Fitness Friday: Post-Run Routines {Part 1}

After taking a running hiatus for most of July and August due to some minor knee pain, I started doing some specific things after each run to help prevent this from happening again.

Now, I'm no expert. I just wanted to share what has been working for me.

First, I found this on Pinterest.



It's an article from Runner's World, so it must be good advice, right? :-) Basically, do legs lifts.

3 different varieties.

Each variety 10 times per leg.

Honestly, I think this feels quite amazing, so I'm sure it's doing lots of good. These legs lifts really focus on strengthening both your hamstrings and quads, which, in turn, helps protect your knees.

Several weeks later, I came across some very helpful advice over at RunToTheFinish.



From Amanda, I decided to incorporate 3 more exercises - single leg squats, back lunges with knee raises, and hip bridges - to my post-run routine. The video in her posts breaks down these moves very nicely in an easy to follow manner. These 3 exercises focus on strengthening to your glutes in order to help prevent IT band issues.

Isn't it funny great how interconnected the body is? When something is out of whack, it's likely not the whole story.

After doing these exercises, I do a few stretches. I don't know the names of them and couldn't find any perfect pictures with a cursory Google search. My goal for next week is to snap some pics of me doing these stretches and do a follow-up post next Friday.

In the meantime, today marks TWO WEEKS UNTIL RAGNAR!!

Most of my teammates are Ragnar-newbies, but there are a few veterans. Am I considered a veteran if I've only done one?
- I've nearly got my all my awesome 80s workout gear ready.
- I feel relatively prepared for the running.
- I'm getting to know some of my teammates via Facebook.

Everything seems to be coming together, so we've decided to up the ante of this race. In addition to the challenge of running 3 legs around the Vegas Valley, we've decided to join the ranks of the inaugural Balderdash teams. As a team, we have committed to raising at least $840 to assist in the fight against childhood cancer.

We are raising money to help 2 great charities -- It Ain't Chemo and Climb For Five. To learn more about It Ain't Chemo visit their website www.itaintchemo.com. Or check out Climb For Five at their site www.climbforfive.com.

If you'd like to donate, you can visit my fundraising page and click on the big orange button on the right. If you're unable to donate at this time, please share this post or my fundraising page to anyone you feel might be willing to help make a difference in the lives of those suffering from childhood cancer (or their families). Thank you in advance for your generosity.

What are your post-run routines?
How are you celebrating fitness today?
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