956. Preventive exercises that every runner SHOULD be doing

Here is a list of preventive exercises that every runner *should* be doing.

But first, you don’t have to do all of them. This is meant as a guide or a list to give you ideas on what you need to work on.

Maybe try one or a few per day with crazy focus and see which you like best, find your weak areas, and work on them first, whatever the case may be. 

These workouts don’t have to be long or every single day either. For me, I focus on weak areas once per week (right now it’s my knees) and touch all “the little things” once per week (think toes, feet, ankles, hips, knees) for hour-long sessions. I also spend 5 – 10 minutes every day doing some form of rehab, and that changes from day to day. 

• Sled pulls 
• Sled push 
• ATG split squat
• Slant board squat 
• Rearfoot hip flexor stretch 
• Incline pigeon pose – this allows the load to be placed on the ITB building strength too. 
• Bridge/horse

• Poliquin step up
• Hamstring Nordic curl, Sideband steps, and duck walks x3
• Ballot (think lots of different calf raise variations) 
• Hip flexor lifts 
• Internal/ external hip rotations
• Tib walks/raises/ rotations 
• Internal/ External perennial rotations 
• Wall sits
• Rear foot elevated hip flexor stretch 
• Foam rolling! 

Locomotion 

Locomotion is movement. As for locomotion practice, we mimic animal patterns and how they move throughout space. Some common animal movements within locomotion are

• Bear 
• Crab 
• Lizard 
• Ostrich 
• Horse 
• Monkey 
• Gorilla 
• Duck 

If you don’t have a locomotion practice, I can promise that you’ll reap lots of rewards in a short amount of time if you do start to implement these movements. A few minutes a day goes a long way. 

Here are some of the benefits of having a locomotion practice:

• Stronger core, spine, and joints
• Increased range of motion, blood flow, body awareness 
• Increased flexibility and mobility 
• Longer muscle endurance which means more gains 

Remember to move freely, smartly, and at your own risk. 

LMK if anything helps you, hurts you, or just wants to talk shop! 

Get your miles in!