The Importance of Balanced Exercise Programing

Exercise programing or what types, duration, and frequency of exercise training you are doing must be balanced for optimal results and to keep your joints healthy.  The biggest issue I see among people who workout regularly (without my supervision) is the blatant imbalance in exercise programing (180 minutes on the elliptical trainer or 20 sets of anything on a BOSU ball).  What we decide to do when we exercise regularly has a positive and negative impact on our body.  Here are a few examples:

• A 45 year-old male former powerlifter and regular (five days per week) weight lifter was complaining to me the other day that he has been bothered by pain in both shoulders.  He asked me if he should supplement with glucosamine.  You know how I feel about supplements.  But, I have seen this guy train week in, week out.  I noticed a severe imbalance in his exercise training programing.  He performed a lot of curls, chest presses, and shoulder lateral raises.  He is very muscular, but I am sure he would be hard-pressed to move his arms through a full range of motion through the shoulder joint.  He never performs any flexibility or mobility work.  And his job is fairly sedentary.  I recommended to him to work on his shoulder mobility every time he trains to balance out the tremendous volume of upper body strength training.  It would also behoove him to cut down the frequency and volume of his current training and also add some more scapular stabilization and rowing exercises to balance the forces and demands on the shoulder joint.

• A 33 year-old female runner with history of knee surgeries continues to run as her predominant mode of exercise training.  While her overall mileage is down from years past, she continues to suffer from her imbalanced training.  When I got a chance to work with her, I found many deficiencies.  She had poor single-leg stability, a loss of knee range of motion, and hip weakness.  Exercises like body-weight step-ups and single-leg hip bridges were extremely challenging and sometimes painful.  I recommended that she spend her limited training time on knee, hip, and ankle range of motion, single-leg stability, hip strength, and shelf the running for the time being (this is wishful thinking, as runners will run no matter what). 

These are two of many, many examples that I see. Training regularly is good, but as they say, you can have too much of a good thing (especially if it means you are ignoring other aspects of your training).  You need to always move well.  That means developing and maintaining adequate joint mobility, stability, strength, power, agility, balance, endurance, and coordination.  We need to consider our individual background and needs, along with our goals.  Then, program accordingly.  Unsure, of what you need?  Consult a knowledgeable trainer to help you develop a balanced exercise training program. 

Getting the Glutes To Function Optimally

Dysfunctional hips are an epidemic in our western society. I see it everyday. Yesterday, was a great example. I was asked by a runner "how do I use my glutes? My physical therapist told me I have weak glutes." Her condition was easy to identify even before testing her glutes. She did not have much gluteal tone, but as a long-time runner I can see she had very well developed hamstrings. Additionally, she has pulled her hamstrings many times in the past with distance running. She was very aware of her problem and asked if she should do more squats and lunges to help her develop her glutes.

She has developed synergistic dominance of the hamstring muscles over the gluteus maximus as a hip extensor. And she does a lot of hip extending with running. Synergistic dominance is when one muscle or group takes over as the dominant muscle at a joint. This leads to inefficient use of the hamstrings, poor hip joint stability, and over-use of the hamstrings (which is probably why she experienced strained hamstrings). With testing, I found almost no contribution of the glutes during her hip extension; the hamstrings were doing all the work. Squats and lunges were not a good idea, at this time. She may be able to do them, but would simply be compensating with other muscles, not really fixing the problem.

So how do we get the glutes working and contributing like they should during squatting, lunging, or running? Learning how to use the glutes is the first step. Then, they can be progressively strengthened. Ultimately, they will be integrated into the running pattern with appropriate, progressive drills. We used the barbell hip bridge on a roller to get the glutes going. Lying face up, with the upper back on the roller allows you to focus on the glutes and get helpful feedback. In the video below, a (different) client performs the barbell hip bridge on a roller. In order to perform the exercise appropriately, you need a good, thick pad for the pelvis, and a hard roller (which allow you to pivot your upper body upon). The hips are extended by focusing on squeezing the glutes. The set is stopped if there is any arching of the lower back (synergistic dominance of the lower back muscles over the glutes), or if the hamstrings feel like they are overworking (such as burning or cramping). Also, the client in instructed to "push through the heels", and "spread the knees" as she extends the hips. At the top range of motion, encourage the client to try to get even higher and "push the hips to the ceiling." The last part of the range of motion is crucial, as this is where the glutes contribute the most. The contribution of the glutes should be tested by having the client feel their glutes with their fingers for a strong contraction. This touching gives them feedback on each repetition. It is common for a client to find it difficult, at first, just to get a full lock-out with body weight only. You are changing motor recruitment patterns after all. Over time, with correct technique, it should be easier and easier for the client to powerfully lock-out the hips. The hips can then be progressively overloaded with barbell weight. Below, a client performs the barbell hip bridges with 75 pounds. Notice the smooth, powerful, full, lock-out at the top of the repetition. Once a client is able to lift an appreciable amount of weight (>50% of body weight) and gets the feel of using their glutes, progression to deadlifts and split squats would be appropriate. Ultimately, I would add skipping and bounding drills to help this runner get more glute contribution during running.

Born To Run

I just made it home after a long, 11-hour ride back from visiting famIly and friends in Georgia. 1600 miles and two books on cd later I am back in Indiana. I had a great time visiting family, celebrating the Fourth of July, and visiting a friend I haven't seen in a year and half. I also made a point not to think about or do anything work related. But, after almost completing "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougal I had more blog material churning. I Recommend "Born To Run". The book is a story and an interesting investigation into the question "were we born to run?" If so, why do 80% of runners end up injured each year. The book is a little slow at the beginning, as McDougall sets the story, but if you stick with it, it gets pretty interesting in the second half. I was even inspired to run for a half-hour tonight partly from sitting all day in the car and partly by this book.

I put on my Vibram Five Fingers at dusk and hit the park next to my home. I started off slowly on the grass with my some warm-up drills. Then, moved to 100-yard sprints. As the sun was going down and after a handful of sprints my legs were loose and feeling good. I felt light on my feet, like I weighed 110 pounds, not 210 pounds. I did five more 100-yard sprints and decided to hit the road with my Five Fingers (essentially barefoot). I had only run once on the road with the Five Fingers and went rather slow. Tonight, I was feeling good and was inspired by the book. So, I set off and kept my mental check list while I ran on the road:

Stand tall
Back straight
Drive with elbows
Feet under my center of gravity
Pull heels through
Land on outside of mid-foot and use the foot and legs to disperse forces.

I moved along smoothly and effortlessly. I gradually upped my pace as I kept reviewing this checklist. Soon, I was at 8-9 mph, but felt like I was simply power-walking. I glided over the ground without any bobbing up and down, thus minimizing the impact on my feet and legs. I was feeling great, running effortless with only 7mm of rubber between me and the road.

McDougall concludes that there are many factors to why we get injured, inspite having a body that is designed to run long distances. The big two are biomechanics and musculoskeletal strength. Both of which are severely affected by modern lifestyles, running shoes, and our 'quick results' mentality. I agree with him on all of these points.

We all knew how to run when we are five years-old. We were all good runners and regularly ran at top speeds. However, a sedentary lifestyle with lots of sitting and weight gain have led most people to have an atrophied and weakened body (especially the muscles of the foot). These bodies can't handle the extreme forces driven through our feet and legs with each stride, especially with improper running mechanics.

Modern running shoes (invented by Nike in 1972) have allowed many runners to use improper running biomechanics (long strides, significant heel strikes, and lots of bobbing up and down). Rarely do people learn proper mechanics to minimize driving forces over 1000 pounds through their joints with every step. Unfortunately, we are under the false presumption that cushy, engineered running shoes will absorb this force. In reality, and I love the way he puts it, the feet are "searching for stability." They will hit the ground harder with the cushy sole versus barefoot, thus causing higher ground-reaction forces.

The last point I think is so true of not only current-day running, but of all current-day fitness. The "quick-results" mentality is a recipe for disaster. We want everything to happen quickly. We have no patience. We want to run a half marathon, but have been sedentary for years and have poor biomechanics. Twelve weeks is not enough time to expect to train for this race. You are fooling yourself. Another line that I liked, that was used in this context was "expect nothing from your running, and you will get more than you ever imagined." Great line.

The human body, with it's rubber band-like achilles tendon, arched foot, efficient cooling system, and large lung capacity, is designed to run. We are born to run, but unlike cheetahs and horses, we are not designed for speed, but endurance. Unfortunately, the most basic exercise for humans ends up being the most problematic. Not because it is a foreign movement, but because we attempted to fix something that wasn't broken.

At the Triathlon Sunday

Sunday was the Carmel Swim Club Sprint Triathlon. Two of my clients, Liz and Maggie, competed in it. They both did a great job! I must say, they had better running mechanics than the majority of competitors.











A few other observations:

•One person was wearing some Vibram Five Fingers. He was easy to pick out because of his neutral/forefoot strike versus most other's heel strike.



•Bike riding (or just sitting on your butt) really minimizes posterior hip (glutes and hamstring) activity, and also tightens up the quads and hip flexors. This results in some awkward running mechanics.



(Maybe she should have done a little lunging and single-leg bounds prior to her run?)






(This is better hip mechanics)

•Apparently drivers over the age 70 either don't notice or care about orange cones or flashing blue lights! Three cars, driven by 70+ year olds, ignored the cones and lights and simply drove through the middle of the coarse while I was watching! Luckily, they didn't hit anyone.

Developing Hip Strength and Power for Efficient Running

Yes, runners, you need to get stronger and more powerful to run more efficiently. As, I mentioned in the previous post (Enhancing Hip and Ankle Mobility for Effective Running), before you try to change your running mechanics you need to develop some underlying physical attributes. Hip strength and power are a couple more physical attributes to develop. This will give you the physical ability to 'pull'.

Most people and your average runner have weak hips. There are three 'flavors' of hip strength that are important for runners.

First, is what I call "single-leg stance stability." Simply, strength in the muscles that stabilize the pelvis and femur. Typically, the external hip rotators are weak (think, knees collapsing inward with a walking lunge). Single-leg exercises such as step-ups, lunges, farmer's walk, and single-leg deadlifts (especially with off-set loads- weight on one side of the body only) are effective for developing single-leg stance stability.



Next, traditional bilateral (two legs) hip strengthening exercise are helpful for developing hip extension strength. These are your classic squat, deadlift, and sled pulls (my favorite).



Finally, as you are developing this hip strength, you want to increase the rate that which you can apply this new strength. That is, develop hip power or increase 'the rate of force development' since each stride takes a mere fraction of a second.


These power or 'speed strength' exercises increase the rate that you can develop force (see above chart and the effects of explosive training). Some effective exercises include: kettlebell swings and (or barbell) snatches, squat jumps, power skips, bounds, explosive sled pulls (using lighter weight).




Next, after you have enhanced the necessary physical attributes (hip mobility, ankle mobility, and hip strength), you will be able to address your running mechanics. Coming next....

Enhancing Hip and Ankle Mobility for Effective Running

After the previous posting on running mechanics (Effective Running: Pull, Don't Push) I had a lot of inquires about how do you 'pull'. One runner said "I can't get my body to look like the runners in the second picture!" I admitted, discovering that you don't have ideal running mechanics is easy. Correcting your mechanics is a more involved process.






Before simply trying to mimic the mechanics of the runners in the second photo, you need to enhance your underlying physical attributes. The first physical attribute, and what I am going to address in this post, is hip and ankle mobility. Ninety percent of the population needs to enhance hip and ankle mobility. These muscles tighten up from sitting so much during the day. When I work with a client, I would assess them with a series of drills and exercises. Then I would have a better idea what specific deficits they may have (including tight muscles, weakness, imbalances, compensations, etc.).

I have included three mobility drills to enhance your hip and ankle mobility. They are performed on one leg at a time. Perform 10 repetitions of each on the right and left legs. Repeat for a total if three sets. First, is the Calf Raise on all fours with knees straight:













Second, is the Single-Leg Deadlift & Reach:












Third, is the Lunge with Hip Extension (for stretching the hip flexors, try to keep the pelvis from tipping forward- mine is tipping slightly):













Next, is to develop hip strength and power.

Effective Running: Pull, Don't Push

For most people, running is a very rough exercise on their bodies. The feet, knees, hips and spine absorb forces that equate to anywhere from 2-4 times their bodyweight. There are two things you can do to minimize these impact forces. One is to weigh less. The other is to improve your running biomechanics, so your leg muscles 'manage' or dissipate the forces more effectively.





Check out the runner in the above picture. He is not doing a good job dissipating forces. In fact, you can see his body weight is about to 'fall' directly on top of his foot with the impending heelstrike. This is usually followed by a 'pushing' leg action. Not good, but very common. Contrast this runner with the next picture.






The runners in the second photo are leaning forward more and 'pulling' their stance leg through. You will also notice the greater hip mobility and extension of the stance leg (compare back legs). The leg swinging through will land behind the runner's center of gravity more so with the second style of running, resulting in lower impact forces.






The last picture shows the difference in ground reaction forces (impact) with heel striking and forefoot striking. The 'pulling' style is associated with more forefoot striking, while the 'pushing' style is associated with more heel striking.

Identifying your running biomechanics are easy. Changing your style is more challenging. It involves changing several physical attributes, including hip and ankle mobility, hip strength and power, and motor coordination. When I work with a client who is trying to improve her running biomechanics, I utilize a variety of drills/exercises to improve mobility and increase hip 'pulling'. It is a gradual process that needs to be 'practiced' without undue fatigue.