Runningmate PT and Performance Coaching

Blog: Back Squats for Bone Health Squats are hard. They are crucial for strong running bones. Check out why they are the biggest key lift for runners recovering from many BSIs in my latest blog. https://loom.ly/epT0uTk

We can be much better at helping runners back to training after a stress fracture. I highlight two changes we need to make in todays video.

Blog: Why I Don't Use KB Swings with Runners Runners are busy people. Between training, work, family, and everything else we have going on it can be challenging to maintain a consistent strength routine. In this blog, I wanted to highlight how I go through programming strength exercises for runners and triathletes, and why I don't think kettlebell swings are a great option. Check it out below. https://loom.ly/PbLKsdE

RZ Podcast 31: Rich Blagrove Rich is one of the world leaders in strength training for endurance athletes. On this episode, Rich talks about key assessments we should take our athletes through, how we should change our programming across the calendar year, and what are some the key aspects we should be thinking about when designing programs for runners and triathletes. Check it out at the link below or wherever you enjoy podcasts. https://loom.ly/SdptsbU

Bone Stress Injury Clinical Diagnosing stress fractures and reactions can be challenging. It is important for us to get them managed appropriately and quickly to get runners back to training as quick as possible. This is a clinical presentation I see often with BSIs so be on the lookout with your athletes and patients.

RZ Podcast 30: Rich Willy On this episode, Chris Johnson sat down with Rich Willy. They discuss the management of anterior knee pain, bone stress injuries, optimizing bone health, and managing the master runner. Check it out at the link below or wherever you enjoy podcasts!

Sacral Bone Stress Injuries An often misdiagnosed injury in endurance athletes is sacral bone stress injuries. This infographic highlights the different areas these fractures can happen with Zone 1 fractures being the location I've seen the most. Sacral stress fractures are often misdiagnosed as SI joint dysfunction, referral from the hip's soft tissue, or originating from the muscles or joints of the lower back. Runner' will often report pain with shifting weigh...t onto the affected leg or going up steps. Since the sacrum is more "spongy" than other bones, they are affected to a greater degree by inadequate nutrition or changes in hormones which means we may need to refer to other providers for comprehensive management. When runner' present with one-sided back pain we should be alert to this as a potential problem. I look forward to diving in m my Bone Stress Injury Cohort this week! See more

RZ Podcast #29 Rachael Norfleet On this episode of the Runners Zone Podcast, I sat down with @rachaelnorfleet. Rachael shares her journey in endurance sports, what it is like to train and ultimately qualify for Kona, training with @zwift Academy, her struggles with battling an autoimmune disorder, and her recent adventures in trail running. Check it out at the link below and thanks for listening! https://loom.ly/Ax0Vkdg

RZ Podcast 28: Stephen Day In this episode, Chris sat down with triathlete Stephen Day. They chatted about his journey through endurance sports, training, and competing in Kona and his experience with training following being diagnosed with COVID-19. Check it out at the link below or wherever you enjoy podcasts!

Squat Clock + Overhead Press Here is one of my favorite drills to challenge endurance athletes single leg balance, strength with knee dominant movements, and ability to get tall with overhead activities. Try this out during your next strength session

RZ Podcast 27: Amelia Boone In this episode, @Christopher Johnson sat down with Amelia Boone one of the most decorated OCR races of all time. Amelia shares her story as an endurance athlete, her battle with bone stress injuries, and a ton of other powerful topics. Check it out at the link below or wherever you enjoy podcasts. https://traffic.libsyn.com//r/Untitled_-_92520_6.18_AM.mp3

Split Squats or Lunges for Runners Split squats and retro lunges are two of my favorite exercises for runners and triathletes. Check out this video to find out how we determine which knee dominant exercise might be best.

Overhead March + Hip Airplane Move with precision on one leg . This is a key concept I want my athletes to master throughout our time working together. Once they have mastered the basics of marching, step ups, and basic hip airplanes, this is a progression we can take runners and triathletes to in order to further challenge their foot, ankle and hip to maintain control while on one leg. Drills like these are a time to focus on precision and should be a little challenging to maintain complete control (note the few wobbles I have throughout the video). Give these a go during your next lifting session.

Top Eight Running Injuries Injuries are a pain. They can be frustrating to manage and recover back to and they put a wrench in our training and racing plans. Taunton and colleagues found these were the top eight injuries runners deal with. A point that @zerenpt makes in our Bones, Tendons, Weights and Whistles course is that almost all the injuries in this study are located at the knee and . How many of these injuries have you had? I hit 3/8 which is a .375 batting average. I'll take it .

RZ Podcast 26 with @LiciaMorelli On this episode, @zerenpt sat down with Licia Morelli the author of Lemonade Hurricane and her newest release I am Darn Tough. Check it out wherever you enjoy podcasts or at the link below! https://loom.ly/HyjWP9o

Running Specific Warm Up Your warm up before you lift or run shouldn't be complicated, but it should be done with thoughtful precision. This video highlights my favorite pre-training warm up and some of the rationale for why I use it often with my clients.

Q & A ANNOUNCEMENT Runners have lots of questions. How do I manage a certain injury? Do my running mechanics matter? What kinds of shoes should I be wearing? Starting tomorrow, @zerenpt and I will be holding weekly question and answer sessions on Instagram and Facebook to answer all your running-related questions. We will be holding these sessions weekly at 2 pm EST every Thursday. If you have a question you'd like answered, let us know below!

Physical Therapy is Not Always the Answer When I first graduated PT school, I KNEW I was going to be able to solve every running-related injury that came into the clinic. I was going to be able to find all the discrepancy's in strength, mechanics and everything else to solve 100% of my patients and clients problems. Fast forward eight years and that idea seems pretty egotistical and completely false. If there is one thing I've learned in my career in the endurance world it is... that my profession (and the entire rehab world in general) is not the answer to every running injury. PT's and anyone who lives in the "rehab" space need to realize that. There have been many times when a runner has consulted with me with regards to an injury or training problem where I am not the answer to the question they are seeking out. I might have the best drills and the best ways modify training loads, but those are not going to help if a patient really needs to be with a physician, dietician, endocrinologist or psychologist. As rehab professionals, we need to be paying attention for the need to either refer out completely to another profession or take a broad team approach with other professionals to put our patients and clients in the best place to succeed in their endurance endeavors. Strength training, training modifications and the other tools we possess are important, but they are not the solution to every running related problem. #running #run #endurance #tri #triathlon #fitness #strength #strengthtraining #track #bike

Runners often overcomplicate how they warm up prior to a run. While I do think it is important we have a structured approach for beginning a training session, I think we should approach this in a much different way than runners often do. Check out my thoughts on this topic in my blog below. https://loom.ly/ZAJwYOg

Bone Stress Injury Cohort Starting the week of September 13th, Rebecca Kirk- McConville and myself will be hosting a 7-week cohort diving deep into assessing and treating bone stress injuries. We will be going into the reasons behind why they happen, what specific topics we have to assess during the rehab process, and how we can help reduce the risk of them occurring in runners and triathletes. Each ticket allows TWO people to be a part of this cohort that currently has THREE spots remaining. Learn more at the link below and if you have any questions let me know!

Tibia Fracture Locations Bone stress injuries (BSI) are consistently among the five most common running injuries, and account for 50% of all injuries sustained by runners and military recruits. Tibial stress fractures are the most common BSIs we see in endurance athletes . Often blamed as "shin splints" by runners, coaches and health care providers these can be often missed. Low vs High Risk ... Posteromedial tibial BSIs are low-risk in nature and don't always require the runner to stop exercise completely. Anterior tibial cortex BSIs aren't as common in runners, but generally have a harder time healing and may need surgery to stabilize and allow the runner back to training. We should treat both these injuries seriously, but when runners report "anterior shin" pain we should be extra diligent in getting an appropriate work up done to allow them long term success.