As technology becomes a greater influence, it becomes more common for me to hear from my patients that they previously looked up exercises to treat their injury on Google before they even get to me. Part of me thinks, Yes! People are taking ownership of their health! And the other part of me cringes in anticipation to hear what they read online. It’s a great thing that we have so many resources at our fingertips to learn how to take care of our bodies, but it’s really hard to know what to trust when reading through things online.
The runners I treat all have their own understanding of how to strengthen their abdominals. So I put myself in my patients’ (running) shoes and Googled “abdominal strengthening exercises” to see where they were getting their information.
I wanted to cry. None of them were exercises I would refer to the majority of my patients, and certainly none of them were exercises I would suggest to my runners.
When strengthening our abdominals (which is an important part of a good running stride), we have to consider what movements are happening during the exercise. We want the exercise to essentially mimic the movement of the stride. When does the movement of a sit-up occur during running?! NEVER! When does a “crunch” happen during a running stride?! NEVER! So why is the internet telling us to bend our backs repeatedly to strengthen our abs for running? Just because we feel a muscle burn does not mean the exercise is beneficial.
During running, we want our low back to stay relatively still. The movement we generate is coming from our limbs. I want to provide runners with a guide to abdominal strengthening that mimics the running stride.
This post will take you through 5 abdominal exercises, each progressively more difficult. You will notice that the low back does not move at any point in the exercises. Rather, the abs work to stabilize as the limb movement becomes progressively more challenging. To work through the exercises, you must first successfully perform up to 20 repetitions correctly before progressing to the next exercise. Therefore, you may be on one level for up to 2 weeks before you feel you are ready for the next. If you can not perform an exercise without moving your low back (arching it away from the floor, pushing into the floor, or allowing your abdominal muscles to “pooch” up toward the ceiling), you must go back down to the previous level.
Level 1
Step 1: Lay on back with knees bent and feet flat on floor.
Step 2: Contract abdominals buy pulling navel toward your spine as you exhale.
Step 3: Hold 5-10 seconds.
Step 4: Repeat 10-20 times.
Watch out! Do not push your back into the floor or arch it away from the floor. Your stomach should be sinking DOWN, not pushing UP toward the ceiling.
Perform exercise daily until you feel you are able to do 20 repetitions correctly.
Level 2
Step 1: Perform abdominal contraction as in Level 1.
Step 2: Raise one leg so hip is bent 90 degrees while maintaining abdominal contraction.
Step 3: Place leg back to starting position as in Step 1.
Step 4: Raise contralateral leg so hip is bent 90 degrees while maintaining abdominal contraction.
Step 5: Place leg back to starting position as in Step 1.
Step 6: Repeat 10-20 times.
Watch out! Do not push your back into the floor or arch it away from the floor. Your stomach should be sinking DOWN, not pushing UP toward the ceiling.
Perform exercise daily until you feel you are able to do 20 repetitions correctly.
Level 3
Step 1: Perform abdominal contraction as in Level 1.
Step 2: Raise one leg so hip is bent 90 degrees while maintaining an abdominal contraction.
Step 3: Maintain position of Step 2 and raise opposite leg so hip is bent 90 degrees.
Step 4: Place one foot back to starting position (keep those abs contracted!)
Step 5: Place the other foot back to the starting position (keep those abs contracted!)
Step 6: Repeat 10-20 times.
Watch out! Do not push your back into the floor or arch it away from the floor. Your stomach should be sinking DOWN, not pushing UP toward the ceiling.
Perform exercise daily until you feel you are able to do 20 repetitions correctly.
Level 4
Step 1: Perform abdominal contraction as in Level 1.
Step 2: Raise one leg so hip is bent 90 degrees.
Step 3: Raise opposite leg so hip is bent 90 degrees.
Step 4: Straighten out one leg, keeping heel close to the floor.
Step 5: Bring leg back to position in Step 3 (bent 90 degrees).
Step 6: Straighten opposite leg, keeping heel close to the floor.
Step 7: Bring leg back to position in Step 3 (bent 90 degrees).
Step 8: Continue alternating extending each leg (as if running!) while keeping abdominals contracted for 10 -20 repetitions.
Watch out! Do not push your back into the floor or arch it away from the floor. Your stomach should be sinking DOWN, not pushing UP toward the ceiling. If you cannot straighten your leg without moving your back, try sliding your heel on the floor. Progress to being able to straighten your leg with your heel just above the floor.
Perform exercise daily until you feel you are able to do 20 repetitions correctly.
Level 5
Step 1: Perform abdominal contraction as in Level 1.
Step 2: Lift one leg so hip is bent 90 degrees.
Step 3: Lift other leg so hip is bent 90 degrees.
Step 4: While maintaining your abdominal contraction, straighten BOTH legs so heels are just above floor.
Step 5: Bring both legs back up to being bent 90 degrees.
Step 6: Repeat straightening both legs at the same time for 10-20 repetitions.
Watch out! Do not push your back into the floor or arch it away from the floor. Your stomach should be sinking DOWN, not pushing UP toward the ceiling. If you cannot straighten your leg without moving your back, try sliding your heel on the floor. Progress to being able to straighten your leg with your heel just above the floor.
Perform exercise daily.
Want more running advice? Read these:
Improve Your Running Stride Part I: The IT Band
Improve Your Running Stride Part II: The Gluteals
Improve Your Running Stride Part III: The Running Shoe
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