Free guide
The Kneehab Run Guide
The 3-day strength plan I'd put you on before I'd let you build mileage. Running is a single-leg sport, and every step puts two to three times your bodyweight through one leg, so the plan trains the quads, hamstrings and hips that keep a knee straight, and the calves, tibialis and feet every single day. Bands, bodyweight and a step. Every exercise has sets, reps and a video of me doing it. Drop your email below and I'll send it straight over.
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3 days a week
Calves + feet every day
What's Inside
- ✓ Three sessions a week, written out. Day A is quads and calves, Day B is the posterior chain and shins, Day C is hips and feet. Each one lists the exercise, the sets and reps, and a video of me doing it.
- ✓ Calves, tibialis and feet every single day. Single-leg calf raises building to 25 clean reps, the ball calf raise for the tibialis posterior, bent-knee holds for the soleus, tibialis raises and weighted dorsiflexion for the shins, a big-toe calf raise and a balance hold. The part runners skip and the part that matters most.
- ✓ The quads, hamstrings and hips that keep a knee straight. Slant board squats, Poliquin step ups, banded TKEs and a Spanish squat hold. Single-leg banded RDLs, hamstring curls and slides. Side steps, abductions, kickbacks and hip flexor work.
- ✓ The Run-Ready Test and one rule. Four quick tests with targets so you know where you stand, and the rule I use on my own knee: pain stays at 3 out of 10 or less, in the gym and on the run, and back to normal by the next morning.
- ✓ A short equipment list. A small band, a large band and a door anchor, a step, and a small ball or a rolled towel. A slant board helps but a thick book does the job.
A Look Inside
Three of the pages, straight out of the PDF. Every exercise has its sets and reps and a link to a video of me doing it.
Who It's For
- ✓Getting back to running after a knee injury or surgery, once you've been cleared to train.
- ✓Runners whose knees start complaining past a certain distance, under the kneecap, on the inside, or in the tendon below it.
- ✓People who quit running years ago because of their knees and want to try again without the same ending.
- ✓Anyone living without an ACL who has been told running is off the table. I was told the same thing.
From People Who've Done the Programs
★★★★★
"Running always caused me pain even after my two surgeries and wasn't something I thought I would ever pick up again. Now I'm running 3 times a week and I'm even training for a half marathon. I never thought any of this would be capable without surgery but Connors program has helped me tremendously get back to doing all the things I love and I feel much stronger than before."
★★★★★
"Before working with Connor, I could trail run 2-3 miles before my knees would start hurting, even though I didn't have any previous knee injuries. Connor introduced me to the Knees Over Toes methodology and showed me how functional exercise and strengthening the key muscles around my knee could help my knee pain. Within 3-4 months, I was trail running as long as I physically could, and I even completed a 50K in July with NO knee pain!!"
★★★★★
"My knee would hurt going upstairs and doing little things that I had gotten accustomed to it, but I knew I always wanted to run again one day! I signed up and within 30 days of doing these exercises I felt no more pain! I haven't worked out in about 6 months currently and STILL no pain! The program really works and I learned so much!"
★★★★★
"Went through a 40% meniscus removal in May 25. Found your program in late June 25. Diligently following your recommendations to this day. My knee feels very strong."
Who's Behind It
I'm Connor, The Kneehaber. I've torn the ACL in my right knee four times and I'm currently training without one, with a compromised meniscus and arthritis to go with it. Since the fourth tear I've skied every winter, walked up Kilimanjaro and 14,000 feet back down with no knee pain, run two half marathons, and I'm training for HYROX on November 13 and the Honolulu Marathon on December 13 on that knee. None of it is luck. It's the feet, calves, quads, hamstrings and hips around the knee being strong enough to take a footstrike, and this guide is the exact work I use.
I'm a NASM certified trainer and an ATG Level 2 coach, not a physical therapist, and I'll always tell you to get a loud knee looked at before you load it.
Want the full program?
This guide is cut from Kneehab Run, the 12-week return-to-running block inside the Strong Knees System. Read about Kneehab Run →
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Foundations, strength, sprinting, downhill knees and the rest are all on the free guides page. See all the free guides →