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 truth among the lies?

So when I was scrolling through all these continuing ed credit options (because I need them to keep my license) and I saw "IT Band syndrome for runners"...

(and I saw who the presenter was)

I pounced on that masterclass SO FAST.

NOT just for me; but for you all too.

Because knee pain is like 50-60% of all running injury complaints (yes, I'm estimating. I don't remember the exact number; it's a lot).

And IT Band is a HUGE contributor and culprit.

But the problem is: it can be hard to identify. And even trickier to treat.

So I've spent the last week combing through that masterclass to bring you a snap shot of what exercises you can do to:

1. begin to load up and heal your IT Band if it's a little cranky
2. exercises to make it stronger in positions that look like running (YES! we want a strong, stiff IT Band!)
3. and give you the final exercises most runners completely miss that *actually* prevent it from coming back.

Because circling back to the beginning of this email "can you spot the truth amongst the lies..."

Yes, strengthening your hips and glutes IS super important for developing an injury-resistant IT Band.

But what takes this to the next level is the IMPLEMENTATION.

I need you to pay attention because I'm going to drop some information that I didn't include in the blog post:

• your IT Band is more tendon than anything. And in tendon-land, stiff = strong. (not stiff as in "ouch". "stiffness" is our word for tendon strenght because...)
• your tendon stores and releases energy like a spring. Think of new, pristine slink, not a stretched out slinky of sadness. The new one is going to be MUCH more fun to send down the stairs...
• And to train our IT Band to be an efficient, strong spring, we have to LIFT HEAVY in a way that teaches that.
• THIS LOOKS LIKE: lifting heavy with the exercises in this blog post with an evolving rep scheme
  • starting with 3 sets of 12 @ RPE 6
  • progressing to 4 sets of 10 @ RPE 7
  • and finally 4 sets of 8 @ RPE 8
  • with 3 seconds descending into your split, and 3 seconds coming up out of your split squat

I can hand you all this extra-juicy bit of information because we've been chatting for so long, I know it's going to make more sense to you.

But if you have questions, obviously, please, email me back and ask!

But I want you to have this extra nugget so you can appreciate the nuance of good rehab. Because rehab is just running-training while respecting pain.

So if you ever find yourself with an IT Band niggle, I just want you to know that's what my Running Rescue Calls are for. (it's linked at the bottom of this email). I don't want you to feel you have to do this alone, but I also never want to gatekeep information from you.

So let's hop into that blog post together and let me show you those exercises:

Dare to Train Differently,

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

P.S. I had way too much fun being nerdy and taking an IT Band masterclass for PT's. And I loved it so much I wanted to give you the BEST exercises out of it so you never have to fight your stubborn IT Band again. The end.

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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