David Roche explains how to reduce your risk of injury by using simple exercises that will add very little time to your exercise schedule.
Quick but effective exercises to reduce your risk of injury, so you can spend more time on the trails
If all you do is run, you’re going to get hurt. It might be something normal, like shin splints. Or it might be something exotic, like watermelon pelvis. (I don’t think that is a real injury, but I bet there is still some runner out there that has suffered from it). Sooner or later, the repeated straight-line running motion will cause an imbalance that will keep you off the trails.
While injuries are not completely preventable, there are some easy things you can do to decrease your chances of suffering from cantaloupe knee or honeydew hamstring, while simultaneously making you a stronger, faster runner.
With these exercises, you can work all the most important muscles—focusing on the glutes, hips and quads—in only five minutes a day. They're best done right after a run, when your muscles are warmed up, but could also be done while sipping coffee after you wake up or later in the day while pretending to work in the conference room. (Just make sure the door is locked, as steps four and five make you look like you're aggressively humping the air.)
These five minutes, plus running, are all you need to do to build a healthy, strong, fast runner.
Minute One: Lunges
20 front lunges, 10 side lunges, 20 rear lunges
Works: Hips, quads, glutes
Lunges open up your hip girdle, increase range of motion and build trail-ready strength. Focus on good posture and steady, balanced motion, letting your knee just touch the ground but not rest there. Lunges double as a great warm-up for the rest of the exercises.
Minute Two: Leg swings
20 side-to-side and 20 forward-and-back
Works: Hips, hamstrings
As Socrates said, “hips don’t lie.” Crap, I meant Shakira. I always get those two mixed up. One thing Shakira would probably agree with is that flexible, loose hip flexors are incredibly important, whether running or dancing.
On leg swings, hold something stable for balance, and let your leg swing smoothly through its range of motion while keeping your spine straight. Over time, you’ll find each arc getting longer and that range of motion will transfer to faster running on trails, especially downhills, while helping prevent injuries that stem from limited flexibility.
Minute Three: Hurdles
Trail leg forward and back x 10
Works: Hips, back, glutes
If you’re anything like me, you may not be 100 percent sure what a hip abductor is, but you know it’s important. These are the little stabilizer muscles around your midsection, and they are the key to healthy running. One slip-up by these babies, and any number of things could go wrong, from traumatic hip injuries to twisted ankles. As an added bonus, abductor strength will make you more efficient on technical trails.
During hurdle drills, start with your foot on the ground behind you and imagine a low hurdle at your side. Lift your foot up and over the imaginary hurdle, bringing it down on the other side and creating a circle back to where you started. After 10 repetitions, start your leg on the other side and do 10 more in reverse.
Article first posted on Trailrunnermag.com, to read the original article click here. Original article written by David Roche