It’s common for runners to lack strength in their “posterior chain” - that is, the back side of their body - particularly their hamstrings, glutes, and core.
Body weight drinking birds are the perfect warm up exercise (try 3x10), or add some weight to turn this into a strength exercise.
Here is one of my favorite moves for developing glute strength as a runner. It mimics the single leg motion of running and trains your brain to activate your glutes while running.
It’s great to have a go-to standing warm up routine for a race start line, when running in a new place, or for before a track workout. Give this a try and see which parts you want to incorporate into your warm up habits.
And if you don’t usually warm up … now’s your time to start!
Relieve tension in your chest and the front of your torso from biking, running, sitting at a desk, driving, and other habits of modern life.
This is best done using a kid’s squishy ball, tennis ball, or Yoga Tune Up ball. Avoid using lacrosse balls for regular rolling out because the pressure is so high that it can over-activate your nervous system’s stress response and be counterproductive to healing.
A short and simple flow to wake your mind and body up to start your day.
The #1 part of your body to move every day is your spine! It is where all our movement originates, so be sure to keep your spine happy and in motion.
A short routine to warm up all of your joints before you workout or any time you need a short movement break.
We’ve all heard “belly button to spine,” “suck in your belly,” and “ENGAGE YOUR CORE!”
But do these cues really “engage” our core?
No.
You have to think of engaging your core as creating intra-abdominal pressure so that your spine can stay STABLE, and therefore be at it’s strongest.
Watch this short clip to see how you can properly engage your core while running, lifting, and in every day life.
If you’ve ever had foot pain or injuries, you likely have tight calves. Frankly, most humans have tight calves! Here is a quick stretch to restore balance to the deep layers of the lower calf and achilles tendon.
Setting a goal and putting in work to reach it every day is a gift.
The path to our own success is not meant to be linear, and when we can embrace this we can find joy and flow in the process.
Athletic training provides an incredible opportunity to be reflective in all areas of life - relationships, work, hobbies, personal development...
All our athletes at Tend Athletics are supported as they go through the messy work of organizing their life to support their training, adjusting plans with purpose, and finding opportunities for growth amidst setbacks. All of these lessons can be learned in sport, and outside of it.
You may want to develop or deepen a meditation practice, begin journaling, build structures in your day to keep your energy and focus high, or find ways to appreciate your training instead of dreading it.
We take a holistic approach to coaching that is in reality a combination of running, life, nutrition and health coaching. We can’t imagine it any other way because if you’re not training the whole person, then who are you really training?
