[123go]

123go on June 30, 2004 at 2:08 am #9488

Hello everyone. I've been reading these forums for a little while now, and I'm abosulutely astonished by the insane amount of information that has been posted by all of the great members on this board.

As you can see, this is my first post, but hopefully not the last. On to my question.

I was doing a tempo training workout today (6×250 w/ 1-2 min break) and one thing that I noticed is that the inside of my foot (both right and left) manage to slap the back of my leg during the last 100-75m of the race. I've been told that this may be due to a strength imblance between the inside and outside of my legs. What I want to know is, 1)is that the case and if it is, 2)how can I strengthen my outer leg so that this "slapping effect" is stopped?

[Mike Young]

Mike Young on June 30, 2004 at 11:22 am #29886

Leg flexibility, power, and strength imbalances often result from running around the track in the same direction so I don't doubt this could be the case with you. While this is a potentially beneficial specific adaptation to the demands of our sport, if it gets out of hand it could easily lead to injuries or decreased performance. To balance out leg discrepancies you have several options:
*Do some running in the other direction around the track.
*Perform free-weight unilateral movements like lunges.
*Increase either the volume or intensity of the training stimulus to the problematic side.

ELITETRACK Founder