Injury: IT Band Syndrome
The Workout: Inner Thigh Squats, Stair Machines
IT band syndrome, the scourge of runners and office workers, describes a situation where you’ve developed severe pain along the big band that runs down your outer thigh. “One thing that can lead to this injury is if you aren’t stabilizing yourself properly due to weak hips and core,” says Reavy. “No exercises are off limits here actually, so work on strengthening those areas.” A great move to do is inner thigh squats. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out at 45 degrees. Squat down and push your hips back as far as you can while moving knees out. Go as low as possible while keeping weight in your heels, then push up through heels to stand. Perform the same exercise again, but this time keeping weight in the balls of your feet as you go down and up.
“Instead of running for cardio, try the revolving stair machine or sprinting on a treadmill set at an incline,” says Reavy. “Those activities will work your posterior chain properly and help you avoid landing too hard, like you might do on a run.”
Back to top
