Whether you've moved your runs from the treadmill to the road or you're upping your mileage to train for a race, you might have ended up with a painful case of shin splints. These occur when you overstress the muscles in your lower legs, causing small tears in the tissue. If you start to experience this pain, it's not a serious injury, but it is also nothing to be ignored. To heal the tears, it's best to lower the intensity of your run by walking instead, or add incline to the treadmill. If the pain is really bad, take a break from running and do some lower leg stretches and ice the area.

Since shin splints can happen when your calf muscles become stronger than the shin muscles, one way to prevent shin splints in the first place is to do some strengthening exercises. Heel walks are beneficial, but here's a simple move you can do while at your desk.

• Sit on a chair that's tall enough to allow your toes to point without touching the floor.
• Place a two- to six-pound dumbbell vertically in between your feet, squeezing the weight gently to keep it in place.
• Begin by pointing your toes toward the floor. Then flex your feet and lift your toes as high as you can. This is one repetition.
• Complete three sets of 12 reps, stretching your shins with the Reclining Hero [1] in between each set.