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There are three things I do before every run to optimize performance. They take fifteen minutes total. And are meant to prevent injury, improve performance, and reinforce technique. So today, I’m taking you along my pre-run routine. Let’s get into it! I start with the most controversial of the three tasks. Foam rolling. I wrote on this topic in my post: What to Make of Foam Rollers? I concluded that the effects of foam rolling haven’t been backed up by much science. They may help with flexibility and muscle soreness, but if you’re time constrained, I’d skip this for more evidence-based activities. Today, this still rings true. Except that I’m dedicating a considerable amount of time to improving my running. And I’m willing to spend that extra time on things that may provide only incremental benefits.So, I grab a foam roller and

I’ve improved my athletic performance and longevity biomarkers by minimizing high intensity workouts and training in zones. In December I walked into LA Fitness and saw their featured HIIT studio. Each month Men’s and Women’s Health have new articles on interval training. And Instagram is filled with trending workout challenges. But most Olympians, professional athletes, and longevity experts are focused on boring, old steady state cardio. The stationary bike and stair master have new life. But that doesn’t mean high intensity workouts should be omitted either. That’s why the VDOT training program I’m following focuses on training zones. And maybe your program should too. What are the 5 training zones? How is my training programmed? And why is each zone important for performance and longevity? Well, let’s get

Last year I burst into spring ready to run and walked out of summer injured and sidelined. At the time, I didn’t know why my body broke down. Shin splints, a groin strain, and sore hamstrings had me puzzled. Upon further research, my mistakes with training volume, run intensity, and ignoring previous injuries did it (How to Prevent Running Injuries and What I Did Wrong). I never had a real training plan to begin with. I was just trying to do more today than yesterday. And that didn’t work. That’s not what smart runners do. That’s not what elite athletes do. But I didn’t know any better. This year, I’ve spent most of March researching proper run programming and progression. I’ve planned out a year of running all based on VDOT values to correct my previous mistakes. So, what is VDOT? How can you determine your value? And how have I

Sean Gallagher was the first physical therapist listed as using a foam roller as a self-message tool back in 1987 [1]. A couple decades later, foam rollers became all the rage. Not only do you still see foam rollers in every gym, but they’ve evolved with various patterns and grids to target deeper muscles and tissues. Additionally, vibration foam rollers (VFRs) that combine the vibration technology with foam rollers have been created [2]. And recently, you see massage guns widely marketed which combine many of these aspects of self-message, deep tissue manipulation, and vibration or percussive technology. A commercial of pro golfer Colin Morikawa was released showing him using his massage gun as a warm-up, cool-down, and mid-round tool [3]. But how do these self-massage tools work? What benefits do they actually provide? If they are

Strong abdominal muscles help stabilize the trunk and unload lumbar spine stress [1]. This not only helps prevent lower back pain which is the number one cause of disability for people under 45 [2] but it can help improve posture and physical performance [3]. But more importantly, strong abdominal muscles provide you those 6-pack abs. Who cares about back pain, posture, or performance because what really matters is what our stomach looks like in the mirror right? Well, if that’s the case you’ll have much better luck reducing your body fat percentage down to around 10% as a male and 16% as a female because abs are built through exercise but more importantly revealed through nutrition [4]. Either way, a strong core will help with all these goals. But what muscles are in the core? What exercises does the science show best target and activate