Anyone else a quad dominant runner?

[lilles]

I was just informed I am a quad dominant runner and that is very ineffective to run this way. If you are/were a quad dominant runner what did you do to correct it?

[al320]

Im pretty sure i am (my pilates instructor thinks i am too). Ive done nothing to correct it, i just make sjre to strengthen all my leg muscles so i dont have any imbalances.

[clseale]

In the past two months, myself & 4 other friends have been to the Dr, and we're ALL quad dominant runners. Scratch that. I am/was quad dominant period. You could see it when they had me do squats & lunges. It's not exclusive to running. Who told you this? Did they not explain it further? My Dr basically said that a ton of people suffer from this, and it's largely a result of sitting on my butt all day at a desk. My glutes and hamstrings aren't firing off as they should be. He gave me exercises to do before I run to engage my glutes and hamstrings.

ETA: I think it's fairly common, it just finally threw off my alignment so much that it caused me pain. I fixed my alignment by engaging other muscles, and my pain went away.

[Deleted]

I've never been told I'm a quad-dominant runner but I have been told I don't activate my glutes adequately which I suspect makes me a QDR. My PT just never used that phrase. It ties with a weak core and pelvis tilt. It is hard to cheat on squats if you keep your pelvis tucked. I also like doing chair pose in yoga since you need to tuck your pelvis to do it correctly. I sit at work and practice tucking my pelvis. It's amazing how much better my posture becomes and the relief I have in my lower back; it immediately activates your glutes and core. My ART guy is working on strengthening the lowest of my abs which not even my PT worked on. It will eventually result in not having to think so hard about keeping my pelvis tucked.

[clseale]

Sept 5, 2013 10:58:43 GMT -5 aswartzw said:

 It ties with a weak core and pelvis tilt. 

To this good point, it's also so important to remember that a core is your entire mid section. I'm guilty of not working my core properly. I naturally have a strong front, but I neglect the muscles in my back. I might have a strong core, generally speaking, but it's not balanced. I need to get better at working it as a whole. I'd love to have the definition in my back, that I have in my abs. 

ETA: I have a stretch break set on my computer at 30 min intervals. If I'm at my desk, I stand up and spend 1 min doing the pelvic tuck exercises I was given.

[Deleted]

clseale, my work calendar has more exercises on it than work appointments. lol

[katinthehat]

I'm doing an online running clinic that has helped me a lot. Focusing on pickup your feet with your hamstrings has been a very effective drill for me. But really, the best way to "overcome" this is to work on strengthening your glutes and hips which is best done in the weight room.

[clseale]

Sept 5, 2013 11:19:26 GMT -5 aswartzw said:

clseale, my work calendar has more exercises on it than work appointments. lol

LOL. I feel like this too, and then I read your post and thought,"Craaaap. She's right. I need to get better about my core/back again IN ADDITION TO me pelvic tilts and hamstring/glute exercises." Sigh. I need to remember how much I love running. 

[Wines Not Whines]

Yes, I am. I have relatively weak hamstrings, glutes, and hips and strong quads. I've been trying to balance myself out by doing some strength work on my hips and glutes. I hope it helps.

[breezy8407]

I think most women are quad dominant, and most adults now are becoming weaker in the hips, glutes and hammies from sitting-at-a-desk all day jobs.

Focus on glute and hamstrign strength workk.

I've been told I have lazy glutes, so I have done some glute activation exercises in the past. (which I need to get back to!)

[Deleted]

Sept 5, 2013 11:34:19 GMT -5 clseale said:

Sept 5, 2013 11:19:26 GMT -5 aswartzw said:

clseale, my work calendar has more exercises on it than work appointments. lol

LOL. I feel like this too, and then I read your post and thought,"Craaaap. She's right. I need to get better about my core/back again IN ADDITION TO me pelvic tilts and hamstring/glute exercises." Sigh. I need to remember how much I love running. 

Ugh. So so true.  Whew.

[mrsjthompson]

Sept 5, 2013 11:33:09 GMT -5 katinthehat said:

I'm doing an online running clinic that has helped me a lot. Focusing on pickup your feet with your hamstrings has been a very effective drill for me. But really, the best way to "overcome" this is to work on strengthening your glutes and hips which is best done in the weight room.

Oo, kat, tell me more about this.

ETA: Please.

[katinthehat]

sure - www.kinetic-revolution.com/sixweekprogram/

Here's the thing though, I wouldn't do it if I was training for a race, I'd do it in the off season. It's hard work and may not mesh with an existing training schedule.

So nothing that he presents is new or life shattering, in fact, you can find it all on youtube. But what I like better than trying to do it on my own is that week by week he gives you four workouts to do. Sure, it's easy to say, okay I'm going to do some pickups in this run but for me, I get tired or lazy or whatever and don't really do it if I'm just going out for a regular run. But he says, okay, week one run one, I want you to warm up, then do 12 x 20 seconds of pickups with 30 seconds recovery, then 6 x 1 minute pickups with 30 seconds recovery. I do a lot better when I have a very focused workout like that.

He also gives strength workouts that can all be done at home for each weekend, so really, the program is a two-fer

It's six weeks of four workouts but you have access to the website forever (so your log in doesn't expire in six weeks.) It's no one on one coaching but he's been very responsive to any questions I've had on twitter.

[mrsjthompson]

Sept 5, 2013 12:34:56 GMT -5 katinthehat said:

sure - www.kinetic-revolution.com/sixweekprogram/

Here's the thing though, I wouldn't do it if I was training for a race, I'd do it in the off season. It's hard work and may not mesh with an existing training schedule.

So nothing that he presents is new or life shattering, in fact, you can find it all on youtube. But what I like better than trying to do it on my own is that week by week he gives you four workouts to do. Sure, it's easy to say, okay I'm going to do some pickups in this run but for me, I get tired or lazy or whatever and don't really do it if I'm just going out for a regular run. But he says, okay, week one run one, I want you to warm up, then do 12 x 20 seconds of pickups with 30 seconds recovery, then 6 x 1 minute pickups with 30 seconds recovery. I do a lot better when I have a very focused workout like that.

He also gives strength workouts that can all be done at home for each weekend, so really, the program is a two-fer

It's six weeks of four workouts but you have access to the website forever (so your log in doesn't expire in six weeks.) It's no one on one coaching but he's been very responsive to any questions I've had on twitter.

Thanks!  I was just thinking last night how, being totally new to running, it would be nice to have a coach or something instead of just reading on the internet and guessing at things.

[hannahb]

This is pretty common and not just with runners. Think about running though, you are moving in a straight line. This activates your quads and hamstrings. These tend to be strong in runners. Your gluteal muscles are responsible for lateral motion and tend to get weak but they all attach around your hip/pelvis and control a lot of motion at your hip and knee. That's why with ITB tendinitis, patellar pain, etc. you will see these muscles being the focus of attention.

[tuggyruns]

Sept 5, 2013 11:05:51 GMT -5 clseale said:

Sept 5, 2013 10:58:43 GMT -5 aswartzw said:

 It ties with a weak core and pelvis tilt. 

To this good point, it's also so important to remember that a core is your entire mid section. I'm guilty of not working my core properly. I naturally have a strong front, but I neglect the muscles in my back. I might have a strong core, generally speaking, but it's not balanced. I need to get better at working it as a whole. I'd love to have the definition in my back, that I have in my abs. 

ETA: I have a stretch break set on my computer at 30 min intervals. If I'm at my desk, I stand up and spend 1 min doing the pelvic tuck exercises I was given.

I need to do this. I think my boss will think I'm crazy, but that's nothing new. (we all have shared team calendars)

[SallyJ]

Working on my core strength, focus on hamstrings and glutes via heavy lifting, and ballet (works on pelvis tilt, awareness of muscles in legs, hip/hamstring/calve strength) have all helped improve my running.

[AAM2012]

Sept 5, 2013 15:41:20 GMT -5 SallyJ said:

Working on my core strength, focus on hamstrings and glutes via heavy lifting, and ballet (works on pelvis tilt, awareness of muscles in legs, hip/hamstring/calve strength) have all helped improve my running.

I agree with all this and I would like to add that you make sure you are using your foam roller. I had issues a few months ago and it was because my quads were so tight it was causing my pelvis to rotate forward. The only thing that helps is 1) working on core and 2) form rolling to loosen up the muscles.

[mrs.jacinthe]

I have a dumb question; short of having a trained observer tell you so, how can you tell if you're quad-dominant? I'm sure as a swimmer, I would fall in this category, but I'd be interested in figuring out how bad it is. (When I get to the offseason, that is)

[patches31709]

Sept 5, 2013 18:26:42 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

I have a dumb question; short of having a trained observer tell you so, how can you tell if you're quad-dominant? I'm sure as a swimmer, I would fall in this category, but I'd be interested in figuring out how bad it is. (When I get to the offseason, that is)

I was just coming back to ask this as well. My hamstrings have been so sore and tight for a while, and I'm wondering if this is part of the reason.

[katinthehat]

The way my PT did it was to push down on my legs while I tried to hold them up. Compared to when he tried to push my legs up while I held them down, it was ridiculously funny.

[rugbywife]

Sept 5, 2013 18:26:42 GMT -5 mrs.jacinthe said:

I have a dumb question; short of having a trained observer tell you so, how can you tell if you're quad-dominant? I'm sure as a swimmer, I would fall in this category, but I'd be interested in figuring out how bad it is. (When I get to the offseason, that is)

In my case it caused knee pain.  So more or less I over developed my quads and my hams and glutes were underdeveloped.  Once this happened it put pressure on my knees and cause them to track in correctly.  I also, as PP have mentioned, tend to have a weak core AND I have a history of weak stabilizer muscles.  

It was a sports med doc that diagnosed me though.  And it doesn't just affect my running, it has affected my crossfiting too, so I am careful to do extra work on my stabilizers. 

[katinthehat]

Here's two good resources of glute specific workouts - www.kinetic-revolution.com/glute-workouts-for-runners/

www.amazon.com/Strong-Curves-Womans-Building-Better/dp/1936608642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378472685&sr=8-1&keywords=strong+curves