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A running coach explains the 2 most important activities runners should do to avoid knee pain

Stop hurting yourself.

After miles and miles of use, a runner's legs take a beating. Running coach, John Henwood, explains the proper way to train so that runners can avoid painful knees. Following is a transcript of the video.

John Henwood: To avoid knee problems, that’s where the cross-training and strength training is important.

A running coach explains what runners can do to avoid painful knees

A knee is always to do with the tracking of the knee. Usually a tight ITB and weak inside muscles, the knee stabilizing muscle.

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So you basically just want to strengthen your stabilizing muscles on the inside of the knee. Keep the outside, the ITB, nice and loose.

Also, it comes a lot from the hips. So stretching well through the hips, piriformis, butt, hamstring. That all helps with keeping the knee and the knee joint in place.

So I’m big on StairMaster, elliptical, and actually swimming, as well. Which really stretches through your stomach and keeps your spine nice and straight and builds your lower abs. Cycling is good. Spin class is ok.

But, quite often if you’ve been sitting in an office all day, 10, 12 hours a day, and you’re getting back on the bike and sitting again, it’s just going to make you a lot tighter through the hips.

I mean running, you’ve got to basically get everything forward. You’ve got to get this up. Your hips forward, chest out.

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And so, it’s quite often tightness comes from your lower back, goes through your piriformis, and down your ITB, gets your knee, pulls the tracking out, and that’s how you wind up with knee problems.

So, I would probably maybe have one day off in the program and I would run 3 to 4 days a week and the other days would be cross-training and strength training.

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