Physics...Physiology...Physical Therapy

Video: Post Race Recovery Routine

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How many of you like the feeling of completing your race? All the hands are going up right now. How many of you like the feeling of going down stairs the following day? Not as many hands going up with that one. We all want to feel that our bodies are bouncing back quickly and ready to go for the next workout or to start gearing up for the next big event. But how we do get our bodies to behave more quickly?

Today’s video covers dynamic stretches as well as rolling and self myofascial approaches to get you ready to run again quickly! Utilize this routine to bounce back quickly from a race or tough workout and share with a friend!

Video: 5-10 Minute Upper Body Routine for Runners

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Strength is an important aspect of running, with most of the attention given to our core and legs. But let’s not neglect our upper body as well! While running, our upper body is critical for balance and efficiency. Without proper strength and motion, our core muscles will have a difficult time working properly, and our arms won’t be able to generate the leverage and recoil needed to help propel our feet forward. Unfortunately, the upper body work that most runners do is minimal and isolated to specific muscles. Rather, we should be working our arms in a way that integrates well with the rest of our bodies.

That’s the approach for today’s video. The format is rapid-fire exercises that will be challenging to keep up with, but will leave you feeling muscles that you didn’t know you had! These exercises are meant to be done anywhere at any time, perhaps you can challenge your teammates as part of your warm-up for a group run!

Be careful with these if you have any concern of shoulder pain or past injury, especially the very last one! Otherwise have fun and let me know these go!

Video: The Muscles That Go Unappreciated…Until They Act Up

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If you have pulled or strained a groin or inner thigh muscle, then you probably do appreciate your Adductor muscles. These are the muscles that run along the inner thigh. They don’t command much attention, until they decide to really act up. The tricky part about these muscles is figuring out where things went wrong. It’s easy to see how a basketball player, gymnast, or tennis player could aggravate this area since there is a lot of lateral movement in these sports. But how could this happen to a runner?

That’s the topic of today’s video. Not only what they do with running, but how we can better prepare them for running, as well as bring them back up to speed when they get cranky and misbehaving.

Please share this with a friend and fire any questions you may have about the exercises in my direction. Exercise #3 is especially helpful if this is an area of concern for you!

Video: Sacroiliac (SI) Pain with Running

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Have you experienced Sacroiliac pain before? Most likely, if you have felt pain around your tailbone, you weren’t thinking of such technical language, perhaps something a little more colorful! Many of us have experienced this when sitting or standing in awkward positions, in which case it can be easily alleviated by changing positions. But what about those of us that experience it with running? This can seriously derail a training program quick.

Today’s video dives into the mechanics of the SI joint, as well as practical things you can do to take care of this area. The SI joint is a very complicated, but very stable joint. The movement that takes place is subtle, yet very important. If the joints are not moving properly, sharp pain can occur with each step.

Please pass this along to anyone who experiences pain in the SI area, and give these a try for yourself. Let me know if you can do #3 exercise without losing your balance!

Video: Peroneal Muscles and Foot Stability

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No one likes to be misunderstood, and the same goes for our muscles. The muscles on the outside of your lower leg are the victims of this way too often. This group of muscles is known as the peroneals, with the most important one being the peroneus longus. According to textbooks, these muscles evert your ankle (turning your foot out to the side), which is true. However, in the context of running, these muscles are most needed when your foot is on the ground in order to maintain enough ground contact for your big toe to push off properly. So, to put it simply, the function of the peroneals has more to do with controlling your foot movement while on the ground, then it does everting your ankle.

Understanding this has huge ramifications for how to get rid of and prevent shin splints, foot pain, overpronation, and knee pain. In today’s video, I demonstrate three exercises to progress in this area, my suspicion is that they will seem rather goofy at first, but give them a try and see how helpful they may be! In the third exercise, I use a prop that can either be figured out on your own, or use a half roller, or a rocker board, check out the links for examples. I am not currently an amazon affiliate, but who knows in the future.

Please let me know how these go and if I can answer any questions you may have!