5 Post-Run Yoga Exercises

 

Running can be an intense sport that involves gravity and the laws of physics.  Runners experience ground reaction forces, which is the force exerted by the ground as the body places contact.  The applied force to each step will receive a reaction force that passes up through the foot to each lower extremity joint, and without proper care, runners can experience skeletal or muscular pain or injury.

Incorporating yoga poses post-run is a great way to maintain flexibility and recirculate lactate build up.  Most yoga poses are not isolated stretches, therefore the body's connective tissue and what is known as fascial lines are opened in various poses.  There are various fascial lines in the body, which connect foot to head and the right and left sides of the body.  Yoga can improve the flexibility along these fascial lines to keep the musculature balanced and flexible.

I've been running a few times a week in addition to my weight training and I've been using these yoga poses in addition to traditional post-run flexibility exercises and I feel they're great.  Give them a try the next time you finish a run.  Hold each pose for 30-60 seconds each and complete each pose twice.

Standing Pigeon

This pose opens the hip's external rotators, which is ideal to maintain hip mobility.

How to perform:  Place the right ankle just above the left knee.  Slowly sit the hips back, just like lowering yourself into a chair.  Use a wall or tree (or in my case a goal post) to better maintain balance or place the hands on the shin.  To practice balance, reach the arms forward in front of the chest.  Switch and repeat on the opposite leg.

Standing Downward Dog

This pose opens the chest musculature while lengthening the posterior side of the lower extremities.

How to perform:  Find something stable to hold onto or on which to place your hands.  Position the feet hip distance apart and several inches in front of the hips.  Shift the pelvis back to where the chest and arms come parallel to the ground.  For a deeper calf stretch, lift the toes off the ground.

Pyramid Pose

This pose lengthens the back side of the legs from the glutes toward the calves.

How to perform:  Place the right foot about 2 to 3 feet in front of the body with the toes facing forward.  Slowly, lower the torso to the point of flexibility and rest the hands on the shin, foot or ground.  Allow the upper body to relax.  Repeat on the opposite leg.

Low Lunge

This pose lengthens the top of the quadriceps in addition to the hip flexor muscles, which is ideal as running incorporates repetitive hip-flexion movements.

How to perform:  Place the left knee on the ground (place a towel or mat underneath the knee if surface is hard) and step the right foot forward.  Hinge from the pelvis to where the torso moves slightly forward and you feel a stretch on the thigh.  Reach the arms overhead and hold.  Repeat on the opposite leg.

Warrior 1 with chest open

This pose is ideal to open the hip, oblique and chest musculature.

How to perform:  Find a wall or object on which to place your arm.  Stand with the right side of the body facing the wall or object.  Step the right leg back (foot may turn out to a 45-degree angle) and bend the elbow 90 degrees with the fingers facing upward.  Place the forearm on the wall/object and lunge into the left leg toward a 90-degree angle.  Tuck the pelvis forward and keep the left hand by your side.  The stretch should be felt from the pelvis through the abdominals and into the chest region.  Repeat on the opposite leg.

The Benefits of Yoga

Good morning everyone! Feeling a little stressed? Have any chronic back pain that you just can seem to get rid of? Migraines slowing your day down? Think about giving yoga a try. My routine that I'm currently following calls for active rest days...which means that I'm not lifting weights, but still doing some sort of physical activity. So this morning I chose to do yoga.

Not only is yoga a great stress reliever, there are also numerous physical benefits to doing yoga. Such as:
- Increased flexibility
- Increased muscle strength & tone
- Improved energy & vitality
- Cardio & circulatory health
- Improved athletic performance
- Protection from injury

I've mentioned on an earlier post that I struggle with my flexibilty. Yoga is one method I'm trying to use to help with my flexibility. Even though some poses (or asana for all you yogi's) are difficult for me to do, I make altererations with a foam roller (since I don't have a yoga block) to help with holding those positions.

So if you're looking to releive some stress, improve any of the above listed physical benefits, or looking for something to add to your weekly routine, think about giving yoga a shot. Hope you all have a great day! :)

 

- Mike

 

Photo: huffingtonpost.com

The importance of Stretching

Happy Sunday everyone!  We spend time in the gym during the week putting our bodies through the stress of working out our muscles, but while we’re spending time focusing on improving our bodies we may be forgetting to incorporate one key exercise into our routine…stretching.

I know that I’m guilty of not stretching as often as I should, but I’ve been recently making it part of my weekly routine.  I’m naturally tight and I’ve been noticing that by stretching I’ve increased not only my flexibility, but my range of motion, which are giving me noticeable results.  I do a little stretching at the beginning and end of my workouts, but I like to use Sundays as a day that I set aside for doing some extended amount of time stretching.

As I mentioned, range of motion is just one benefit from stretching, but there are some others that will help you with seeing the results you’re seeking.  Although stretching isn’t the type of exercise that will release the growth hormone HGH, it will help prepare your body for the exercises that will.  The recovery benefits of stretching after a hard workout are also extremely helpful because stretching will help with realigning muscle fibers, which get entangled after a hard workout and can impede the recovery process.  There’s also a lactic acid build-up going on in your muscles after an intense workout, which stretching will help decrease that and help with soreness felt the next day.

So if you haven’t thought about incorporating stretching into your weekly workout routine, I highly recommend it, not only for the benefits I mentioned above, but because it can just help you feel better and relieve stress, which I’m sure all of us won’t object to that.  Have a great rest of your weekend and if you haven’t done it today already, get some stretching in!

 Photo: cooperinstitute.org