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This week, I’m going to be sharing the general importance of core muscles and the way you’re able to strengthen it.
For runners, the main benefit of core strength is to increase stabilisation in the torso area (depicted in the picture below).
Your core muscles consist of the chest, back, abdominals and obliques. Whether it’s a throwing, running or jumping event, the core helps to keep your torso upright at all times, especially while you’re running.
Apart from helping athletes to maximise their power, improving core strength and stability will enable them to handle complex athletic activities that require balance, coordination and technical skills.
For example, a strong core helps everyone, including sprinters, to shift weight smoothly from one side to the other. A strong core for a sprinter also helps to reduce “wobbliness” when moving their arms & legs.
When running, the core strength allows the pelvis, hips, and lower back to work together as a unit and helps to hold our body in position for an extended amount of time — in a much smoother manner with less rocking — resulting in less wastage of energy.
The core strength also significantly helps to improve balance and stability. In other words, it helps to reduce the risk of injury.
When an area is weak, an athlete tends to overuse other muscles to produce force and bring about the required energy to compensate for that weak area, which could increase the probability of a muscle strain or tear.
For example, an athlete with a knee injury would often have a weak hip or tight hip flexors. This will cause them to shift their weight from their trunk, causing their knee to be prone to tears.
So today, I’m going to share 15 core exercises which have helped strengthen me as an athlete throughout my years of running.
With that,
Love, Tana!
