Tuesday’s Workout:  15 Minute AMRAP: 1 rope climb, 10 ring dips, and 20 wall-ball shots.  Climbing a rope is sort of a forgotten art in the mainstream fitness world.  New CrossFitters often remark that they haven’t climbed a rope since gym class!  Rope climbing may have given way to shiny lat pull-down machines at the franchise gyms, but we still see it as an incredible exercise for strength development–not just pulling strength, but also forearm and grip strength.  And, there’s something pretty cool about reaching the top and touching that knot. 

Article:  Stronger Hips Improved Running Mechanics, Lessened Knee Pain, Research Finds

“The results indicate that the strengthening intervention was successful in reducing pain, which corresponded to improved mechanics,” said Dierks, associate professor of physical therapy in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. “The leg was going through more motion, suggesting that the (pain) guarding mechanism was reduced, and coordination or control of many of these peak or maximum angles in the leg were improved in that they were getting closer to occurring at the same time.”

Only in recent years have researchers begun studying the hips as a possible contributor to patellofemoral pain (PFP). This study is the first to focus on hip strength and gait changes during prolonged running. Dierks, director of the Motion Analysis Research Laboratory at IUPUI, discussed his findings at the American College of Sports Medicine annual meeting in Denver.

Read the whole article and post your thoughts to the comments.