My Top Two Recomendations to Help You Recover Your Stride

This is my 100th post on Recover Your Stride. I have worked extremely hard at becoming a better runner or should I say I have worked hard at becoming a runner that can run pain free, injury free, be more balanced, and run with a more correct running stride. I have tried a lot of different ideas throughout the year and at one point was ready to quit because of the ongoing problem with my hips and left side. The past few months I have have really progressed and I have put together some routines that have allowed my running to feel so much smoother and to start bringing back the balance that I have not had in my running stride for over 20 years. So this 100th post on my blog will begin to highlight the 10 best things I have learned, tried ,or discovered this year. A year that is ending on a high note as just about every run I do now feels so much better than I have felt while running in years. I am getting to the point where running feels fun and free again, rather than it being a daily battle to see if i can get out the door and run in a way that doesn't hurt or feel uncomfortable.

I will start with my two favorite things I have discovered this year. Both have given me a lot of control over how my body feels and responds to running as well as they have both left me feeling so much better in my daily life. My legs are already so much looser and smoother as I continue to implement the changes brought on by working on my muscles and connective tissues. My stride feels so much lighter and younger and my joints, particularly my hips, do not feel so tight, old, and stuck in place.

I will continue in further posts with recoomendations 2-10 as well as where I think I am going next year: as I have a few things in mind and am starting to generate a "plan" for next year. That would be a first because in most recent years I have just been trying to make my body recover my stride but it was always so haphazard and I had no control. I think I am now getting to where I have control over the imbalances in my body so that I can start building on that to further enjoy running (even into my 50's). And hopefully race fast too!

Number 1
The Ming Method found in "The Permanent Pain Cure" by Ming Chew

"The Permanent Pain Cure" is the most recent book I have read and I am using bits of it on top off everything else I am doing as well as still exploring everything else in the book. I wasn't sure if I should recommend something so recent as my top choice of the year. But I think that this book has the most bang for the buck.

What I like about the program that Ming sets forth is that it is fairly comprehensive in that he covers a lot of ground. It covers stretching, strength work, and eating and hydration, but what I find most noteworthy are the self-therapy releases (based on ART) , the spinal decompression work, and the stretches for the fascia. I have not seen these things put into a general book that make them easy to understand and use. Particularly I like his releases based on ART (Active Release Technique). These up the notch a bit for people who use foam rollers, tennis balls, or elbows to a different level because you move your muscles to achieve a stretch and break up scar tissue. It is so much more effective. It has done a great job on my hamstrings and quads and allows them to loosen up and improve my running stride.

I am still playing around with the releases as well as thinking up some of my own based on the techniques. For example there are no calf and lower leg releases in the book. Last night I took out my TP Massage roller and spent just a couple of minutes on my lower leg just beneath my calf. Instead of just rolling my muscle up and down the roller, I held my leg in place and twisted and turned my foot and ankle around and back and forth. This not only loosened my leg up, I felt the effect up into my hip and lower back as they loosened up also. The most interesting thing was when I did my right lower leg, I felt the stiffness at the bottom of my right heel in certain positions. This is where I thought I might be getting plantar fasciitis in the summer. So there might be a tightness in my lower leg's muscles and tendons that could be contributing to the problem near my heel.

Here are my previous posts where I reviewed or commented on this book. I consider it a great resource for athletes (or non-athletes) using some newer techniques that they might want to try.

Stretching Your Fascia Using "The Permanent Pain Cure"

How to Release Your Hamstrings with a Tennis Ball

Number 2
Resistance Stretching

Static stretching has never worked for me. Right at the point where I was about to give up on my running this summer I took out a book I had bought a couple of years earlier. The book was "The Genius of Flexibility" by Bob Cooley. I had quickly looked at the book when I bought it and tried a few of the stretches. Unfortunately I had never read "how" Bob Cooley wanted the stretches to work. I had never used resistance against the stretches. I tried a few stretches after "reading" some of the book this time and noticed something happening that was not happening with other stretches I had tried. I read more and realized this was the method used by Dara Torres on her incredible return to the 2008 Olympics. Upon exploring resistance stretching more (you provide resistance against the stretch) I found it started loosening up my hips and muscles so that running started to become easier again.

Besides reading through the book I bought two different resistance stretching videos. One was Bob Cooley's "The Genius of Flexibility 1.0" and then as soon as it was released I got the Dara Torres Resistance Stretching Video from Innovative Body Solutions. Both DVDs are cheap and go through a 20 minute resistance stretching routine. Some stretches are different on the two DVDs so I mix up which one I use.

I also went to a resistance stretcher named Janet. She worked on my muscles and gave me some stretches and tips on how to do the stretches. I have not had the opportunity to go back as it can be expensive, but I wish I could go for a few more sessions as it felt great to have this work done on my muscles. She was able to stretch my legs and hips in many different ways that I would never be able to duplicate on my own. Resistance stretching has worked great for me and it might be just the type of stretching and strength work (it helps in that department too) to get your body untangled and running smoothly again.

Here is Bob Cooley's book:

You can go to Innovative Body Solutions to order the Dara Torres video or order through Amazon:

or you can go to Meridian Stretching to order "The Genius of Flexibility 1.0" DVD

I have had many posts on resistance stretching.

Resistance Stretching: This is what Dara Torres does!

More on Resistance Stretching

The Genius of Flexibility Video 1.0 Review

More on the Dara Torres Resistance Stretching DVD

The Growing Influence of Resistance Stretching

SNAP!!! What in the World was That? OK don't stretch too hard!!!

Hold Steady and Stay Positive After getting stretched by a professional.

Partner Resistance Stretching

Improving a Hamstring Stretch

Plus I am sure I touched on how resistance stretching has helped my running in many other posts.

Let me know if you try any of these methods and the results you get as I am curious as to how they work on other runners.

Good Stretching for the Hips

Here is a resistance stretch that I really like although I don't have the flexibility that Luther from flexiblestrength.org demonstrates in this video. This is called the gall bladder stretch but it stretches the hip and outer leg.

Here is an interesting and similar stretch that may be modified to use as a resistance stretch. I like how the non-stretching leg is held against a wall to keep the hips from rotating. Dave Schmitt calls it the #1 stretch to eliminate low back pain.

Here is a fascinating video of Bob Cooley author of "The Genius of Flexibility" doing some pretty hard-core and advanced resistance stretching. The stretches are on the arms and fingers. I would like to see him perform some work on legs and hips. It looks unusual, sort of like working on human clay, but that is because the person being stretched resists against the stretch. When the person pushes back against Bob's stretching then they are getting a strength workout. One direction is a stretch, the other is a strengthening workout. It is pretty interesting, but I don't know what he is talking about the first minute or so; I guess he is referring to positive results from the stretching because he links stretching to personality awareness.

I have only done my Z-Health drills sporadically lately. I did receive my weekly training tip from Dr. Eric Cobb of Z-Health and it was something new that I never heard or noticed before when doing these joint mobility drills. He writes,

"If you are struggling with any particular Z-Health drill, have a seat. One of the things that many people overlook in Z-Health is that you are not required to perform the exercises standing in neutral stance.

You want to begin to think about the Z-Health drills simply as templates -- you can perform them seated, lying down, on your stomach, on your back, or on your side. Make sure that you explore the exercises in different positions because they will have very different effects.

Many of our happiest clients feel that the greatest benefits from Z-Health drills came about when they began applying the drills to their everyday situations. The office worker who practices Z-Health while seated will often see a fantastic effect from that during the course of their normal day.

Keep Moving,

Dr. Cobb"

Maybe I will take a second and new look at some of the drills and see if a seated or lying down position will help. At least it will give some variety. You can sign up for the weekly tips at the Z-Health website. You can listen to an interview with Dr. Cobb here. Here is an interesting article called "The Body is a Unit" that tells why Z-Health focuses on mobilizing and coordinating all the joints in the body. You can find out more about Z-Health here:

The Genius of Flexibility Video 1.0 Review

Yesterday the DVD I ordered showing how to do resistance stretching finally arrived. I wrote about resistance (or meridian stretching) here: Resistance Stretching: This is what Dara Torres does! and here: More on Resistance Stretching. This DVD is the one I ordered from Bob Cooley's Website: Meridian Flexibility Center. What little I have learned in the past couple of weeks about Resistance stretching I have learned from from Bob Cooley's book The Genius of Flexibility and the few web sites and videos I have posted in the above two blog entries. This information gave me a start but reading and seeing pictures in a book is not always the best way to learn a stretch, particularly ones that are so new and different. That is where this DVD comes in handy.

The Genius of Flexibility DVD 1.0 includes instructions for 16 stretches for level 1 stretching (you can do them by yourself). Seeing the stretches and hearing the instruction make the stretches easy to understand and accomplish. I could easily do all 16 stretches while watching the DVD for the first time. I never tried them all when reading the book. If was easy to see the movements, the exertion levels, and the range of motion to shoot for when stretching. Two people would demonstrate each stretch. The stretchers looked athletic and like normal people. There was no new age music playing in the background as the stretches were demonstrated. Overall the instructions were easy to follow and I didn't have to be concerned about doing the stretches in a wrong way. The stretches can also be played one by one or in a 20 minute stretching workout. While I don't usually worry about stretching some of the muscles in the video it felt good doing some stretches like the ones for the shoulders. I will definitely keep using the video and should be able to transfer what I learned about resistance stretching to other similar stretches. One thing I wonder about is that I don't think any of stretches are geared towards some muscles that runners use a lot, like the calves of anything below the knee. I might be wrong about this and more advanced stretches may work these areas but I would really like to see a calf and soleus stretch using this method. The DVD was more about the stretching and did not get into all the meridians and the psycological and emotional parts of the stretching that the book gets into. You will have to read the book if that is your interest.

In addition to the stretching routines there is an introduction to resistance stretching, some testimonials including Dara Torres, some previews of more advanced DVDs that use partners or equipment and other information. For the price of $20 plus postage I think the DVD is a great purchase if you want to check out resistance stretching. It is so very different from any other stretching routine you may have tried so it is worth seeing it on DVD to get a good handle of the technique. I have ordered another DVD from Innovative Body Solutions but it is not shipping until the end of the month. It sells for the same price and I hope to learn more about resistance stretching and see some different stretches. It is put out by the stretchers who work on Dara Torres. I believe they also helped on the DVD I just reviewed.

So far I am finding more range of motion in my hips and a better balance when running since undertaking resistance stretching. It really seems to start getting out the junk and tightness that is in my hips and is starting to loosen up things more. I also think my stride is lengthening again as my hips are not so tight! Other stretching routines, particularly static stretching where you try to pull and stretch a relaxed muscle, often leave me tight and sometimes in worse shape them before I stretched because it pulls things out of alignment. Resistance stretching, on the other hand, does not leave me stiff or sore, even though so much force is generated as you stretch. This is a marvel to me as it is not what I would expect from such a routine. I even do the stretches before I run and my legs feel fresher because of it.

If I can get this stretching working correctly I feel it may help me in my quest to recover my stride. I have now run three days in a row. I did 8 miles Monday and again on Tuesday (although both heels were a little sore after that run). Today we had a track workout. We were supposed to do 5 miles on the track (yech!) at marathon pace. I finished in exactly 33:00 minutes which is a 1 1/2 minutes faster than the Bil Luti 5 miler I did in July and I was running much more efficiently. I friend even said I looked much smoother in my stride as I was running and if that is true I am pleased. The timed 5 miler was the longest paced run I have done on the track since college when I did a 50 mile solo run once. Fortunately the workout went quicker after the first 2 miles. I have to admire the people who race 10,000 meters on the track. That is a lot of laps!