Core Strength

Improving your core strength can happen from so many angles. A fun alternative to the typical body weight exercises is to play around with an exercise ball. Using a ball can be very helpful because it introduces an element of instability to the mix. In order to run well, we need good muscle stability, which isn’t always synonymous with strength.

If you attempt the exercises in today’s video, your stability and balance will be challenged, especially the first two exercises! Make sure you have a safe place to rock these out and have fun with them!

As always, please share with a friend, perhaps you can challenge someone to see who can balance the longest! Let me know who wins and what the winning time is!

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Our Core muscles need to be versatile. One of the shortcomings of many core routines is that they are too static and one-dimensional. Since our core muscles need to account for so many different movements of the body, our core workouts should reflect that. Even with a simple activity like running, the force inputs and outputs of the core are tremendously diverse. If our strengthening workouts don’t prepare us for that, then we are selling ourselves short and setting ourselves up for bad habits. This workout is for those that want a stronger core for more efficient running.

Check out the RunPhys Facebook page for live videos and Q&A. Please leave a comment and share with a friend who may benefit from this workout. Have fun!

The secret is out that strengthening your core will make you a better runner. But core strength is such a dynamic thing, that we need to mix it up to make sure all cylinders are firing and we don’t get stuck in ruts!

Today’s video is another round of core exercises that can be done anywhere, with anyone, at anytime. These exercises can be done briefly as part of your warm up, or you can do more sets and reps, as well as use weights to truly get things rocking!

Check out the RunPhys Facebook page for live videos and thorough explanations of the exercises demonstrated in today’s video. Please leave a comment and let me know how much fun you’re having with these exercises!

Our understanding of core strength needs to change. The need for core strength is not going away anytime soon. Whether we like it or not, it’s a trend that needs to be permanent. But we need to become more clear on what the core is and what the indicators of proper core strength are. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately!), looks have very little to do with proper core strength. The actual indicators are more subtle and tricky, but true nonetheless. Essentially, our core is only as strong as it can control our head and extremities while in motion. So this can be activity-specific. A baseball pitcher may be strong enough to perform well in his sport, but not as a runner.

So, we need to teach our whole body to be stable while running. Today’s video highlights a progression of exercises that will get your core muscles fired up effectively to run well. Try these as part of your morning routine, a warm-up for your next run, or with your team as part of a workout.

Also, check out the RunPhys Facebook page for live chats, Q&A, and more helpful content to make you a better runner. Say hello or shoot me a question anytime!