Dr. Jordan Metzl's Running Strong: The Sports Doctor's Complete Guide to Staying Healthy and Injury-Free for Life

I have bought 8 copies of this book, and am about to order a few more now. This is my 2015 gift to my running buddies and to relatives and friends who are runners. I don't want to see anyone else go through anything like what I have the past 5 months, and I really believe that every runner needs a copy of this great book. The book is EXCELLENT. Very easy to read from start to finish, or, if you are dealing with an injury, it's easy to look things up and finally get ANSWERS from an expert who loves to run and really seems to want to get you running again and keep you running injury-free. I waited eagerly for this book to come out after Dr. Metzl diagnosed my femoral neck stress fracture in March without ever seeing me. After limping around for 5 weeks and having the injury missed by a sports medicine doctor and a couple of PT's, I had gone to Runners' World Magazine's web site, searched under "hip pain," and watched Dr. Metzl's videos, which are also EXCELLENT. Dr. Metzl has a great way of getting right to the heart of the matter, and I knew in a couple of minutes that I was dealing with a stress fracture. I was able to get an x-ray and an official confirmation of the diagnosis the next day, which likely saved me from pretty serious surgery and a poor outcome. I am now rehabbing and back to a "Return to Running Program" and am using the excellent "Iron Strength" exercises that Dr. Metzl includes in the book to get and keep a strong core and kinetic chain, which should keep me running injury-free in the future. I can't recommend this book highly enough to fellow runners and to people who want to give a runner a wonderful gift.

I’m a life-long runner who is often injured. I live in Texas, don’t make a ton of money as a school teacher, and running keeps me sane. I follow Dr. Metzl through his Inside the Doctor’s Office series on Runner’s World so when I saw this new book I got it right away. It came yesterday and I’m half way through already. What I wasn’t prepared for was the very cool ability to use my smart phone for a virtual consultation on my running questions that supplement the text. Without a doubt this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in a book, and I look at books all day long at my job! If you’re a runner I think this book will just knock your socks off with the great illustrations, quality paper (it feels significant when you hold it), and the revolutionary use of augmented reality. Plus, to be honest, it costs way less than my co-pay and the information is more specific for runners. Dr. Metzl is one of us so he doesn’t think we’re insane. I’d highly recommend this book if you run, augmented reality is the future!

If we just run without watching form and strength, our bodies are not mechanically balanced. This book gives practical approach to get strength training and avoid injury. If you are already injured it would help you to understand what you need to do to help your balance and overloads in muscles, tendons, bones. I enjoyed having the book on kindle because it has videos that you can watch with the routines and explanations. The only thing I didn't like was the recommendation on eating dairy products as the main source of calcium, you could have collard greens, broccoli, kale, salmon, beans, tofu, etc.

I liked this book so much I bought the Iron Strength DVD as soon as it came out. I'm only 2 workouts into it, but it's intense and stems from everything he talks about in the book. No matter what issue you are having, he covers it in this book. AND he discusses how to fix it! If you want to stay injury free and improve your running, I think this book (and the subsequent dvd) are must-haves. It's a little redundant at times ( the solutions are often similar for different issues) but it is thorough and easy to understand. I have permanent knee issues from severe (motorcycle) trauma and I found it easy to do this work out, there were no moves I could not do, unlike other work out DVD's.

I recommend this book, which introduced me to strength training. I've been worried about my knees, during running and skiing, and I hope these exercises prevent injury long term. It's great that you really do see an improvement from one week to the next. Don't get discouraged if you feel behind the first time you do the program. It gets easier every time you do it! I'm not sure why traditional sit-ups are included. I thought they had fallen out of favor. Otherwise, this has been a great learning experience. Thank you!

I normally do the bulk of my reading in the winter and in an effort to supercharge my running I read 4 of the more highly rated books from Amazon reviewers this past winter. The other books were excellent but this book by far is my favorite. I initially brought it as a book to help me overcome an injury that I thought were shin splints but it turns out that it was not thanks to this book. I thought that it only covered injuries and how to heal but that is only the first half. Everything else that you need to know about running from A - Z is covered and most importantly is explained to you in layman's language why you need to follow the advice. From the foods, training, strengthening exercises to stay healthy, what clothes to wear...... it has it all. Strongly recommended

The book uses nice paper, and the illustrations of muscles/joints/etcetera are extremely high quality. The self-diagnosis tips are useful and well done. I haven't tried any of the QR code online bonus features. The book is written from a first-person perspective, and the tone reminds me of Troy McClure from the Simpsons; it's annoying and amateur. Sorry Doc, I don't know who you are and I don't care how many times you've been on Oprah; I just want injury advice, written by a writer as opposed to dictated into a recorder by a celebrity. The biggest downside is the lack of specificity. Regardless of the injury, the recommendation is mostly the same: do such-and-such stretch, AND do my Iron Strength workout 2x a week for the rest of your life. The Iron Strength workout is a broad set of exercises that targets pretty much everything in the lower body and upper body. If you've got the time, I'm sure the workout will make you a stronger and less injury-prone runner. But if you are trying to efficiently address a specific issue, it makes the whole book a lot less useful.

There is so much information from A to Z about running in this book. How to run and avoid injury, signs and symptoms to watch for and what to do when you do have an injury. Nutrition, how to buy running shoes, gear, weather challenges...it's all here. This is by far the most comprehensive book on running I have come across. The addition of the videos with Dr. Metzl are invaluable. It's a virtual visit to his office to learn even more. Great resource from a running specialist and enthusiast. Thank you for the awesome resource, doc!

I was unhappy with the price and purchased this book through clenched teeth - I needed a comprehensive guide to running injuries and this seemed the best and easiest book to understand and combat them. Its impact on my running has been tremendous. Now I am more aware of injuries and why they happen and how to prevent them. I'm also doing the Iron Strength workout. I've become a much happier runner, and definitely a more knowledgeable one. Experienced runners may be disappointed with the book as it probably won't tell them many new things, but to all new runners: THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU. Still wish it would've been cheaper though.

This book should be the bible for all those who are passionate about running, and who plan to run for life. Explains very well all the things that can go wrong, how to deal with them when they do, and how to prevent injuries. Dr. Metzl, in addition to being a sports doc, is a highly accomplished runner. So his advice comes from his own experience. The book may be overkill for the recreational runner.

It is very heavy on technical information,but in a very good way. I am new to running and have found useful info for my level,and I can see that as I develop and improve, there will be more there for me.

So easy to read! And so helpful! I really love it, is my go to book, I highly recommend it

@realrundork on twitter Quality writing which contains everything to keep you going as you increase mileage, or intensity. Wether you're getting back to it, just starting off, training for an event or increasing stress. I really wish I had this when I first started running it would have saved me a lot of pain. Mostly useful for beginners but not to be over looked for even the elite. Every running niggle is explained, how to treat it, and prevent it. I mean pretty much everything! The only solution I couldnt find is for red eyes after a long run. I rate most products by their own standards as in, what they're built for and who they're marketed towards. Dr. Jordan Metzl makes this much easier by outlining what his product will do for each person. Sir, you've certainly met your own objectives, well done, great works I cant wait for your next book. Thank you for making running more enjoyable and completely pain free!