How To Modify Your Running Plan To Avoid Injury And Stay Consistent

A proper running plan continuously evolves depending on how your body is adapting. Maybe you had a long stressful week with little sleep and not feeling 100%. The last thing you want is to develop an injury that sidelines you. The biggest challenge of any running plan is staying consistent and by modifying your workouts based on what your body tells you can help.

Here are a few ways you can modify your training plan when not feeling 100% to stay consistent:

✅ Decrease the pace of your runs

The faster you run, the more force your joints, muscle, and soft tissue need to absorb

✅ Decrease your mileage on specific runs

This can offload your body and help with recovery

✅ Don't run consecutive days

After a high-effort session such as an interval or tempo run, allow 48 hours for your body to recover


*These are temporary modifications to avoid injury, especially when you're not feeling 100%. Do not run if you have pain that alters your running mechanics, and seek guidance from a physical therapist if pain persists. If you are experiencing pain or currently dealing with an injury and need help, contact us for a discovery call!

✨3 things to check when you go back to the gym after labor✨

1️⃣ Heaviness/pressure-like feeling around your vulva area

🔸After labor, especially for breastfeeding moms, connective tissues that support your organs are not as stable as they were pre-pregnancy. When we start to lift heavy or challenge our core stability more than our tissues can handle, there is a risk of developing organ prolapse.

2️⃣ Conning at your central abdominal line can indicate diastasis recti

🔸During the third trimester, having conning is normal but after labor, if you are still seeing conning when you do any core exercises and/or weight lifting movements then you might have developed diastasis recti.

3️⃣ Leakage during high-impact activities

🔸When doing exercises such as box jumps, double unders, and running if there is leakage, this can indicate stress urine incontinence.
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If you notice these symptoms when you are at the gym, please reach out to a Pelvic Floor PT for an assessment to see whether you have a pelvic floor dysfunction

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.

 
 
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🔸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!

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.