Restart Cycle 2024

Running Plan

Since I’ve lost a lot of endurance, strength, stability and genuinely have to start over again after almost 6 months of no running and limited recovery and strength training. I am going back to one of the first long distance plans that I used back in 2020 from the book, “The Joy of Jogging”.

Outlined in a table format there are no times only distances for the weeks. The main focus here is to enjoy running again. Walks on your runs count towards your mileage goal for the day. I loved this plan starting out, because there was no pressure, and it provided a really good base, since it was technically prepping you for a marathon. I felt like I lost some of the fire of running and I’ve been just overall tired and running has felt more like a job that I don’t like. I’m sure this means that the body could use a reset. The other advantage of these longer distance programs, if a week is missed for whatever reason, repeating a week of the program is an easy to keep yourself building towards your goal.

Rehab Specific Exercises

I would be lying if I said I didn’t need any help this time around. Specifically on crafting a rehab plan for my injury, who better to ask then AI. As an early adopter of any technology that can provide a helping hand I was all for it. It can think and compute faster than me, and group these up in a better theme than I probably could. I already know what I am going to write before I even write a program. So having this free assistant at your fingertips with a different perspective introduces some great variability. Claude was a great tool to bounce and tweak ideas off of.

Tables were created utilizing Claude.AI to help create the combination of each table of workout. The rehab below focuses on strengthening the calf, knee, and ankle. I’ve expanded this program to include more than just

Workout 1: Calf and Achilles Strengthening

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Standing Calf Raises	3	15-20
Eccentric Calf Raises	3	10-12
Tibia Raises	3	10-12 (per leg)
Ankle Dorsiflexion	2	15-20
Plantar Flexion	2	15-20
Heel Walks	2	20 steps

Workout 2: Knee and Hip Stability

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Lateral Band Walks	3	20 steps (each direction)
3-Way Banded Hip Resistance	2	15 (each direction)
Banded Bridge Holds	2	30 seconds
Banded Squat Holds	2	30 seconds
Single Leg Split Squat	2	10 (per leg)
Reverse Lunge	2	10 (per leg)

Workout 3: Balance and Proprioception

Exercise	Sets	Reps
Single Leg Balance on BOSU Ball	3	30 seconds (per leg)
Lateral Step Downs	2	10 (per side)
Ankle Alphabet	2	10 (each direction, per leg)
Banded Plank Clamshells	2	15 (per side)
Pigeon stretch on box	2	10 (per leg)

Workout 4: Mobility and Flexibility

Exercise	Sets	Time/Reps
Calf Stretch	2	30 seconds (per leg)
Soleus Stretch	2	30 seconds (per leg)
Downward Dog	1	60 seconds
Foot Ball Rollout	1	2-3 minutes
Towel Foot Crunches	2	15-20
Towel Crunches	2	15-20

Workout 5: Hip Strengthening

Exercise	Sets	Time/Reps
Toe Squats	3	10-12
Mini Band Fire Hydrant	3	12-15
Mini Band Knee Drive	3	8-10
Fire hydrant stretch	3	6-10
Mini Band Hamstring	2	6-8
Airplane Rotations	2	2-4
Single Leg RDL	4	10-12

Workout 6: Foot Strengthening

Exercise	Sets	Time/Reps
Towel Foot Crunches	2	10
Toe Widening	2	10 seconds
Toe press downs	3	10 seconds
Seated Toe and Hell Raise	2	10 seconds
Seated Upright Childs Pose	2	30 seconds

Remember to listen to your body and adjust the intensity and volume as needed. It’s also essential to complement these exercises with proper rest, recovery, and patience during the rehabilitation process.

Lifting and Cross Training

What I am going to try to actually stick too this time around is consistently lifting 3-4 days a week, but and it’s a big “BUT” I’ll be prioritizing rest over the lifting days in most cases. There is no exact lifting plan that I am going to follow in the past. Instead I’ll to compromise with my work schedule and this running plan, I’ll be doing my lifting over at the F45 gym.

Leg Strengthening & Stretching

In addition to the cross-training and rehab plan I am going to be adding in a focus 2-3 times per week of some eccentric lifts specifically targeted for strengthening hamstrings, calves, quads, and around the knee to support some better running mechanics. Again nothing really strict on this one. It all depends on how I feel and how the week goes. The main point is to incorporate these exercises weekly. These will be primarily done on the machine and not free weights. It’ll allow for better control and isolated muscle movements.

Leg Extension	Sumo DB Goblet Squat	Sumo DB
Single Leg RDL	Hamstring Curl	Machine Leg Press
Seated Calf Raises	Cable Abductor	Cable Adductor

Additionally

After reading Running Rewired, I am going to start to include stretching about 5 days a week at about 3-5 minutes per stretch for the entirety of this cycle. This was the recommended amount of time needed in order to lengthen a muscle over a 10 week span. These include anything from your typical quad, hamstring, calf, and other hip stretches.

Challenges

I’ll be trying to keep up with a few challenges from https://darebee.com/ for pushups and abs.

Physical Therapy & External Modalities

Below are a list of some of the external modalities that I will be using during the cycle for recovery purposes.

• Acupuncture
• Massage
• Muscle Stimulator (TENS unit)
• Massage Gun
• Foam Roller
• Gua Sha
• Cupping
• Stretching
  

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