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Summary
On episode 312 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan sits down with Jay Dicharry, a physical therapist who works predominantly with runners and is the author of Running Rewired, a book focused on preventing running injuries by building runners into more capable, resilient athletes rather than just logging miles.
Jay breaks down why running is far more load bearing than people assume, mid-stance forces run roughly two and a half to three times body weight, and why most running problems come down to either a hardware issue (limited range of motion) or a software issue (not knowing how to control the motion you already have).
The conversation covers core stability, glute versus quad dominance, and why strength training and plyometrics, done right, make runners faster and more injury resistant instead of bulkier and slower.
Links
- https://anathletesbody.com
Key Takeaways
- Movement problems split into hardware and software issues. Hardware is a true physical restriction, like limited ankle or hip range of motion. Software is not knowing how to control the motion you already have, and most runners need to relearn how to move, not just stretch more.
- Running is far more high load than people think. In mid-stance, the average runner puts down roughly two and a half to three times their body weight with every stride, so bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles need to be built to tolerate that, not just conditioned for cardio.
- About half of each stride's forward, upward force comes from muscle, and half from stored elastic energy in the tendons. Tendons act like big rubber bands, so training needs to build both muscular strength and tendon spring, not one or the other.
- Core stability isn't about how long you can hold a plank, it's about timing. Using the analogy of a soda can (strong when upright, crumples the moment it's dimpled), Jay explains that a stable core fires just before you move (feed-forward) to keep the spine in neutral so force transmits efficiently through the body.
- A simple squat test reveals whether you're quad dominant or glute dominant. In Jay's research, 92 percent of runners who squatted with a knee-forward pattern also overstrided when running, which raises knee injury risk since the quads are being asked to do more than they're built for.
- Glutes do three jobs where quads only do two. Quads flex the hip slightly and extend the knee. Glutes extend the hip, control its rotation, and support posture, so training glutes to fire properly makes for a more protected, more powerful runner.
- Better running economy comes from putting more force into the ground in less time. That requires heavy, low-volume strength work and plyometrics, not the high-rep toning exercises runners are often steered toward.
- Lifting weights won't make runners bulky or slow. Runners burn enough calories that a big surplus for muscle growth is unlikely, and running alone isn't enough to preserve lean muscle mass with age. Studies show even 82 year old men gained lean body mass with proper strength training.
- Powerlifting has the lowest injury rate of any sport. Jay points to this as proof that moving well under load, not avoiding load altogether, is what actually keeps athletes safe over the long run.
“No one cares how strong your core is. They care how well the core works.”
Jay Dicharry