Lori Ozment, a Lifestyle Specialist & Group Exercise Instructor at the Mettler Center and one of our running mentors, gave a talk on Core Body Strength to the 2006 Beginning Women's Running Group.  Lori explained that we should work our core muscle groups to help us run stronger and better. The core muscle groups include not only those in your abdominals and back, but also the muscles in your pelvic floor and hips. These exercises can be accomplished in as little as 5 minutes a day. You should work each of these exercise until you start to lose your form. Try and do three sets of each of the following exercises.

 

Shelf Position:  Start by lying face up on the floor, knees bent and feet flat on the ground.  Contract your lower abdominal muscles and lift your feet off the floor, so that your lower legs are parallel to the floor.  Slowly lower one bent leg towards the ground and bring it back up to shelf position.  Repeat with opposite leg.
Bicycle:  Start by lying face up on the floor and put your fingers behind your head. Next, bring your knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the ground without pulling on the neck.  Straighten one leg out to about a 45-degree angle and twist your upper body to bring your elbow towards your knee. Switch sides in a 'pedaling' motion until fatigue.
The Plank: Start by lying on your stomach then you raise yourself up so you’re resting on your forearms and knees (or toes).  The goal is to hold this position for 1 minute while concentrating on keeping your back flat and your core muscles contracted. Hold until you start to lose your form.
Swimming/Superman: Start by lying on your stomach with your arms stretched out in front of you.  Raise one arm and the opposite leg a few inches off the ground.  Hold for a few seconds, return to starting position and repeat with the other arm and leg.

Summary and photos of the 2006 Beginning Women's Running Group by Kelly Bails.