The Wild West of Running Advice

I recently recomitted to posting on social media after a break, and let me tell you it's a Wild West out there!

Let's break down a couple pieces of popularly circulating themes on the running internet...

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I understand that to stand out on the internet these days a strong "hot take" kind of statement generates more views as compared to a nuanced "let's break this down and understand it" statement.

People are busy, they want their answers quickly. It's a mental exercise for me on how to relay information in a way that's interesting yet authentic without spending more than 20 minutes on each post.

Posting on the internet is not something I'd say I enjoy or am particularly talented at, but WHY are these running influencers getting one million views and thousands of likes on truly archaic running advice like this...

1) "Lack of hip mobility will cause your glutes to turn off"

This is internet garbage.

If your glutes are off, how are you running? How are you standing? How are you getting up from a chair?

The logic here is that if you lack hip mobility into extension (your hip and leg moving backwards behind you) then your glutes won't be able to "fire" correctly. 

For one, muscle groups don't just turn off. Not unless you have a severed nerve or spinal cord. 

Another point here is that much of the hip extension we previously believed was important for runners can and does often come from your lower back arching during push off (lordosis). This is normal in both recreational and elite runners. So when you think you're stretching a tight hip flexor, you may just be stretching your lower back.

Your glutes are a complex powerhouse of muscles that keep you upright, stabilize your pelvis, extend your hip and control hip joint rotation. Their job is multifactorial and not just to extend your hip. So no, tight hip flexors are not going to just flip the "off" switch on your glutes. 

2) "Don't forget the classic R.I.C.E.!"

The “R.I.C.E” principle was used to guide people on how to attend to an acute injury (Such as an ankle sprain) - Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevate. It’s outdated now because the modern recommendation is PEACE and LOVE. Protect, elevate, avoid anti-inflammatories, compress and educate for 3 days. Then beginning day 4, Load, optimism, vascularization and exercise. You can read more here.

The takeaway with PEACE and LOVE is that you protect the area for several days while your body goes through it's initial phases of natural healing. Inflammation in acute injuries directs healing nutrients to the site of injury. Although it can be uncomfortable, it is normal and disrupting this process may delay healing. 

After several days of protection, it's time to begin gradually loading and training the area to restore function.  

3) "Your legs hate unidirectional movements!"

Your legs don’t hate any type of exercise.

Sure, there is such a thing as doing too much of a good thing and too little of balanced workouts. A good strength for runners program includes multidirectional AND unidirectional movements.

The concept I think they were trying to relay is that running is largely a unidirectional (moving forward, rather than side to side and hopefully not backwards!) sport. So a comprehensive runner's strength routine would include side to side movements such as lateral lunges and rotational style exercises to your program as well.

If you made it this far, thank you for tuning into my social media rant of the week! 

Is there anything you heard online recently that made you think twice? Any pieces of advice you'd like me to weigh in on regarding running injuries?

Respond to this email and we can talk through them! 

Questions about this topic? Reply to this email and we can talk more about it. 

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