Running Move of September: Focus on Core

Move of the Month

It is a welcome change to wake up to cooler mornings as we move into September and the season begins to shift toward fall. Here in Craftsbury there is still much left of the running season. We just hosted the Genny Tenny 10 miler, a race to benefit the Albany General Store. We are also into the last few weeks of our Community Track season, with some exciting last workouts planned. For everyone, regardless of if you are planning to race at all this fall or just running to enjoy the amazing foliage, one of the best ways to avoid injury and maximize your running days is to revisit some core strength. Our core helps stabilize all the joints used in running and is a great way to keep your hips, knees, and back healthy. One misconception is that the way to do core strength is to focus on your superficial abdominal muscles, or what we commonly refer to as your six-pack abdominal muscles. Here are two exercises targeted at your deeper abdominal muscles that do the real heavy lifting during running.

Roll ups

You should feel like you are pressing your low back into the ground.

In this exercise lie on your back with your knees bent up toward the ceiling and your feet flat on the ground. Lift your arms and point them forward a few inches off the group. Try to engage your psoas by rolling your pelvis slightly towards you, like you have a belt buckle that you are turning up towards your head. Keep your six pack abs as relaxed as possible while trying to keep your belt buckle area tight. You should feel your lower back muscles press into the ground. Keep reaching forward with your arms towards your calves and allow that motion to lift your head and roll up slightly. When you first try this exercise, don’t go very far off the ground because you will immediately start using more superficial ab muscles. Once you roll up, pulse your arms up and down 10 times, then roll back down. Repeat 5-10 times until you either reach fatigue or lose your pelvic position.

Bench Adductor Plank

Keep those hips up!

In this exercise lie on your side with an elevated surface at your feet and put your upper foot on the bench while your lower foot is on the ground below. The bench should be at a height that is about even with your upper shoulder, so that the side of your body is parallel to the ground. Come up on your forearm like you would a plank and press into the bench with your upper leg so that your lower leg comes off the ground. Hold this position until you can no longer maintain a straight line from your leg to the top of your head. I like to start with sets of 4x15-30sec holds on each side, working up to a minute as I feel stronger. If your body starts to make a C shape in any way, by your hips sinking down or backwards, stop the exercise and rest before resetting again.