Train Smart

Running Is Good For You, Yes You

I am tired of this complaint: “Running is bad for your knees”.  Really?  Are you sure?  I know you have heard this; maybe you’ve even said it.  I have a different point of view: Running is bad for your knees but only if you abuse them!  Mistreat the sport and in turn mistreat your body.

More is better—with oxygen, love, peace . . but NOT running.  The same is true for plenty of other healthy habits: too much iron in your diet leads to iron overload; Drink too much water and suffer water poisoning!  Some is good, more and more and more is not better.  Yet, people insist on pushing themselves until something breaks, and then blame it on the sport.

Let’s run the facts.  The risk of injury is higher when running, true.  But, consider why.  The increased injury risk is caused by impatience (i.e., pushing the speed and/or distance beyond what your body is trained for).  Yes, running produces higher ground reaction forces (i.e., impact forces) than

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