I attended a Triathlon expo recently which had the usual assortment of vendors and tchochokes. They had a speaker series which had experts discussing topics related to triathlon. I was able to catch Kerri Kramer talking about core strengthening for the multi-sport athlete. Kerri and I worked together for years "back in the day". We had lots of laughs in the clinic and the clients benefitted from having two eperienced and passionate clinicians guiding them. Kerri is now running her PT business, Fast Track Physical Therapy, http://www.fasttracktherapy.com/, where she focuses on treating endurance athletes. During her talk she presented a 10 minute core workout. She essentially highlighted the fact that this type of training does not need to complicated, or elaborate. It needs to be focused, and present! What I mean by this is that core work HAS to be a part of all serious athletes' regular routine. This is particularly true for endurance athletes. The research tells us that as a runner fatigues, their movements patterns change. We instinctively know this. We feel our knees clanking together in the third hour of a marathon. We see our finishline photos which show out posture gone to pot. We know this. So, the question is what to do about it. When I see runners in the clinic, one things I want to know is what do they do besides run. For most, this is not a whole lot. Maybe yoga, maybe pilates, or bike. Rarely is a specific and focused core and hip strengthening routine described. Odd. Strange because this is what the research tells us is what a runner or endurance athlete need to avoid many common injuries. This was the point Kerri was trying to make at the expo- do something! Even if it is only 10 minutes, do something.
The 10 minute routine sounds good, and it is. Basically look at it as targeting the top 5 exercises, doing them each twice for nearly a minute each time, and then moving on. Common exercises to reach for would include the forward plank, the side plank, the bridge, the clam, and sidestepping with resistance bands(pictured above). Ok, so you ask why these exercises? Quite simply, these represent a start to building a foundation of strength in the areas of greatest importance. For example, most research on running injuries describe weakness in the hip external rotators and abductors. That is why we do the sidestepping and the clam exercises. There is a method to the madness! the research also says that a strong core helps create a strong foundation to perform upon. That is why we add the planks. Starting to make sense? Good. Many of these exercises have been presented in video format on this blog so be sure to go back into the older posts to review.
