I cringe every time I see a post like that on Instagram.

And I have to pull myself off of my judgmental-ledge every time

and ask myself: Are YOU, as a physical therapist, really never, ever going to prescribe some kind of booty-band, monster walk ever again?

No. I might. I've even needed them myself a time or two.

But what drives me absolutely bonkers on Instagram is the heavy use of mini (looped) bands (or just regular therabands) and it's targeted and labeled as "strength training for runners".

*le sigh*

Frankly, you deserve better than that.

Because an exercise circuit purely made of band work "for runners" is essentially saying you can't handle the grown-up toys in the gym.

Excuse them. You just ran a marathon. You're training for a super hilly race now. Who are they to say you can't handle getting underneath a barbell?

---record scratch--

What's the reason for this ranty-rant delivered straight to your inbox? Well, you've probably guessed there's no blog post this week, so you get my running + physical therapy thoughts that have been rolling around in my brain for sometimes. PLUS a fun collab-podcast update if you didn't know already ;)

--back to our current programming--

Here's the unfiltered truth about booty bands/mini bands and running:

Hear me loud and clear: banded exercises are NOT bad. They're often an easy, useful place to start.

As a physical therapist, I use a resistance band when I'm trying to target a very specific muscle, movement pattern, or even pain. Often, smaller tools like a mini band help me target smaller, more precise muscles.

And when I'm happy with activation, strength, or correction that we've achieved with bands...

Then we get to work.

And we load it up. With weight. In a squat. In a lunge. With heavy weight.

Theraband exercises have their place and time.

But I need you to know the truth: they're often NOT enough to truly prevent future running injuries because...

• to build tendon strength requires slow, heavy lifting, often with a 3 second count down and 3 second count up
• to build muscle strength requires progressive overload, meaning heavier and heavier + consistency of lifting 2-3x a week

Can banded monster walks do all this??

No. The banded monster walks that are touted as the savior of runner's knee on Instagram simply do not meet the physiological requirements listed above.

And we know from countless running research articles at this point, that heavy lifting not only helps prevent future running injuries, it helps heal current ones, improves your running economy, and even makes you faster!

Can a million banded air squats do that? I think not.

So the next time you see a post anywhere on the internet about how a theraband circuit will fix your current running injury, I want you TO DO IT. (you read that right)

And then...I want you to go lift some heavy stuff.

I want you to be armed with the knowledge that banded exercises can get you half way there, but you still need running-specific strength training to make you injury-proof.

EXCITING FUN PODCAST NEWS:

• in case you didn't know, Elisabeth (@runningexplained) had me on the podcast for the 5th time! And it was such a blast. We wanted to give you all a behind-the-scenes peak of a fun, chatty episode where we talk running as real human beings, not just experts.
• I spill the beans on my 2 destination races; we compare favorite non-traditional running fuels, I get totally outed for not being a big enough LOTR fan because I don't know the exact mileage of the Shire to Mount Doom. (although, I think that's a trick question, because Tolkien didn't use "miles" for looong distances; he used leagues...can you imagine saying you ran 3 leagues? Sounds kind of epic)
• If you want to check out that episode, I'll link it right below for you :)

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S. Don't worry, we'll return to our regular blog posts next week :)

Looking for MORE ways to work together?

• ​RUNNING RESCUE CALL: Save your run and your race. Work directly with me 1-on-1 at the first sign of an ache, niggle, or repeat running injury. We'll deep dive into the why behind your injury and create a personalized exercise program that gets you out of pain, keeps you running, and helps prepare you for race day!
• Grab my NEWEST FREE Strength resources for runners: The Calf & Achilles Cure Toolkit, made for marathoners sidelined by stiff, painful achilles and tight, injury-prone calves who want to protect their training cycle and show up to the starting line strong, pain-free, and ready to race.
• ​STRONGER FEET WORKSHOP: Losing the battle to plantar fasciitis, posterior tib pain, or reoccurring Achilles tendonitis? Not with this workshop ;)

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© 2020- 2025 All Rights Reserved. You are receiving this message because you purchased a product from @dr.whitt.fit and/or signed up to receive content. This message is for informational purposes only and does not create a health care provider-patient relationship between you and Marie Whitt, and nothing you receive or view from Marie Whitt or @dr.whitt.fit, should be construed as medical advice.