About the time leading up to the Arches Run at the end of July, only a week before the Nike Half, I noticed that my glutes were really bothering me. They've never really been a problem before, but I definitely noticed discomfort in them for a couple of weeks before the Arches Run and it really did affect my running. They were very tight and almost impossible to stretch out. I guess you never realize the effect certain muscle groups have on your running until they start to hurt. I didn't know what to do to alleviate the discomfort. I stepped up my foam roller regimen and increased my "tennis ball against the wall exercises" (which are great ways, but very intense, to put pinpoint pressure on those hard to reach and stretch muscles) . Although I was doing these things every day, the discomfort didn't seem to dissipate.
So I decided, maybe I should go and get a sports massage. Maybe that will break up a bunch of the tight tissue and will allow me to start for a base in which my muscles were a lot looser and much easier to stretch. So I took my own advice and had a sports massage at Eastside Massage Therapy on 7/27/07. I made sure to tell the therapist that I didn't need any work done on my upper body, but to use most of of the hour to concentrate on my glutes, hips and legs. Although it was a bit taxing, the massage loosened up my muscles a great deal and allowed me to stretch a lot deeper than I was able to a couple weeks before.
After the massage, I make sure to stretch out my glutes both before and after running. I don't want them to revert to what they were a month or two ago. Even though my glutes were much looser, there was still discomfort when I ran. I realized that the feeling in my glutes was very much like the feeling I had in my legs a few years ago (a dull constan pain/discomfort - I felt the need to flex the muscles in order to make them feel better). My quads were diagnosed as being weak so I figured that there was a chance that my glutes were weak and that they needed some strengthening. While I do some light strength training on my quads and hamstrings every week, I never do anything strictly for my glutes and I guess this is someone's way of telling me to do some glute specific strength excercises. So I went online to find out a couple exercises to strengthen my problem area. I have now incorporated some simple exercises that I can do as part of my regular routine (I found the hip extensions and the bridge exercises pretty helpful). In addition, I found out that one good side effect of strengthening your glutes is that it also opens up your hip flexors considerably. Since I've been regularly doing exercises to strengthen my glutes, I've found that my hip flexors are tremendously looser and more flexible than I can ever remember (at least in the last 3 or 4 years) and I am able to lunge so that my knee almost touches the floor. Whether it the foam roller, tennis ball routine, the massage or the strenghthening exercises, things seem to be moving in a positive direction. Now I just have to keep them all up.
Below are some sites for exercise ideas...
http://exercise.about.com/od/butthipsthighs/tp/butt.htm
http://www.shapefit.com/butt-exercises-glute-kickbacks.html
http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/lower-back-injuries.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/stars/springtrack2000/training/10strengthtraining.html
http://www.coretherapy.com/health_news/articles_feature_exercise_the_bridge.html
http://www.trainwithmeonline.com/exercise_161_Single_Leg_Glute_Bridge_on_Bench.html
http://www.workoutz.com/exercise/supine_hip_raise_stability_ball
http://www.bodyresults.com/E2gluteusMedius.asp
http://bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.php?MainMuscle=Glutes
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2 comments:
Great blog...thanks for all the exercise insight. Will need it if i'm going do well running NYCM this year. Thanks again.
Thanks - glad the websites are useful for you. They've helped me out a lot so far. Good luck with your training.
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