Running compression arm sleeves have become very popular among runners. You will often see beginners as well as professional athletes sporting them while running. However, how to choose them is the biggest question that most newbies face as the choices are overwhelming.

When choosing a running compression arm sleeve check the fit, stretch, and the amount of compression that the sleeve is providing. Also, check if it has UV protection, is made from skin-friendly material, and is sweat-wicking.

If you are still confused, in this article we will provide you with all the details like:

• What are compression arm sleeves?
• Why should runners wear them a.k.a benefits of wearing them…
• Choosing your first or the next compression arm sleeves properly.
• Are cooling arm sleeves different than other arm sleeves and which one should you choose?
• What is the reason behind wearing one arm sleeve?
• Problems with compression arm sleeves
• and more…

What are running arm sleeves?

Running arm sleeves are a cover made for arms with a combination of yarn and elastic or elastane materials. They provide compression to the arm and help with better blood circulation, recovery, and comfort.

They will sit around your muscle and will provide pressure on them. This improves the circulation of the muscles and improves recovery.

Also, when you run if you keep don’t wear a compression sleeve, there is some added vibration to the muscles due to unrestrained movement.

This also increases the chances of having more wear and tear on the muscles. Using this kind of arm sleeve reduces this overall effect and makes your run more comfortable.

Running arm sleeves are similar to that of any other compression gear for running – like the ones you use for calves, knees, ankles, legs, etc. So, these arm sleeves also provide you with similar benefits as these gears provide you.

Related: Mistakes While Strengthening Hamstrings: How To Avoid Them?

Why do runners wear arm sleeves?

Runners wear arm sleeves for better blood circulation in their arms, faster recovery, and protection against UV rays. Also, it can be used as a style statement with funky colors and artistic printed materials.

Here is a list of benefits that running arm sleeves will provide you:

Compression

This is the primary function of a running arm sleeve. They hold down the muscles in place and apply gentle pressure on them.

This reduces DOMS or Delayed Onset of muscle soreness – That painful muscle ache that you get after an intense running session.

According to Healthline some of the symptoms of DOMS are:

• Muscle tenderness.
• Painful muscles.
• Reduced range of motion due to stiffness.
• Swelling of affected muscles.
• Muscle fatigue.
• Temporary loss of muscle strength.

Compression sleeves help to reduce the DOMS effects by improving blood circulation and removing lactic acid from your body. This further helps in a faster recovery.

Faster recovery

Running arm sleeves helps in your faster recovery. As stated above, it helps in the faster removal of lactic acid from your body.

Due to an improved supply of blood to the muscle tissues, they get a better oxygen supply. This helps to remove the lactic acid build-up and helps in faster muscle recovery.

Also, faster removal of lactic acid from the body reduces the time you take to recover from your running training. It also reduces muscle tenderness and soreness, which are unwanted effects of logging a lot of miles.

Improved Protection

When you run accidents may happen like you trip and fall down. This can develop injury due to friction with the surface on which you are running.

Frequent areas of such injuries are the elbows and the knees. And those bruises are far worse than the clean cuts against the skin.

If you have an additional layer of fabric on your arms, your chances of getting hurt are less even when you fall down.

This way your arm sleeves will provide you with improved protection in case of such accidents.

UV protection

Although not well all the arm sleeves, with many of them you get UV protection when you are running under the sun.

This helps you to reduce the chances of sunburn…also, UV rays are really bad for the skin and may cause skin cancer.

If you are running under the sun frequently, it is a good practice to use sunscreen to protect your skin. 

Having a compression running arm sleeve with UV protection is an added bonus as it will reduce the UV effect on your skin considerably.

Providing warmth and cool

When you wear an arm sleeve, it is an additional layer of fabric on your arms. In cooler weather, it keeps you warm.

Also, due to the breathability of the sleeves, it dissipated the generated heat and keeps your hands cool.

Style statement

There are many types of arm sleeves that are available with different kinds of printed designs. This improves their charm and you can make a style statement.

Since the material of the arm sleeve clings to your hand, the display of the print is even more prominent, providing you with that added style.

Related: How To Treat and Prevent Charley’s Horse in Runners?

What to check while choosing a compression arm sleeve?

To choose a compression arm sleeve, the size, fit, material, brand, and color need to be checked. Also, any special features like UV protection and price also need to be checked.

Although the above summarises what you need to check while choosing a compression arm sleeve, below I’m describing them in more detail:

Size

This is the first criterion that you should check for the arm sleeves. The arm sleeve should sit on your arm comfortably – not too tight, not too loose.

If you choose the wrong size, you will not be able to get the benefits of the arm sleeves. Most companies, provide you with a size chart with the radius of the sleeve and the overall length of the sleeve.

Before purchasing, it is good if you measure yourself up to pick the correct size.

Fit

The fit of the arm sleeve should not be too tight. Else you may end up having restricted blood flow instead of improved blood circulation.

You can give the arm sleeve a try and check if it is giving you that super restrictive feel.

UV Protection

Not all compression arm sleeves are made equal. Some have UV protection and some don’t.

While picking an arm sleeve check if yours have UV protection. Sometimes it is mentioned on the labels.

Other times, the fonts are so small, that it becomes almost impossible to derive this answer. If you are confused, check with the salesperson of the store.

If you are buying online then, most of the time, this will be mentioned clearly either in the product title or in the description.

Material

Check if the material that is of your compression arm sleeve is made from sweat-wicking material or not.

This will keep the skin surface cool and dry and it will itself remain dry. This will provide you with some relief as you will not have to deal with the wetness of the sweat and that odor.

Color and print

This is one of the important aspects if you want to have a cooler arm sleeve. If the color is on the lighter side of the spectrum, you will have a cooler arm sleeve.

If the color is on the darker side of the spectrum, it will be warmer.

Apart from the color, another important aspect is the print on the arm sleeve. Some like a floral print and some like an edgier or tattoo look.

Price

Some of the arm sleeves are costlier than others. If you compare the price of the popular brands with that of the others, you will find that the branded ones are more expensive than the others.

But does that make them better?

Not necessarily…

You will find many good arm sleeves at a more reasonable price, but make sure to check the reviews…

Check the reviews

This is one of the ways that we all use to judge the quality of the products. The thumb rule is, that the higher the stars the better the product.

However, this should be taken with a pinch of salt.

The reviews on many of the sites have a lot fake. So, my idea is to scroll past the 4 stars and the 5 stars…and check the 3 stars…

This provides me an idea of how good the product is…or is there any repetitive problem that is evident from the comments?

Also, check the ratio of the high stars vs low stars…this will also give a rough idea about the quality of the arm sleeve.

Thumbhole

Some of the arm sleeves come with a thumb hole. This helps to keep the sleeve in place. 

Also, some prefer it and some don’t. While picking an arm sleeve check what you like. 

Padding

This is mainly present in the arm sleeves for soccer…however, if you want to add some added protection against accidents you can go for an arm sleeve with padding.

The padding is not present throughout the length of the sleeve but in the key areas…

Related: How To Improve Glute Strength For Improved Mobility And Performance?

Conclusion

In the above sections, we have provided the details of how you can choose a compression arm sleeve that will work for you.

More than anything, if you try on a compression arm sleeve that will give you a fair idea of which one to choose.

Also, it will keep you comfortable and make your recovery faster…Try them, and you will not regret it.

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Running injury is common among runners. Some are related to the sport whereas some are related to external circumstances…

Today we are providing you with some safety tips that will help you to avoid the most common running injuries.

So, let’s begin…

10 Safety Tips For Runners To Avoid Getting Injured…

While running is fun, getting injured is not fun…it will make you not only deal with the pain, but also you may have to take a break from running for some days or weeks.

However, with a bit of care, we can actually avoid such injuries to a great extent, and here is how to do it…

Related: Mistakes While Strengthening Hamstrings: How To Avoid Them?

1. Severe muscle cramps

Muscle cramps are very common among runners. That severe pain that suddenly shoots through your body can be one of the most dreadful experiences.

The immediate effect of this is that you have to stop. No matter how good of a runner you are, you will have to stop.

And these cramps can come up from nowhere. For example, you are running, suddenly your calf muscles start to get stiff, and then within seconds you are withering in pain.

Or you may have that dreaded side stitch which is oh…so common…

And I’m pretty sure you know how exactly it feels…

But why does this keep on happening?

Well, one of the main reasons for that is you are having lesser fluid intake…

This is also very common among runners who are in tropical countries where the weather is generally hot and humid like India where I’m from.

The humidity of the weather sometimes reaches almost 99% and the heat…sometimes 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

In such weather, you will sweat profusely and will lose a lot of water from your body in form of sweat. Not only water but with sweat, you tend to lose sodium and potassium from your body.

These electrolytes if not replaced on time, can lead to severe muscle cramps…

So, what to do?

Mix some electrolyte powder with water and drink it before your run. Alternatively, you can also mix sugar and salt with water which also acts as a form of electrolyte.

Recipe:

• 1 cup of water.
• 1/4 teaspoonful of salt.
• 1/2 tablespoonful of sugar.
• 1 wedge of lime. (optional).

 Mix all the last three ingredients with the water and drink it before heading out for your run.

Related: How To Treat and Prevent Charley’s Horse in Runners?

2. Not warming up

This is one of the biggest mistakes that many runners make, be it a pro or an amateur.

Not warming up before your run potentially opens you up for severe injuries like muscle cramps, hamstring pull, etc.

However, in severe cases, you may have to take a break from running for a couple of weeks to months to recover from the injury.

You will get behind with your training and you will not be able to reach your running goals on time.

Instead, if you focus on doing that warm-up routine before your running, then you will be able to potentially avoid these kinds of problems.

When doing warm-ups, it is best to first focus on your mobility after which you should do some light cardio to get your heart rate going.

Here is a simple mobility routine that you can follow before your running to improve your body’s overall range of motion:

Related: How To Improve Glute Strength For Improved Mobility And Performance?

3. Running on heels

For many runners, running on their heels comes easy. Also, the way running shoes are constructed nowadays also encourages heel strikes.

However, running on heels is like putting a hard break on your car while moving at considerable speed.

It puts a lot of impact on your joints starting from the ankle joint to the knee and the hip joint.

Over time, it can cause a lot of damage to these joints and can cause you to go through a lot of pain and discomfort in your day-to-day life.

It is encouraged to run on your midfoot or forefoot which will help you to avoid these kinds of injuries.

Some of the other benefits of running forefoot are that your speed will increase almost immediately and your hamstrings will not get pulled.

Related: 5 Best Running Form Tips To Stop You From Getting Hurt

4. Only focusing on running

Running is a form of cardio exercise. It helps you to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time…however, it does very less to strengthen your whole body.

If you are overweight and try to only run, you may experience a lot of pain in your joints. Also, as you start losing weight, you will end up with loose skin (not fun, I tell you…)

A way to avoid this is to do strength training. The amount of fat that you will lose will be replaced with muscles. This helps your body to maintain its tone and structure.

Also, if you strength train, your body will be more apt in dealing will injuries. Even if you fall down, it will be strong enough to protect you from some of the impacts.

This is not the same, with only cardio training…

Also, the development of muscles will be faster with strength training and you will be able to achieve the body you want in a shorter period of time.

Related: How To Do Shoulder Press With Bad Shoulder Mobility: Exercises For Shoulder Flexibility

5. Avoiding carbs at all cost

Carbs have a bad rep these days…however, they are one of the primary food groups in our nutrition regime.

If you are a runner, this is one thing that you must include in your meals. This will help you to build up the glycogen store in your body, which will be used up when you go for those strenuous running sessions.

Otherwise, as you run, over time your muscles will get weaker which will lead to injuries like:

• Muscle pull
• Sprain
• Body pain
• Muscle or tendon tear, etc…

But why will this happen?

Without carbs, your body doesn’t have enough fuel to go on with…so it will turn to the resources that are present in your body…namely protein and fat…

It will start to break them down and convert them to energy…this is why your muscles will get weaker and you may have to deal with the above issues.

Related: Is Running The Quickest Way To Lose Weight?

6. Running with loud music

The tips that we have provided above are directly related to running itself. However, you may be doing everything right with running but may still end up getting injured.

Here are some of the reasons, that may lead to an injury indirectly…

Running alone may become boring sometimes…

As a way to not be bored, many of us take refuge in music…When using music, it is good to have it at a level, where you are able to hear what is going on in the surroundings.

However, if the music is too loud, you may not be able to hear the honking of the vehicles or any other warning signs that may help you avoid injuries…

For example, if the music is too loud and you are turning through a corner, you may not hear the warning honk that a car made…and you may end up crashing into the car…

My point is, please keep the loudness of the music to that extent which will help you to be aware of the surroundings and will help to stop yourself from meeting with accidents.

Related: Is running a mile a day enough cardio? Can you lose weight?

7. Running with a worn shoe…

This is a common reason for many runners. We don’t keep track of the number of miles that our shoes have already worked out for.

After around 300-500 miles, the cushioning of the shoe is not good…

It gets compressed and may develop uneven areas…

This puts a lot of strain on your Achilles and the plantar fascia band…which leads to inflammation of these areas…

And the pain…you will feel it with every step and you will actually need to implement a lot of things to recover from this injury.

However, if you keep a track of the mileage of the shoe, you may be able to avoid such problems.

Related: 7 Best Running Shoes for Sesamoiditis

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8. Running through logged water

This is a common scenario in my area…When it pours, there is a lot of water logging, and many times you may have to cross water that is knee-deep…

Let’s say you are running on a day when it is pouring or maybe after the rains and you encounter a road where the water is logged…

Rather than changing course, you throw caution to the wind and brave through the water log…

Problem is, that you did not see the huge pothole that is hiding under the water, waiting for you to step on it…

As a result, you end up with a twisted ankle and a long break from running.

This is a milder scenario…what if, instead of the pothole, it was a manhole that is missing its lid…

It could even turn into a fatal accident…

When you encounter water logging and is not able to see the road under water, it is best to not brave through those water and change the course.

Related: How To Strengthen Your Knees When You Have Knee Pain?

9. Not being observant of the traffic

If you are a runner who is running inside the city, be careful of the traffic that is coming your way…

This is especially true when you are running through the signals…

Most of the time, drivers are careful…however, you should not put your life at risk or trust someone else with it.

What if the oncoming car’s driver is not mindful?

Be observant of them and cross the junctions when the signals are in your favor…

This is especially true for the runners in India…

In the morning when the traffic is less, many of us have the habit to overlook the signals and the traffic…

We run as if we are in a park and are not cautious enough about the traffic…this is very dangerous and many accidents happen this way…

Related: Learning To Jog To Lose Weight? (40+ FAQs Answered)

10. Trusting your luck too much

Many of the unpleasant situations that arise during running can be attributed to predictability.

If someone tails you, or something similar, it may be because you use the same route, at the same time, and every day…

This gives a chance to the attacker to learn about your habits…

Once they are sure about your habit they may devise a plan and some of those bad situations arise…

It is not that you may not get into such situations if you are unpredictable, but the chances reduce drastically…

Also, if possible, try to use a time when people are around…instead of late nights or very early mornings…

Related: Running at 4 am in the Morning: 11 SECRET Habit-Forming Tips

Conclusion

The above list of tips is by no means exhaustive…however, but they will provide you with a pretty decent list of tips that are applicable to most of us.

There may be other ways to avoid running injuries…I would encourage you to list them below in the comment section.

References

Nigg, Benno M., Darren Stefanyshyn, Gerald Cole, Pro Stergiou, and Janice Miller. “The effect of material characteristics of shoe soles on muscle activation and energy aspects during running.” Journal of biomechanics 36, no. 4 (2003): 569-575.

Fields, K. B. (2011). Running injuries-changing trends and demographics. Current sports medicine reports, 10(5), 299-303.

Zhou, H. and Ugbolue, U.C., 2019. Is there a relationship between strike pattern and injury during running: a review. Physical Activity and Health, 3(1).

Zifchock, R.A., Davis, I., Higginson, J., McCaw, S. and Royer, T., 2008. Side-to-side differences in overuse running injury susceptibility: a retrospective study. Human movement science, 27(6), pp.888-902.

Fields KB, Sykes JC, Walker KM, Jackson JC. Prevention of running injuries. Current sports medicine reports. 2010 May 1;9(3):176-82.

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Elbows are very important joints and we tend to forget them until there is something wrong with them or we experience pain. Once we have that kind of pain, our day-to-day life activities get restricted and we cannot get back to it until this is fixed.

To strengthen an elbow that has pain, firstly rest is needed for its recovery. Then tricep exercises should be performed with progressive overload after doing proper warmup exercises.

Why do you get elbow pain?

Elbow pain can occur due to overuse of the joint while doing day-to-day work or when doing tricep workouts for a long time. This can also happen when lifting heavy weights for which the joint is not sufficiently strengthened or stretched.

There are many reasons for elbow pain. However, there are mainly only a couple of reasons for which you may have to deal with painful elbows.

Elbow joint is more resilient than many other joints in your body. It can help you to pick up a tremendous load and still doesn’t complain.

However, when you subject them to heavy lifting without proper conditioning, they may start to develop pain, which may be hard to get rid of.

Helpful for elbow pain: Sunbeam Heating Pad Wrap for Joint Pain Relief with Frozen Pack

Muscles and bones related to the elbows

The structure of the elbow joint is more like a hinge joint and is made up of different bones and muscles.

The main bones that are present in the elbow joint are the end of the humerus, ulna head, and radius head.

The humerus is the bone of the upper arm whereas the ulna and the radius are the bones of the forearm.

Their meeting point is the elbow joint which not only has the bones but also has a lot of important muscles that together function with the bones to give you an effortless movement.

These muscles are joined with the bones with the help of tendons.

The pain that you experience is mainly due to the inflammation of these tendons, especially in the triceps.

Triceps

There are three muscles that make up the triceps

• Long head
• Short head/lateral head
• Medial head

All three muscles are attached to the elbow joint using tendons.

When you are folding or relaxing the elbow joint, the triceps are the main group of muscles that comes into play, especially the long head and the medial head.

Also, they work as a supporting group of muscles when you do any kind of chest exercise like a chest press.

When you excessively load these tendons without letting them recover, you will start experiencing elbow pain.

Precautions to take for elbow pain

No matter how careful you are elbow pains can happen. Maybe you picked up more load than you are supposed to, or you may have picked up the load in a haste or unmindfully.

However, no matter the reason, now you have elbow pain. First and foremost, before trying to strengthen your elbow, first, try to follow the below precautions:

1. Use Elbow Guard/Brace

Elbow guards are one of the safest ways to support your elbow when they are recovering. It will provide external pressure to support the joint and don’t let the elbow joint move too much.

This will aid you if you have to lift up things in case this is unavoidable.

2. Contraction relaxation exercises for triceps

This is one of the easiest exercises to do for the triceps that will also help in its healing. Also, it will strengthen your elbow joint by strengthening the triceps and the associated tendons.

Steps

• Keep your elbow joint straight.
• Hold the smiley ball in your palm.
• Now squeeze the smiley ball.
• Release the pressure squeezing pressure on the smiley ball.
• Do this 2o rounds, 3 sets for each arm.

Doing this exercise will activate the tendons and the triceps.

3. Do any press-down movement with a nominal weight

If you are doing any press-down movements use a nominal weight. The weight should be such that you can do 30-40 reps of press down with that weight.

Other than using weight, you can also use thera band or resistance band. However, here also, the key is to use such a resistance that you can do 30-40 reps.

This is a kind of static warmup and will warm up the triceps properly. This will make also get the blood flowing into them properly and will aid in faster recovery.

Once you have warmed up your triceps sufficiently, you can increase the weight and do these pressing down movements and other elbow strengthening exercises.

However, there are certain exercises that you should avoid when doing tricep exercises when you have this kind of elbow pain.

Exercises to Avoid when having an elbow pain

When you have elbow pain, avoid the following exercises, until you have healed properly…

• Skull crusher
• Dumbbell lying extension
• Single overhead extension

Once you have recovered from your elbow pain, you can resume doing these exercises.

Related: How To Treat and Prevent Charley’s Horse in Runners?

However, if certain exercises may be detrimental to your already painful elbows, there are some exercises that you can still do…

We have segregated the list of exercises that you can do at the gym and at home. If you are a gym goer then you can use the machines that are at your disposal.

Tricep exercises for the gym

Rope Press-down

For this, you would need a cable machine. These are large machines that have a rope that you can pull down.

This rope is attached to the weight which sits at the bottom of the machine. You can increase or decrease the weight according to your strength level.

Steps

• Hold the rope ends with both hands.
• Keep your chest up, and neutral spine.
• Stand a bit back from the rope.
• Keep your shoulders and the rest of the upper body fixed.
• Now using your triceps muscles start pulling the rope down until your elbows are straight.
• Now slowly return the rope and your arms to the starting position.
• Do this for 20 reps, 3 sets

Precaution: Don’t release the rope too quickly on your way back up. This can put unnecessary strain on your elbow joint.

Related: How To Do Shoulder Press With Bad Shoulder Mobility: Exercises For Shoulder Flexibility

Pulley Press down

• Hold the cable handles with both hands.
• Push your hip backward while pulling the cable straight down.
• Your elbows should remain close to your body.
• When releasing, let the cable move starting up and you will be pushing the cable down back using your shoulder and your elbows.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

Other than doing these exercises, you can combine them with the below home workout routine for strengthening your triceps.

Home tricep and elbow strengthening routine

In this workout routine, we will focus on some basic movements that will help you to strengthen and develop your triceps without injuring them further.

Pushup

This is one of the most effective exercises to do at home while training your triceps.

Steps

• Lie down on your abs with your legs stretched straight backward.
• Place the palms of both of your hands beside your chest.
• Tighten your core and engage your glutes.
• Now come up as up exhale, until your elbows are slightly bent.
• Inhale while going down.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

If you cannot do a full push-up, you can always do a half push-up or a more beginner version of the push-up.

Variation of full push-ups for absolute beginners

This is a version of the push-up for absolute beginners. Beginners don’t have the strength yet to do a full push-up (like me). Also, if you are like me, you may also find it challenging to do a half push-up as well.

So, what is the solution?

You can do a variation of push up, that is picking up the body from the ground step by step…

Steps

• Lie down on your abs with legs stretched straight backward.
• Place the palms of your hand on the side of your chest.
• Exhale and lift the upper part of your body.
• Then lift your hip.
• Now straighten your knees by lifting them off the ground. Your toes remain on the ground.
• Inhale and bend your knees until they touch the ground.
• Now release your hip until it touches the ground.
• Now release your upper body until it touches the ground.
• Do this 20 times, 3 sets

This will reap similar benefits for your triceps as with the full push-up. Once you can do 40 rounds without stopping, move on to half push-ups and then to full push-ups.

Related: How To Squat With Poor Mobility?

Close Grip Push up

Steps

• Now lie down on your abs.
• Your palms will be next to your chest but as close as possible.
• Your elbows should be tucked in and pressed to your body.
• Now engage your core and glutes and with an exhale bring your body up.
• Inhale and go down.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

This kind of push-up will be difficult for beginners. You can do the above step-by-step variation of push-ups with a close grip.

Back Push Up

In this push-up, your back will be facing the ground. You can do this in two ways. Firstly you can do it on the bench as a form of bench dips, or you can do this with your body in a tabletop position.

I’ll be providing you with the steps of back push-ups in the tabletop position.

Steps

• Lie down on the ground on your back.
• Fold your knees and keep the feet near your glutes.
• Place your hands at the side of your ears.
• Engage your core and glutes.
• With the help of your triceps and glutes, bring your body up till your elbows are straight.
• Exhale and relax your hip to the ground.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

Close Grip Wall Push up

This is another variation of push up that you can do on the wall. This is a beginner-friendly exercise and will help those who cannot do a close grip push-up on the floor.

Steps

• Stand with your hand straight on the wall at chest level and close to your body.
• Now keeping the elbows tucked in, bend your elbows and bring your body to the wall.
• Straighten your elbows while simultaneously bringing your body up.
• Inhale while going down and exhale while going up.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

Both Hand Overhead Extension With Loop Band (Resistance band)

• Stand with one leg planted at the back.
• Use that foot to hold the resistance band so that it doesn’t move.
• Now hold the resistance band with both your hands and from behind your head.
• Now straighten your elbows until they are straight while pulling the resistance band.
• Now relax your elbows and go back to the starting position.
• Do this for 20 counts, 3 sets.

Conclusion

Although there can be a lot of reasons for having elbow pain, however, mostly the cause is overloading or overuse.

If you get that kind of pain, it is better to take a break and give your elbows some rest. Once the pain subsides, work towards strengthening your elbow joint by focusing on strengthening your triceps.

If you don’t know which exercises to do or what routine to follow, use the routine that we have provided in the above sections.

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Can/Should you run after leg day?

There are numerous routines that are present all over the internet that provides you with ways to strengthen your hamstrings.

However, most of the time the problem is not with the strength of the hamstrings, it is how you are doing it.

In this post, I’m covering the mistakes that you may be making while strengthening your hamstrings.

Muscles that make up the hamstring…

Before we dive into the mistakes of strengthening your hamstrings, we need to know the structure of your hamstrings.

The hamstring is not formed with one muscle…but is actually a group of muscles that work together to help you with all the complex movements relating to walking, running, bending, etc.

Hamstring muscles (Image curtsy: OrthoInfo)

If you have stiffness in any of the muscles of the hamstring then you will have a problem with movement or exercise.

Also, you may have pain in the knees due to instability.

Related: 26.2 Top First-Time Marathon Mistakes And How to Avoid Them

One of the main mistakes while strengthening hamstrings is that most people skip the stretching routine.

If you don’t stretch before the strengthening, the muscles will remain stiff. When you try to workout with these stiff muscles you may end up having an injury.

Also, if you don’t do stretching properly before strengthening exercises, the overall volume and strength of the muscles will not improve.

Related: 3 Month Half Marathon Training Plan

Stretching and mobility exercise routine

Standing forward bend

• Stand with your legs slightly apart.
• Raise your hands above your head.
• Now fold forward and try to go down as much as possible.
• Once you are into forwarding bend with each exhale and try to go slightly more down.
• Hold this pose for 30 secs and 3 sets.

Related: How To Squat With Poor Mobility?

Side Leg Lift Pose

Steps

• Lie down on your side with your body and leg in almost a straight line.
• Lift the top leg as high as possible.
• Then bring it down without touching the leg which is below.
• Do this for 20 rounds and 3 sets.

Seated forward bend

• Sit on the floor with your back straight.
• Lift both your hands above the head.
• Lengthen your torso as much as possible.
• Now with an exhale fold forward.
• When you are in the pose, try to deepen the pose with each exhale.
• Hold the pose for 30 secs and for 3 sets.

Half moon

• Stand on the floor with your feet hip-width apart.
• Now bend down until your back is parallel to the floor.
• Touch the ground with both of your hands.
• Now with an exhale lift your left leg up until it is in a straight line with your body.
• Your right leg is firmly planted on the floor.
• Now rotate your body so that your body the leg are facing the front wall.
• Raise your left arm up while holding your gaze at the tip of the left arm.
• Hold this pose for 30 secs and for 3 sets.

Half split

• Stand on the floor with your knees.
• The knees should be hip-width apart.
• Bring the left leg to the front while not moving the right one.
• Fold forward slightly with both of your arms placed on either side of the leg.
• Now deepen the pose, until you feel a stretch in your hamstring.
• Hold this pose for 30 secs and for 3 sets.

Downward Dog

• Come on all floors.
• Now raise your hips while keeping the palms and the feet on the ground until your body is an inverted V.
• Try to keep the heels on the floor.
• Hold the pose for 30 secs, for 3 sets.

Strengthening Exercises For Hamstrings

Once you have stretched the hamstrings follow the below exercise routine to strengthen your hamstrings.

Lying Leg Curl

Steps

• Lie down on your abs.
• Hold a weight that is comfortable for you between your feet.
• Now using your hamstrings bring the heels to your glute.
• Now take the heels back until it is around 60 degrees above the ground.
• Do this for 20 reps, 3 sets.

Precaution: Don’t use a weight that is too heavy for you. This will get your hip raised from the floor. This will increase the chances of your lower back injuries.

Stiff Leg Dead Lift

• Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart.
• Hold the barbell in your hand with a weight that is comfortable for you.
• Now lower down gradually by pushing your hip backward.
• Don’t move your arm at all.
• Go down until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
• Now slowly come back to the standing position.
• Do this 20 times, 3 sets.

Single Leg Dead Lift

• Stand with your legs shoulder-width apart.
• Hold a dumbbell or a kettlebell in one of your hands. You can use a barbell also once you progress.
• Now keep the arm where it is and raise your left leg until your torso is parallel to the floor.
• In this position, your hand will be hanging just above the ground.
• Go down until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
• Now slowly come back to the standing position.
• Do this 20 times, 3 sets.

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Are you facing back pain? Do you have a sedentary lifestyle? This is the most common problem that most of us face when working at a desk job. However, it can be fixed…and here is how…

To fix back pain from a sedentary lifestyle improve strength and mobility of the back by using mobility exercises like T-Spine rotation, cat and camel, and back section stretch. Also, improve the strength of the back with bhujangasana, superman, bird dog, cobra lift, and front single leg raise.

Why do you get back pain?

When you lead a sedentary lifestyle, stiff areas develop in your back. This is one of the primary causes of back pain. Also, you can experience lumbar pain which may be due to slip disc.

Back pain is very common in people who are having a sedentary lifestyle. Most people who have desk jobs are more prone to such pain.

To understand why you have such pain, let’s understand the structure of the back that supports your back…

Structure of the Lumbar region

The lumbar region is made up of 5 main disc-shaped bones. They are termed L1-L5. These disc-shaped bones are separated by gel-like disc structures which act as cushioning material and also provide flexibility to the spine.

Here is how it looks…

If you sit in the same posture for a long period of time, this is the region where you face the pain.

When you face pain in this region, most of the time it is due to a lack of strength and mobility issues.

In the following sections, we will provide you with a step-by-step routine for the mobility of this lumbar region…

Mobility routine for back pain relief

In this mobility routine, we will be looking at three separate exercises. Always do these exercises before you do any kind of back strengthening exercises.

The three mobility exercises that we will include in this routine are:

• T-Spine Rotation
• Cat and Camel
• Back Section Stretch

T-Spine Rotation

Steps:

• Stand on your knees with them hip-width apart as shown in the picture.
• Keep your left foot on the ground so that your knees remain bent and your thigh is parallel to the floor.
• Raise both of your arms to shoulder level and touch your palms as shown in the picture.
• Now rotate your left arm back while keeping the right arm in front. Hold it for 3 counts.
• Simultaneously turn your head towards the left arm.
• Bring back your left arm and touch both palms.
• Repeat this with the other hand.
• Do this 10 times with each hand, for 3 sets.

Related: 3 Month Half Marathon Training Plan

Cat And Camel Stretch

Steps

• Stand on your knees with your knees hip-width apart.
• Come on all fours with your spine in the neutral position.
• Dip your lower back and raise your spine as high as possible as shown in the picture.
• Now hunch your upper back and drop your head in between your hands.
• Do this 10 times for 3 sets.

Related: 20 week half marathon training schedule training 3 days a week

Back Section Stretch

Steps

• Lie down with your feet spread hip-width apart.
• Interlock your fingers and place them behind your head.
• Now raise the upper part of your body and hold for 3 counts.
• Lower your body and come down to starting position.
• Do this for 10 counts, 3 sets.

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Back strengthening exercises for a sedentary lifestyle

Once you have completed the above routine to improve the mobility of your back, follow the below routine to strengthen your back.

The set of exercises that we have included in this routine are:

• Bhujangasana
• Superman
• Bird Dog
• Cobra Lift
• Front Single Leg Raise

Now let’s look into the steps of all these exercises one-by-one…

Bhujangasana

Steps

• Lie down on the floor with your feet hip-width apart.
• Keep your palms on the floor and beside your shoulders.
• Using the strength of your lower back, raise the front portion of your body as high as possible.
• Hold for 3 counts.
• Go back to the starting position.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Superman

Steps

• Lie down on the floor with your feet hip-width apart.
• Spread your hands in front and make fists out of your palms with your thumb sticking out.
• With the strength of your core and back, lift both the upper and the lower parts of your body
• Hold for 3 counts.
• Go back to the starting position.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Bird Dog

Steps

• Come on all fours.
• Now lift the opposite hand and the leg as high as possible.
• Hold for 3 counts.
• Go back to the starting position.
• Repeat with the other leg and hand.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Cobra Lift

Steps

• Lie down with your legs hip-width apart.
• Place both of your hands on your side with palms on the floor.
• Squeezing your scapula (the shoulder bones) and with the strength of your lower back raise the upper part of your body.
• Hold the position for 3 counts.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Front Single Leg Raise

Steps

• Lie down with your legs stretched straight at the front and on the floor.
• Fold one leg at the knee and place that foot on the floor.
• With the help of your back and abs muscles raise the stretched leg that was on the ground straight up.
• Hold the position for 3 counts.
• Return the leg to the ground.
• Repeat this with the other leg.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

At this point, you can introduce the below two exercises in your back strengthening routine. This will help to make your back even stronger and will improve your mobility as well.

Hyperextension

Steps

• Sit on the floor with your legs folded backward.
• Now extend your arms upwards and bend down on the floor.
• Now take your left arm and hold your right knee while maintaining the back position as shown in the image.
• The right arm will be extended towards the left side as much as possible while keeping the forearm on the floor.
• Look towards the right side.
• Repeat this with the other arm.
• Hold this for 3 counts.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Good Morning

This exercise will improve the strength of your hips and glutes immensely. Once you get adjusted to this, you can also use a resistance band at the hips to improve your hip strength further.

Steps

• Stand with your legs hip-width apart.
• Interlock your fingers and place the palms behind your head.
• Start going down by pushing your hip backward until you feel a stretch in your hamstring.
• Hold this for 3 counts.
• Now with an explosive movement come up with your hip tilted slightly forward.
• Do this for 10 counts for 3 sets.

Conclusion

Having back pain is annoying. It can be so severe that it may hamper your day-to-day life as well as work.

However, a bit of precaution and the above routine can help you to have a better lifestyle. With the above routine, your back will not only be strengthened but also will have better mobility.

Better mobility means a better range of motion and maybe a lot less pain.

NOTE: We are not doctors and if you are feeling any pain in your back, consult your physician first, before starting the above routine.

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Newton running shoes are great. They are lightweight, stylish, and provide you with that extra pep with every step. But are they good for losing weight?

Newton running shoes are good for weight loss because due to the price one will want to put an additional effort into maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Also, to buy this shoe, for additional savings, one will have to cut corners, which most of the time ends up with healthier choices.

Reasons that Newton Shoes are good for weight loss

If you are planning to purchase Newton shoes and think that they will help you with weight loss, and are not sure why…

Here are 10 different reasons that Newton shoes will help you with weight loss…

Letting go of your expensive coffee

Let’s face it, the Newton running shoes are expensive. You need to save up money for that. Even if you buy the shoe on EMI, still you need to pay those monthly installments.

This is a substantial amount of money. Now if you don’t want to break your monthly budget, then you have to do something, to arrange this extra fund.

You can make this happen by arranging this extra money by adjusting your lifestyle. One way maybe you will adjust the price that you are paying for your coffee and settle for something cheaper or smaller than you are currently having.

You may also be taking fewer coffees outside to achieve this. This will eventually help your metabolism to adjust and help you to lose weight.

Why?

Because if you have a habit of drinking coffee on empty stomach, your metabolism will peak up only to find that there is no calorie to burn. It will then eventually slow down, aiding in storing extra weight.

Related: What Are Brooks Levitate Good For?

Eating less outside

Another way you may be arranging the funds for your Newton running shoes is to visit restaurants less frequently.

This not only saves you a lot of money but also a lot of calories.

The plates that are served in these restaurants are huge. Also, the ingredients that they use to make it tasty are also packed with a lot of calories.

This alone has the potential to make you bloat like crazy.

However, since now you are in saving mode and want to buy that shiny Newton running shoe, you are willing to sacrifice these outside meals and may engage in activities that are outright fun but less expensive on the pocket.

As a side effect, it will reduce your calorie consumption, which will help you in your weight loss.

This is merely a side effect of you wanting to buy that shoe. In other words, this is another way that Newton Running Shoes will help you to lose weight.

Related: Are Hokas Good For Heel Strikers?

Stopped drinking calories

Maybe you don’t want to sacrifice the restaurants but want to do it in a different way. You may have pledged to give up on the sugary drinks that you feel so good to consume.

This will also not only save you money, but also a lot of calories.

Since your average calorie intake reduces due to saving up for your Newton shoe, you will be able to lose some weight because of this.

Related: Why Are ON Cloud Shoes So Expensive? (21 Reasons Why…)

Eating more veggies to reduce the cost of your meal

Veggies will cost you less than other kinds of food ingredients. They are cheap and you can load up your plate with a lot of nutrients.

If you are planning to buy an expensive shoe like Newton, then you have to cut the corners to have that extra cash.

If you can reduce the overall cost of your daily meals and also have more nutritious meals then who wouldn’t do that?

This will reduce the overall calorie intake, save money and get you a new shoe like Newton.

In other words, this will help you to lose weight as a side effect of buying a Newton shoe.

Related: Why Are Saucony Shoes SO Expensive? (15 Reasons Explained)

Having more home-cooked meals

Another way for saving up for that Newton shoe of yours is to cook more meals at home. This will help you to save up the money for your Newton shoe much faster.

This way you will not only save up money but also will be consuming a lot healthier food.

Also, the volume of the food that you are consuming, if it has more veggies will be more and will keep you fuller for a longer time.

This way, you will be less prone to craving and impulsive snack-buying and eating.

This has two advantages, your money will be saved and you will be eating way fewer calories which will, in turn, help you to lose weight all because you want a Newton shoe.

Related: Are ON Running Shoes Good For High Arches?

Eating more protein to keep you fuller for longer

Now you need to save money for your Newton, for that, you are focused on your money-saving goal.

One way to achieve that is to reduce your cravings and be full for a longer period of time. One way to do that is to have more protein in your meal.

Protein gets digested slowly. Also, its thermic effect or the number of calories that are required to digest it is more.

So, when you consume more protein, not only that you will feel full for longer but also will eat fewer calories.

This will help you to lose weight, just because you want to have a Newton running shoe.

Related: Are Mizuno Shoes Good For Wide Feet?

Using the shoe since you have brought it anyway

How many times it has happened to you that you have bought something, but you did not use it?

But if you have bought a Newton shoe anyway, it will pain you more to not use it at all…after all, you have put so much effort just to purchase it…

So, you will end up using it anyway…and by that, you will probably go out running…because this is the reason you have bought the shoe anyway.

However, if you do that, you will probably lose weight as running is one of the best ways to lose weight.

Combined with any of the above things, you will be able to lose weight almost guranteedly…

Related: Are Brooks Shoes Really Expensive? (The 10 Best Brands Compared)

Improved performance

Newton has a different structure attached to the sole of the shoe. This provides you with swifter propulsion and overall improved performance.

This will help you probably burn more calories and lose those pounds faster.

However, the rate at which this will happen is not as high as you may imagine. It will be slightly faster than it usually is…

This will happen only because you have used a Newton running shoe.

Related: Why Do Hokas Hurt Your Feet?

Hitting the Gym

Now you have a good running shoe that you have always wanted. However, the Newton is a low-drop shoe that is actually great for a gym.

Since you have already spent so much money on this shoe, you would want to maximize the gain from it.

So, after running, hitting the gym is the next logical choice as it will help you utilize this shoe more.

Now, you are running as well as going to the gym, just because of your Newton running shoe. It is obvious that you will lose weight.

Related: Running Shoe Heel Drop Chart (Illustrated)

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