Running Right, Part 2: Get Activated!

Following up my last post, did you take a critical look at the joggers in your gym today? I did. Even though I always have a quick look around the gym to see what people are doing (and doing wrong), what I saw today, quite frankly, was something that I had never seen before...and it was scary!

So what happened? Today I saw a young girl, probably 19 or 20, running with such poor hip and ankle control that she was actually hitting her knees together as she ran! Every time that her foot hit the treadmill, the muscles in her hips were so weak that she wasn't able to stabilize her leg, and her knee rotated inwards with such force that it would knock against her other leg as she ran. Remember my comments on hip control and dynamic knee valgus? This is exactly what I saw today, but far, far worse. I honestly don't think that I've ever seen such an extreme example of weakness and poor conditioning before. It really was frightening, and without improving her strength, muscle coordination, function and activation, she's unfortunately an ACL tear waiting to happen.

Incidentally, she was also wearing pink. I'll assume that was purely coincidental.

While I could give a list of exercises to perform to improve muscle coordination, activity and strength, the fact is that by now you already know them: squats, bridges, lunges, deadlifts, etc. The problem isn't solved by some "exercise secrets," it's solved with careful attention to exactly how you move. Exercise by itself is a good thing, but exercise done properly is the right thing.

Never take for granted that you're doing something correctly, whether it's in the gym or outside the gym: challenge yourself to move better with more control, purpose and fluidity of motion. Always check your movement...better yet, have someone qualified check it for you.

As I saw first-hand today, even something as simple as running isn't always so simple after all!

-Jonathan