Training Your Muscles Eccentrically For Downhill Running

Eccentric exercises mimic the muscle lengthening action we rely on when running downhill. Performing eccentric strength training has been shown to limit the effects of exercise-induced muscle damage caused by downhill running and maximizes strength production.

Here are some eccentric exercises to incorporate into your training:
🔸Perform movements slow and controlled, focusing effort on the way down
🔸3 sets of 8-10

1️⃣Eccentric Single-Leg Box Squat

2️⃣Eccentric Anterior Step-Down with Slant Board

3️⃣Eccentric Single-Leg Hamstring Curl with Foam Roller

4️⃣Eccentric Single-Leg Hip Thrust

5️⃣Eccentric Single-Leg Heel Raises

6️⃣Eccentric Single-Leg Soleus Heel Raises

If you are experiencing pain when running or currently dealing with an injury and need help, contact us for a discovery call!

References: Douglas J, Pearson S, Ross A, McGuigan M. Chronic adaptations to eccentric training: a systematic review. Sports Med. 2017;47(5):917–41.
Saunders PU, Pyne DB, Telford RD, Hawley JA. Factors affecting running economy in trained distance runners. Sports Med. 2004;34(7):465–85.
Barnes KR, Kilding AE. Strategies to improve running economy. Sports Med. 2015;45(1):37–56.

3 Dynamic Warm-Up Exercises For Your Pre-Run Routine

Why Should You Perform Dynamic Warm-ups Pre-Run?

Performing dynamic warm-up exercises before your run is important especially if you've been sitting at a desk, carrying a heavy bag, standing with bad posture, or walking in heels the whole day.

These exercises can help reset your muscles, improve your motor control, and prepare your nervous system for running.

1️⃣ Hamstring Scoops - 15x

2️⃣ Lunge + Thoracic Rotation - 15x

3️⃣ A-Skips - 20x

If you're not moving well, you definitely won't be running well. Give these a try before your next run!

Runners: 3 Strength Exercises to Incorporate Into Your Training

Why you should add single-leg exercises into your workouts

Running is essentially jumping from one leg to the other repeatedly. That is why efficiently absorbing load through a single leg is crucial.

Here are 3 strength exercises incorporating single leg loading to help improve your running:

1️⃣ Loaded Marches - 3 x 30-40 seconds

2️⃣ Band Single Leg RDLs - 3 x 10

3️⃣ Front Rack Reverse Lunges - 3 x 10

Improve Your Running Mechanics: Hip Extension

Importance of Hip Extension During Running

During the toe-off phase of running, at least 10-15 degrees of hip extension range is crucial to set up for efficient propulsion. This is also known as triple extension when the trail leg is in full hip, knee, and ankle extension.

Issues That Can Occur When There Is a Lack of Hip Extension

When a runner lacks proper hip extension mobility, some common compensations that can occur include lumbar spine hyperextension, shortened running stride, and increased loading at the ankle joint. Inefficient running form can eventually lead to a repetitive stress injury.

Hip Flexor Weakness Can Be One of The Causes of Limited Hip Extension Mobility

If you have been stretching and continue to feel hip flexor tightness, the issue might not be a shortened muscle. Weakness can sometimes be perceived as muscle tightness. Try strengthening the muscle instead and see if that fixes the issue.

Here Are Some Exercises To Strengthen Your Hip Flexors:

1️⃣ Eccentric hip flexion contraction w/ Kettlebell

🔸Make sure to keep your back flat on the bench
🔸Bring both legs to your chest, hold onto the opposite leg and slowly lower the weighted leg down

2️⃣ End-Range hip flexion isometric holds

🔸Bring your knee up to your chest, release and hold the position
🔸Make sure to keep your core and glutes engaged

3️⃣ Resistant Band marches in Triple extension

🔸Raise your knee up towards your chest
🔸Make sure to keep your core and glutes engaged

Overhead Shoulder Warm-Up Exercises

I usually have issues with end-range shoulder flexion during overhead loading, these exercises help prepare my shoulders by increasing my range of motion and stability in those positions.

Here are some of my go-to warm up exercises that I use to prep my shoulders for overhead lifts. Use light to medium weights (this is just a warm-up)

1️⃣ Thoracic Extension + Unilateral Elbow Liftoff

🔸Find an elevated surface to rest your elbows on
🔸With both hands touching your shoulder drop your chest towards the floor while maintaining a neutral spine
🔸Lift one elbow off the surface and hold for 5 seconds

2️⃣ Landmine Shoulder Rotations

🔸Start at end-range shoulder flexion with neutral spine
🔸Lower the barbell to one side and bring it back up, make sure the motion is slow and controlled

3️⃣ Bottoms-up Kettlebell Presses

🔸Start at a 90/90 elbow/shoulder position
🔸Press dumbbell up into end range shoulder flexion and hold for 5 seconds

3 Exercises for Foot/Ankle Repetitive Stress Injuries

What Can Cause a Repetitive Stress Injury?

Repetitive stress injuries of the foot and ankle commonly occur in runners of all levels. There are many factors to consider leading up to this kind of injury including injury history, tissue capacity, training load, recovery, and equipment.

How to Treat a Repetitive Stress Injury?

The goal of these exercises is to start the process of desensitization as well as rebuild injured tendons/soft tissues. We want to gradually expose the injured area to time under tension before progressing to more demanding movements.

Here are some rehab exercises to treat a repetitive stress injury at the foot/ankle:

1️⃣ Isometric SL heel raise

3 sets of 30-45 sec. holds

2️⃣ Isometric Wall sit + soleus raise

3 sets of 30-45 sec. holds

3️⃣ Isometric lunge + heel raise

3 sets of 30-45 sec. holds

If you are dealing with a repetitive stress injury that doesn’t seem to get better, contact us to see if we can help!

Improve Your Running Mechanics: Big Toe Extension Mobility

Big toe extension mobility is often overlooked when talking about efficient running mechanics, why is this so important?

During the phases of running, proper push-off requires your big toe to extend at least 45 degrees which is crucial to set up for an efficient propulsion phase. This is also known as triple extension when the trail leg is in full hip, knee, and ankle extension.

When there is a lack of big toe extension mobility we can see a decrease in hip, knee, and ankle extension. This can cause your stride length to be shortened which leads to an insufficient propulsion phase. Being able to push off your big toe also tightens the band of tissues underneath your foot (plantar fascia) to create a spring mechanism that propels your leg forward with less energy.

Here are some exercises to help improve your big toe extension mobility:

1️⃣ Lunge with big toe extension stretch

🔸Shift your weight onto the big toe on the back leg
🔸You should feel a stretch on your toe and/or bottom of your foot.
🔸Perform 5 slow repetitions

2️⃣ Quadruped rock backs

🔸As you sit back onto your ankles focus on stretching your big toe
🔸Perform 5 slow repetitions

3️⃣ Heel raises with elevated big toe

🔸Place a towel roll under your big toe right before the ball of your feet
🔸Focus your pressure on the big toe while pushing up
🔸Perform 3 sets of 15

If you are currently dealing with and injury, we can help!

Improve Your Running Efficiency: Increasing Step rate to prevent Over-striding

What is over-striding and why is it bad?

Over-striding is defined when your initial foot strike lands in front of your center of mass (picture on the left). This causes an increase in joint loading, ground reaction forces, and breaking forces. If your body is not able to adapt to these forces an injury can occur. Ideally, your foot should be landing close to your center of mass, somewhere between your ears and eyes.

Here's a quick strategy to improve your running efficiency and decrease joint loads

One simple strategy is by increasing your step rate per minute (SPM) by 5-10%. This has been shown to reduce lower extremity joint loading and improve running kinematics. The picture on the right shows me running at a 10% increased SPM which puts my initial foot strike closer to my center of mass.

🔸Increasing your SPM by more than 10% requires greater oxygen consumption which can affect your running efficiency
🔸I use an app called RunTempo, which is a metronome to help find and modify your SPM when training
🔸Give this a shot and see if it helps!

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References:

Bramah C, Preece SJ, Gill N, Herrington L. A 10% Increase in Step Rate Improves Running Kinematics and Clinical Outcomes in Runners With Patellofemoral Pain at 4 Weeks and 3 Months. Am J Sports Med. 2019 Dec;47(14):3406-3413. doi: 10.1177/0363546519879693. Epub 2019 Oct 28. PMID: 31657964; PMCID: PMC6883353.

Lyght M, Nockerts M, Kernozek TW, Ragan R. Effects of Foot Strike and Step Frequency on Achilles Tendon Stress During Running. J Appl Biomech. 2016 Aug;32(4):365-72. doi: 10.1123/jab.2015-0183. Epub 2016 Mar 8. PMID: 26955843.

Heiderscheit, Bryan C et al. “Effects of step rate manipulation on joint mechanics during running.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 43,2 (2011): 296-302. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181ebedf4.

Dealing with a Stiff Hip? Try some of these hip mobility exercises

1️⃣ Frog pose + Alternating IR liftoff

🔸Lift your ankle up and out, hold for 3-5 seconds before alternating

perform 3-5 repetitions of each

2️⃣ Half kneeling hip flexor stretch + Ant/Post pelvic tilts

🔸Forcefully exhale to engage your core as you perform the posterior pelvic tilt, perform 3 seconds per rep

perform 3-5 repetitions of each

3️⃣ Elevated pigeon stretch

🔸Forcefully exhale to engage your core as you lower your knee to the ground, perform 3 seconds per rep

perform 3-5 repetitions of each

How to Prevent Running Injuries

There is a high incidence of lower extremity running injuries occurring in recreational and competitive runners, the knee being the most predominantly injured joint. Some risk factors that can increase the probability of a running injury include long training distances per week and a history of previous injuries. So how can we help prevent injuries like this from happening and keeping us off the sideline?

We need to prepare our bodies to adapt to ground reaction forces during running. On longer runs (more than 3 miles), it’s important that we prevent the breakdown of running mechanics and improve running efficiency.

Here are some areas that can be addressed to improve your resilience to injury:

🔸Training plan modification to safely balance your weekly workload
🔸Muscle strength and joint mobility deficits to improve load absorption
🔸Modifying running form and technique to improve energy efficiency
🔸Proper recovery and nutrition to prevent burnout

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van Gent RN, Siem D, van Middelkoop M, van Os AG, Bierma-Zeinstra SM, Koes BW. Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running injuries in long distance runners: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med. 2007;41(8):469-480. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2006.033548

Arnold, Michael & Moody, Aaron. (2018). Common Running Injuries: Evaluation and Management. American family physician. 97. 510-516.

How to get back to running and avoid injuries

Injuries from running can be preventable if you prepare your body for the sport. One common cause of running pain/injury is a sudden increase in mileage, frequency and/or pace following a period of rest. Knowing how to increase your running workload over time can help prevent repetitive stress injuries from occurring.

Here are a few rules that can guide you on how to properly increase your weekly mileage:

1️⃣ If you don't have any prior running experience, start with a walk/jog combination (0.1 mile walk/0.1 mile jog up to 1 mile). If you have prior running experience and can run at least 3 miles, start with that as long as you don't experience any discomfort that alters your running mechanics.
2️⃣ Your pace should be at a comfortable intensity where you can easily have a conversation with someone.
3️⃣ Keep your running schedule to no more than 2-3 days a week with a day rest in between to start.
4️⃣ The 10% rule: increasing your total weekly mileage by no more than 10% per week. (if you ran 10 miles total in the week, the following week should not exceed 11 miles)

‼️These guidelines will help give you a general idea on how to safely increase your running load. Everybody is different and guidelines can change depending on your running experience and injury history.

If you are experiencing pain or currently dealing with an injury and need help, contact us for a discovery call!

What Is a Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist?

We specialize in pelvic-related issues, including using internal and external diagnosing techniques to evaluate the function, muscle strength and muscle / neurological control of the pelvis. We also have to knowledge to discuss issues that you may not feel comfortable talking about such as urine Incontinence, pain during sexual intercourse, pelvic area pain, painful bowel movements, etc.

Why Is There a Gap In My Tummy?

How do I tell If I Have Diastasis Recti?

Diastasis recti is commonly seen in pregnant mothers but men can suffer from it too. In women, this condition can present during pregnancy or after delivery. Initially, people often notice a dome on their tummy when engaging their abdominal muscles, especially when getting out of bed. Some people also complain of feeling like their organs are falling out or feel their tummy is loose and unstable.

The most common question I get from people is: "Will the gap in my tummy close at any point?"

My answer to people who ask whether the gap will ever close is "I'm not sure". The severity of Diastasis Recti varies significantly. If the connective tissue that holds both sides of your abdominal muscles (also known as the "linea alba") is stretched out too much then you may need to consult with your surgeon to address that. However, regardless of how severe your diastasis recti is, everyone needs to strengthen their transverse abdominal and pelvic floor muscles to improve the ease of performing daily activities. The transverse abdominal muscle is the main muscle responsible for creating tension in your linea alba. Having proper linear alba tension helps to create a firm midline instead of a gap.

I’ve been doing a lot of ab workouts and core strengthening, but why isn't it getting better?

*If you’ve been doing core exercises for 6 weeks or it’s been 6 months after your delivery and you still haven’t seen any improvements, please consult a pelvic physical therapist for further assessment and treatment. 

There could be many factors preventing you from getting better:

1️⃣Your body hasn’t fully recovered from hormonal changes during pregnancy.

Your body needs at least 1 year to let your connective tissues (Linea Alba, muscles, ligaments) recover. *Please be patient! Your body has experienced a lot during pregnancy and we need to be nice to our bodies to help with recovery.

2️⃣You’re not using the right abdominal muscles.

We have two layers of muscles, the superficial layer consists of the external and internal abdominals, and the deeper layer consists of the transverse abdominals. Most people overstress their abs and engaging the superficial layer more instead of the deeper layer.

How would I know whether I’m using the right muscles?

When you contract the transverse abdominals properly, you will see a flattened tummy from your ribs down to your pelvis instead of seeing your rib cage flare-up.

3️⃣The exercises that you are doing are not designed to help you return to your everyday activities. In other words, your exercises are not activity-specific.

We mainly performs activities in an upright position, but many people only train their muscles lying down. For example, only doing reverse crunches will not help you engage your whole abdominal wall when you have to carry your baby.

You should incorporate upright positions in your work outs, such as lunges and squats with weights, to help you train your muscles in different positions.

4️⃣Your exercises are not challenging enough or too challenging. 

How do I know whether my exercises are too hard?

If you see a dome in your tummy while performing core exercises.

How would I know whether my exercises are too easy?

I want you to take a second to think about the frequency and reps you do per week. I understand it’s hard to find the time to do exercises because your life is occupied by your baby and you are very busy. However, I also want you to spare some time for yourself and your body. The exercise dosage should be 3-4 times/week. The intensity should make your muscles feel fatigued. *Please watch out for the dome!

5️⃣You still need to lose some fat tissue from pregnancy.

I normally tell my clients this when discussing their diet and nutrition intake. Most of the time, moms don’t have enough time to eat regularly and properly, and thus don’t get enough nutrition. This makes it harder for your body to recover and get back into shape. Please don’t compare yourself with moms on Instagram with beautiful bodies. Everyone’s body is different and we all have different healing times. We need to listen to our bodies. Focusing on yourself is the most important thing to do now. 😊

Is Urine Incontinence Normal?

Do you always need to go to the restroom before a trip “just in case?”

Your pelvic floor muscles are working 24/7 nonstop just like your diaphragm. It’s not only contracting when you want to hold your pee, hold your poop, or having sex, etc.. You need to train your pelvic floor muscles to contract, relax, and push down during various activities, such as driving in the car, standing in line for food as well as watching cat videos on Instagram. 🐱 

Can't wear your new cute leggings for fitness classes because you're worried about urine leakage?

Performing basic pelvic floor muscle exercises is fairly easy because you don’t need any equipment or a specific time to workout. Contracting your pelvic floor muscles is not like lifting heavyweights. Imagine you are holding a baby's finger, you are not going to squeeze as hard as you can. This squeeze is equivalent to contracting your pelvic floor muscles. I sometimes tell my clients to use 30% of their force to squeeze and if done correctly, it might feel like they're doing nothing. But, Yes! 30%! 💪

Cautious about sneezing or laughing because you don’t want to pee your pants? 😐

You've probably already googled Kegel exercises before you read this. But pelvic floor health is not just about Kegel exercises. Consulting a pelvic floor physical therapist about your problem can help you to understand your issues in-depth and guide you through your rehab journey. 🙂

Having urge/stress incontinence or urine leakage should not be a normal occurrence in your life. You shouldn't be ashamed because this is an issue that can be addressed. 🙌

Is There a Correct Posture For Prolonged Sitting?

What is the best posture for me to sit in?

Neither! There is no perfect posture if you’re going to be sitting or standing for a long period of time. Our joints, muscles, and connective tissues need a certain amount of daily motion to maintain optimal joint health. Posture is context dependent! 

If there isn’t a right posture then why do I still have pain?

Your body is not prepared for the amount of the time that you spend in certain postures, or postures that you try to create. Many therapists instruct their clients to maintain a chin tuck position while sitting or standing to prevent  a forward head posture. However, if your muscles or tissues are not prepared to move repeatedly or constantly into this new position, you might start to develop neck pain. Injuries occur when your actions overpower the capacity of your muscles/tissues to perform.

I’m not saying that having good posture is not important. It’s also important to be constantly moving and changing positions throughout the day. Motion is lotion!