I am in the process of training for a half marathon with a group of clients and we have 6 weeks until race day. As our mileage increases I notice the a stiffness and some swelling happening in my "bad knee". This knee is the one that I have a full ACL replacement done on it 14yrs ago but I have had no issues since. I have also not trained for more than a 10km race in over 2.5 years (and 2 children ago). So there are many factors that have attributed to a weakness all down my left leg so I am very aware of the weakness and that I need to strengthen it more than my right.
With being a personal trainer, I am very aware of my body and how it feels and how I run; my gait, my foot placement, etc. When I was out for my long run this past Sunday, I started to get an ache in my knee but relatively early into my run so I got a little worried. I work with many physio therapist on rehab training with client/patients, so I get to pick their brain on lots of injuries, weaknesses and why they happen. I have recently been discussing runners with one of the therapists and GLUTES NOT FIRING IN PROPER SEQUENCES is a HUGE problem for runners and can cause a lot of problems in the hips and knees, especially when you increase your mileage.
So I decided to do a little experiment on myself; With every step i really focused on my bum squeezing as soon as my foot landed. HOLY CRAP DOES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
1) my knee ache went away almost immediately because i was using the right muscles to absorb the impact and then propel me forward into the next step.
2) using my glutes propelled me forward so easily and made me literally run faster without speeding up my stride or more work for my heart!
So here is the lesson to all you runners; Make sure you have proper running technique which means your GLUTES FIRING with every step and you will be faster, stronger and Less injuries! Be aware that this takes practise and really being aware of "how you are running" each time you are out. It will eventually become second nature but you MUST practise it.
Happy running
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