Who is Dr. Metzl and why should you believe him? Well, pull up a chair and I’ll tell you.

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Dr. Metzl is a badass. Not because he’s a doctor but because he’s an athlete, and athletes make the best doctors by the way. Now, when I say ‘athlete’ I don’t mean he runs an occasional 5K, I mean he is an Ironman 12 times over (12!) and has dominated 32 marathons.

This is him biking though what looks like a monsoon at an IM in Lake Placid.

This is him, biking though what looks like a monsoon, at an IM in Lake Placid.

Now do you believe he has the key to a happy running life? I thought so.

Wanna know where the key is? It’s in your butt. Dead serious.

Through my relationship with Runner’s World I was given a copy of Dr. Metzl’s new book Running Strong to preview and tell you what I think of it. Sadly there was no compensation involved and I’m forced to tell you the honest truth. Bummer.

I know you may be rolling your eyes at the thought of yet another running book but, this one has two very distinct things that set it apart and will guarantee your running longevity, if you fill your prescription and follow doctors orders:

1. It reads like a reference manual for runners. It’s broken into body parts (tell me where it hurts!) which the doc discusses exactly what may be going on and why. The best part? He tells you exactly what to do about it, including when to see your own doctor. Included at the end of each section are stretches and foam rolling techniques for each unique pain or strain.

It’s quite literally a step by step guide to every ache and pain you can think of. I fell in love.

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2. Ever heard of Blippar? Me either, until I read this book. Blippar is an app you download to your smart phone. There are symbols in the book where you can use this app to actually watch video of Dr. Metzl explaining certain complicated issues or see demonstrations of stretches, foam rolling or exercises. In the above image, you can see it in the top right of the page.

I cannot tell you how amazing and beneficial this is to see when you’re reading along.

Blippar

Here’s a video of me demonstrating the ease and magic of Blippar:

 

After Dr. Metzl explains each and every running injury he has come across in his tenure, and tells you how to treat and/or prevent them (including case studies), he gets right to the point of running longevity:

 

“If there’s one phrase you will hear over and over from me, it’s this: A strong butt is key to a happy running life.”

That’s right. The key to your running happiness has been with you all along. Now you just have to activate it!

This brings us to Dr. Metzl’s IronStrength workout. Now, if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I love a good challenge. I also think I’m in pretty good shape, especially right now as I’m weeks away from running 26.2. I decided to try this workout in lieu of my normal strength training day last week, and OMG my ass was screaming at me, as well as several other body parts. It was a wake-up call that I need to do a lot more work if I want to keep running into my 80s. Yes, that’s my plan.

It starts off with a warm-up and then he gets right to it with 6 sets of 15 squat jumps. I couldn’t do 6 sets so I did 3.

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The workout only lasted 35 minutes, I modified quite a bit, and was toasted by the end of it. And yes, I plan to do it weekly! It’s everything runners need and Dr. Metzl’s guide is very encouraging, offering every possible modification and guidelines for improvement, as well as a Blippar video.

And, if you’re lucky enough to live in NYC, he holds FREE IronStrength classes.

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The entire book is broken into five parts:

Part I: Nuts and Boltsoverview of the body and how bone, ligaments, tendons and muscle are connected…or not.

Part II: Uh-Oh! What’s That Pain? – this is where all your aches and pains are explained and remedied.

Part III: Getting the Most from Your Machineincluding your biggest weapon (your brain) and the neglected super hero (sleep).

Part IV: Tools of the Trade – food, shoes and clothing. Ah the simplicity of running.

Part V: His and Hers – because we’re different and it’s awesome.

If all of that isn’t enough to convince you that you need this book in your life, there are also running training plans for every distance imaginable, designed by Runner’s World very own Coach Budd Coates. BOOM!

If you’re a runner, buy this book. If you know a runner, give them this book as a gift. Doctors orders!*

*I’m not a doctor but I write about one on my blog.

[Tweet “@drjordametzl holds key to a happy running life! Read all about it #RunningStrong #ironstrength”]

Have you ever heard of Blippar?

Do you own any running books or other reference/guide books?

Do you want to try the IronStrength workout?

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