Bottom line, you can spend all the time you have training, but if your muscles are imbalanced, you will never reach your full potential as a runner. In fact, you are at risk of injury, if not running with pain already. Targeted dynamic movement, strengthening and stretching have been proven to eliminate knee and back pain, accelerate recovery, restore a healthy range of motion and build endurance.
There is a condition that most runners, and even doctors, are failing to identify, but if you suffer from:
Our muscles are the engine by which we move, impacting every aspect of our bodies whether we realize it or not. Unfortunately, muscles do not naturally maintain their healthy or ideal range of motion on their own. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Muscles will change their functional resting length to adapt to the length at which they are habitually used or positioned.
This is bad news for most of us.
As a culture we are spending more and more time sitting, which can result in weak hamstrings and glutes, with tight quads and hip flexors. This combination causes a rounded-forward posture with a pelvic tilt. Unfortunately, time spent running does not fix these muscle imbalances, and can make the problem worse. Not only will shortened muscles impact your efficiency as a runner, but they will eventually lead to injury.
If any of these sound familiar to you, don’t worry, because you’re not alone. Tight or shortened muscles affect nearly everyone, not just runners. But before we get to the solution, we have to take a look at the root cause of the problem.
Each of us has our own pain points, whether it be tight shoulders and neck, hamstrings, quads, etc. However, what we may not realize is the root of these problems is all connected through one muscle–one you’ve probably never heard of, let alone trained or stretched.
The psoas (so-as) is the muscle that connects the lower body to the upper body.
It is one of two muscles that makes up the iliopsoas, and is the bridge between your upper and lower body. Almost every movement involves the psoas, making it not only one of the most important muscles in the body, but also the secret to unlocking your full potential.
When the psoas is healthy and functioning correctly it creates a neutral pelvic alignment, stabilizing the hips and supporting the lower back and abdomen. When it is unbalanced or tight, there are serious consequences in almost every part of your body, showing up as a pelvic tilt.
Sitting, whether it be at a desk job, driving, or on the couch, will eventually lead to a shortened and underdeveloped psoas muscle.
Diagnosing the root cause of symptoms can be tricky, and many health professionals struggle to pinpoint this muscle buried deep in your hips. Understand, that this is not your fault! However, now that you know, it’s up to you to do something about it. That’s where we come in.
Lengthening the muscles, especially the psoas, needs to be done in the right order, with balance and intention. Concentrating on one muscle before the other can actually add to the problem, rather than improving it.
This is why so many people give up when they don't experience results within the first few days. The reality is, lengthening the muscles takes time, but our plan will have you feeling the difference within a couple weeks.
While many of the stretches may be ones you already know, doing the movements in the right order and holding them for the right amount of time will make all the difference. Our goal is to help you unravel all the tissues including the muscle, fascia, connective tissue, and finally the joint itself.
Adaptive shortening is muscle tightness caused by a muscle being forced to remain in a shortened position for a prolonged period of time. Whether it be driving, sitting at a desk, or on the couch, the cumulative time spent in these positions have real consequences on muscle structure.
This shortening causes a reduced range of motion, a feeling of tightness in the muscles, and added stress on the connected tendons. However, most symptoms will not show up until the muscle has already shortened a significant amount. The results are postural distortion and the replacing of normal contractile elements with non-contractile tissue.
The earlier the intervention, the faster and better the results!
In every movement there are four main functions of the associated muscles:
Muscle Balance speaks primarily to the agonist and antagonist muscles in any given movement. It is important to have balance to prevent injury, which is why stretching is so important for runners. When one muscle becomes tight, it’s antagonist will also be effected, and can even be injured as a result.
You see, our muscles are the engine through which our body moves. They control balance, our ability to sit, stand, twist, reach, bend, walk, and run. When our muscles become shortened, it causes problems in otherwise healthy people like us.
Most people don’t realize that the cause of their problems is tight or shortened muscles. The impact tight muscles have on the whole body never occurs to us until we start to experience the symptoms. This can show up as a nagging injury, or in poor posture caused by upper and/or lower crossed syndrome.
Shortened muscles and the resulting limited range of motion in the joints affects nearly everybody, but few realize they impact every aspect of the whole body. Diagnosing adaptive shortening can be tricky. Chances are, you won’t discover the problem until it has already limited your range of motion. The good thing is that it CAN be reversed.
Knowing you have adaptive shortening in the muscles is one thing. Knowing how to take steps to reverse it is another challenge altogether.
Most of us were taught that stretching for a couple minutes before exercise would help loosen the muscles and prevent injury, but this is not the case. Holding a static stretch for 10 seconds will do nothing to lengthen the muscle, and barely scratches the surface of what needs to happen in the structure of the muscle.
Life is busy, so for most of us the idea of stretching for an hour every day may be an unrealistic goal. That’s where we come in.
Our mobility program has been designed to make the most of your time, targeting problem areas in a specific sequence to attack muscles from a variety of angles. Muscles have to be unpacked and balanced in a particular way to have the desired result. We also work on strengthening stabilizing muscle to ensure there is a strong muscle base for your movements.
It is a combination of practices maintained over time that will help your muscles lengthen and sustain a healthy range of motion, especially as you age.
Creating muscle balance needs to be done with balance and intention. Our sequential, dynamic method works to unravel all the tissues including the muscle, fascia, connective tissue, and finally the joint itself. Through a combination of dynamic movements that both strengthen and stretch, and static deep-tissue stretches, our program makes injury prevention easy.
Our program includes daily stretching videos and long form mobility routines all designed to correct muscle imbalances common to runners. These videos are designed to be easy to follow, and track your progress over time.
Program Length: Ongoing
Average Routine Duration: 20 minutes
Goal: Develop and maintain a healthy range of motion through a combination of static stretches and dynamic movements.
Program Length: 1 Month
Average Routine Duration: 25 minutes
Goal: Correct muscle imbalances and strengthen supporting muscles so you can run strong and prevent injury. Minimal equipment, follow along at home.
Average Routine Duration: 20 minutes
Goal: Address some of the most common injuries for runners through a combination of mobility and strength training. Programs: ITB Program, Foot Reset, Shin Splints (COMING SOON), Knee & Hip Pain (COMING SOON).
Program Length: 4 Warm Up Routines
Average Routine Duration: 5-10 minutes
Goal: Short warmups done outside, with no equipment, that you can do before you run. Properly warming up will help prevent injury and have you feeling better in the first mile.
"I love how easy to follow the videos are, they have made stretching every day simple and fast!"
"I could never get into yoga....but I love the Dynamic Runner stretching routines and how they target all the right places!"
"I am coming off a back injury, and just started the Dynamic Runner stretch series. WOW! This is a great program! Thanks so much for taking the time to create it!"
"For everyone like me who lacks the discipline and know-how to stretch effectively, this is for you! The Dynamic Runner routines are simple and effective, and being able to do them from home is a huge bonus."
A healthy range of motion and strong stabilizing muscles allow you to increase leg speed as proteins are synthesized in muscle fibers at a faster rate. This promotes efficiency, allowing you to run faster, longer and with proper mechanics.
Everything in the body is connected, and as runners we demand a lot from our muscles, joints and ligaments. A combination of strengthening and stretching promotes muscle balance and keeps connections strong, treating and preventing injury, improving functionality and longevity – keeping you running for years to come.
Stretching reduces muscle soreness and stiffness by increasing blood flow, delivering more nutrients to your muscles and removing lactic acid and metabolites. Stretching also promotes whole body relaxation; boosting recovery, rejuvenation and adaptation by increasing the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system after exercise.
Dynamic Runner can help unlock your full potential by increasing your range of motion, strengthening supporting muscles and creating muscle balance.
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PER YEAR
✔ Daily, easy to follow mobility videos
✔ 15 - 20 minutes in length
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✔ 7 Day FREE Trial
PER MONTH
✔ Daily, easy to follow mobility videos
✔ 15 - 20 minutes in length
✔ Instant access to ALL programming
✔ Lock in this low pricing for LIFE
✔ 7 Day FREE Trial
After your trial, membership is either $9.99/month or $85/year. No contracts or cancellation fees.
Even if you forget to cancel, or for some reason you don't enjoy the content and community, we'll refund your last months payment right away. Just send us a quick email and no worries. We're here for the long term and will respect your choice!