I am luck enough to work with lots of runners of all abilities, and this allow me to see themes in the areas I find myself focussing on in terms of strength and technique, a comonn one is glutes!
Glutes are the muscles in your bum, and they do lots of things;
- they drive your legs backwards on the run, the glute maximus is the biggest power muscle in the legs and should be doing more work than any other leg muscle in driving you forward when running
- they also stabilise your legs and hips as you run, these are called lateral glutes and are primarily the glute medius, glute minimus and piriformis. With these muscles working properly the legs move straight forwards and backwards, with no sideways motion or rotation putting pressure on the knees, ankles and feet.
So by powering up your glutes you can more power in your running, and fewer niggles in your other leg muscles, knee and ankle joints.
This is especially important if your job or lifestyle involves lots of time sat down, as this weakens and switches off the glutes because they are left in an extended position for long periods of time.
So what can you do to help strengthen your glutes? These are two of my favourite exercises!
Glute Bridge
Lie on your back with your feet near your hips and hip width apart
Lift your toes off the ground so your weight only comes down through your heels
Slowly raise your hips, driving the weight down into your heels, until your knees, hips and shoulders are in a straight line
Lower the hips back down slowly and with control, repeat
Monster Walks
Step through a theraband so it’s under tension just above your knees
Set the feet hip width apart and put a slight bend in both knees
Step outwards with one foot, keeping the knee facing forwards “lead with the knee”
Step the other foot in, slowly and with control, to catch up
Repeat with the other leg, going in the opposite direction to and fro
Post in the comments or let me know on social media how you get on!
If you want to know more about how to injury proof and improve your running just drop me a line, and don't forget to sign up for my mailing list whilst you are there for running tricks and tips straight to your inbox!