Runners: Boost Performance, Improve Results, and Avoid Injury Discover the transformative power of pliability with Pliability for Runners , designed to help runners of all levels enhance their performance and prevent injuries. This book offers over dozens of exercises and sport-specific workout plans, all backed by modern, field-tested science. It is an essential resource for achieving optimum athletic performance while breaking the injury cycle. Recreational runners, cross-country and track athletes, competitive road racers, and professional athletes worldwide recognize the critical importance of proper body maintenance. Without it, muscle fatigue and injuries can hinder performance and progress. Pliability (the loosening, softening, and relaxing of muscles) is gaining traction in professional sports, physical therapy, and health/fitness as a key method to offset these issues. The Benefits of Pliability for Runners : • Enhanced Performance: Improved muscle elasticity and strength lead to better running efficiency and speed. • Injury Reduction: Regular pliability exercises help prevent muscle fatigue, repetitive motion injuries, and general wear-and-tear. • Increased Flexibility: Greater range of motion and muscle relaxation contribute to overall better athletic performance. • Better Recovery: Pliable muscles recover faster from workouts, reducing downtime and enhancing training consistency. Key Features of Pliability for Runners : • Expert: Written by an exercise physiologist and coach at the Boston Running Center, ensuring credible and effective advice. • Comprehensive: Detailed explanations on improving muscle pliability, flexibility, and resilience. • Targeted : Includes stretches and exercises suitable for every fitness level, focusing on muscle strength, range of motion, explosive power, chronic muscle tension, endurance, and flexibility. • Field-Tested: All workout plans are backed by the latest research and practical application in sports science. Pliability for Runners redefines running performance and injury prevention, making it a must-have for anyone serious about their running journey. Whether a recreational runner or a professional athlete, this book provides the tools and knowledge to keep you running strong and injury-free. Joseph McConkey, MS, is a running coach and exercise physiologist, specializing in deducing and correcting causative factors to repetitive motion injury. He has worked with the full spectrum of running athletes, from first-time runners, to marathoners around the world, to Olympic athletes at the elite high altitude training camps of Ethiopia and Kenya. He has coached at the club, college, and pro levels and have been the director of the Boston Running Center's Gait Analysis Lab for the last 10 years. Joseph's expertise on injury-prevention has him regularly presenting at hospitals, rehab centers, running camps, and club events. Joseph holds the highest accreditation by the USA Track and Field Association and the IAAF (the international governing body of track and field), as well as a Masters in Exercises Science with a focus on Injury Prevention and Sports Performance. What is Pliability? “I love and believe in pliability. In fact, improving my pliability was a major reason I was able to set the world record while staying healthy and injury-free. Pliability works!” —Becca Pizzi, first American to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days ‘Pliable’ is defined as a person or thing that easily bends or is influenced. It can describe anything from leather, plastic, or wood to the nature of public opinion, and everything in between. In the realm of exercise physiology, the word ‘pliability’ takes on a similar connotation and can be defined as the ability of our soft-tissue (muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia) to be compressed without excessive resistance or discomfort. It is a clear, easily deduced physical attribute that many exercise professionals now rely on when assessing an athlete’s or client’s health and fitness. “Pliability is the foundation of muscle health. A muscle that is not pliable cannot contract, cannot gain strength or power, lacks nutrition and hydration, is prone to injury and cannot perform as intended.” —Physical therapist William Hernandez with Delos Therapy Delos Therapy is a thriving physical therapy practice based out of Chicago and is part of a recent movement in the health/fitness industry. This movement values improving pliability before anything else—before strength, before flexibility, before training. This simple concept has been known and practiced by individuals for decades, and over the past 10 years is moving quickly into the mainstream (including Tom Brady's TB12 training center, where the pliability of NFL football players is valued just as much as pure strength). As Mr. Hernandez suggested, pliability is perhaps the single most important building block from which a healthy, stro