THE RUNNER'S WORLD GUIDE TO STRENGTH TRAINING

At 17, Winnie Yu was a high school track-and-field runner with a bright future.

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When Yu’s parents encouraged her to try sports in middle school, they didn’t expect she’d fall in love with running—heading to New York City’s East River Park in the middle of the school day to run with friends, reveling in the freedom of movement. By high school, she was a track team captain with an intense schedule: running five to six days a week and competing every Saturday.

Despite all the training, her body often felt weak. Sure, the team worked out at the gym once a week, doing some sit-ups, push-ups, and pull-ups, but it was more about adding to the volume of overall exercise rather than truly improving strength.

By junior year, Yu started experiencing knee pain that interfered with her runs. While her coach prescribed rest, the doctors she visited offered pretty much a unanimous answer: Her knees weren’t meant for running.

Yu refused to accept that. How could a teenager have bad knees? She sought more opinions from specialists and physical therapists, who suggested she do some light bodyweight and resistance band exercises.

It helped some, but it wasn’t a long-term solution. After resting and missing out on part of the outdoor season, Yu returned to running, just to experience the same knee issues all over again. More pain followed, now in her lower back, hips, and ankles. Eventually, she ended up with a meniscus tear in each of her knees.

College made everything worse. But she pushed through the pain. Up to five miles, the discomfort was bearable—and since she couldn’t run farther, she spent more time at the gym, rotating through exercises she picked up from YouTube. More than anything, she was frustrated with the number of people who told her she simply wouldn’t get better. Even her grandma (79 years old at the time) was in great physical shape—it made no sense that Yu was suffering this much.