For most of us, winter to early spring is a time to employ body work otherwise left behind. In the interim before spring goals and racing arise, and in part to shorter days with more time spent inside, it’s a very good idea to work on your weaknesses and/or develop upon areas that fall to the wayside when running comes first most of the year. For runners, joggers, athletes alike, core and hip work is essential. As a team we’ve seen way too many injuries in others due to weaknesses in these areas alone. Lucky for us, we have PT, Nikki VanderWiele, on our team, to whom we race to for support with questions about strength routines, aches and pains and how to kt-tape properly. Nikki has compiled a 10 minute Core & Hip workout, that you can gradually add to as you become stronger. I promise you, if you include these exercises in your weekly routine, you will see benefits in your training and overall health.
CORE
Front Plank – your body should form a straight line from shoulders to ankles. Engage your core by sucking in your belly button to your spine – 30 seconds
Down Dog with Kick Back – Starting with the right leg, bring your knee to chest & kick back, squeezing/activating your glute – 30 seconds
Side Plank Left – with feet stacked, lift hip away from the ground and engage your thighs; activate your raised arm, drawing your shoulder blades towards one another – hold for 30 seconds
Bird Dog – on all 4’s, engage your abdominals to keep hips level and trunk stable, then extend opposite arm and leg – hold 5 sec and then switch sides for 30 sec total, each side
Down Dog with Kick Back – actively draw your shoulder blades down your back, creating space in your neck. Don’t allow your palms to lift up & spread your fingers as wide as you can, creating a straight line between the elbows, forearms & middle fingers. *If your hamstrings are tight and you struggle to straighten them, you’ll compensate by rounding your spine. The best thing to do is bend your knees softly so you can concentrate on lengthening your pelvis away from your shoulders. Make sure your back stays long & straight. Kick back, engaging your glute, then bring your left knee to chest, repeat – 30 seconds
Side Plank Right – 30 seconds
(Same as Left)
Bridge – keep your arms at your sides & draw your shoulder blades together. Lift your hips to the ceiling, making a straight line from your shoulders to hips, keeping your knees & thighs parallel. Do not let them splay out to the side. As you lift, you should squeeze your glutes – hold 30 seconds
HIPS
Form: Lay on your side with your hips stacked on top of each other, core engaged and belly button pointing slightly down to the floor.
Clam – keep your feet together and lift top knee to rotate it towards the ceiling. Contract your glutes as you lift your knee slowly – 30 seconds
Hip Abduction – keep leg straight with knee cap and toes pointing slightly toward the floor and leg slightly behind your body, raise and lower top leg – 30 seconds
Hip Abduction with Knee Drop & Back Kick – bend top knee and tap it on the floor in front of you then kick back and up towards the ceiling behind you – 30 seconds
*Repeat Hip Series on the opposite leg and then repeat entire core series for a total of 10 minutes. Gradually increase weekly, bi-monthly or when your body is ready for additional work, i.e. 30 sec > 60 sec > 90 sec > 2 min. To see results more effectively, do this routine 2-3 x week. As always, listen to your body & let it tell you what it needs. If you’re still sore by the next time you allotted it to your schedule, hold off.
