Category: Running

On today’s Episode we have Kayla Kleinman. She is a Yoga/Barre Instructor in NYC and author of the Health and Wellness blog titled: Kayla in the City. Kayla in the City is an online platform that inspires millennial women to blend wellness and hustle. She teaches at Y7 Studio and Bar-Method Noho.

Kari Pearce is 4x crossfit  games athlete with a prestigious background in gymnastics. Voted 2016 fittest Athlete, Kari only started crossfit a couple years ago, she has grown to be ranked #5 in the world. On this episode she’ll detail the hard work, effort and continuity that it takes to reach such an achievement!

Enjoy the 3rd episode of the season!

Ever wondered how to improve your running? Well, there’s a specialty for that! One of our most unique programs available here at SPEAR is our running analysis. This special assessment uses advanced video technology that allows your physical therapist to fully assess how your body is working while you’re running. The test is available at our Chelsea clinic and run by Carley Schleien, PT, DPT; most recently, Carley was featured in SELF magazine online, providing her expertise on proper running form! Author Amy Marturana’s article, “Here’s What Proper Running Form Actually Is and How Much You Should Care About It”, talks about the negative effects poor running form can have, causing injuries and impacting strength and mobility. Carley notes there are many different factors that may affect your running form: “Issues can come from weak glutes, really tight hip flexors or quads, or you might just not have a sufficient range of motion in the hips.” Amy concludes that “weaknesses in any of the muscles from your core to your hips to your quads and calves can impact how you run, as can any imbalances between each side of your body.”

Luckily, these are treatable issues that working with a physical therapist may help you to overcome. Before jumping onto the treadmill, Carley asks her patients about their running history (including any injuries or pain), and walks the patient through some functional movements to test their body’s range of motion, strength, and flexibility, key indicators for an individual’s overall assessment. As Amy puts it: “A physical therapist, especially one who specializes in runners and running injuries, can help you figure out the source of your pain and give you exercises to correct the underlying weakness or tightness and improve your form.”

There are a multitude of reasons you may not be hitting those personal milestones, or why you’re experiencing pain in the first place. A running analysis is a great place to start in understanding your body’s needs. The session starts with a run on the treadmill equipped with the OptoGait technology, a digital video analysis program that allows us to measure several different factors, including cadence, flight time, and even asymmetries between the left and right leg. The technology works with LEDs that communicate with infrared frequency to measure the symmetry of each step you take, picking up on any possible abnormalities and thus allowing your physical therapist to create a personalized exercise program that’s right for you and your goals.

Want to learn more about a running analysis? Read more about this specialty, or watch Carley walking through the whole procedure with a patient.

You can also read Carley’s full feature in SELF magazine here!

For over 30 years, Dick Traum has worked to help people with disabilities compete as athletes in road races and other sporting events. In 1983 he founded Achilles International, an organization whose mission is to enable people with all types of disabilities to participate in mainstream running events in order to promote personal achievement.

Traum lost his right leg above the knee as the result of a car accident when he was 24. An accomplished college wrestler, he was determined to remain physically active. Traum completed the first five-borough New York City Marathon in 1976 in 7:24, becoming the first known amputee athlete to run a marathon.

Enjoy the second episode of season 2!

Steve Serio is a Paralympic Gold Medalist in the middle of a basketball game

Steve Serio is a Paralympic Gold Medalist, ESPY winner for Best Male Athlete with a disability and currently plays for the New York Rolling Knicks. After being paralyzed at 11 months old following a tumor removal, Steve would later make sure that did not get in his way. He found wheelchair basketball, worked hard and grew from it, letting it blossom into a career. On the show, he details how to embrace the journey, grow through all challenges and continue to work hard to live your life to the fullest! Regardless of the hand your dealt!