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Lead Stories: Monday, December 1, 2008

TFS Review: Trigger Point (TP) Stability PODS

Posted May 28th, 2007 at 4:00 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Gear & Apparel, Product Reviews, Exercise Equipment, Special Features, TFS Reviews

TP stability PODS Trigger Point Technologies hit a home run with their TP Massage toolkit, which is designed to release trigger points, restore muscle elasticity, and improve biomechanics for runners, cyclists, and other athletes. For me, TP massage as been key component of returning my body to health and my recent rise in running performance (Also see my full review on the TP Massage Ball).

Another oft-overlooked aspect of injury prevention, performance, and biomechanics is core strength. Many runners will be willing to train for hours and hours each week, but fail to put any time into improving their core — the result of this neglect is sometimes poor biomechanics that propagate into injury.

While actively recovering from my barrage of injuries in 2006, I dedicated myself to improving core strength, both during physical therapy and at home. From wobble boards and stability balls, to simple crunches and bridge exercises, I consistently invested about 15 minutes per day into my core muscles. And it has been time well spent, as I have logged over 1400 miles in 5 months and set several big PR’s…all while staying injury-free.

The TP Stability PODS are designed to increase core strength through challenging balance and symmetry. They come as a set of three different-sized, concave, foam…er…pods (for the lack of a better description). The differential heights of the three pods represent three difficulty levels (I, II, and III). In other words, it is much harder to find balance with the tallest pod than with the shortest pod, which engages greater work in the core muscles.
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Running Strength

Posted March 11th, 2007 at 10:21 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to TFS. Also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.

Running strength isn’t quite as definitive as VO2max or LT. It’s a bit ambiguous. However, as I view it, it has two components … physiological and psychological.

The physiological component is related to running economy, but it is also different. I think of both running strength and running economy as sub-elements of a broader subject that I call running efficiency.

Running economy is a measure of how efficiently you use oxygen while running at a specific pace. Improving running economy means that you can physiologically sustain a faster pace at a given percentage of VO2max, or a given pace at a lower percentage of VO2max, for a longer distance.
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Keeping sane during injury

Posted January 13th, 2007 at 4:00 PM by Paul Petersen

Section: Running & Training, Injury & Rehab

Running injuries present many challenges. Getting the injury diagnosed and implementing a rehabilitation program are at the forefront, but keeping your SANITY during the potentially long layoff is often overlooked and can be very problematic.

We injury-ridden runners have all had our “Shining” moments: All elliptical and no run makes Jack a dull boy. All elliptical and no run makes Jack a dull boy. All elliptical and no runs makes Jack a dull boy. All elliptical and no run makes Jack a dull boy. All elliptical and no run makes Jack a dull boy…You get the picture.

Although injured runners going through withdraw usually aren’t homocidal, we do become the next worst thing: grouchy, frustrated, depressed, and, yes, slightly insane. Maybe it’s the loss of structure and stress release to our day, maybe it’s the lack of “runner’s high” in our chemical diet, maybe it’s weight gain due to decreased activity, maybe it’s the loss of part of our social network. Whatever it is, any spouse of an injured runner can tell you that we are no fun to be around!
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Expand your comfort zones; improve “running strength”

Posted December 22nd, 2006 at 6:15 AM by Jim Fortner

Section: Running & Training, Training Tips

Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor to TFS. Also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.

Running strength isn’t quite as definitive as VO2Max or lactate threshold. It’s a bit ambiguous. However, as I view it, it has two components: physiological and psychological.