Category: Running

Warm Up Dynamically Before You Run!

Most of us don’t like to warm up before we run. However, research has shown that a dynamic warm up is most effective in improving quadriceps strength, hamstring flexibility, and even vertical jumping ability.What is a dynamic warm up? It is series of sports specific movements that prepare the muscles for performance. Here are some ideas for what you can do on the streets of Manhattan before you run.

Getting ready for your next running event? Take these tips into consideration! Curated with the help of Meghan King, PT, DPT, this fast fact sheet offers some great information to help you before you hit the pavement or treadmill!

Download the PDF here!

Here are 8 Tips to Get You Started:

Tip #1: Take it Easy

After you’ve been training for months, remember that in order for all your hard work to pay off, you won’t want to exhaust yourself in the days immediately leading up to a race. Keep your routine to a light jog for only a mile or so.

Tip #2: Stay Off Your Feet

As much as you can, try to rest up and reserve your energy. Have family in town? Send them off to go sight seeing and join them later for a full, healthy dinner!

Tip #3: Carbo Load

To maximize the benefits of carbo loading, start 3 days before and continue until race day. Consult a sports nutritionist a few weeks before to come up with a plan that will keep you going and prime your muscles to store helpful glycogen energy sources.

Tip #4: Have Dinner

Don’t restrict! Eat what you normally would the night before a long run, several hours before you go to bed and give your body a chance to digest before getting a good night’s rest.

Tip #5: Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of water beforehand! Give your body a chance to absorb fluids into your system, so you don’t overheat, and monitor your sweat loss throughout your training to figure out how much you need.

Tip #6: Prepare

Lay out everything you will need the night before a race, so you can be ready to go in the morning and not have to worry about forgetting anything. Pack a warm layer you can wear at the start to keep your muscles warm, as well as something to sit on.

Tip #7: Sleep Well…Two Night Before

If you don’t sleep well the night before, that’s ok! It’s more important to get a good night’s sleep 2 nights before the race to feel awake and ready to go.

Tip #8: Talk to Your PT

Lastly, let your PT know about your athletic goals! We’re here not only to help you recover from injuries but also prevent them and work with what you have to reach where you want to go!

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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!