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One Trick To Make Strength Exercises More Productive for Runners
This adjustment takes half a second but can make all the difference!
Lifting your heels off the floor during lower body exercises may sound counterintuitive, but it’s a great trick to build up smaller stabilizing muscles around the ankles, knees, and hips. Fostering a slightly more vulnerable position can help to recreate various elements of the running gait to ensure you’re not only strong when things are biomechanically balanced, but in all positions your body may be in while running.
To help you apply this strategy to your training, I want to introduce a fun twist to five classic lower-body exercises such as squats and lunges. Adding this layer takes extra time and discipline, but it’s surefire to boost your running health and help prevent stubborn injuries such as Achilles tendinitis or shin splints. If you want to spend less time being sidelined and more time on the roads and trails, read on!
One Key to Making Every Strength Workout Count
As always, please check in with your health provider if you have any history of injury or pain in the lower body. While these movements can also be completed as a part of injury recovery, it’s crucial that you pace yourself and only do them when your tissues are ready to be loaded up in this way. Please contact your physical therapist or doctor if you have any questions or concerns.
When you are cleared, try completing this program 2–3 times per week. For the best results, do it 15–20 minutes before starting your runs to help you warm up. Just like with all of my exercise routines, push to your maximum pain-free range of motion and take each movement slowly. Above all, prioritize consistency. This isn’t exactly the most thrilling work, but it will make a significant impact on your overall performance and health. If you have the time, doing a few active mobility drills beforehand can help ease you into the program.
1) Isometric Calf Raise Hold
