Athletico Health Resources

Week two of January is another beginner level therapeutic back bend called Locust. Locust helps to strengthen the hamstrings, glutes and lumbar musculature, building on last week’s Cobra stretch. As a warm up, you can do a few Cobra stretches prior to performing the Locust. If you missed last week’s stretch, you can find instructions here.

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Many people talk about cross-training in the winter and even throughout the running season. Does this mean to include swimming and biking? Why is it important? How can you benefit from cross-training?

Cross training does include replacing running with lower impact activities, such as swimming and biking. However, it also is stretching and strengthening. (more…)

The home exercise program is the elephant in the room at a lot of physical therapy sessions. A lot of people simply don’t like doing their exercises during their free time. Trust me. I understand the liberating feeling of just going to a clinic dedicated to physical therapy, mentally checking out and being told what to do to improve. While this will work, you won’t be getting the most out of your rehab with this mindset. (more…)

We all have seen, or have been, runners bending over to touch their toes or pull their foot back to stretch before a race. Therefore, it may surprise you that some research does not support static stretching prior to running, but at the same time others indicate it has no detrimental effects on performance.

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It’s week 3 of loving our calves, and this week is one of my favorite stretches! I call this the Wall Calf Stretch. It’s slightly an inversion (upside down) so please be careful if you have a blood pressure issue or get vertigo easily. For the Wall Calf Stretch you’ll  probably need a little wall space. 🙂 (more…)

This week we are going to give our calves a little extra love with a calf massage technique instead of a stretch. This is one I use all the time because my calves are so tight. If you have trigger points or “knots” in your muscles, this is a great way to work them out on your own. I’ll warn you right now, it might be tender, so just apply as much pressure as you feel comfortable. That’s the great thing about this technique, you have control over how much you sink into the tissue. (more…)

For the avid runners who are determined to keep their mileage up despite colder temperatures, it’s time to get prepared. Running in colder temperatures is not a problem as long as you stay smart, healthy and alert. Read our 5 Tips for Running in Cold Weather below:  (more…)

As the colder weather approaches, moving indoors to train might be on the radar for some. For many elite runners, preparing to running through the frightful weather may be the usual, but as the temperature drops, most of us are ready to move indoors to avoid the cold, the elements and the runny nose. Having the right kind of shoe for running indoors can help improve your desired training results. (more…)