Why you keep getting hurt: Your posterior chain is weak.

good schtuff

good post, thank you!

colorunner123 wrote:

For deadlifts you can use a trap bar if a barbell feels too awkward.

You can also just use dumbbells, especially since not many people have trap bars at home (my gym didn't even have one).

For the last 8 weeks or so I’ve been working on hips/glutes/hammys/core 2-3x a week at 80mpw. Not a big time commitment. Definitely hurts your running for a few weeks while your muscles adjust. Now I’m feeling stronger and more “stable” during my runs than ever before. My overall posture has improved as well

The most common reasons runners actually get injured is running too fast on easy runs, too much intensity, not enough sleep, being too lean year round and improper nutrition. All this stuff you're showing is all flash.

Also, just a general question : would I be missing out on anything if I did free weight deadlifts& goblet squats instead of barbell deadlifts&back squats? Don't have access to a gym for the moment but I do have free weights.

Hasay doesn't seem to be a good example for staying healthy.

Every single high school program in the country does some kind of “core” or strength program. I watch the high school team in my area go through an extensive stretching, strength program with all kinds of fancy bands and toys. They probably spend an hour after their running on this stuff and they still suck.

You mentioned what Newbury Park does, then talk about deadlifts and squats, which it doesn’t sound like they do after listening to the podcast. They are a powerhouse because they have really good kids, not because they activate their glutes and strengthen their ankles and other high school teams don’t.

Are there some running groups that don’t lift?

msb21 wrote:

Also, just a general question : would I be missing out on anything if I did free weight deadlifts& goblet squats instead of barbell deadlifts&back squats? Don't have access to a gym for the moment but I do have free weights.

For deadlifts, you can use dumbbells if you don't have access to a barbell. Perfectly fine.

Goblet squats are fantastic, especially for beginners. Highly recommended.

Spooky wrote:

Hasay doesn't seem to be a good example for staying healthy.

True. The routine I am recommending won't prevent all injuries, but will lower the risk.

Cool bro

superfly snuka wrote:

Every single high school program in the country does some kind of “core” or strength program. I watch the high school team in my area go through an extensive stretching, strength program with all kinds of fancy bands and toys. They probably spend an hour after their running on this stuff and they still suck.

You mentioned what Newbury Park does, then talk about deadlifts and squats, which it doesn’t sound like they do after listening to the podcast. They are a powerhouse because they have really good kids, not because they activate their glutes and strengthen their ankles and other high school teams don’t.

Are there some running groups that don’t lift?

These are all good points.

You are right: it sounds like Newbury Park does not do barbell strength training. I personally recommend barbell squats and deadlifts because I believe these are more effective than bodyweight exercises. But there are many roads to Rome.

I do think Newbury Park has talented kids, but I also think the coaching is outstanding. You can't build the #1 program in the nation based solely on luck.

I do not know what is prevailing practice nowadays at high schools. I had assumed, based on my own experience and the runners I know, that most runners don't do lower body strength work. When I was in high school and college the conventional wisdom was to avoid it. But that was a long time ago and things may have changed.

Well, that explains why Hasay is never injured

bootyjudy wrote:

For the last 8 weeks or so I’ve been working on hips/glutes/hammys/core 2-3x a week at 80mpw. Not a big time commitment. Definitely hurts your running for a few weeks while your muscles adjust. Now I’m feeling stronger and more “stable” during my runs than ever before. My overall posture has improved as well

Awesome. Glad it has helped. I agree it's not a huge time commitment. Just two workouts a week (30-60 minutes per workout) is all that is needed.

bubbadeeboos wrote:

Well, that explains why Hasay is never injured

You are missing the point. Nobody ever argued that these exercises prevent 100 percent of injuries.

nothing to do due to this virus wrote:

The most common reasons runners actually get injured is running too fast on easy runs, too much intensity, not enough sleep, being too lean year round and improper nutrition. All this stuff you're showing is all flash.

Gotta agree with that. I love lifting weights, but the emphasis just seems to be out of control. Most runners don't even run 8 hours a week, and 8 hours running would be better than 4 hours running and 4 hours strength.

Here a quote from legendary Craig Mottram:

" A month ago I did a stint of lifting weights, things like squats and lunges but I found that the quality of my running sessions was affected so we decided to stop the weights. Now I just concentrate on core stability and body weight exercises and let the terrain at places like Falls Creek and Ferny Creek give me the strength in my legs. "

Hills is the most specific strength training someone can do. Push the pace on hills if you want, or do tempos/reps over hills and your legs will be incredibly strong. Then it's just about training the core and getting as strong aerobically as possible (within limitations of talent).

Not solely on luck. 75% on talent (check out their backgrounds) and 25% on coaching. The main point being, ankle and glute exercises are not a differentiator between them and the rest of the high schools. They all do that stuff.

colorunner123 wrote:

Coach Brosnan has built a powerhouse program from nothing in just four years. The secret to his runners' success is not high mileage. The top boys are only running about 60 miles per week. No, his secret is keeping his runners healthy. They stretch before every workout and they do some kind of strength work. He specifically mentions that they work on their glutes. Not sure if they do barbell strength training or mainly bodyweight stuff.

In a previous interview about Nico Young, I think the coach said he missed much a cross season and an entire track season because he was hurt. Nico's younger brother (not sure which one) was hurt in the later part of this past season, not allowing him to run state. Jace Aschbrenner was hurt in the first half of their 2018 season and their number 2/3 from 2018 was injured at NXN. They have injuries just like everyone else. Also, Jordan Hassay is a terrible example of staying healthy.

I believe the stretching is underrated. It gets bashed a lot these days. Most of the studies look at stretching in relation to injury prevention and their is little correlation. In terms of performance, I’m not so sure. I get the idea that you would want your muscles to be tight or wound in a similar concept to a spring. However, look at gymnasts. Gymnasts are incredibly flexible and all that stretching/flexibility doesn’t seem to hurt their explosiveness at all.