Building a Strong Foundation ® “Strength Training for the Running Athlete” Carmen Bott Founder, Human Motion.com Inc

What is Building a Strong Foundation?

Imbalances and Injuries Imbalances can present themselves in 3 forms 1. ligament dominance 2. muscle group dominance 3. unilateral limb dominance Imbalances lead to an increase in joint load due to energy leaks Increasing joint load leads to injury

Common Imbalances 1.Weakness and length in hip abductors and extensors 2.Shortness and tightness in hip flexors, adductors and lateral hip rotators

Extrinsic Factors that may lead to injury: 1. Sudden changes in volume 2. Sudden changes in intensity 3. Inefficient recovery between training sessions

There is no ‘ideal’ pattern/form of running And every runner has their own threshold or tolerance for repeated impact forces

So, what do we do?

Get Stronger! –Vertical landing forces during running can be as much as 6-8 times the athlete’s bodyweight during mid-stance... –The basis of ST is to improve the capacity of the musculo- tendinous junctions to absorb + produce force

BSF Exercises

1.Standing calf raise - foot intrinsics 2.Negative push-ups – shoulder position 3.Double-leg Raise – Lumbar endurance 4.One arm, one leg lift – Rotational control, glute med strength 5.Kneeling hip hinge – posterior chain activation

Thank-you! Contact Carmen at