Q: I recently had an ‘elite’ runner come through the clinic where I work. I won’t get into his injuries but he is jacked up.

He does absolutely no strength, flexibility, or mobility work. His warm up consists of jogging about 5 minutes. I’m sure this is a familiar scenario.
My question is before you created such an outstanding reputation as a strength/rehab/corrective coach, how did you get athletes to buy in to what
you are telling them? It appears that my sales pitch is lacking. Do you have any tips/attention getters that you find useful when dealing with know
it all but know nothing athletes? I know you are extremely busy, any advice would be helpful.

A: Sell him on the easy stuff, first. Hop on a foam roller and show him that you’re pain free, and then stick him on one and let him appreciate how much it hurts on his TFL/ITB. Do the same with a lacrosse ball on his butt and calves. That shows the soft tissue differences between the two of you.

Start simple instead of trying to overhaul everything. Give him some supine bridges, birddogs, and a few more mobility exercises to improve hip rotation and extension.

Next, add in some lifting and swap a distance session for a sprint session.

Sit down with him and talk footwear as well. Runners love to buy new sneakers.

Win him over bit by bit.

Eric Cressey