October 26, 2007

How To Avoid Common Running Injuries In 3 Easy Steps

Running is a wonderful form of cardiovascular exercise; unfortunately it has gained a reputation for causing injury. This is unfair, in my opinion, and in this article how to avoid common running injuries in 3 easy steps, I will show you how to avoid some of the most common ones. The first common problem that I see in runners that can cause everything from muscle strains to tears is simply lack of a proper warm-up. While this may not seem so bad, after all most people might think, "Well in five minutes I've worked up a sweat so it can't be all bad." While this may be true a cold and tight muscle is more apt to be injured be it a simple, pull, strain, or in the worse case and tear.

But the worst thing a lack of a proper warm-up does simply add wear and tear on the body, the body is not warm and ready to go so each time you push it to the limit by not warming up I feel you are just that much closer to an injury. Think of it this way if you keep stretching out a rubber over and over sooner or later it is going to break, but not just from that last stretch, it was all those previous stretches that combined to do it. One day you'll be running and out of the blew bam, an injury will happen, most people will put it off to well it was just my time, but what they forget is all those times they were in a hurry and ran without a warm-up. A warm up doesn't have to be much, walk first of 5-10 minutes progressively getting faster and faster until you're doing a light jog and then slowly and I mean slowly over the coarse of another 10 minutes pick up your pace until you are running at the pace you want to. The second common thing that I see runners do all the time, which over time can cause injuries is not stretching.

Again just like with warm ups, you think, well I'm running late so I'll just skip stretching JUST this once and well we all know what happens, something comes up again and again, and well you get the idea. Stretching out your hamstrings, calf muscles, lower back, upper back, abs, and just about any other muscle you find that is tight after a run will only take 10 minutes, yet as with warm-ups, over time you'll see less soreness, less of those nagging injuries and I'll bet that you're running will improve. Now if you're wondering why I didn't include the thighs in the list of muscles to stretch, it is simply because most peoples thighs maintain an adequate level of flexibility, however by all means if your thighs are tight by all means stretch them out. An excellent book that can be found at most libraries is called STRECTHING by Bob Anderson. With this book you'll have all the stretches you could possibly want. Last but definitely not least is the post workout meal. If you are wondering why I've included nutrition in an article about injuries, well a muscle that is not fully recovered/sore is more apt to be injured and there is no better time to refuel your body than after a hard run. I'm glad that protein has come back into favor as of late, because before running was all about carbohydrates, and they are great, especially if you favor good quality ones like brown rice, sweet potatoes and fruit. However, protein is vital for muscle growth and repair, so if you don't have enough you are not going to recover as well/if at all, as you should. A great post workout drink is called SURGE and it is made by biotest. However if you can't afford it or simply want something more basic go out and grab some whey protein isolate and mix it with some juice, or you could simply have a banana or two with your shake.

I know you'll be pleasantly surprised with the results you will see (faster recovery, better runs) from simply just adding a post workout protein and carb meal after your runs. If you're wondering how soon you should have your shake after your run, if you can get your shake or whey isolate and bananas in within 30 minutes of your run you'll be fine. I hope you've enjoyed, how to avoid common running injuries in 3 easy steps, and I wish you all the best in your running.

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