Fast Kate's 8 Step Activation Series
If you are doing a workout, do these activation exercises first! This routine takes five minutes and it makes all the difference. We start out with focused exercises that activate and mobilize key running areas (back and core, glutes, feet, and calves). The motions get bigger and more functional throughout with walking and lunging. The skips at the end are the transition to running movement. Each exercise is 30 seconds in length.
- Cat Cow - This exercise is all about the synchronization of breath and movement. Start in table position, with hands under shoulders and knees and feet hip width apart. On inhale, soften the belly towards the floor. On exhale, draw the belly button in and round the back.
- Glute Bridges - Bend your knees and position your feet flat on the ground, hip width apart. Then drive your heels and upper back to lift your glutes off the ground. Drive your hips up as high as possible and squeeze your glutes for 2-3 seconds and lower back to the ground.
- Toe Yoga -Focus on pushing the big toe into the ground while lifting the four other toes. Release and repeat for 30 seconds. This activates the muscles and tendons in the foot/arch/ankle.
- Ankle Rotation -Stand straight and upright, raise one foot off the ground and rotate the raised foot and ankle slowly in different directions.
- Toy Soldiers - Keep your head tall as you gently pull your knee to your chest and foot to your glutes.
- Lunge Sequence - Lunge to the front, lunge to the side, to the other side, and then lunge to the back. Six reps of each lunge. For the back lunge, stand tall, and initiate the backward movement by first bending your knee to 90 degrees, then activating your glute/hamstring to push your foot back as far as possible before touching the ground.
- Curtsy - Heal to ground in front of you, bend the back leg and keep the front leg straight, bend to sweep the ground alongside your ankles. Keep back as straight as possible as you bend. You should feel this along the back of your leg. Flex back your foot more to feel more in the calf, straighten lower back more to feel more in the glute/hammy
- Karaoke - Shuffle side to side, karaoke side to side, twist upper body in the opposite direction as hips for spine mobility.
When you complete this routine, you’ll be primed and ready to run.
XO
MORE STORIES
Reflecting on the Year of the Underbird
This past August, we launched our Year of the Underbird program: an open application for aspiring Olympic Trials marathoners, with a promise to select 5 women for a 6 month contract encompassing a stipend, gear, storytelling, and community support. As we reach the end of our flight with our selected athletes, we invited each of them to share a few reflections on their past 6 months as teammates.
Black History Month: Celebrating Our Athletes
We are honored to support five exceptional Black women athletes challenging norms in the running industry: athletes, advocates, and powerful voices in the sport. We invited each of them to reflect on their journeys through sport: how their identity has affected their development, and how they hope to impact the rising generation of athletes. Hear from Madie Boreman, Kendra Coleman, Brenna Detra, Carmen Pelar Graves, and Ari Hendrix-Roach.
Learn, Grow, Pass It On: Increasing Access to Adaptive Sports
Paralympian, pushrim athlete, and Oiselle Haute Volée, Jenna Fesemyer, continues to pave the way and inspire the next generation of wheelchair athletes. She is committed to increasing access to adaptive sports, including access to equipment and training resources, and recently co-hosted a wheelchair clinic for young athletes in Columbus, Ohio.