New Wave Physical Therapy & Sports Rehabilitation

01/01/2025

💪The top muscle that I see related to injuries at the hip, knee, foot & ankle in runners is the glute medius

The gluteus medius is one of the three glute muscles that is located on the outer surface of the pelvis and is critical for pelvic stability, balance, and efficient movement, most critically while on one leg.

Since running is a series of single leg jumps from one leg to the other, the gluteus medius is very important in maintaining pelvic stability and distributing forces evenly across the hip, knee, and ankle.When there is weakness in the glute med, you will often see a collapsing in at the knee with single leg activities.

This places strain on the IT band, knee, foot and ankle and can lead to IT band pain, runners knee, shin splints and plantar heel pain to name a few.

Ladies! Due to our anatomy (especially if you’ve had kids), we are more likely to have weakness in our glute med due to wider hips/great Q angle.

Some of my favorite exercises for strengthening the glute med are:

-Fwd/back monster walk with pause
- Standing clamshell (can add in a pause for extra spice)
- Captain Morgan
- Lateral resisted toe tap
- RDL with KB march
*Hint: Use a mirror when doing these exercises to make sure your knee is staying over about your second toe and not collapsing in

Even if you are not dealing with an injury, I recommend all runners to incorporate glute med strength!

If interested, we offer virtual or in person running, triathlon and strength coaching, or physical therapy as well as various run training camps with Space Coast Runners.

Any questions? Drop a comment, shoot me a DM, or contact me directly!

12/16/2024

I’m thrilled to announce an exciting addition to Spring Training Camp – Kids Camp!

As many of you know, I love involving my boys in everything camp, fitness, and the great outdoors. I’m also passionate about supporting parents in pursuing their big goals after having kids. But I understand that childcare can sometimes be a challenge.

That’s where Kids Camp comes in!

We’re partnering with Coach Lyons—an avid runner and incredible PE coach at Surfside Elementary—to create a fun and active experience for kids ages 3–12. Kids Camp will take place at the same locations as Spring Training Camp, giving your little ones the chance to enjoy a variety of outdoor games and activities.

This isn’t a running-specific camp but a space for kids to play, laugh, and make lifelong friends while you get your workout in. Let’s make fitness fun for the whole family!

Limited spots! Comment “kids” below for more information!

12/01/2024

An amazing in the books! I could not be more proud of everyone that raced today, and all runners that were part of our training camp! Thank you for trusting me with your training, committing to the process and inspiring me along the way. PR, or no PR, we had a real good time this camp!

11/30/2024

Come run 2 miles and ask all your race day questions! Tomorrow at 10am!

Make sure you put the Brooks Shakeout run on your to do list for Saturday! The group will meet at the Brooks tent at 10am at the race expo and run 2 miles along the South course. The group will be led by Space Coast Runners Coach Kaitlin Donner.
The shakeout run is free, no registration needed. Just show up.

10/04/2024

“Lymaris, you are an ironman!”

Wow, this one is special. I have not only worked with Lymaris for years, she was the first athlete I ever officially started coaching shortly after opening New Wave. I was so nervous that I wouldn’t get it “right” (heads up - there’s not one right answer) when we were chatting the first time.

I had no idea that would spark my love of all things coaching.

We have both grown so much over the years and I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished (both in sport and in life) culminating in this past weekend - Ironman Chattanooga!

Like with any build, we had to adjust and modify along the way. But, when I compare the athlete that just finished Ironman Chattanooga to the athlete of years ago it is night and day difference.

She put her head down this build, did the work, trusted the process, found her accountability partners and was super consistent! All of which paid off on race day.

Swipe for a quick interview Lymaris was so gracious to do, with a wonderful salsa dance finish at the end!

The absolute biggest congrats Lymaris!

09/23/2024

“Dave, you are an ironman!”

I’m not sure where to begin with how inspired and proud I am of Dave.

Was his ironman build perfect? No, they rarely are.

Did we adjust and adapt based on various life, work and family commitments? All the time.

Did he trust the process and put in the work? Absolutely.

Dave is a perfect example that there is not a one size fits all training program or race approach. What worked with Dave would likely not work for others, and vice versa.

Throughout the training process, we were both very transparent and I think that is where the key to his success lies. Dave was never afraid to share what his concerns were, how he was feeling, and how to best work through the physical and mental demands of training for an Ironman.

Swipe for a quick interview Dave was so gracious to do shortly after finishing Ironman Maryland this past weekend!

And PS - we haven’t even touched on how incredible his life changing weight loss/lifestyle change journey has been (which started long before we were working together). Keep swiping to the last slide for Dave 5 years ago. Mind. Blown.

Biggest congrats on all you have accomplished these last 5 years Dave!! We are so proud of you!

09/21/2024

Save this one for if you ever start to have pain at your sit bone! These are the exercises you will want to jump on.

High hamstring tendinopathy is a condition characterized by pain and inflammation where the hamstring tendon attaches to the ischial tuberosity (the "sit bone" at the bottom of the pelvis).

It typically occurs due to overuse or strain on the hamstring muscles and tendons, particularly in activities involving repetitive hip flexion (such as running or cycling).

It can be stubborn to treat due to its location and the stress placed on the hamstring tendons during daily activities.

Initially when irritable, the best exercises are going to be isometrics (holding), exercises that don’t involve hinging at the hip, which puts pressure at the hamstring attachment, and strengthening of surround musculature.

Here are 3 of my favorites that can easily be done at home:
1. Banded hamstring pull down
2. Hamstring bridge march*
3. Hamstring box bridge hold*
4. Single leg bridge
5. Hamstring bridge walk out
*Perform on the floor if increased pain/discomfort with feet on a box

09/19/2024

Patella tendonitis, is an overuse injury that causes inflammation of the patellar tendon, which connects the kneecap (patella) to the shinbone (tibia). This is the big tendon you can feel at the front of your knee just below your knee cap.

It helps transmit the force generated by the quadriceps muscle, allowing for knee extension, which is essential in activities like walking, running, jumping, and kicking.

This tendon is made to handle large forces, but if the demands of running (or life or other sports) exceed its capacity then you can start to have pain.

This can be caused by numerous things such as muscular weakness/imbalance, overuse, poor mechanics, or training errors.

Typically, pain is localized at the front of the knee, just below the knee camp and is worse with repetitive activities or squatting more than 90 degrees.

The rehab goal should be gradual and progressive loading of the quad as well as structures surrounding the knee, hip and ankle to support the knee joint. This is while also reducing or modifying aggravating activities.

If the patella tendon is very irritable, try turning these exercises into isometrics. (Think holding exercises like a wall sit where you move into the exercise then hold it for 5-10 seconds and complete less repetitions to decrease the chance of irritating it more.)

1. Single leg slant board squat
2. Rear foot elevated split squat
3. Forward heel tap

Have you experienced patella tendon pain and what helped you get back to pain free running??

09/18/2024

🏃‍♀️ Relay Night!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Relay Night is one of my favorite nights of camp.

We break up into pairs and complete a series of 800s by tagging back and forth with your partner.

Everyone works hard, the camaraderie is contagious, new friends are made AND we have some great prizes!

What other fun partner or team workouts could we add to our camp?!

09/12/2024

🔥 When your bestie is getting ready for another marathon swim and lets you write spicy strength workouts..

But seriously, this is so much fun and we’ve continued to progress every week with lots of attention to shoulder health. Taylor has a history of shoulder surgery and various shoulder pains from years of swimming at the top level, and it’s been really inspiring to see her attention to detail with her strength, and swim programming.

Athletes- don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone with strength, have fun with it AND do it with your friends. It will pay off big time for both injury resilience and performance (and a lot of times mental health)!
tot strength workout today (that we have built up to):

(Not pictured: the critical shoulder internal and external rotation work we always start with)

3 rounds of:
3 laps sled rope pulls + push
10 side plank cable pull
8 landmine
10 kettle bell swings

3 rounds of:
10 single arm TRX row
1 min treadmill plank walk
10 slider plank 3 way

So. Much. Fun.