Gathering the motivation to work out in any form is a wonderful accomplishment. Once you find your stride in a workout streak, the next decision to be made is the choice to work out smartly.
Here to help runners do just that is Run215, a running group-meets-running resource based here in Philadelphia serving to encourage “all faces and all paces” to get involved in the local running community.
On Tuesday, the group posted an informational video to its Instagram account dedicated to running safety — in the physical sense.
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The video features Run215’s founder, Jon Lyons, recommending a simple test for runners to perform to ensure their ability to run free of injury.
Call it the lunge test, to assess your ankle mobility, which can be performed by facing a wall and bending your knee in a staggered stance — without raising your heel. According to Lyons, this range of motion can easily be locked up by not moving enough (i.e,., sitting at a desk all day). Watch how to complete the mobility assessment here:
To pass the test, Lyons says, you should be able to touch your knee to the wall with your toes three to four inches away from the wall — again, without your heel lifting from the ground.
Why take this test? It’s a good indicator if you need to focus on gaining more strength and mobility before taking running more seriously, but it also may reveal that the lower back, hip or knee pain you’ve been experiencing post-run could be tied to a lack of mobility.