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Best Running Injury Prevention Exercises

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Nearly every runner has been through an injury, which makes the average non-runner believe that you simply can’t enjoy this sport without hurting yourself. As though there are no running injury prevention exercises or practices we could be doing.

Sigggghhhhhhhhhhh

It’s possibly one of the biggest running myths I spend time busting.

The truth is that most of us learn the hard way, no matter how much you love the run, if you don’t do some strength work and learn to eat right…you’ll be spending a lot of time on the sidelines.

Running injury prevention doesn’t have to take a lot of time, be overly complex or confusing!

If you made me pick just three keys:

  • Running dynamic warm up – never skip it
  • Include hip strength workouts in you strength routine
  • Follow the injury prevention exercises below once a week

Top Running Injury Prevention Exercises

I preach doing preventative PT exercises here all the time, but I also understand no one has time to do 200 different moves every single week and fit in their marathon miles.

So in an effort to get you DOING SOMETHING, I’ve put together a list of movements that will maximize your time and help keep those hips strong, glutes firing and stride in check

  • Try adding just 2 rounds of 12-15 reps, once per week.
  • Once that becomes a habit, it’s time to add in another day of core work.
  • Finally, you’re ready to progress to another day of full body strength training for runners!

Just like you didn’t go from 1 mile to 10 miles, no need to try and overhaul your strength training. Instead, baby steps to create habits and make it part of your routine.

running injury prevention exercises

This workout is going to help prevent knee pain, IT Band Pain, hip pain and shin splints!

You can see each move demonstrated in the video below.

What gear do you need?

Things can be pretty simple with at home workouts, but there are a few tools I’ve found  really maximize our time:

  • Mini resistance bands
  • PT Therapy ball (not listed in these moves, but a key tool)
  • A set of dumbbells to progress the movements

Hip Flexor Stretch – increasing hip mobility
There are a couple of methods for doing a hip flexor stretch, each providing an option for where you are, but will help to loosen your tight hips.

Single Leg Row to Press – Stabilization
It’s bizarre that we forget running is actually a single leg activity, but it is! Thus you need to learn how to stabilize your body by engaging the core to lessen your movements side to side or up and down.

Cross Lunge – IT Band
This is part of the full IT Band Matrix – changing up your lunges helps the body to function in multiple planes of motion rather than always going forward.

Donkey Kick – Glute Activation
On all four’s in a table top position, you’ll then be kicking your leg up to the air. Truly it will get things firing, which means more power in your stride.

Heel and Toe Walks – Shin Splints
Raise up on to your toes and walk forward 10 steps, then rock back on your heels and walk backwards to the starting point.

If shin splints have been an issue for you, checkout these additional shin splint exercises.

Need a better visual? Watch the video below to see each move in action

You’ll notice that the focus of these movements are hips, core and glutes. That’s intentional!  Every Physical Therapist I’ve talked with says those three areas are the main causes of injury.

Additional At Home Workouts

Looking for some additional runner workouts to bookmark, try these:

  • Resistance band hip workout
  • Core and legs workout
  • IT Band stretches
  • Glute activation workout
  • Stability ball workout
Tired of getting injured? 5 exercises and a nutrition tip to keep you #running! Click To Tweet

How Can Running Injuries Be Prevented?

Let’s start with figuring our what your issue is! Here’s a run down of the most common running injuries.

Once you know what you’re dealing with you can dial in the workouts, but honestly ALWAYS WORK YOUR HIPS AND GLUTES.

  • Find a training plan that works for your body – some people thrive on high mileage and some on speed
  • Learn the difference between running pain and discomfort. Then stop when it’s pain!
  • Always do a dynamic warm-up
  • Understand when to use ice and when to use heat
  • Take post workout recovery seriously
  • Replace worn out shoes
  • Work on your mobility
  • Learn how to eat to fuel your running

Let’s touch on that last point again.

Eating right is about fueling your body pre and post run so that your muscles can fully recover from the effort. Many of us started running to lose weight and thus spent so much time focusing on calories, we didn’t realize the impact of skimping on the right foods.

What’s your favorite recovery snack?

What injury/area do you have questions about?

Other ways to connect with Amanda
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Checkout the Ultimate IT Band Solution >>

Read Next: 7 Steps to Mental Recovery after Injury >>

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Posted by amanda Categories: Hip Strength, injury, IT Band Recovery, knee injury

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Susie @ Suzlyfe says

    October 25, 2016 at 4:44 am

    I remember training for my first and second marathons, the biggest and best changes that I made were the introduction of PT for glute engagement and 3 servings of nut butter a day (peanut butter for me). The healthy fats helped with my recovery and the PT kept me prehabbed!

  2. Ellie says

    October 25, 2016 at 6:32 am

    I’ve been loving the new peanut butter filled Clif Bars for a mid-afternoon snack. I do love the peanuts though! Once I found salt and vinegar peanuts, I thought I died and went to heaven :-)

  3. Jodi says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:30 am

    Oh my gosh, I seriously have never thought of peanuts as a recovery snack!!! THANK YOU!! And I didn’t realize the fun flavors!!! PICK ME! :)

    And thanks for more exercises!!

    • Jodi says

      October 25, 2016 at 9:31 am

      Oops, I didn’t answer the questions: Favorite recovery snack; Banana and chocolate milk.
      Injuries: You’ve covered them all with me :) LOVE YOU

  4. Laura @ This Runner's Recipes says

    October 25, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    I love making my own peanut butter to enjoy after a run. I definitely think healthy fats and Pilates have kept me from getting running-related injuries. Prehab and diet make a difference!

  5. Allie says

    October 25, 2016 at 12:56 pm

    First off – I couldn’t agree more about the peanuts! Why complicate things, right? Just grab and GO! And I love all the stretches/exercises you showed because they really are effective. Great stuff, as always.
    #pinnedit

  6. Eri says

    October 25, 2016 at 1:13 pm

    I always tell myself, Eat Right Not Less because it’s important to not lower the calorie intake (since when I was running, I was burning a lot more than right now) but to eat the right kind of foods. I still did give myself some slack and I’d have some ice cream here and there or malasadas, or spanish rolls, or all of those buttery sugary stuff but I’d keep it to just one and not so often.

    I’m still having a hard time getting in that time to ice and rest when I did feel that little bit of pain in my knee but I think I will be much better at it now than ever knowing how it sucks to just sit on the sideline as you mentioned.

    Great post :)
    I love all the stretches/exercises you mentioned above.

    • amanda says

      October 26, 2016 at 10:43 am

      Words of wisdom!!! too many women focus on less and not right, which leads to so many issues!

  7. Sandra Laflamme says

    October 25, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    I currently love recovering with Skratch Labs Recovery mix and cheese and a banana. Love these exercises. Great tips!

  8. Taylor Kiser says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    Love Planters peanuts! Great routine of stretches/exercises!

  9. Rebecca | NOURISHED. the blog says

    October 25, 2016 at 7:57 pm

    I love peanuts! Who knew they could be such a great recovery snack too?! I love the sounds of those caramel peanuts too – I will have to check those out for sure. Love your video too!!

  10. Alisa @ Go Dairy Free says

    October 25, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    This is great! If my injuries ever heal, I’ll definitely try some of these to help prevent them from happening yet again!

    • amanda says

      October 26, 2016 at 10:42 am

      Sorry to hear you’re still dealing with injuries! You know you can hit me up if I am of any help ever!

  11. Emily says

    October 26, 2016 at 4:14 am

    Peanuts are the perfect snack! And I love how portable they are, you can leave a container in your car and always have a Healthy option no matter where you go ?

  12. Maria says

    October 26, 2016 at 6:05 am

    For some reason I never seem to have peanuts in my house, but I have no problem sticking a spoon in a jar of natural peanut butter ;)

    • amanda says

      October 26, 2016 at 10:41 am

      I don’t discriminate when it comes to nuts…whole, creamy, chunky, spoon, in a dish, whatever!

  13. Laura says

    October 26, 2016 at 7:08 am

    I eat peanut butter after I workout….does that count?! LOL! I really need to get better at stretching! Especially during this pregnancy…the hormone relaxin is coursing through my body and I have pulled a few muscles doing regular daily activities! LOL!

    • amanda says

      October 26, 2016 at 10:42 am

      I’m going to say yes it totally counts :) Hormones make such a crazy difference in how our bodies feel!!

  14. Trainer Paige says

    October 26, 2016 at 9:15 am

    Love the video!! I need to replace my running shoes here quickly…
    I find a whey protein shake w/ quick carbs like maple syrup or dates works wonders for me!

  15. Sonali- The Foodie Physician says

    October 26, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    I love Planters peanuts and the caramel variety is such a yummy treat! Thanks for the great tips and info!

  16. Meg @ With Salt and Wit says

    October 26, 2016 at 7:02 pm

    I sure do love me some peanuts so I am happy to hear they are a good recovery food! I already have a banana and peanut butter, so now looks like I will be enjoy some crunch with the peanuts after my workout!

  17. Laura @ Sprint 2 the Table says

    October 27, 2016 at 11:01 pm

    These are great suggestions… any timely! I’ve been having crazy tightness in my hamstring while running lately. I need to learn to baby myself a little more.

  18. Julie @ Running in a Skirt says

    October 30, 2016 at 12:12 pm

    What a great group of exercises! I don’t do enough of these and I could really go for some peanuts right now :-)

  19. Jack says

    October 31, 2016 at 10:30 am

    Thanks for your sharing. I really appreciate the detailed exercise postures to prevent injury. They are so helpful. Waiting for your other postings.

  20. Emily says

    November 7, 2016 at 2:03 am

    Coolll !!! I just heard that peanut butter provide a hude source of protein but never heard that it could reduce injures before :) Your post is so helpful cause it makes use of the peanut butter jag at my home haha :D Thank you for the exercise too :)

  21. Danny Dreyer says

    May 24, 2017 at 10:56 am

    I came to a point that I don’t want to run because of my foot injury but after reading this reading I might run again. What is your fovorite exercise here so will try it first.

  22. bethan taylor-swaine says

    May 9, 2020 at 3:33 am

    Thank you for making so much noise about the fact that running doesn’t have to equal injury! xx

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SHARE THE ONE that resonates most with you. 🏃‍♀️🏃🏾🏃🏽‍♂️
 
It’s true, I’ll never stop talking about the warm up 😂. But right now the idea that running is HOPEFUL really strikes a chord.💜
 
We show up mile after mile always looking to what’s ahead and what’s possible.
 
Which one hits home for you?
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#runningmotivation #runninginspiration #medalmonday #fitnessmemes #runningmemes #runningquotes #runnerslife #runnerlife
AVOID HITTING THE WALL (save this and review befor AVOID HITTING THE WALL (save this and review before races) -AKA  Bonking. UK friends giggle at that, but it’s a term just like fartlek.
.
It’s that painful moment when your mind tells your legs to stop and it feels like there’s nothing you can do to turn the tides. It leaves emotional scars!🥵
 
WHAT TO DO!
1️⃣Train differently - seems obvious, but consistent training that follows a plan which progressively and smartly builds your miles and strength and speed...ya it works.
 
2️⃣Fuel, fuel, fuel - force yourself to eat before races and long runs even if not hungry.
.
Starting fueling sooner than you think you need to and keep doing it. During races your body is running on more carbs and needs that steady flow of energy. 
.
🧠 Your brain functions on CARBS, stop depriving it or it will tell you to stop running. If food while running is an issue for you, checkout something like @genucan.
 
3️⃣Pacing - Stop going out too fast because you’re excited, it absolutely catches up to you. Ideal is even pacing start to finish.
 
4️⃣Pay attention to your brain. @fitzgerald.matt in How Bad Do You Want it does a great job of showing how the brain can limit performance if you don’t know what’s happening up there.
 
5️⃣Recover better - Stop over training and give your body tools to help it destress from all the work...the best one is SLEEP. I also love @resiliencecbd to help with nerves prior to a race and quality sleep during training.
 
❓❓Helpful?? Have more race day questions?? Or an epic story of hitting the wall?? I wanna know.❓❓
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Thanks to @moxie82co for capturing this weird moment, it worked great for this post.
HIT THOSE HIPS!!! I’ve given you a couple hip mo HIT THOSE HIPS!!! I’ve given you a couple hip mobility workouts, now we add strength!
//
🥳For the next 30 days in the Virtual Run Club we’ll be going hard on all the pre-hab work for hips, glutes and abs. Because running isn’t just about the miles.
//
That’s one of the reasons I’ve been consistently doing @insidetracker bloodwork since 2015.
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It’s helped me identify low Vitamin D causing fatigue or catch my wayyy high cortisol to embrace easy runs as key part of the process.
📌 (Save this post because the last screen has a 25% off discount code and you can get free access to the 30 Day March Challenge.)
👉LINK IN BIO FOR BOTH
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3 CORE MOVES
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You can use these as a progression or do all three, they’ll target the hips, glutes and core in different ways with each variation.
 
Aim for 15 reps prior to a run or do multiple rounds as part of a workout!
 
1️⃣Side Plank Kneeling Hip Raise - Really focus on your core engaging to raise up and keeping your elbow under your shoulder.
 
2️⃣Side Plank Kneeling Leg Raise - Again core should be tight to keep hips lifted, not sagging towards the ground. Then focus on your hip and glute to raise the top leg.
 
3️⃣Straight Leg Side Plank Leg Raise - Engage the core to keep hips high and press the bottom foot in to the ground to really engage your glutes. Slow and steady to remain stable while raising and lowering top leg.
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Talk to me!!!
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👉👉Me to all 3! And more info in stories!
 
 
 
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Just run.
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