Since I am an ex-swimmer I always had good stamina but combined with not-trained legs was a bad mix :
I ran miles and miles in the park without feeling short breath but my legs would hurt,I wouldn’t stop and I ended up with a permanent periosteum inflammation that took years to disappear.
Now,since I like doing some cardio I try to run on the treadmill but some fucking pain always show up…always different,sometimes the knees,sometims it’s the left foot,or the right foot,it can be the ankle…there’s always some fucking part of my legs/feet that bother me.
Luckily it’s not serious because it’s not an unbearable pain,but still,it’s totally annoying!
I also learned to skip the rope like boxers,it’s very cool,but everytime I do it,the day after my knees hurt!!!
What can I do ?!
My knees used to hurt when I ran long distances. I have no problems with weight training, however. The same thing may happen to you.
The first thing you need to do is learn how to squat properly.
Try neoprene knee sleeves to keep them warm. It may help.
[quote]chewie wrote:
My knees used to hurt when I ran long distances. I have no problems with weight training, however. The same thing may happen to you.
The first thing you need to do is learn how to squat properly. [/quote]
What’s the rationale here? Will squatting help alleviate the pain he experiences while running?
Stronger muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and bones might have something to do with it.
[quote]Ronsauce wrote:
chewie wrote:
My knees used to hurt when I ran long distances. I have no problems with weight training, however. The same thing may happen to you.
The first thing you need to do is learn how to squat properly.
What’s the rationale here? Will squatting help alleviate the pain he experiences while running?[/quote]
I stated that I had pain while running. I also said that I never had pain with weights. If he experiences the same thing, squatting properly would benefit him.
[quote]Jason van Wyk wrote:
Stronger muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and bones might have something to do with it.[/quote]
Good point. I used to run far, far more than I should have in an inane effort to shed fat when I should have been focusing on gaining muscle. I also had chicken legs. When I started to, finally, squat deep and heavy (for me), for a good long while, and went back to running after a solid bulk.
I found that all of the former injuries that I used to be plagued with (nerve problems in both feet, shin splints in both legs, knee problems, you name it) had disappeared completely, never to return.
What kind of leg workout are you doing?
[quote]Ronsauce wrote:
chewie wrote:
My knees used to hurt when I ran long distances. I have no problems with weight training, however. The same thing may happen to you.
The first thing you need to do is learn how to squat properly.
What’s the rationale here? Will squatting help alleviate the pain he experiences while running?[/quote]
It did for me.
I didn’t have the same issues as the OP, but frequent training of legs with mainly front squats, lunges, and RDLs seemed to reduce the knee pain. Again this worked for me, I can’t speak for others.
Also, I don’t have any knee sleeves (yet), but I’ve found that I need to keep my knees moving and warm.
Horazio,
Take my advise with a grain of salt, but this is what worked for me.
Pick 3 or 4 leg exercises, I used front squats, lunges, RDLs and calf raises.
Train all 3 or 4 4-5 times per week with moderate weight. The idea isn’t to kill the muscles, just do 2 or 3 work sets and don’t take any set near failure.
Take a day off if your legs feel too sore. For me the end result was less knee pain, better squat form (front and back) and stronger legs when I returned to training heavier.
[quote]Horazio wrote:
Since I am an ex-swimmer I always had good stamina but combined with not-trained legs was a bad mix :
I ran miles and miles in the park without feeling short breath but my legs would hurt,I wouldn’t stop and I ended up with a permanent periosteum inflammation that took years to disappear.
Now,since I like doing some cardio I try to run on the treadmill but some fucking pain always show up…always different,sometimes the knees,sometims it’s the left foot,or the right foot,it can be the ankle…there’s always some fucking part of my legs/feet that bother me.
Luckily it’s not serious because it’s not an unbearable pain,but still,it’s totally annoying!
I also learned to skip the rope like boxers,it’s very cool,but everytime I do it,the day after my knees hurt!!!
What can I do ?!
[/quote]
Mobility and flexibility work is bound to help. All that cardio you have done over the years has probably given you some pretty tight muscles. Magnificent mobility would be a good place to start.
The moves on that dvd now comprise my warm up every single time i train and my flexibility and mobility are now pretty good where they used to be pretty bad!
Proper squating will stabilize your joints much better. With your cardio vascular endurance, your muscles probably tire much quicker than your heart.
So where a complete couch potato would take it much slower and progress from walking to running in months, you go right out and run. But your muscles are not accustomed to it. Squatting CORRECTLY will strengthen them quicker than running will, the running will enhance the muscular endurance.
Since you have problems in different parts of your legs (foot, knee etc…) maybe you should see a physio/ chiro/ ortho to determine the root cause… (i.e. is it the inflamation flaring up again, is it misaligned joints?)
Thanks guys for all the answers.
I think I need to strenghten up the legs with WL.