Injury Prevention Checklist

Running Injury Prevention Checklist

Week of: ___

Daily Habits

Pre-Run

☐ Adequate sleep (7+ hours) last night? ☐ Well-hydrated before running? ☐ No acute pain or concerning soreness? ☐ Dynamic warm-up if doing quality work? ☐ Appropriate shoes for today's run?

Post-Run

☐ Proper cool-down (walking, easy movement)? ☐ Rehydrated adequately? ☐ Ate within 60 minutes of hard/long runs? ☐ Noted any new aches or concerns?

Weekly Strength Routine

Complete 2-3 sessions per week. Check off exercises as completed.

Lower Body Strength (Choose 3-4 per session)

Exercise	Sets × Reps	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Squats	3 × 8-10	☐	☐	☐
Romanian Deadlifts	3 × 8-10	☐	☐	☐
Single-Leg Deadlifts	3 × 8 each	☐	☐	☐
Lunges (forward or reverse)	3 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Step-Ups	3 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Calf Raises (eccentric)	3 × 15	☐	☐	☐
Hip Thrusts	3 × 12	☐	☐	☐
Single-Leg Squats	3 × 8 each	☐	☐	☐

Core Stability (Choose 3-4 per session)

Exercise	Sets × Duration	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Plank	3 × 30-60 sec	☐	☐	☐
Side Plank	3 × 30 sec each	☐	☐	☐
Dead Bug	3 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Bird Dog	3 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Pallof Press	3 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Mountain Climbers	3 × 20	☐	☐	☐
Bicycle Crunches	3 × 20	☐	☐	☐
Glute Bridge (single leg)	3 × 12 each	☐	☐	☐

Hip Strength (Critical for runners)

Exercise	Sets × Reps	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3
Clamshells	3 × 15 each	☐	☐	☐
Side-Lying Leg Raises	3 × 15 each	☐	☐	☐
Monster Walks	3 × 20 steps	☐	☐	☐
Fire Hydrants	3 × 12 each	☐	☐	☐
Hip Circles	2 × 10 each	☐	☐	☐
Standing Hip Abduction	3 × 12 each	☐	☐	☐

Weekly Mobility Routine

Complete daily or at minimum 4-5 times per week.

Hip Mobility

Exercise	Duration	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Hip flexor stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Pigeon pose	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Figure-4 stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
90/90 hip stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

Leg Mobility

Exercise	Duration	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Hamstring stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Quad stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Calf stretch	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
IT band foam roll	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

Ankle/Foot

Exercise	Duration	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Ankle circles	10 each direction	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Toe spreads	10 × 5 sec hold	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Arch massage (ball)	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

Weekly Foam Rolling / Self-Massage

Area	Duration	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Quads	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Hamstrings	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Calves	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
IT Band	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Glutes	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Hip flexors	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Adductors	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐
Plantar fascia	60 sec each	☐	☐	☐	☐

Training Load Monitoring

Weekly Check-In

Current weekly mileage: **__** miles

% change from last week: **__**% (Keep under 10% increase)

Long run this week: **__** miles (Should be 25-35% of weekly total)

Quality sessions this week: **__** (1-2 max for most runners)

Overall fatigue (1-10): **__**

Muscle soreness (1-10): **__**

Sleep quality this week (1-10): **__**

☐ Mileage increased > 10% from last week ☐ Two hard workouts in a row ☐ Less than 6 hours sleep multiple nights ☐ Running through pain that worsens during run ☐ Ignoring persistent niggles (> 3 days) ☐ Racing when not recovered from training ☐ Skipping strength work for 2+ weeks

If 2+ red flags checked: Consider scaling back training this week.

Common Problem Areas

Track any recurring issues:

Area	Last flare-up	Current status (1-10)	Notes
Knees
Shins
Calves
Achilles
Plantar fascia
Hamstrings
Hip flexors
IT band
Lower back
Other:

When to Take Action

Mild (1-3): Continue training, extra foam rolling/stretching Moderate (4-6): Reduce volume, skip quality work, address daily Significant (7-8): Take 2-3 days off running, cross-train if pain-free Severe (9-10): Stop running, see a professional

Recovery Habits Tracker

Habit	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
7+ hours sleep	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Adequate hydration	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Post-run nutrition	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Foam rolling	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Stretching	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐
Strength work	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐	☐

Shoe Rotation

Shoe	Purchase Date	Approximate Miles	Replace At
			400-500 mi
			400-500 mi
			400-500 mi

Rotate shoes daily to vary stress on feet and legs.

Weekly Summary

What went well this week:

Areas needing attention:

Plan for next week:

Template from trainingplan.dev

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