Tag: stretches

The Perfect Warm up Routine for Runners

Posted on by Mohsin Salya

Hi and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.

It probably goes without saying, but if you want to perform to the best of your ability when running, it’s vital that your warm up routine is right.

When you start running cold, your body is going to take time to get into its optimum running mode. You’ll be inflexible and stiff, and your body will inhibit your natural stride. By warming up correctly, you’ll start your run without limitations. There are not only physical benefits to warming up, but also psychological – you’ll know in your mind that you’re ready for that run.

Warming up should never take more than five minutes, so it isn’t too much effort and it isn’t too time consuming. Here I’ve put together four warm up techniques to get you ready for your run.

Hamstring stretch and hip mobiliser

  1. Stand upright and sideways on to a wall
  2. Keep your weight on the leg furthest from the wall, and balance with your hand closest to the wall
  3. Swing your non-standing leg backwards and forwards 15 times
  4. Repeat on your other leg

Hip abductor mobilisation, gluteal and iliotibial band

  1. Place both hands on a wall and lean slightly forward
  2. Swing your right leg to the left, across your body and pointing your toes in the air as they reach the furthest point of motion
  3. Swing your leg back across your body and as far to the right as is comfortable, again pointing your toes upwards as they reach the highest point
  4. Repeat this 15 times, and do the same on your other leg

Knee lift and hip rotation

  1. Stand on one leg, supporting yourself on a wall if necessary
  2. Raise your non-standing knee directly upwards to hip height
  3. Keeping your knee at hip height, move outwards as far as is comfortable and then slowly lower to the ground
  4. Repeat 15 times, and then do the same with your other leg

Iliotibial band and oblique stretch

  1. Stand with your legs crossed with your feet close together. Start with your left leg behind your right
  2. Raise your right arm so that it is pointing straight up
  3. Gently stretch to the left, without leaning forwards or backwards and hold for 20 seconds
  4. Repeat starting with your right leg behind, raising your left arm and stretching to the right

Until next time,

Mohsin Salya

The Post-Long Run Checklist

Posted on by Mohsin Salya

Hi there, and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.

You may think that the end of your long-run ends at the finish line. However, it’s extremely important that you take some steps to ensure that you recover well and make the most of your hard work during the run. A lot of people disregard recovery, but it’s just as important as the workout itself.

Some of the tips I’ve provided here may be second nature to you if you’re an experienced marathoner, but if not then these could really benefit you. It’s a good idea to get into a habit of taking these steps, to make the period after your long-run much easier.

  1. Elevate your legs

The most important and first step you should take is to sit down and pop your legs up against the nearest wall or chair. By keeping your legs elevated for 5 minutes after a long run, you quicken your body’s return to homeostasis. This improves circulation and prevents blood from pooling in your legs, as well as stretches your hamstring and calves.

  1. Shower

This one probably goes without saying – but it’s how you shower that’s important here. 30-60 seconds of cold water at the end of your shower can improve your circulation and will help you regulate your body temperature after a hot and sweaty run.

  1. Eat

Possibly the first thing on your mind after you finish running – but it’s important not just to eat anything no matter how hungry you may be. Sugary and refined carbs may be the first food of choice, however it’s best to stay away. Any food with a high sugar content may upset your stomach, or you may find yourself crashing from the sugar shortly after you’ve eaten. Instead, opt for a combination of nutritious carbohydrates and some lean protein.

  1. Drink tea or coffee

Some studies have shown that taking caffeine in the form of tea or coffee after a long run may promote better glycogen resynthesis – these are what are used throughout your run. If you find that coffee upsets your stomach after a run, try a black caffeinated tea such as Earl Grey. If a hot beverage sounds unpalatable for you after running in the heat, you could always try an iced coffee or cold brew.

  1. Go for a walk

This may sound like the last thing you want to do after a long run or marathon, but there is logic behind it. Remaining completely sedentary for the rest of the day is sure to make you feel sluggish and stiff. A few short walks of around 10-15 minutes will keep your blood flowing, loosen up any stiff muscles and give you a natural boost of energy.

Until next time,

Mohsin Salya.

The Best Strength Training Exercises for Runners

Posted on by Mohsin Salya

 

Hi, and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.

As a runner, you can sometimes overlook the importance of strengthening muscles and joints. Strength training leads to improved race times, good running form and being less prone to injury. In fact, strength training is one of the single most important non-running aspects of training.

However, runners require a completely different strength training program than the standard gym-goer or bodybuilder. As a runner, you need to focus on targeting the key muscles that will keep you balanced. By targeting the muscles you use most during running – mainly the quadriceps, hamstrings and the calves – you can correct any muscle imbalances that may occur.

Here are some of the best strength training exercises that you can work into your training:

Planks

You may know this already, but all variations of planks are some of the best core exercises you can do to target every angle of the core, lower back and shoulders. This makes it one of the most simple but powerful strength exercises.

  1. Lie on your stomach
  2. Prop up on to your elbow with feet slightly apart, and toes about hip distance apart. Make sure your shoulders are directly above your elbows.
  3. Aim to straighten your whole body so that it’s forming a straight line from the top of your head to your heels.
  4. Whilst engaging your core and keeping the straight line, hold this plank position for 30 seconds to a minute.
  5. As you get stronger, aim to gradually add more time. You can also make it more challenging by adding weights – placing a plate on your back is a good way of doing this.

Here is a great example of how to plank correctly.

Overhead Lunges

This is a great exercise to target the whole body – quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders and core muscles as well. If you’re pressed for time and looking to get the most out of your workout, then this is also a good one for you as it’s quick yet effective.

  1. Hold a pair of dumbbells straight above your shoulders, with arms straight and elbows locked. Make sure your feet are shoulder width apart and your knees are slightly bent.
  2. Whilst keeping the weight directly overhead, step forward with your right leg into a deep lunge position, bending both your knees.
  3. Return to the starting position and repeat with your left leg. Do 12 steps on each side to complete one set.

Follow this guide for the ultimate overhead lunge.

Air Squat

As a runner, the squat should be a staple in your runner’s orientated strength training programme. They are the single most important exercise that you can do to strengthen the whole body, as they target a lot of running specific muscles.

  1. Stand with your feet hip distance apart with toes facing forward.
  2. With your arms out in front of you at shoulder height, squat down by bending your knees.
  3. Lean forward at the waist whilst keeping the back flat and knees tracking behind your toes.
  4. Squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground or to the point where you can no longer keep your back flat.
  5. Press up through your heels to return to starting position.

Check out this guide on how to do a squat correctly.

Until next time,

Mohsin Salya

How to Prevent and Treat Shin Splints

Posted on by Mohsin Salya

Hi, and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.

Shin splints are some of the most common injuries for runners, and it’s very rare that a runner will go through their life without suffering this at some point. It’s not just runners that suffer – shin splints are common among dancers, gymnasts and military recruits too.

In runners however, shin splints are a more common injury for beginners and long-distance runners, but are both curable and preventable. In this blog post I’ll be explaining what shin splints are, how to treat them and how to prevent them in the future.

What are shin splints?

‘Shin splints’ is actually a term used to describe a wide range of lower-leg injuries and lower leg exercise-induced pain. However, in the running world, shin splints injury is usually the medical condition known as medial tibial stress syndrome – MTSS for short.

The main symptom of shin splints is a dull, aching pain in the front of the shins. This is usually felt in an area measuring roughly 5 inches in length on either side of the shinbone or in the muscles surrounding it.

What causes shin splints?

Shin splints occur in most cases as a direct result of the repeated impact to the bone tissue, tendons and muscles surrounding the tibia. This leads to inflammation of the connective tissue that covers and joins the muscles of the lower leg to the shin bone.

How do I treat shin splints?

Shin splints are not a serious injury, provided you treat it before it has chance to become chronic. Doing the following as soon as you start to feel any shin pain should do the trick.

  • Rest: If you start to feel any shin pain, rest. You shouldn’t be doing any type of running or high impact exercise until it can be done pain free.
  • Ice therapy: Ice the affected area for 15 to 20 minutes, three to four times a day to reduce pain and swelling. Keep icing on a daily basis until the injured area is no longer inflamed or painful.
  • Medication: In cases of severe pain, you may have to take anti-inflammatory medication to soothe pain and speed up recovery. However, it’s always important to check with a pharmacist first.
  • Recovery: It can take anything from two to four weeks to recover from shin splints, depending on how severe you were injured. As you start to notice improvements, opt for alternative low-impact exercise such as swimming or yoga.

If the pain persists and symptoms fail to improve, you should always seek medical advice.

How do I prevent shin splints?

It’s true that prevention is better than a cure. Here are a few measures you can take to try and prevent shin splints:

  • Make sure you have the right running shoes
  • Start a comprehensive strength training regime that’s aimed to strengthen the muscles and the tendons in the lower legs and feet
  • Consider getting a biomechanical analysis (conducted by a professional, typically using a motion capture video) to pin down and isolate the exact problems with your running biomechanics
  • Make sure you perform a wide range of stretching exercises for the hamstrings, calves, and the Achilles

Until next time,

Mohsin Salya

What Stretches Should I Do Before Running?

Posted on by Mohsin Salya

Hi there and welcome back to the Mohsin Salya blog.

If you’re a runner or you’re training for a marathon, you’ll know just how important stretching can be. Running can be very stressful on your legs, and you need a regular stretching routine to counterpart these stress effects. However, there’s so much information out there that it’s hard to know what stretch to do and for which muscle.

As a runner, you need to focus on three main areas if nothing else: hamstrings, calves and quads. The following stretches will target the muscles that runners use most. They’ll definitely boost your running performance, but they’ll also put an end to the aches and pains that you may experience afterwards.

Hamstrings

Your hamstrings are prone to injury, and this is especially the case amongst runners. They are notorious for tight hamstrings, which can lead to pulled muscles and lower back problems. Try this standing single leg hamstring stretch before your run to ensure your performance isn’t compromised:

  1. Stand with your feet hip distance apart.
  2. Bend your right knee and extend your left leg pointing toes up.
  3. While holding this position, lower your upper body and reach toward your left toes as far as you can.
  4. Hold the position for 30-second then switch to the other side.

Calves

The Calves are the most overworked muscles on your run, and losing flexibility and mobility in this area can set you up for calf strains, shin splints and plantar fasciitis. Try this runner’s calf stretch to also boost the length and cadence of your strides:

  1. Stand facing a wall and with your arms extended and back straight, place both arms on the wall.
  2. While keeping both feet flat, take a step backward with your right leg, while keeping your heel planted to the ground and the leg extended without bending the knee.
  3. To stretch the calf, lean forward slightly to the wall while actively pressing your back heel into the ground until you feel a good stretch in muscle.
  4. Breathe deeply and Hold the stretch for 30-second or more then switch sides.

Quads

Flexible quadriceps are essential for a stronger knee lift and speed. The dreaded runners’ knee can be traced back to tight quads, but this standing quad stretch will help you become less prone to injury:

  1. Stand with legs hips distance width apart.
  2. Grab a chair for balance (if necessary) and stand tall while holding your right foot behind butt pointing knee to floor.
  3. Slowly move your right foot to the back and feel the stretch in your quadriceps.
  4. Keep your thighs lined up and core engaged throughout the stretch and hold for no more than 30-second.
  5. Repeat with the left leg.

Until next time,

Mohsin Salya