Last week while in the gym, I saw a sign that read, “A goal without a plan is just a wish”. I have always said that sometimes a person’s goal is really a dream if it isn’t within their potential. That said, goals should be attainable.
As an online virtual marathon coach, I am contacted by runners of all abilities through my website, runwithgina.com and Run With Gina Facebook page. Regardless of their demographic, they all have one thing in common, to become the best runner they can possibly be. What that is for one person, will be different for another and it is based on their inherent genetic ability. Unfortunately, many runners over-train and sabotage themselves by never allowing their body to recover from one workout to the next and never achieving their true potential or under train, also never achieving their true potential. My job as a coach is to guide them to their potential and I recommend that we get there by using S.M.A.R.T. goals. The S.M.A.R.T. acronym stands for, Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Timely. (By the way, this is not hard and fast; some action items can be replaced with other words. For example, sometimes “A” means “attainable”.) I recommend for my runners that have run half or full marathons before start with a Specific finishing time goal, which is also called an outcome goal. If the runner tells me he wants to run a 3:50 marathon, I will then Measure where his current level of ability is with a 5k (3.1-mile) time trial. Several, slightly varying formulas exist that predict marathon ability on shorter races, such as the 5k distance. I then know if the goal is within his ability and can form an Action-oriented plan to achieve the specific time goal. An action-oriented plan is determining what days, times, and effort levels will be planned out to successfully complete the training runs and equally important, the nutrition and rest to support the run training. Realistic comes in different forms, starting with evaluating if the current action-oriented plan is realistically achievable after a few weeks of implementing it into work/life balance. If in fact it is not realistic, then I help the runner identify all the barriers to his success and we can adjust the plan to be more realistic and set it into action. Also, part of being realistic is identifying if the runner is adapting to the training and if not, the specific outcome goal may need to be regressed or if they are improving, progressed if he so desires. This is done by occasionally re-measuring their level of ability. Timely, is execution of a marathon training plan that provides the right training stimulus, at the right time, for the appropriate duration to achieve the desired goal. Far too often I see runners that do way too much speed work, way too soon in their training season, which quite frankly is self-sabotaging behavior which prevents them from peaking at the right time in relation to the goal race. Fight ON! Coach Gina
0 Comments
We have arrived at the second week of 2018! How are you doing working towards your lifestyle goals for the new year; more sleep, decreased stress, on point diet, and regular physical fitness? Were any or all those examples part of your New Year’s Resolutions? Sadly, 75% of people drop their resolutions within the first seven days of the new year and only 8% make it the entire year.
I recently noticed a few times a week people tell me their diet and exercise struggles. Interestingly, I notice it more with diet than exercise, because even my runners and people I know that exercise regularly will talk to me about their diet. I am not a dietician, nutritionist, medical doctor, or weight loss specialist. I am not licensed to tell people what to eat, nor are many people that do tell others what to eat. What I am, though, is a healthcare provider and somebody whose lifestyle is deeply rooted in an aversion of what I observe in my patients, who are a representation of the general population (who, in the United States, have seen a steady increase in overweight and obese individuals since the 1970s, as well as associated diseases). My lifestyle or diet and exercise choices are referred to in the health psychology world as “well behaviors”. Well behaviors are activities people engage in to maintain and improve good health and avoid illness (Sarafino & Smith, 2011). Your diet can be a well behavior. Unfortunately, to many, diet changes are as difficult as giving up smoking cigarettes or other addictive substances. There is plenty of research available suggesting there are reward centers in the brain that respond to sugar and why some people have a “sweet tooth”. But many of the diet choices/habits out there are also culturally rooted; ethnically and/or socially. New Year’s resolutions that include a change in diet should include an understanding of social-cognitive theory, which suggests behavioral modification is an interaction between personal, behavioral, and environmental influences (Bandura, 1977). Dear readers, many of you I know personally and know what your diets include. I am not judging, but if you express a desire to change your diet for weight loss, improved health, sleep quality, and/or athletic performance, please look at your surroundings; the personal, behavioral, and environmental influences that sabotage your dietary goals. How often are you hitting up cocktails with your gal pals or your boys? The rise in overweight and obese individuals in the US parallels the sales of both soda and alcohol. How about family gatherings and work potlucks? How can one control themselves and stay on point with their diet? How about throwing down a plate of vegetables before you get to your favorite, more satisfying foods. A first plate of vegetables will allow for less room for the other foods. You don’t have to give up what you love, but you should look for ways to include foods that can improve your health and they should be your first choice. Make your behaviors well behaviors! Just to reiterate, I’m not judging anyone! As full disclosure, I will throw out the fact that I eat for pleasure, not just necessity. Honestly, I went to an all- you-can-eat buffet today. As a matter of fact, I went there three weeks in a row! But, my first plate is always a loaded-up salad! My subsequent food choices are always mindful choices, because it would be way too easy just to eat it all because it is included in the price of admission. Fight ON! Coach Gina References: Bandura, A (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84, 191-215. Sarafino, E. P., & Smith, T. W. (2011). Health psychology: Biopsychosocial interactions (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. This past Christmas, I received a calendar that had daily inspirational quotes for runners. As you can see in the picture above, the statement for January 5th is, “Believe in yourself. Push your limits & do whatever it takes to conquer your goals”. Most people might read this statement and get fired up, just the push they need.
As a coach with an understanding of physiology and biomechanics and how the body responds to training loads including rest/recovery, I probably view this statement through a different pair of lenses. Believing in yourself is paramount in goal achievement, but it is the second part of the statement, “Push your limits & do whatever it takes to conquer your goals,” that I feel uneasy about. Many people think “more is better, greater intensity is better”, but in reality, nothing is better than “just enough” to elicit the intended training response. As a coach, I want to build my runners up, without breaking them down. Pushing your limits and doing whatever it takes to achieve that will more than likely provide greater risk of injury and overtraining, than to reward you with goal attainment. Many of the runners that train with me often hear me use the statement, “the risk to reward ratio” is too great towards risk. Earlier today I logged into a pace calculator to put together a race plan for a runner. On the website I saw a link for an article on active.com. Check out this link for the article, “7 Reasons Why You Need a Running Coach”, https://www.active.com/running/articles/7-reasons-why-you-need-a-running-coach/slide-5 As a quick synopsis, the author notes these reasons for needing a running coach and I’ve added my thoughts in the bullet points:
Coach Gina This training season, October-January races have been quite exciting for me. I have had the opportunity to prepare runners coming off surgery, first time marathon runners, and those that have not run a marathon in years. You can’t always have your best race and this is probably why so many run race after race chasing their elusive personal best. My runners are no different, but along with those folks, I have had first time Boston Marathon qualifiers, marathon bests up to 21-minutes, and those that met process goals such as not cramping up or hitting the wall. Other programs and coaches can probably and rightfully make the same claims.
A few months ago, a runner messaged me and asked how my program was different than a group training program she belonged to. My first thought was, “We are talking apples and oranges”. Then I had a hard time explaining it…go figure. Running is running, right? But coaching is either there or not there. Who exactly is a coach? A mentor is not the same thing as a coach. An idol is not the same thing as a coach. Someone that has been there, done that is not a coach. He/she is simply someone that has been there, done that and more importantly, had the ability to do it, not necessarily understanding the science; physiology and biomechanics that went into it. There are two types of athletes. Those that are ego-involved and those that are task-involved. Before I go on, lets define “ego-involved”. It doesn’t mean that they have a big “ego”. An ego-involved athlete is occupied by their adequacy of ability and competence compared to others (Duda & Treasure, 2010). There are a lot of positive aspects to group training, but ego-involvement of some runners preoccupies them from their ability. You only need to compare yourself as a runner to yourself, but if you get wrapped up in what others are doing and try to run out of your ability to keep up, it won’t be long before burnout sets in. A task-involved athlete is just that, someone that completes tasks as they are given to them. The run training tasks or workouts (I prescribe) help create a mastery climate. I help create an environment in which you can experience improvement through your rate of perceived effort, paces, or in your heart rate, if it is all done within your current ability. Everyone’s ceiling of ability is different, and it doesn’t matter how hard or long you train, ability and goals may not be on the same page. That is just the way the cannon ball bounces. The coaching software I utilize provides a platform for me to distribute training to my runners and I do it 2-3 weeks at a time. I decide what is best for them and plug it in. If they use a Garmin GPS watch, they link it up, so I can view all the details of their run or there is a place for them to log what they have completed. This allows me to provide feedback and more importantly, a way for me to see if they are completing the tasks and if the tasks are out of their ability or if they are ready to be progressed during the season or over multiple seasons. This all fosters a mastery climate until ability is reached. That is what a coach does. A coach has the tools; knowledge, ability, and passion to create a mastery climate. This builds confidence in the runner as well as a personal relationship between coach and runner. Super cool stuff and I’m proud to be the creator of the environment in which a task-involved runner can evolve to his/her full potential! Are you viewing this blog post from the Run With Gina Facebook page? When was the last time you visited the runwithgina.com website? The Services page has been updated and explains the other things that make my program different than others. Apples and oranges! Fight ON! Coach Gina Runner Image: Darryl & Tricia Sol, Joey & Maryanne Jamias, Nellie Klein, and Art Santos Reference Duda, J.L., & Treasure, D.C. (2010). Motivational processes and the facilitation of quality engagement in sport. In J.M. Williams (Ed.), Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (6th ed.) (pp. 59-80). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Last week I put up a few thoughts regarding Shalane Flanagan’s win at the 2017 TCS New York City Marathon. I mentioned that Shalane was considering retirement from marathon racing, one of the reasons being that she believes her days of setting personal records are behind her. Running a smart race in New York allowed her a big victory, despite being more than 5-minues slower than her personal record.
Often when we set out to run in a race we set a time goal. Time goals are referred to as outcome goals. How to properly set (because it cannot be an arbitrary time) outcome goals and achieve them is a completely different future blog, maybe even two blogs. But one thing that happens to runners is that they don’t want to say out loud what their time goal is. Primarily because if they don’t say it out loud, they will not feel pressure to perform or have the feeling of failure if the goal isn’t met. Which really is kind of silly if you think about it, because how many people actually have the courage and make sacrifices to take on training and competing in a marathon? Less than 1% of the population is the statistic I’m sure we have all heard here or there, so there should be great pride in completing a marathon or any endurance event for that matter, goal met or not. No shame in that game! Additionally, for some runners to express an actual time goal, it feels like a challenge too great, especially if I tell one of my runners, “I think you can run x:xx in the marathon”. The time may be scary if they come up with it themselves or even scarier if I suggest it. My time suggestion would always be based on what they have accomplished in training, of course, but a time goal may seem like they are just staring at an enormous mountain, doubting how they could conquer such a conquest. This weekend I ran in the Avengers Half Marathon at Disneyland Resort. Like Shalane Flanagan (not that we compare as runners), I have come to accept that my days of personal bests are behind me for various reasons, including a shift in my focus (on others, not myself). This is something I am happy with. That doesn’t mean I will stop running in races, but my race focus is running smart and I did just that during the Avengers race by setting process goals. Again, a time goal is an outcome goal and process goals are goals that you achieve throughout a process towards the outcome, I know, I know: self-explanatory. So, I lined up at the starting line and told myself, “Your process goals are; first mile somewhere in the 9:00-9:30 min/mi range, first 5k the slowest segment, five miles sub-8:00 min/mi (preferably in a row), overall race pace to be sub 8:12 min/mi”. So how did I do? First mile 9:07 min/mi, first 5k was the slowest, five miles sub 8:00 min/mi, not in a row though due to slowing up to take a GU gel and again through Angel Stadium and overall race pace at 8:11 min/mi (per my Garmin). As far as I’m concerned, I think I get about a B+ on process goal execution…maybe even an A-, as I’m feeling generous and I did have the five sub 8:00 min/miles just interrupted by a few seconds. What can you do with this information? You can run race after race and still have that awesome feeling of victory even though a personal best wasn’t met by setting and achieving smaller process goals during a race that doesn’t feel quite as overwhelming as going after an outcome goal. My example is only one example, but should really be formulated before getting to the starting line. Other examples of process goals would be; shooting for a specific negative split, slowing your running pace down instead of walking when you feel tired, taking in nutrition at a specific time or distance frequency, walking every other aid station instead of every aid station, or maybe even executing a very specific walk/jog plan if in the past you have always walked unplanned and feel disappointed in yourself, but you wouldn’t if it is incorporated into a plan, or my other personal favorite process goal is planning to run x amount of miles at a designated pace and then dropping the pace every so often in segments. The possibilities are endless for process goals! The Avengers Half Marathon was slower than my personal best half marathon time by 14 minutes!!!! More than a minute per mile slower, yikes! I am currently nowhere near my peak level of fitness and haven't been since starting graduate school in 2012. But you know what? I felt like I ran a personal best because I ran smart, stuck to the plan, and was able to stroll to the finish the last two miles because I accomplished what I set out to accomplish and my work was done. Be smart, race smart! Fight ON, Coach Gina Hello Run With Gina blog readers! I want to acknowledge the fact that it has been a long time since I last composed a blog. Life just gets busy sometimes. In addition to working full time, commuting to and from work two hours a day, family commitments around the house, emailing/texting my runners, and training for an early December marathon, our daughter gave birth to a baby boy one month ago and last week, another daughter got married! There has been little to no time between the hours in a day and just plain old exhaustion to sit down and compose a blog post. I am proud of myself for getting all my run miles in through it all!
Last Sunday I watched the television coverage of the TCS New York City Marathon. I’m not going to lie, I cried as Shalane Flanagan crossed the finish line first for the women in 2:26:53. While watching the live race coverage and in the days after the race, a few thoughts have come to mind that I want to share with my readers. Can you imagine running a 2:26:53 marathon? Can you believe that time is more than 5-minutes slower than Shalane’s fastest marathon and almost 10-minutes slower than second place finisher Mary Keitany’s personal best? Before the race Shalane mentioned that the 2017 NY marathon may be her last. One of the reasons is that she believes her days of personal best times are behind her. This time will come for all of us, the only difference is that professionals have an easier time accepting it, because there is no question of their ability and know when that ship has sailed off into the sunset. A lot of recreational runners try and try to chase after their personal best, but fall short over and over, for way too many reasons. One reason is because runners are impatient. To be the best you can be takes time and years of work, but also requires patience in a race situation. Shalane didn’t run a personal best, but didn’t need one to win the race. She needed to be patient and race smart, which is what she did. At mile 23 when the pace had been slow-modest for elite female marathon runners, Shalane knew she was a much faster runner at the 5k distance than the other two women within striking distance. There is a lot of power in past experiences. Hanging tough with the best in the world at mile 23 and knowing you are the reigning American record holder at the indoor 5000 meters is a mental boost like no other. Shalane went on to win the race by 1:01. That is a huge time difference in an elite race and more so for elites that spent most of the race running stride for stride with each other. After crossing the finish line, I heard Shalane say, “We did it”! Later in a Facebook post Shalane shared her finish line picture with the comment, “It takes a village”. Coincidentally, the day before I wrote #ittakesavillage when congratulating one of my runners in her 21-minute personal best time in the marathon. My graduate school professor, former Olympian, Olympic running coach, and exercise physiologist, Dr. Jack Daniels believes there are four ingredients to athletic success; ability, motivation, opportunity, and direction. Opportunity is described as the environment, while direction is described as leadership from coaches. The opportunity/environment is the people you surround yourself with. Similarly, goal-minded individuals, such as running friends and groups. What about the direction, the role of the coach? Probably the most misunderstood and underutilized opportunity available to recreational runners, but the most valuable asset to elite runners. In her post-race interview, Shalane said she knew she could win because her coaches told her she could win. Her coaches told her that the longer she hung onto the leaders, the greater her chances of winning would be given her speed advantage at shorter distances. She had the power of her past experiences at shorter/faster races and the training load applied to her by her coaches would have continued to foster that ability. Also, when asked post-race if the 2017 NY Marathon was her last marathon, her reply included needing to discuss it with her coaches to determine what is still possible for her. It takes a village folks to help you be the best you can be and to find out if what you want is what matches your ability and determining if your ability can even be improved. Training isn’t just about being consistent, but about being patient with a process and remaining honest through it all. Fight ON! Coach Gina The San Diego Half Marathon is my favorite race in San Diego. Interestingly, I hear a lot of runners say that it is impossible to run a personal best time on this course. I think if the weather is optimal, then chances of a personal best are good if you train for the course. In my observations, most runners either train too much or not enough, towards their potential. The operative words are “towards their potential”. This is different than what you hope to run. A goal should be attainable based on ability, otherwise, one is just dreaming about a goal.
Because I want all runners in San Diego to be the best they can be and take down the San Diego Half Marathon course, I am offering a discounted fee for training towards the race! When training for a race, there are many training options available to you, accessible via books, magazines, and the internet. There are also many coaches out there who will design a plan for you, many of which are very good. But there is good, and then there is “a better option for you”. I truly feel that my training plans are the Perfect Fit for you because they are systematically applied to build the body UP, instead of breaking it down. I am excited to offer a promotional rate of $60 for a virtual training plan for the 2018 San Diego Half Marathon! In this 20-week program, you will receive your schedule 2-3 weeks at a time via an app on your mobile device for easy access and it will include pace training based on your individual ability. There will be three levels of training: First timers, Intermediate, and the PR seeker. Training officially begins 10/23/2017. DEADLINE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS PROMOTION IS 10/18/2017, SO HURRY! Don’t let this train(ing) leave without you! (Please note: this promotion does not include a movement assessment or gait analysis, nor does this include registration for the San Diego Half Marathon.) Email me at runwithgina@gmail.com to take advantage of this special promotion! Fight ON! Coach Gina Have you ever had low back pain? If my readers are representative of the general population, then most of you have suffered with low back pain at some point during the year. As a matter of fact, while in kinesiology graduate school, most classes brought up the overwhelming statistic mentioned repeatedly in the evidence-based literature, 80% of the general population suffers from low back pain at least one time each year. Yikes! My back hurts just thinking about it. Well, with some scoliosis and spinal degeneration according to my chiropractor, I should have back pain, but I don’t. Does that mean there isn’t a problem if I don’t have pain? No, I do have a structural problem despite being pain free. I also ran 42 miles last week and don’t have any pain from that either. In my cross-training blog (May archives, runwithgina.com) I mention that the chances of injury increase when running over 19 miles per week, yet with some existing structural issues, I am asymptomatic. The bottom line is that I remain aware of my structural issues and routinely do additional exercises to at least maintain my state within what is structurally possible to minimize the potential for pain and the downward spiral that could generate from it. As should every runner and member of the general population for that matter.
So, what’s up? Are runners at greater risk for back problems? No more than the general population, but it is true, increased spinal compression and degeneration is common in athletes. In upright standing alone, the lumbar vertebrae withstand 80-90% of the compressive load. While running, the mid-lumbar vertebrae accepts compressive loads of 2.7-5.7 body weight at ground foot strike. In a study of 25 runners, Dimitriadis and researchers (2011) measured the intervertebral disc height and position before and after one hour of running using MRI technology. Interestingly, results showed a reduction in body height to varying degrees after the spinal loading of the run. Although in the above study, the researchers did not re-measure the disc height after a period of time, similar research demonstrates full restoration of the disc height within 24 hours. If you have been following the Run With Gina blogs on the Facebook page or tuning in on my website, then you may remember me blogging about the multifidus muscle in my core training blog, which can be found in the July archives. Just as a reminder, the multifidus spans the entire length of the spine, but is thickest at the lumbar spine, with observational research suggesting it stabilizes the lumbar spine and controls intervertebral motion without compromising spinal movements or generating torque. Armed with this information is one of the many ways that I keep my structural issues at bay without pain. I mentioned in the core blog that the multifidus co-contracts with the transverse abdominis muscle. A low back pain prevention training program should improve the function of the multifidus and transverse abdominis with exercises that require proximal stability (stable core) and distal mobility (moving arm or leg). Himes et al., (2012) suggests planks and bridges, including a side-bridge progression, where distal mobility of abduction (moving away) of the non-weight bearing arm or leg is included. Don’t get me wrong, I am not implying that the general population have low back pain because they have weak core strength…although potentially a contributor. By the way, a general physician would more than likely tell a patient with low back pain that it is because of a weak “core”. Low back pain as noted with functional movements of spinal flexion and extension can also be from weaknesses of the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and hamstring group (Nagarajan & Nair, 2010). Yes, you can find my previous blog posts on all those muscles too. I’m going to geek out on you guys here, but stick with me because you need to pass this info along to all your friends suffering from low back pain. When I think of all the muscles I have mentioned throughout this blog post, I immediately think of what connects all of them together, the thoracolumbar fascia. Think sausage casing, which connects all of them together, including a few others, through three slings in our bodies. Weaknesses in one can impair the function of others. The other day on the Run With Gina Facebook page I mentioned acting towards prevention, not cure, because cure is often difficult to find. I had low back pain in mind when I made that statement. Why? Because 85% of low back pain problems are of unidentifiable pathology or commonly referred to as “non-specific” low back pain! The answer could be in a plethora of structures in the body but unfortunately, healthcare practitioners do not have x-ray vision to identify the source of the problem, therefore making the “cure” difficult to find. I will tell you this again, weaknesses. Many issues in our bodies are from weak structures. So many people want to go for pain management through massage, foam rolling, the stick, stretching, and pain medication. You think, “I’m tight”, God forbid you think, “I’m weak”. Guess what? Often the problem is in the weak, shut down structures both in runners and our non-running friends. So, for your non-running friends that suffer from low back pain with a non-specific origin and afraid to move because of pain, they need to move. They need to get strong where they are weak for stability and mobility of their body. Encourage your friends and family with low back pain to hire a personal trainer with a Corrective Exercise Certification, if they do not have access to a physical therapist or a chiropractor with a rehabilitative program. I think I went off on this blog post folks, but I could not stop myself from delivering correct and important information for runners and non-runners to be more informed! Please pass this blog post along to friends and family, runners and non-runners! Fight ON! Coach Gina References: Dimitriadis, A. T., Papagelopoulos, P. J., Smith, F. W., Mavrogenis, A. F., Pope, M. H., Karantanas, A. H., Hadjipavlou, A. G., & Katonis, P. G. (2011). Intervertebral disc changes after 1 h of running: A study on athletes. The Journal of International Medical Research, 39(2), 569-579. Himes, M. E., Selkow, N. M., Gore, M. A., Hart, J. M. & Saliba, S. A. (2012). Transversus abdominis activation during a side-bridge exercise progression is similar in people with recurrent low back pain and healthy controls. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 26(11), 3106-3112. Nagarajan, M., & Nair, M. R. (2010). Importance of fear-avoidance behavior in chronic non-specific low back pain. Journal of Back and Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 23, 87-95. After my last blog post on overtraining syndrome, it is clear I will need to do a follow up on it in the future, so stay tuned! Last week I had two runners tell me that their hamstrings are tight. Interestingly, a lot of runners think their hamstrings are tight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in fact tight, but that they have pain or a sensation in their hamstrings, so they equate it to “tight” hamstrings and try to stretch them like a rubber band. Is that truly the answer to the problem?
I think it is common knowledge that the hamstrings are located on the back of the upper leg, but their function is not equally understood. I won’t bore everyone with their actual names, but their actions are to extend the hip or pull your leg into swing after foot push off from the ground and to create knee flexion. Equally important, they work opposite the quadricep muscles, by decelerating or controlling the opposite action of the quadriceps and vice versa as depicted in the illustration above. Have you ever heard of someone being “quad dominant”? What happens if there is a big strength difference between the quadriceps and the hamstrings? Which muscle group do you think would be stronger and tighter and which one would be weaker and maybe in a more lengthened position? I will give you a hint, breakdown the term quad dominant. That’s right folks, the muscle group that is strong (dominant) would be the quads and the poor hamstrings are the weak, lengthened muscle group. The point is that sometimes when people think their hamstrings are tight, the discomfort they feel may be because they are too weak for the work they are being asked to do, too weak for the quadriceps, or strained. None of the above require you to stretch the crap out of your hamstrings though and that is a fact. One of the reasons the poor hamstrings give you feedback, if you will, aka discomfort, and previously mentioned, is they are too weak to do the work they are asked to do. The hamstrings are active during the swing phase of the running gait, which is 60% of the gait cycle. A lot of the work is eccentric work or the lengthening of the muscles to oppose the contracting quadriceps. With that, I ask you this…when was the last time you did some eccentric training of your hamstrings? I have read in the evidence-based literature that eccentric exercises are common in injury rehabilitation settings, so it would seem appropriate that they should be common place in preventative settings. Prehab anyone? In addition to some eccentric hamstring exercises, lumbopelvic stability exercises are more than likely warranted. Say what? Basically, exercises that that stabilize the pelvis. I am not saying that runners don’t get tight hamstrings. I am saying that there are other potential issues other than tight hamstrings that give you discomfort in the hamstrings. As a matter of fact, I have a chronically annoyed hamstring that I still catch myself saying “Oh man, my right hamstring is tight” even though I know that I spend several hours a day tilting to one side during my day job as a dental hygienist, creating pelvic asymmetry. There is discomfort but it doesn’t mean it is tight. When I do movement screenings on my runners I very rarely see tight hamstrings, but almost always see weak hamstrings and tight hip flexors, including the one quadricep muscle that contributes to hip flexion. The a-ha moment here is don’t stretch the crap out of your hamstrings because that may be contributing to the problem, not improving the problem. Fight ON! Coach Gina |
Archives
October 2021
Categories |