How to handle strides better?

Also I will obviously be asking my PT about this but I am not due to see him until next week so I was wondering if anyone had any advice that I could start implementing now

Sorry your season is over. Better luck next time bud.

bump

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor, I don’t know your situation, this is an opinion.

Getting used to faster paces / higher muscle exertion is quite hard on the body. It’s quite normal for me to have some hip flexor strain after I do strides. This could be your body getting ready to adapt.

Just make sure to ride the wave and know the difference between pain and strain, pushing your joints and muscles to new limits is good for you, as long as you don’t push them past their limits.

I had a hamstring tear a year ago, and when I got back into running and lifting, my lower back hurt all the time. This was a combination of weak hamstrings, weak lower core, and weak lower back. The problem went away as I got back into shape.

You know your body, listen to it and know when you are pushing too hard and putting yourself at risk, good luck.

green tea with lemon wrote:

Hello, I have had low back issues this past year and worked with a PT to fix it. We deduced that the root cause of my problem was that my hips were too weak so we focused on doing lots of strength for glutes and hips. Today I did strides after my run and even though I didn't go fast at all (relatively) I feel slight irritation in my left hip flexor and slight low back tightness. I wanted to ask your opinions because this tightness I am feeling now feels incredibly mild compared to the tightness I dealt with in the past. I will be able to get my run in tomorrow and feel good, without a doubt. But why is it that as soon as I start doing strides (or anything faster for that matter) my low back gets tight?

You just need to progress slowly and have enough recovery. You can also get relaxing massage to make the muscles relax. Probably the muscles just react to being used and tense up some.

I have to progress slowly with high speed. Also running relaxed is very important.

Increasingly heavy strength can help the muscles cope with the high speed, but remember that strength training will "irritate" the muscles so you need recovery.

Hill sprints and hill strides are much easier I think, even if they are very good at targeting power and strength

green tea with lemon wrote:

Hello, I have had low back issues this past year and worked with a PT to fix it. We deduced that the root cause of my problem was that my hips were too weak so we focused on doing lots of strength for glutes and hips. Today I did strides after my run and even though I didn't go fast at all (relatively) I feel slight irritation in my left hip flexor and slight low back tightness. I wanted to ask your opinions because this tightness I am feeling now feels incredibly mild compared to the tightness I dealt with in the past. I will be able to get my run in tomorrow and feel good, without a doubt. But why is it that as soon as I start doing strides (or anything faster for that matter) my low back gets tight?

My physical therapist, who's also a marathoner, has a theory based on all the runners he's seen: almost every runner injury you can think of is at least in part related to a weak gluteus maximus.

Humans didn't evolve to sit down on cushions for most of the day, sitting is essentially "anti-running", as it weakens the glutes, so being an office worker and a competitive runner doesn't really jive. I would recommend "superman's" into your cross training, when doing them pre-activate your glute by squeezing your butt cheeks together and try to relax your hamstrings. This will help with back problems and hip flexors.

As others have said, run striders nice and relaxed. If your back issue was the result of running make certain your "running tall" and erect, think hips forward and slight lean at the ankle. Many runners run hunched over and don't realize it.

+1 on the hill strides...

I similarly often avoid strides because I'm scared of what they will do to my hips.

Hill strides will get you the faster turnover and power increase but will also force you to shorten up your gait so that you aren't straining the hip flexors as much.