Today, Coach Sandi Nypaver is going to guide you through some strength tests that you can do at home to check whether your body is evenly balanced or if there’s anything you need to work on. Many of these tests are similar to what a physical therapist might have you do, but she’ll help you learn how to perform them yourself and understand what to look for.
At home, self-performed strength tests help to see if there’s anything you need to work on to keep your body functioning optimally. As a runner it’s important both sides of your body show up equally and this newsletter will help you do that. If you’re in pain it’s always good to go see a doctor and/or specialist, preferably one who is well trusted by runners. If there is something you need to work on (I certainly have a lot to work on!) don’t view it as a bad thing. It’s a good challenge and the process can be rewarding when you notice improvements.
Let’s get started:
🥇: The Bridge Test Alright, the first exercise is a simple glute bridge. Make sure your back is flat on the floor and keep your pelvis stable in this position. Raise your arms so they don’t assist you, and then lift your hips straight up.
What you’re checking for is whether you can maintain proper alignment of your pelvis. If you feel your pelvis drop, take note. Also, pay attention to where you feel the effort. Are you feeling it in your glutes or your hamstrings, or both? Ideally, you should feel it in your glutes, and even a little in your hamstrings. That’s a good sign.
a. Test Questions: What muscles do you feel working the most? Does your pelvis drop or can you keep it stable? Does one side feel different than the other? Do you need to work on strength and/or activation?
b. Goals: Work towards keeping your pelvis stable and having your glutes take on most of the load. It’s okay if you feel your hamstring working a little, but your hamstring should not take on more work than your glutes.
Bonus Tip: Keep your spine stable. You should not be feeling this in your lower back.
🥈: The Squat Test Now, let’s do a squat test. And note that I’m using a hiking pole here – you’ll want something similar. First, make sure your spine is neutral, and align your toes with the bar of the chair. From there, try to squat down.
What you’re checking for is whether your knees want to move forward, preventing you from going lower. If that happens, it’s a sign you’re relying too much on your quads. What you want is to get your butt back while keeping a neutral spine and maintaining a good hip hinge.
If you’re using your quads more than your glutes, you’ll struggle to go down. Instead, aim to engage your glutes and keep that hip hinge, which is important when you’re running as well.
a. Test Questions: If you place a chair or box in front of your toes, do you find it hard to squat/does it feel unnatural? What muscles do you feel working the most, your quads or glutes?
b. Goals: Get that booty back and working! You may feel your quads working, but you want to aim for a glute dominant squat. Get the hip-hinge pattern right, keeping the spine stable.
Bonus Tip: Our bodies like the neuromuscular patterns we already have formed. Some of you will be able to do this exercise without being able to apply to your running right away. Keep working at it. You’ll get there!
🥉: The Single Leg Squat This is a typical single-leg squat. The key here is to compare how each leg moves.
Now, what you want to avoid is your knee collapsing inward or moving too far out to the side. Try to keep everything aligned, engaging your glutes and even a bit of your knee as you come up.
Focus on your knee position and check if you’re using both legs in the same way. Again, you don’t want your knee to collapse inward as you squat down. Keep your legs straight and make sure you’re engaging your glutes on both the way up and down.
a. Test Questions: What muscles do you feel working the most? Does your foot/ankle feel stable (can you balance here)? Does your knee want to collapse in? Is there a difference between sides?
b. Goals:
i. You want good lateral hip stability, so your knee should aim in the direction of your toes, not inward. This motion is controlled by your hips.
ii. Feel stable in your feet and ankles, keeping your weight even distributed in your foot tripod. It should not feel like all your weight is in your heel or forefoot.
These are just a few simple strength tests you can do right at home, either with the help of a friend or family member watching you, or by videotaping yourself to see how you’re moving. As you do these exercises, make sure to pay attention to which muscles you’re engaging!
I hope these tests help you gauge your strengths and weaknesses. Happy running!
Our pawsitivity coach, Pacer, has been giving us advice for years, so we thought it was only right to turn the newsletter spotlight on her for this week!
Hey, come play!
Train less.
Don’t worry, you can run the same mileage.
We just want you to enjoy it more, stress a little less.
Why? Because when we’re always training, or running to get better, we might start attaching running and performance to our identity. And when we attach how we run to our identity, we can actually release stress hormones through our body that can negatively affect our health and well-being.
When we instead run to play, we can still practice good form and we can train to get faster and stronger, but we attach to the outcome less, which frees our mind and our body to move how it wants to, enables us to enjoy life and running more, and improves our health and well-being. (And honestly- I hesitate to say this so we don’t reattach, but this can actually improve performance.)
As an added bonus, research has now made it evident that exercise encourages neuroplasticity, making post run or workout a great time to focus on the thoughts you want to think and the beliefs you want to embody. Adding PLAY (described by David Hanscom, MD as a “mindset of curiosity, deep gratitude, listening, anticipation, awareness…”) can increase your sense of safety (reduce anxiety) and release oxytocin (love/bonding hormone) and potentially reduce inflammation!!!
Practical Application:
Still want to train for the fall race? Of course! We’ve got you.
Make play your INTENTION for runs. Even workouts are a chance to be curious, grateful, and present to your experience.
The race is your GOAL, secondary to your intention. Your joy is not dependent on the goal, but the goal is a helpful magnet to increase your desire to put joy and play at the forefront of your life.
It might take time to shift your brain from outcome based performance to play, and that’s okay. You might want to save this post and re-read it each week for a reminder.
*Play and work are two sides of the same coin. Mindset is the main difference between what you choose to experience.
Difficult workouts can be scary, but they don’t have to be.
Workouts that push us out of our comfort zones can often feel intimidating, especially when they involve endurance and speed. These types of workouts—long efforts mixed with speed—are often the ones that stir up the most fear among runners. The distance, the pacing, the uncertainty of how your body will respond can be daunting!
Today, Coach Sandi Nypaver gives you a few things to think about if you get too worked up before key workout or interval session.
The Root Issue:
When I talk to a lot of the athletes I coach, the conversation often turns to why certain workouts feel so daunting. Often, it’s because they’re worrying about things that are out of their control or they’re fixated on how much it’s going to hurt. It’s easy to get stuck in that mindset—focusing on the negatives.
But in my opinion, what it really comes down to is shifting that focus. Instead of thinking about the discomfort or the fear, frame it in a way where you instead recognize that this type of workout is exactly what’s going to propel you toward your goals. These sessions aren’t just tough physically; they build mental resilience, too.
It’s about seeing each challenge as a step forward, not just something to endure.
Take long run workouts as an example—they demand a lot of mental focus and require you to have confidence in your ability to stay strong as the workout progresses. That’s what I remind my athletes when we approach these longer sessions!
Mindset Matters:
It’s important to remember that you can feel strong during the workout, and when you do, it feels incredible. But so many people fixate on how bad they might feel, rather than focusing on how great they can feel when everything clicks. When you start to feel yourself slip into these thought patterns, it becomes even more important to focus on something good.
And if the workout doesn’t go as planned, that’s perfectly okay. One of the things I always tell my athletes is that failure isn’t a big deal—it’s part of the process. In fact, it’s expected. Every setback is an opportunity to learn and come back stronger.
Failing a Workout:
I’ll take the thought of failing one step further! If you’re not failing, you’re probably not pushing yourself hard enough or setting goals that truly challenge you. In my book, failing a workout is no big deal. It’s just part of the process when you’re trying to perform at your best. When a workout doesn’t go well, instead of dwelling on it, reflect on why. Were you too tired? Did something feel off physically? Or maybe you mentally sold yourself short before even starting?
All of these factors play a role, and when a workout doesn’t go as planned, you take what you can from it. Learn from the experience, and then move on. It’s part of the journey, and better workouts are always ahead. Over the years as a runner, I’ve experienced ups and downs, with plenty of failed workouts along the way. But that’s just part of the game. Each failure is a steppingstone toward the next success.
My challenge for you for, then, when facing a tough workout and not quite feeling up to it, is to shift your mindset. Instead of focusing on the pressure or the potential struggle, tell yourself, “I’m just going to give it a shot and do my best today.” By approaching it this way, you take off some of the mental burden. And who knows? If it goes well, it could end up being a huge boost for both your progress and confidence. Just giving it a try could be all you need to turn things around.
For today’s newsletter, Coach Sandi Nypaver gives you a few of her favorite active release techniques!
Ideally, these active release techniques should be the first part of your warm-up; whether you’re headed out for a run, about to do a strength session, or even just before you do some mobility or static stretching. If you jump right into mobility or stretching, you may not actually release your tight muscles. Doing active release first will loosen up your muscles so you can then fully benefit from mobility exercises and get the range of motion you need for your best running form!
I know this may just seem like another thing you should do but don’t really want to do. My advice is to make it a goal to do this for only a month and see if it helps! Notice if you feel better on your runs, especially that first mile. Sometimes one tight muscle can screw up your entire stride.
Also, know that a little is better than nothing. I think a longer, fully body active release session once a week is a good idea, but most days a couple of minutes is more than enough. Personally, I feel that listening to upbeat music and doing the active release is a great way to get both my mind and body ready for my run. Finally, for each exercise, there’s no “right” amount of time, but I usually find myself doing 30 seconds per exercise, per side. If you feel like you need to do a longer amount of time on a certain side or muscle, go for it. However, you shouldn’t go longer than a minute. If the muscle doesn’t release in a minute’s time, it probably won’t release today.
Before we start off, you’ll want to have on you a lacrosse ball, a tennis ball, and a chair. Or, you can also use a foam roller for any of these exercises. Alright, so here are a few of my favorite exercises:
Exercise #1: Feet Active Release
I start by rolling around to check for any tight spots. If I find one, whether it be in the arch of my foot or near my big toe, I’ll focus on that area. The goal is to activate the muscles on the way up, then fully relax as I bring my foot back down. I’m just rolling gently here. You can use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball, or you could even use a golf ball if you prefer. Just remember to do both sides!
Exercise #2: Calf Active Release
When I focus on my calves, staying in one place and breathing through it might be enough, or you can move to the side-to-side to find another spot. You may feel tighter on the inside of your calf. The key is to make sure you can fully relax your muscle. If you’re using a lacrosse ball but can’t relax, try switching to a tennis ball.
Exercise #3: Quadricep Active Release
This is a big one for a lot of runners — the quads. I’m starting right in the middle of my quad. You can move up, to the side, or to the inside if that’s where you feel tightness. Remember to take deep breaths and relax.
Exercise #4: Hamstring Active Release
For this exercise, you’ll need a chair. I take a tennis ball and sandwich it in between the seat of the chair and my hamstring. This might be too intense for some people, so you may want to start with a foam roller on the ground and ease into it. I don’t typically have tight hamstrings, so I can handle this, but for others, it might be a bit painful — and that’s not what we’re aiming for.
I hope this gives you a few ideas on ways to work on some tight muscles. There’s even more muscle groups and exercises I didn’t get into today, but starting with just a few of these is a great start!
Form breakdown during long run efforts or races is inevitable.
But how do you know when you’re causing harm to yourself and should stop? Alternatively, when is it okay to push through and keep going? In today’s newsletter, Coach Sandi Nypaver gives you some of her tips to know the difference.
An athlete once approached me with the following question:
“When you (or any runner) start to feel your form fall apart, how do you know if you can keep going or if you should stop to avoid injury? I’m asking because in the few 50K races I’ve done, I’ve felt my form deteriorate between miles 20 and 22. If it were a shorter race, like a 50K, would you continue at that point? Fatigue seems inevitable in such long distances. I want to ensure I’m not causing damage by pushing through. Can you speak to the specifics of that?“
During an ultra or even a marathon, especially an ultra, there will be form breakdown. Expect it to happen! Often, at the end of these long ultras, you’re running quite differently than at the beginning due to muscle damage and form breakdown. If you’re running a 50K and feel your form starting to break down, it can be very normal and something you may want to push through, depending on the severity. If it’s primarily muscular fatigue rather than pain, it’s generally okay to continue.
There’s a difference between your legs feeling beat up and experiencing pain that might indicate an injury. Knowing what muscle fatigue versus pain feels like is crucial! You’ll have to listen to your body to know which one you’re experiencing, but here’s a good rule of thumb:
Fatigue
• More of a general, widespread sensation of tiredness and heaviness in the muscles.
Pain
• A sharp, stabbing sensation that will probably be more localized to a specific area in your body.
Ultimately, you’re going to have to listen to your body to know if you’re doing long-term damage or if you’ll need general rest and recovery from the big effort.
Understanding the importance of distinguishing between muscle fatigue and pain is just the first step towards maintaining your health. Equally crucial is knowing how to respond after completing a grueling race. Post-race recovery is not only about giving your muscles time to rest but also about ensuring that any form breakdown that occurred during the race doesn’t lead to long-term issues.
I emphasize the following to all of my athletes: after a race, yes, you want to recover, but in the next week or two, focus on technique work. What often happens after ultras is that people get injured a couple of weeks later because their form broke down, and they don’t take the time to ensure their stride returns to normal. They end up running with the poor patterns they picked up at the end of an ultra.
So, here’s a tip: in the week or two, or even three weeks, after an ultra or a marathon that really beat you up, take some time to focus on technique and form work. This way, you can avoid the “ultra shuffle” or any other weird changes to your stride. Spending a little time on technique after a race can go a long way! I have a variety of form-related videos on my YouTube Channel, or you can check out Higher Running’s resource webpage.
Remember, listening to your body and prioritizing both immediate recovery and long-term form maintenance is key to sustaining a successful and healthy running journey.
