Why runners must strength train to stay pain-free

Dr. John Rusin is a physical therapist and trainer who's worked with nearly every professional sports league as well as Olympic athletes. His new book, Pain-Free Performance, is now available.

Our conversation focuses on movement, coordination, and building efficiency. We discuss:

• common mistakes in the weight room
• how to structure better strength workouts
• mindfulness and breathing
• a nervous-system oriented warm-down
• when to know if you’re putting in too much effort in the gym

We should not consider strength training to be "cross-training" - it’s just part of the normal training process. Learn how to incorporate periodized, runner-specific strength training in your running at strengthrunning.com/strength/. 

Check out John's website here or follow him on Instagram.

Thank You Lever!

I'm excited to partner with Lever - a bodyweight support system that helps you run further or faster with less effort and injury risk.  

You’ve probably seen pro runners using Lever - it attaches to any treadmill and you hook into it like a harness. It effectively makes you lighter, enabling you to run more volume than you normally could with reduced injury risk, run faster with less effort, or return to running after an injury more effectively.

Lever allows you to do more running with less risk. From building mileage, introducing faster workouts, aiding your return to running after a break, Lever has a place in every phase of training. The pro’s have been using Lever for years, giving them the advantage of more training with fewer injuries.

They’re also common in physical therapy offices. Because you can run with less body weight, you can gain fitness and practice good technique without risking your recovery.

Go to levermovement.com and use code Strength20 for 20% off any system (and that’s with a capital S). If you’re injury-prone or are looking to take a big swing at your goals this year, now is the time for Lever. That’s levermovement.com with code Strength20 for 20% off any system.

We are supported by 2Before, a powerful sports supplement made from New Zealand Blackcurrants designed to increase endurance, manage inflammation, support immunity, and promote adaptation. 2Before main mechanism for boosting performance is acting as a vasodilator - it increases blood flow, making it more efficient for the body to pump oxygenated nutrient-rich blood into the muscles.

Just like beetroot but more effective, blackcurrant berries are vasodilators, helping you get more blood flow where it's needed, quickly and efficiently. 

My personal favorite option includes 100mg of caffeine, so you get the proven performance (and psychological) benefits of caffeine combined with the vasodilation effects of blackcurrant berries.

Boost your performance and immune system with 2before: use code JASON for 30% off 20 packs and multi-serve packs at 2Before.com.

Thank you to 2Before for supporting Strength Running!