The 10 Minute Prehab Routine That Actually Changed My Running Form
Using Anatomy For Runners to craft a customized program that works
We all know what we should do. We should run our easy days easy. We should see a physical therapist for that niggle before it becomes a bigger issue. We should do something other than running to make sure our bodies can go the distance.
But who has the time? Will it even make a difference anyway? Which routine will give me the most radical results for the least amount of time? I think I’ll go for a run and mull this over…
The best prehab routine is the one you’ll actually do
In January, I seized the energy of a new year and decided to finally get serious about adding prehab to my running routine. My previous training season had revealed some weakness and imbalances in my hips and glutes. I knew that starting a complex and time-consuming program was a recipe for failure, so I took a cue from James Clear’s Atomic Habits and decided to start small.
Instead of trying to engineer a perfect habit from the start, do the easy thing on a more consistent basis.
An easy routine that I could stick to would easily outweigh a perfect routine that I only did once or twice.
The best prehab routine teaches your body how to run more efficiently
Correcting imbalances is all about moving smarter, not stronger.
Jay Dicharry’s Anatomy For Runners explains that most runner’s weakness and imbalance issues need to be addressed with neuromuscular control rather than simply strengthening those areas.
Your brain is probably to blame for those weaknesses, at least in part. Without proper neuromuscular control, your body will get the job done but will likely recruit less efficient muscle groups in order to do so.
By rewiring your brain first, not only do you recruit the weak muscle more easily, but you recruit it more often! Your 10-minute program becomes an all-day effort as your brain works with your muscles to get them moving when they’re supposed to.
After just 30 days of sticking to my 10-minute routine several times per week, I could feel my body moving differently with every mile that I ran. The short routine was effective and the change in my running form meant that now I was getting the bonus of building a smarter and stronger body while on the run as well.
The best prehab routine is customized to your weaknesses, not made for the masses
If you can get to a physical therapist for a full evaluation and customized plan, go for it! If time or money or other obstacles are standing in your way, Anatomy For Runners is an invaluable resource. Jay Dicharry is an avid runner who pursued physical therapy as a way to better understand and treat his own recurring issues. He has a passion for teaching runners what they need to know and equipping them with tools to keep lacing up without injury.
In the back of the book is a self-evaluation tool that you can use to identify which parts of your body need to get smarter, then stronger. After the evaluation, there is a chapter full of progressive exercises and charts to help you build a custom plan. The exercises begin with correcting your neuromuscular control and helping you move smarter.
I started with three recommended exercises for my most obvious weaknesses. It only took 10 minutes and didn’t make me work up a sweat so there were few excuses not to squeeze it into my day. After only a month, those tiny 10-minute sessions were paying big dividends. I could feel my smarter muscles in action on the run and have managed to leave behind the niggles of my previous training season.
So what’s stopping you? A smarter, stronger running form might only be a month away.
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