is too rigid, your foot will move to one side or the other. This can lead to many different issues including bunions, plantar fascia pain, and other foot ailments. It can also detract from your running efficiency.

So let’s make sure our big toes are behaving properly!

Please share with a friend and let me know how this helps you!

Video: Foam Rolling Routine for Runners

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The foam roller can be your biggest ally when it comes to running pain-free. It can also be your biggest nemesis the day after your tough workout! Love it or hate it, the foam roller can be super helpful to keep you moving.

Unfortunately many runners simply breeze through the motions when they use a foam roller. Just like stretching properly, it takes time and attention to do it properly!

In today’s video we cover WHY it’s important, HOW to use it, and WHAT muscles and parts of your body need to be addressed.

If used properly, a foam roller can be the next most important accessory for running…second only to a good pair of shoes! Dare I say that it might be more helpful than your GPS watch?! But in order to be effective with the foam roller, we need to take enough time and go slowly enough that our muscles and fascia adapt to the forces we place on them. Too often, we move too quickly through a foam rolling routine, which doesn’t give the fascia any time to adapt, the little fibers just rebound back into the place they were already, not helpful!

It’s also important to move in different directions for each muscle. This will ensure that there aren’t unwanted muscle-fascia patterns persisting that can bog a muscle down.

So grab your foam roller and let’s make it happen!

Video: How Many Different Ways To Stretch Your Hips?

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People are often surprised when I tell them that their ‘hip flexor’ is more than just one muscle. There are actually at least six on each hip! Each of these contribute to hip flexion, but also have other unique responsibilities. One of the muscles targeted in today’s video is the Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL). All of you that zoned out halfway through that name can come back now, no more crazy latin terminology I promise!

This muscle is located at the front and side of each hip and directly attaches onto the IT Band. This muscle, along with your Glute Med and Glute Min comprise the lateral musculature of your hip. Your Glutes also attach onto your IT Band, but don’t influence it as much as the TFL.

A common imbalance with runners is tight TFL with weak Glutes. Have you been accused of not using your Glutes properly? Give this stretch a try. Have you felt pain or tightness in the TFL or IT Band? Give this stretch a try. Are you interested in keeping all your muscles happy and healthy? Add this one into your arsenal of stretches!

When your lateral hip is working harmoniously, life is so much happier for your hips, knees, and low back. This stretch can help restore balance to an otherwise susceptible area.

As always, please share this with a friend who may find it useful. Please also leave me a comment on youtube, the facebook page, or on the blog itself, to let me know how this stretch is working for you! Also, tune in wednesday evening on the facebook page for a live video covering this and other topics. Run fast friends!

Video: Stretches for Your Upper Body = More Efficient Running!

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Everything is connected right? If that’s true, than do you ever think about how your upper body affects your legs when running? If not, then today’s video will shed new light on how everything is connected!

Our spine and rib cage are the anchor points for many of our core muscles. In order to utilize our core muscles properly, we need full motion of those anchor points. So…in order to fully engage our core muscles, we need enough mobility throughout our entire spine.

Also, think about it this way. As your legs swing back and forth in a reciprocal pattern, it creates rotation in your lower body. That rotation has to be counterbalanced, otherwise you’d lose your balance quick! So, your upper body has to counter-rotate. Because of this, if your upper body doesn’t rotate adequately, it’s going to restrict how freely your legs can swing back and forth.

On another note, if your core workouts don’t seem to be getting the results you want, consider whether mobility of your spine and rib cage is a factor. Again, all too often we try to isolate muscles when doing our ‘core’ workouts. But in order to get the full benefit, we need to make sure that we’re teaching the muscles how they’re supposed to fire and through all their ranges of motion.

At the risk of getting too geeky here…your core muscles will be inhibited by lack of proper motion in your spine and rib cage. No amount of crunches or planks will change this. As a supplement and primer for your workouts, think about doing these stretches first. Then you’ll get more bang for your buck!

We’ll cover this topic more in depth during the next facebook live session on wednesday. Please share this with a friend and give it a try every day for the next week and see how you feel!

Video: Don’t think your adductor muscles aren’t relevant to running!

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How many of your muscles are needed to run properly? All of them! This includes the muscles that don’t receive much attention. Your adductor muscles are rarely given any press, yet they can make life cranky if they are too tight!

Where are your adductors? They are a group of long muscles in your inner thigh.

But aren’t those muscles just for gymnasts and team sports?

Absolutely not! Even though we only think about those muscles when we move laterally (or attempt to do the splits…don’t try it at home!), they are actually critical muscles for running. When we flex our hip, our adductors help put on the brakes to return to neutral. When our hip extends, our adductors help return to neutral. So, no matter which direction our hips go, our adductors are always trying to bring them back home.

Because of this, any tightness in our adductors will have a profound effect on how efficiently we can swing our legs back and forth!

So don’t make the critical error of ignoring these muscles when working on your flexibility. Today’s video shows you just how to improve flexibility in this area.

Please share this with a friend and add it to your stretching routine today. Also, check out the facebook page and we’ll cover this topic in greater detail wednesday evening. Run fast friends!