Running is predominately a fwd/bwd movement so the majority of athletes believe this is home, & where they need to live to build this foundation. One thing we must realize is that not every stride is perfect, not every path we run is even & as much as the lower extremities move fwd to bwd the low back & upper body work in a rotational movement as a counter balance to our running efforts. With these imperfect steps & various trails we need to prepare our body to be stable in all positions to improve our success & decrease our likelihood of injury. This is where cross training becomes pivotal.
In the Journal of Sports Med & Physical Fitness they showed that a 30min normal core training routine demonstrated improved running speed, economy (efficiency of ea stride), improved run times, with no changes to average heart rate, improved ankle range of motion symmetry & improved plank time by 60%. The best part of the study, is the exercises performed were THREE DIMENSIONAL EXERCISES, meaning they were exercises in all planes of motion. These exercises focused on the hips, low back, glut’s & core musculature. When a running athlete improves joint symmetry they naturally decrease compensation patterns & reduce the risk of overuse injury. A strong core improves energy transmission from the fwd/bwd moving legs to the rotation of the low back through the upper body.
To avoid common runner injuries such as achilles tendinopathy, plantar fascitis, stress fractures, patellar femoral pain syndrome & ITB syndrome we can focus on exercises that improve muscle force, elasticity, biomechanics & assist in decreasing overall fatigue. When successfully improving our peak force of our muscles we can improve the efficiency of each stride, improve blood circulation, improve O2 uptake & have longer durations to exhaustion. Here are 6 exercises every runner should be familiar with to improve strength, run times and decrease the likelihood for injury:
Exercises: (3x per week 2-3 sets for 10-15 reps each)
1. Steamboats
2. Single Leg RDL
3. Trip plane Heel Raise
4. Bridge Variations
5. Plank Variations
6. Squats
NOTE: We love barefoot training!
