Hey runner, I'm Marie, @drwhittfit. Never feel like all your hard work was all for nothing ever again. I coach strength training for runners, helping YOU identify your weaknesses and fix them with strength exercises designed for runners to help you build the exact strength you need to run your best, strongest, fastest, most injury-resilient race yet. Subscribe and come join the Running Fit Fam!
His calf strain left him terrified.
A runner reached out on Instagram asking why wasn't his calf strain healing up?He was doing all the things, even went to PT, continued to do his exercises. But he could NOT get past run-walking without everything flaring up again. And it left him terrified, wondering if he'd be ever be able to fully get back to doing what he loved: running. And who can blame him? I had actually just gotten my PT-butt in gear and finally started on my continuing education credits for the year (Alabama APTA: you have the worse system for this. I haven't forgiven you)... SO I ACTUALLY HAD AN ANSWER FOR HIM. And it made me realize: wait.... Past-runner-Marie struggled with exactly this. I have current 1-on-1 runners struggling with this. ARE THESE THE ANSWERS WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR? Because heres' the plot twist: We (including past-runner-Marie) all focus on a slow return to running as key. And it is...to a point. But that logic does us dirty. Because what I learned in my con- ed masterclass and from listening to you all, is we've got that part down. So that's not our problem. Our problem is that when we're injured, we don't run as much (DUH. I know...) and as a result, it's not the aerobic fitness that we lose that causes the problem. (that comes back in like 1 week.) It's the MUSCULAR strength and TENDON stiffness we lose. Our tendon and muscle-"fitness" drops. And it's THAT piece of the puzzle that holds us back. Because when we return to running, our "strength levels" are constantly playing catch up. And because we're not at "full strength", we get injured. AGAIN. The solution? (you already know it....)Heavy, slow strength training. I explain all this in waaaay more detail in this week's blog post because it's important. I distill all the major things I learned in my fancy-shmancy PT class and give it all to you. Because did you know YOUR AGE partially determines what running injury you get?and do you know where to look in your training log/data to find out when and how your injury happened so you can NOT do that again?Pretty dang helpful, right?
I'll see you over there! Dare to Train Differently, Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit P.S. DLDR; if you keep having repeat running injuries, it's because you're not rehabbing as well as you think you are. STOP making those mistakes!
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Dr. Marie Whitt / Strength Coach and Physical Therapist for Runners
Hey runner, I'm Marie, @drwhittfit. Never feel like all your hard work was all for nothing ever again. I coach strength training for runners, helping YOU identify your weaknesses and fix them with strength exercises designed for runners to help you build the exact strength you need to run your best, strongest, fastest, most injury-resilient race yet. Subscribe and come join the Running Fit Fam!
Contrary to popular belief... stretching, foam rolling, and resting your hamstring strain is NOT your savior. Going ham and jumping immediately into RDLs: *might* not feel good either. I recently had a runner reach out who I worked with before in the past (HI HEATHER!!)...and her dumb-dumb hamstring strain is still being a butt a year-ish later. This is no shame on her. This isn't because my exercises "didn't work". This is to show you how fickle hamstrings can be. And how nuanced and...
It used to be one of the banes of my PT-existence. Elbows take the cake. I don't like elbows. Good thing we don't use those to run. But IT Band syndrome and all it's ick were sort of....nebulous, even in PT school. It's not my professors fault; it's just where the research was at the time. And unfortunately, that left YOU, the runner, with some pretty cruddy advice: "Foam roll! Stretch! Do a billion lunges. Strengthen your glutes..." Not all of that is bad advice...but can you spot the single...
I went down the IT Band rabbit hole and about threw my computer out the window. If you're new here, I'm already NOT huge into foam rolling. (no, it's not "bad"...I have complicated relationship with it.) ...I think it can be overused and seen as a quick, cure-all touted by fitness gurus. ESPECIALLY when it comes to IT Band pain. Think about it: what is foam rolling supposed to do? Pretend this is a pop quiz and you have to answer the question "how does foam rolling help and/or cure IT Band...