Retro Shoes (part 2) soft crash pad

This post has a video of a runner (me) in a popular neutral running shoe. Read the post on Retro shoes 1-13-08. The crash pad (blue mid sole material) in this video is large and soft. Watch this video and observe the angle in which the heel makes contact with the ground. Watch the following compression of the crash pad, then the affect that it has on the ankle and foot as the foot travels to foot flat. Then watch the ankle, foot and knee during swing phase. It is easier to see this frame by frame or in slow motion. Watch for wasted motion especially in swing phase (foot turning outward).
Watch the next video and compare it to this video. Even with this poor quality video, you should be able to see some differences.
P.S. We try to write these posts in layman's terms.

You Don't Have Squat?

Photo Credit: Dan in conjuction with Horizon International Inc.

The big question is: Should I squat? Squatting, in my opinion, is one the fundamental movements that the human body can and should be able to do if all parts are functioning normally. Certainly, there are exceptions to being able to squat fully. Knee, hip, back, ankle, or foot injuries may limit your ability to perform a full squat. However, from the time a baby begins the developmental sequence, a squat is a way to get up and down from the floor, keep a good center of gravity, and keep stability when losing balance. Over time, adults tend to lose this ability because we don't squat. The result is muscle imbalance. These muscle imbalances can be seen from the shoulders all the way down to the ankles. The muscle imbalances translate over to all athletic movements, including running. Performing a correct squat requires a good mix of core strength, hip mobility and stability (like John mentioned in his previous post: Got Strength), knee stability, and ankle mobility/stability. Many times when performing a squat in a mirror, a person can see, or even, feel the muscle imbalances.

GOT strength?

This morning my daughter & I went to run inside as it is 0 degrees outside. We ran on a local indoor track which as you can image was fairly crowded. As we ran, I again found myself watching people warm-up and then accessing the way they run. There was a female teenage runner who was stretching her hamstring over her head. She obviously was very flexible. A few laps later, I saw her running. What I observed was the following: as she landed and went to foot flat, her swing leg's hip dropped several inches, creating an un-level pelvis. On the stance leg, her femur and knee rotated inward. As her leg went through swing, the knees almost touched. In other words she has a lot of wasted motion and it all started with the hip drop. These issues could eventually lead to injury. I have seen this gait pattern many times, especially in flexible young female runners. This type of runner is, dare I say TOO flexible! She could improve her running mechanics and prevent injury by actually spending more time strengthening. She needs to work on hip stability/ NOT flexibility. The exercises we have and will post are good examples of the type of functional strength training she would benefit from the most. These types of exercises work the hip and leg muscles in similar ways they are used with running. They are also functional mobility exercises which means that they require strength and mobility. Mobility she's GOT/ just no strength!

Step-Over

After reading the comments left on the "Be Hip" post, I decided to add another exercise which we frequently use to first identify muscle imbalances and then to correct them. The step-over is a simple exercise that can drastically improve over-all hip strength and stability. You can use an adjustable hurdle, make a hurdle with PVC pipe like we did, or even a parking block will work. Sometimes, we just start with a line on the ground. I hold a bar or stick of some sort behind my neck. My feet start out together. Start the movement by lifting your foot, knee, and hip up as to step over the hurdle or line. The key is to keep hips level throughout the entire movement, so a good place to do this is in front of a mirror. You should be able to clear the hurdle without changing foot position (turning in or out). Your body should stay upright without arching back or leaning forward. Touch your heel down on the oposite side of the hurdle and then return back to starting position. This movement is SLOW and CONTROLLED. Ideally, the height of the hurdle should be about mid shin. This forces you to move your hip through full range. If you don't have a hurdle, be sure to bring your hip and knee up so that your thigh is parallel to the ground. We usually do this in sets of 5 or until hip fatigue. In order to activate the right muscles for this activity, we tell people to tighten core muscles (holding something on neck like i'm doing in video or even overhead helps to engage core muscles and "pull tummy in"), tighten up butt cheeks (glutes), and keep head up. Doing this exercise in a mirror will allow you to see imbalances. Examples are leaning forward or backward to clear hurdle (which could indicate some core weakness), inability to clear hurdle without rotating hip, knee, or foot (this could be a lack of motion or hip weakness), hip drop while trying to clear hurdle (hip weakness), and finally loss of balance or control of foot or knee in the leg you're standing on (hip, knee, ankle weakness). Once you've mastered this, you can add difficulty by speeding the movement up. We use this movement as a basic warm-up exercise before running because you can do it anywhere. I like to do this for about 50 yards before I start a run. It "turns on" your glutes, abs, quads, and ankles for running or whatever activity you are about to do. Hope this is helpful in your quest to "be hip".

The Squat

A good squat with correct form starts at the head and ends at the feet. One can use a stick behind the neck or above the head. We prefer to use something overhead to "kick in" or activate the core muscles. A little forward bend is allowed to keep center of gravity. Too much forward bend can indicate muscle imbalance (In the video, you can observe some core weakness as I perform the squat and the stick comes a little too far forward ;)). Knees, hips, and ankles should stay in alignment throughout the movement. If performing in a mirror, observe "favoring" one side to the other or rotating one way to another. This can be a sign of weakness or decreased mobility or both. Varying opinions are out there about proper foot alignment. I like to have my feet straight or rotated out slightly. More importantly, the heels should stay flat on the floor. How far should I go? Lots of opinions on this one also. If you look at the activity you are training for, let's say running, you'll see that your knees go out over your toes and your hips need mobility and stability (for efficient stride). I like to go to 90-90 (that is, thighs to parallel). Take note: I would rather do a smaller range of movement (not so far down) correctly, than doing a larger movement incorrectly. Quality of movement over quantity. Later we will show some simple exercises to help correct some of the imbalances commonly observed during a squat.

step down

The step down/step up is another one of our favorite exercises for the training athlete. The step down requires hip stability, quad control (thigh muscle), and ankle stability to perform correctly. It also requires good core muscle activation to stay upright keep all links in the chain moving correctly. This exercise is important because of the enormous amount of time athletes spend on one leg, especially runners. Normally, we start with a step size no larger than the width of a phone book. We instruct our runners to pretend like they are lowering their foot into the swimming pool to test the water (slowly and under control; creative analogy credit to John :) If they are doing this exercise in front of a mirror, they are instructed to try to keep both hips level. Many times we will see people lose hip stability right away which may lead to an injury down the road. They are instructed to try to stay upright and keep core muscles activated. If they do this exercise correctly, it will strengthen much more than just quadriceps muscles. We usually perform 3-4 sets of 5 repetitions. Quality over quantity. When the lower level exercise is mastered, sometimes our runners advance the step to 4-6 inches to increase difficulty. This exercise should be pain-free and only done with a depth that doesn't cause symptoms and produces slight fatigue. We instruct our runners to stay in the pain-free range of motion. As with any exercise program or injury consult a health care professional before starting.

Happy Running!

In Line Lunge

The In-Line Lunge is one of our favorite exercises to do as a part of a structured functional strength program to supplement running/cardiovascular training. If you look at the picture of the girl running under the title of our blog, you can see the similarities between the exercise and running. Running requires functional strength in the hips, knees, ankles, and trunk. These muscles have to know how to work together to accomplish the given movement, in this case, running. Lots of variations of this exercise are out there, however, most of the time, simple is better. This exercise can also be easily modified for someone who has knee problems by making the distance between feet larger and not going down as deep. Things to watch for are loss of balance, too much forward bending, losing knee alignment (in or out), and pain. I like to do this exercise 1-2 times per week along with a few other exercises that we will discuss later. Usually, I am performing only 3-5 repetitions for 2-4 sets on each leg....again, quality over quantity. When I'm doing these exercises regularly, I feel like I run stronger and more solid.



Note to readers: Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. The posts on this blog are purely for educational purposes only. The information written in the posts is the opinion of the authors and should not be taken as medical advice.

Who wants ICE?

I just finished a 7 mile run in the snow! Nothing like midwest winters for training, huh? I am training for my first marathon in late May and since I'd rather sit and watch the weather channel for an hour than run on a treadmill, i elected to run outside. I would describe myself as a once "run to train for other sports" runner turned "run because i can't play those other sports anymore" runner. Biomechanically, I'm built for every sport but running, so I take a good deal of wear and tear on my body as I run. The first thing I do when i walk in the door, eventhough it's sub-freezing temperatures outside, is grab a big bag of frozen peas and put them (this time) on my right knee. It's really not sore right now, but i felt some little twinges when i was running....you know, those things that are supposed to tell you that it's not in your best interest to run the remaining three miles, but your brain and ego tell you otherwise. So, bag of frozen peas for 10 minutes. Just for preventative measures. Like some people stretch religiously before and after running, i tend to do a lot of icing when i get up to higher mileages. In my opinion (and in the opinion of most of my joints at one time or another), ice is one of the best anti-inflammatories nature has to offer. And for the most part, it's free. No prescription required. Ice has probably saved me from numerous chronic overuse injuries and prolonged my recreational running career. So, until next time, Who Wants ICE??

Retro shoes?

There are many factors that lead to a running injury. I feel that one of the largest contributing factors is our luck in finding the right running shoe to match the needs of our body. In my view this is becoming harder, in a large part because of all the choices with the latest "technology". More and more shoe companies are trying new combinations of light weight midsole materials and thinner outsoles. Many have large and soft crash pads on the outer edge of the midsole. Some of the running population may get away with their choices. Many, I fear will make choices that may initially feel and look good. But, as the miles accumulate and the thin outsoles prematurely wear down their biomechanics will change for the worse. This change will help increase stress to their lateral hips, knees, shins, achilles and plantar fasicia. With cumulative stress overload, an overuse injury is more likely to develop. I have switched many runners from these types of shoes with a shoes that have more traditional construction. Be careful with the softness of the midsole and the crash pad. Be careful with outsole splits in the lateral heel.
Seek help from a running speciality store and/or a running friendly health professional. Best yet, learn to look for yourself. All you need is a treadmill and a video camera. Film from behind in your old shoes, and a couple of new shoes. Study how your foot lands and how you push off. Look at the crash pad (lateral heel of the midsole) and get an idea of how much it compresses compare to a stiffer shoe.

Again, shoes are only one of the contributing factors for an overuse injury. If you find one that works, stick with it! Remember not to stay in a shoe too long. Inspect the outsole wear pattern. If it is starting to look worn in one area, you better get another new shoe going soon.
More on shoes later. Perhaps some pictures will help illustrate my point.

My First Race of the Year

This last weekend I participated in a small, local winter 5k cross country race. This race was held on a popular three loop course. There were runners of all ages. I was planning to run hard, but was not sure what type of pace I could handle after several months of not running at race pace. The course was soggy, which made footing difficult. I went through the 1k fairly quick and was in about 8th place. Realizing I couldn't handle that pace for long, I decided to back off the gas.

During the first loop I moved up to sixth, but felt any further effort wasn't going to be rewarded as the high schoolers went out very fast and were likely out of reach for my 43 year old legs. As we started to repeat the first loop we were to turn right, but I noticed the top 5 went left. I knew they weren't following the course in the right order, but I followed them anyway just in case the race director had told them to change the course. As we should have been starting our third small loop to make up the distance we cut, all five of the youngsters turned to go to the finish. This, despite the fact that they were still quite short of the 5k. I suddenly found myself in 1st place as I knew I had to make up the distance by running a third loop. Miraculously, my 43 year old legs felt half their age and I was able to hang on for the "win".

The moral of the story is even though you may feel like you are just going through the motions, pay attention, surprises still happen!