Doing things in the right order...
When working on preventing injuries, it is important not to rush things. If you try to get straight into squats, lunges and other drills challenging your control of your knees before having good control of your ankles, core, hips, pelvis and overall balance, you will likely hurt yourself.
So please read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series before trying any exercise listed here and always consult with your practitioner before starting physical activity. Doing injury prevention exercises should never be painful. Whenever I would feel pain doing an exercise, I would stop immediately and try an easier version or focus on other joints and muscles. If you are injured or have chronic pain (even when not doing any intense activity), I would recommend going to a physiotherapist. The exercises listed in this series were done to prevent knee issues linked to running, not to treat ones caused by it. If you are in BC, I would be happy to share with you the contact info of my favourite physiotherapists and Active Release Therapy (ART) practitioners.
Running Posture and Running Form
A lot of the exercises I used to strengthen my core helped me improve my posture. Still, I had trouble keeping my posture when moving my legs in a running-like motion. So I researched and created drills that would teach me to keep my body in good alignment when moving my legs. All you need for these drills is a wall and, if possible, a mirror.
Looking at the mirror, I would ensure that I am keeping a straight line from my head to the back of my heels and that I am not bending at the waist with my butt sticking out.
I would then start by lifting one heel off the ground at the time (without letting my hips drop side to side), then once this move was mastered, I would move to lifting one foot off the ground at a time, then my knees up until the thigh is parallel to the ground, and, finally, do cycling motions.
When comfortable with these exercises, I switched to:
high knees
running wall drills
hurdlers' drills (lifting one bent leg to the side and forward and then extending it down as if going over a hurdle)
1-leg cycling drills
butt kicks.
One common mistake when doing the cycling motion and butt kicks is to lift the leg behind your back, but when running the leg should be moving forward whenever it is moving up and the heel should be pulled under the hips, not behind you.
A great trick to stop the bad habit is to do drills standing with your back against the wall:
In terms of upper-body posture, one must focus on doing all the exercises without arching the lower back, hunching the shoulders, twisting the upper-body, or shrugging. Mimic the elegant, tall, and relaxed posture of professional runners to create the appropriate muscle memory for when you get back into running.
I also did exercises in a shallow pool for added resistance and reduced impact and did some water running with an aquafitness belt using both my legs and arms in running motion.
Lunges
Many argue that lunges are the single best conditioning exercise for runners. There are many variants to this exercise, but the key is to start with the easiest to master and try more challenging variants once only once you can literally do the previous exercise with perfect form with your eyes closed.
Here is a good video explaining how to do lunges correctly
I started with the split squat, to teach myself to only move down, not forward, when bending my knees. The key is to not let the front knee go in front of the toes. Once I could do a split squat with the correct technique and my knees would remain stable for over 20 repetitions, I then moved to the bulgarian split squat (with the back leg on a step, box or bench), challenging my balance further.
After that, I started doing backward lunges (stepping back, then bending my knees), forward lunges (being careful to first step forward and then bend my knees, rather than move forward with my knees bent), walking lunges (not ever letting my front knee go past my toes and keeping an upright posture) and reverse lunges followed by a forward knee lift (with the same leg). I then tried all these moves with my eyes closes, then with a weighted vest, with dumbbells in my hands and, after nearly a year of training, a loaded barbell on a Smith machine. I now do these exercises in the squat rack with a barbell loaded with up to 90lbs and have added dynamic scissor splits with a weighted vest to my plyometrics training.
Step up and step down
These exercises challenge knee stability further. I followed the same concept of progessive training from easier moves to more challenging ones. I started with basic step ups putting both feet on the step then down on the ground, then moved to step ups on one leg with just touching the step with the other foot before putting it back down, then I added a backward lunge before the step up, and then a knee drive when up on the step, and then a knee drive on my tip toe. I would keep my movements slow and controlled.
Once I could do 20 step ups on each leg without letting my front knee past my toes or wobbling at any point of the movement, I added step downs and side step ups. Then, when better, I would step on a higher step, progressively moving up to a step at a height such that I needed to lift my thigh parallel to the ground to step on it. Then, I added a weighted vest, wrist weights (moving my arms in a way that mimics running) and dumbbells. I never did step ups with a barbell as I consider it too dangerous.
This video by the Cybex Institute for Exercise Science clearly explains how to do these properly:
Squats and all these 1-leg exercises
I tried nearly all the classic lower-body exercises on one leg to challenge my balance and strengthen the muscles around my knees, but I started with the safety of a chair to sit on for squats or of a bar to grab for deadlifts. I first learned to do the moves with both legs with good form, and then switched to having only my toes on the ground for one leg, then off the ground, then my leg back and, for the 1-leg squat, forward. In all cases, I would stop the exercise as soon as my foot and/or knee would wobble and switch to an easier variant of the move until ready to try again.
Conditioning yourself to run with good form
Another key aspect of injury prevention is good running form, but knowing how to run with good form and being capable of doing it are two different things.
I have seen many frustrated coaches and trainers shouting the same feedback again and again at runners who did not seem to listen and would continue with their bad technique. Sometimes, it was just because the runners could not understand and apply the coaches' cues. With different cues and the help of visual feedback, these runners would likely be able to correct their mistakes. But other times, I found out after talking to the runners that they clearly understood what the coach wanted from them, but simply could not do it. In that case, no cues, mirrors, video feedback, or sometimes even drills would be able to help them. They simply do not have the strength in the required muscles in order to be able to run with good form.
For many runners, it is often caused by a lack of upper-body strenght, leading to floppy or over-tensed arms, torsions of the torso, hyperlordose, hunched shoulders, etc. Appropriate full-body conditioning on top of exercises focused on joint stability is key to be able to run with good form and further reduce the risk of injuries. I will dedicate my next blog post to that topic.
When working on preventing injuries, it is important not to rush things. If you try to get straight into squats, lunges and other drills challenging your control of your knees before having good control of your ankles, core, hips, pelvis and overall balance, you will likely hurt yourself.
So please read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series before trying any exercise listed here and always consult with your practitioner before starting physical activity. Doing injury prevention exercises should never be painful. Whenever I would feel pain doing an exercise, I would stop immediately and try an easier version or focus on other joints and muscles. If you are injured or have chronic pain (even when not doing any intense activity), I would recommend going to a physiotherapist. The exercises listed in this series were done to prevent knee issues linked to running, not to treat ones caused by it. If you are in BC, I would be happy to share with you the contact info of my favourite physiotherapists and Active Release Therapy (ART) practitioners.
Running Posture and Running Form
A lot of the exercises I used to strengthen my core helped me improve my posture. Still, I had trouble keeping my posture when moving my legs in a running-like motion. So I researched and created drills that would teach me to keep my body in good alignment when moving my legs. All you need for these drills is a wall and, if possible, a mirror.
Foot lifts
I would start with my hands on the wall and lean with my whole body by about 5 to 10 degrees.Looking at the mirror, I would ensure that I am keeping a straight line from my head to the back of my heels and that I am not bending at the waist with my butt sticking out.
I would then start by lifting one heel off the ground at the time (without letting my hips drop side to side), then once this move was mastered, I would move to lifting one foot off the ground at a time, then my knees up until the thigh is parallel to the ground, and, finally, do cycling motions.
When comfortable with these exercises, I switched to:
high knees
running wall drills
hurdlers' drills (lifting one bent leg to the side and forward and then extending it down as if going over a hurdle)
1-leg cycling drills
butt kicks.
One common mistake when doing the cycling motion and butt kicks is to lift the leg behind your back, but when running the leg should be moving forward whenever it is moving up and the heel should be pulled under the hips, not behind you.
A great trick to stop the bad habit is to do drills standing with your back against the wall:
In terms of upper-body posture, one must focus on doing all the exercises without arching the lower back, hunching the shoulders, twisting the upper-body, or shrugging. Mimic the elegant, tall, and relaxed posture of professional runners to create the appropriate muscle memory for when you get back into running.
I also did exercises in a shallow pool for added resistance and reduced impact and did some water running with an aquafitness belt using both my legs and arms in running motion.
Lunges
Many argue that lunges are the single best conditioning exercise for runners. There are many variants to this exercise, but the key is to start with the easiest to master and try more challenging variants once only once you can literally do the previous exercise with perfect form with your eyes closed.
Here is a good video explaining how to do lunges correctly
I started with the split squat, to teach myself to only move down, not forward, when bending my knees. The key is to not let the front knee go in front of the toes. Once I could do a split squat with the correct technique and my knees would remain stable for over 20 repetitions, I then moved to the bulgarian split squat (with the back leg on a step, box or bench), challenging my balance further.
After that, I started doing backward lunges (stepping back, then bending my knees), forward lunges (being careful to first step forward and then bend my knees, rather than move forward with my knees bent), walking lunges (not ever letting my front knee go past my toes and keeping an upright posture) and reverse lunges followed by a forward knee lift (with the same leg). I then tried all these moves with my eyes closes, then with a weighted vest, with dumbbells in my hands and, after nearly a year of training, a loaded barbell on a Smith machine. I now do these exercises in the squat rack with a barbell loaded with up to 90lbs and have added dynamic scissor splits with a weighted vest to my plyometrics training.
Step up and step down
These exercises challenge knee stability further. I followed the same concept of progessive training from easier moves to more challenging ones. I started with basic step ups putting both feet on the step then down on the ground, then moved to step ups on one leg with just touching the step with the other foot before putting it back down, then I added a backward lunge before the step up, and then a knee drive when up on the step, and then a knee drive on my tip toe. I would keep my movements slow and controlled.
Once I could do 20 step ups on each leg without letting my front knee past my toes or wobbling at any point of the movement, I added step downs and side step ups. Then, when better, I would step on a higher step, progressively moving up to a step at a height such that I needed to lift my thigh parallel to the ground to step on it. Then, I added a weighted vest, wrist weights (moving my arms in a way that mimics running) and dumbbells. I never did step ups with a barbell as I consider it too dangerous.
This video by the Cybex Institute for Exercise Science clearly explains how to do these properly:
Squats and all these 1-leg exercises
I tried nearly all the classic lower-body exercises on one leg to challenge my balance and strengthen the muscles around my knees, but I started with the safety of a chair to sit on for squats or of a bar to grab for deadlifts. I first learned to do the moves with both legs with good form, and then switched to having only my toes on the ground for one leg, then off the ground, then my leg back and, for the 1-leg squat, forward. In all cases, I would stop the exercise as soon as my foot and/or knee would wobble and switch to an easier variant of the move until ready to try again.
Conditioning yourself to run with good form
Another key aspect of injury prevention is good running form, but knowing how to run with good form and being capable of doing it are two different things.
I have seen many frustrated coaches and trainers shouting the same feedback again and again at runners who did not seem to listen and would continue with their bad technique. Sometimes, it was just because the runners could not understand and apply the coaches' cues. With different cues and the help of visual feedback, these runners would likely be able to correct their mistakes. But other times, I found out after talking to the runners that they clearly understood what the coach wanted from them, but simply could not do it. In that case, no cues, mirrors, video feedback, or sometimes even drills would be able to help them. They simply do not have the strength in the required muscles in order to be able to run with good form.
For many runners, it is often caused by a lack of upper-body strenght, leading to floppy or over-tensed arms, torsions of the torso, hyperlordose, hunched shoulders, etc. Appropriate full-body conditioning on top of exercises focused on joint stability is key to be able to run with good form and further reduce the risk of injuries. I will dedicate my next blog post to that topic.