- Morning, Trainiacs.
Just a gingerly dusting of snow last night.
I don't want to jinx us,
but I think it's actually getting kind of warm outside.
So for today's act, fatbike, brick run,
and then y'all have been going nuts
about wondering what I'm doing for rehab exercises.
We're gonna focus on the side-bum today.
(upbeat music)
We'll throw in a little bit of tunes,
insulated water bottle.
Neck warmer, such a good look.
Bring you guys along, super-slick shades, and my bucket.
And that, pals, is how you fatbike.
Hopefully I don't fall. Let's roll.
(funky music)
Didn't fall, however, took a very hard beaner, right there.
I think I'm gonna do some glute med rehab
activation work before I get on the run.
Now, when you do a brick workout,
it's key to make sure that your body's
still warm as you're starting the run.
You don't want to bike, cool down, and then run.
So normally I go through this glute med workout twice.
I'm gonna go through it once, run, and then do it again.
So here's what was found about
the pain in my heel and my Achilles.
As I run, apparently I land
and my knee turns in, like my femur turns in.
And we did a bunch of tests with the physiotherapist,
and he was like, "Your glute med,
"right there, is basically nothing."
And this is really common for a lot of people.
So when you're thinking, "Hey, I've got Achilles problems.
"I'm gonna do what Taren's doing here," don't do that.
The foot structure, the Achilles,
basically everything from the knee down
is so minute and fine, like tiny little muscle groups,
that odds are very good that what I'm suffering from
is not what you're suffering from,
if you've got Achilles or heel pain.
However, if you sit at a desk,
if you don't have a background in a sport
that's like skiing, where you're pushing off to the side,
or skating, where you're pushing off to the side
and developing that side-bum glute med,
you can benefit from glute med exercises.
Basically, general society has weak side-bums,
because we just sit and we don't have
any reason to move side to side.
So here's the routine.
So I start with 10 raises, five different ways.
So the first one is point the toe,
plantar fa flex, raise your leg, dorsi flex,
bring it back up to you, and come down.
And I am trying to, as I'm doing this,
focus on having my foot in behind me, and mentally,
think that I've got to activate here before I start, so.
The next one is to point the toe up and do the same thing.
Make sure the foot is behind me,
hips are stacked vertically,
and I'm activating that side-bum.
Same thing with the toe pointed down.
Now, circles one way and circles the other way.
10 of each of these on both sides.
Next movement is very hip-thrusty.
Instead of just doing a side bridge like that,
I'm doing a side bridge that simulates running.
So, start with top hand out, raise your hips,
and at the same time, do a running motion.
So 10 of these.
Thrust your pelvis, six,
and thrust your pelvis, seven.
Thrust your pelvis, eight,
and thrust your pelvis, nine.
Other side.
Now here's the one that's very Achilles-specific.
If you google "Achilles exercises,"
you are almost certainly going to
come up with eccentric heel drops.
So this is pushing up with both toes,
and then lowering with one leg, very slowly.
I do this 15 times with each leg,
but here is the key to it that I've since learned,
between the podiatrist and the physiotherapist.
I am lifting up right now on a weight plate,
so that I can go past 90 degrees and get a good stretch.
However, when the pain was right down
at the insertion point, so like at the base of the heel,
the podiatrist said if it's close to the insertion point,
within about two centimeters
of the insertion point of a tendon,
you don't want to be stressing it past 90 degrees.
You don't want to be stretching it,
because that insertion point
is inflamed and it's gonna be tugging.
So now that the inflammation is more in
what you would traditionally think of as the Achilles,
I can go past 90 degrees.
But at the start, I was just doing it on flat ground.
How many is that?
After I do that, I want to do some stretching.
I want to make sure that I'm not getting tugging
that's causing inflammation from the back of my calf.
Exercises that are meant to stretch,
otherwise known as stretches, some people say
it should be held for 30 seconds, a few times.
But science has actually shown
that to actually lengthen a muscle, long-term,
you need to hold it for three minutes, five times a week.
And it'll take probably about three months to see
actually long-term lengthening going on.
Things like this toe up, or I'll hold
something like that for three minutes.
Next thing is the single-leg stability movements, like so.
And I do 10 of these.
Big tip, focus on what you're doing
and don't let your mind wander.
If you're wobbling around, you are not building stability.
And the last thing that I do is a foot stretch.
Get into a bit of a tailor stretch here.
Take the palm of your hand, press it
right into that big toe, and pull back as hard as you can.
Hold this for about 30 seconds,
just to develop a little bit of mobility,
especially before the run.
So now we run, walk-run, specifically.
(upbeat music)
So it was 3.7 miles, 5.95,
just about 6K in 33 minutes.
Now we go back and do the second of a total of three,
over the course of a day, of those glute med exercises.
So I very strongly recommend that you don't do
this exact routine if you're experiencing foot problems.
Like I say, it's so specific
that you have to deal with a physiotherapist.
What I will recommend, however, is,
you know what, I'll actually include it
in the race season strength program.
So if you go to triathlontaren.com/raceseaonstrength,
the link will be in the description below,
and I will include a bunch of glute med
exercises that you can choose from,
because everyone should be doing glute med exercises,
regardless of whatever pain you've got.
'Cause we're all either just injured or in between injuries.
Tell you, those glute med activation exercises
before the run certainly help me
feel pushing with my legs instead of pulling,
and being able to activate my glutes and lean forward.
Felt easier to run a fast pace.
So go to that website in the description below.
Also check out the Triathlon Taren podcast
if you like interviews with pros and in-the-street people.
Also check out the Triathlon Trainiask podcast
if you want just a every-weekday triathlon tip.
And make sure you subscribe.
Thanks, Trainiacs.
I am sweaty.
Later.