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Physiorun
The Classroom
Your Weekly Running Strength Class
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This Week’s Class
Stop Stretching Your IT Band —
Do This Instead
A running strength class for ITBS — build the hip control and lateral strength that actually fixes it.
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IT band syndrome is one of the most common running injuries — and one of the most misunderstood. Runners foam roll it, stretch it, rest it. And then it comes back.
Here is the thing: your IT band cannot be strengthened directly. It is a thick band of connective tissue, not a muscle. What keeps it healthy is the strength and control of everything around it — the glutes, the hip abductors, the lateral hip stabilisers.
When those muscles are weak, the IT band absorbs load it was never meant to carry. This class targets them directly — with exercises designed for runners, built around the demands of running.
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Warm Up
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Standing Pigeon
Opens the hip rotators and glutes, releasing tension through the lateral hip and IT band before any loading begins. If you feel tightness deep in the glute or outer hip when you run, this drill speaks directly to that. Hold long enough to feel a real change in the tissue.
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Foam Roller Release — Vastus Lateralis
The vastus lateralis is the outer quad muscle that runs right alongside the IT band. When it is tight and overworked, it pulls on the surrounding tissue and increases lateral hip load. Rolling it out here helps the IT band move more freely and prepares the leg for controlled strength work.
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Main Set
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Exercise 1 |
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Curtsy Lunge to Hip Lock
Step one leg behind and across into a curtsy lunge, then pause at the top with the hip locked out and glute squeezed. This is one of the best exercises for ITBS runners — it directly challenges hip abductor control and teaches the body to stabilise the pelvis under load. Weak hip abductors are one of the biggest contributors to IT band overload.
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Exercise 2 |
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B-Stance Cross Body Swings
From a B-stance (one foot slightly back for balance), swing the weight across the body — then at the end of the movement, shorten and squeeze the glute hard before returning. That glute contraction at the top is the key part. It teaches the hip to actively close down and stabilise, rather than just swinging passively. For runners with ITBS, learning to fire and hold the glute in this position is exactly the control that protects the IT band when you are running tired.
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Exercise 3 |
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Single-Leg RDL to Front Lunge onto Step
Hinge forward on one leg into a single-leg RDL — loading the hamstring and challenging hip control — then step forward and lunge onto a raised step. This two-part combination asks the body to shift from a hip hinge to a forward loading pattern in a single fluid movement. The step elevation increases the range of knee and quad demand on the lunge, while the RDL component trains the posterior chain and balance that running constantly relies on. For ITBS runners it is particularly useful because it trains hip control across two different movement patterns in quick succession — exactly the kind of demand running places on the body.
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Exercise 4 |
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Wall-Supported Banded Quarter Squat with Hip Abduction
Back foot resting on the wall behind you, band looped around the knees — drop into a quarter squat and then drive the front knee out against the band, abducting the hip. The wall position offloads the back leg so all the work goes through the front hip and glute. The band creates resistance that has to be actively pushed against — this is not a passive stretch but a deliberate strengthening of the hip abductors in the exact position they need to work during running. A deceptively hard exercise that targets the muscle weakness most commonly linked to ITBS.
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Ready to get started?
Watch This Week’s Class Now
Watch the ITBS Class
Can’t click? Copy this link: https://youtu.be/QK5zDiaJaMs
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Weekly Blog
Why Your IT Band Keeps Coming Back — And What to Actually Do About It
If you have had IT band syndrome more than once, you are not alone. It is one of the most recurring running injuries there is — and the reason it keeps coming back is usually the same: the root cause was never addressed.
Most runners treat ITBS by resting until the pain settles, then gradually returning to running. Some add in stretching or foam rolling. And for a while, that seems to work. But as soon as mileage climbs again — or a long run hits, or a race comes around — it flares back up.
The reason is simple: rest removes the load, but it does not build the capacity to handle it next time.
The IT band becomes irritated when the structures around it — primarily the glutes and hip abductors — are not doing their job. Every time your foot lands, those muscles should be stabilising your pelvis and controlling how your knee tracks. When they are weak or underused, the IT band gets compressed against the outside of the knee, and that is when it hurts.
The fix is not complicated — but it does require consistency. Targeted hip strength, single-leg control and a gradual return to load. Done consistently alongside running, this kind of work changes the pattern. The hips get stronger, the IT band gets less load, the knee stops flaring.
That is what this class is built around. Not a quick fix — a real one.
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Top Tip of the Week
Watch Your Crossover — It Might Be Loading Your IT Band
One of the most overlooked drivers of ITBS in runners is a crossover gait — where the foot lands across the midline of the body with each stride, rather than roughly under the hip.
When the foot crosses over, the hip drops, the knee caves inward, and the IT band gets compressed on the outside of the knee with every single step. Over thousands of steps, that adds up fast.
The tip: on your next easy run, think about running on two separate train tracks — each foot landing under its own hip, not crossing the centreline. A slight widening of your step can reduce IT band load significantly. Film yourself from behind or use a treadmill mirror to check. It is one of the simplest cues that can make a real difference.
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This Class Is Ideal For Runners Who:
| Have IT band syndrome |
Get outer knee pain on longer runs |
| Keep having ITBS relapses |
Are returning to running after ITBS |
| Want stronger hips for running |
Want better lateral control |
| Want to train through ITBS safely |
Want to prevent future injury |
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Add this to your weekly strength routine alongside your running — especially if you are building mileage or coming back from an IT band flare. Consistency with this kind of work is what makes the difference between ITBS coming back and it staying away.
James
Physiorun
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