Benefits – strengthens hip extensors, lateral hip stabilizers, stretch tight hip flexors, improve gait pattern strategy

Step 1 – Starting as shown in the picture, with the leveled pelvis and neutral spine, ensure shoulders are away from ears

Step 2 – Exhale to press carriage back, extending hip and knee to come into the lunge position, always maintaining a leveled pelvis with the hip bones square

Step 3 – Inhale to return, complete exercises on both legs.

Step 4 – If you can maintain a level pelvis and balance try the exercise without holding onto the foot bar.

Step 5 – For a more advanced movement move one hand forward and the other one back (as shown in the image below).

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Running is one of the most popular forms of exercise especially if you want to get a decent cardio workout. For those of us who are cooped up in an office all day it’s also a great way to get some fresh air and much needed vitamin D.

Running has many benefits to the body such as improving cardiovascular endurance, aiding weight loss, lowering blood pressure, increasing mineral bone density and muscle tone. If you’re a runner you’ll also know that thanks to those endorphins buzzing around, you’ll notice a positive impact on your happiness and general wellbeing.

As well as having a long list of benefits running can also cause our bodies a lot of pain and discomfort. The impact of the foot onto the ground sends significant force up into our lower legs. The repetitive movement can lead to overloading of muscles and tendons in the legs. So to make sure you stay running at your best we asked Catriona Dourish one of our physiotherapists what the common injuries resulting from running are, how to treat these injuries and most importantly how to prevent them.

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Benefits: focuses on strengthening the hamstrings, and is a great way to practice keeping your abdominals lifted, chest open, and shoulders stable.

Step 1 – Prone with the forearms pressing into the mat, elbows pulling into the body, lower abs lifted from the floor and with the pelvis in a slight posterior tilt.

Step 2 – Inhale, flex one knee, drawing heel towards the sit-bone, pulse twice, always keeping the heel inline to the sit-bone.

Step 3 – Exhale, extend the leg so that it hovers above the floor, then lower it, maintain the lift of the abs throughout.

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Many runners feel that their running activities alone provide them with a well-rounded fitness program. While it is a great cardiovascular workout it can also lead to imbalances in the body, which may lead to injuries and pain.

Danny Yeo a Senior Instructor at Focus Pilates has come up with some Pilates exercises to ensure you get the most out of your run and stay injury free. Combining running with regular Pilates is a great way to have well-rounded physical fitness and ensure even muscle strength and balance.

The best way to do this is to ensure you have correct posture. This may sound simple enough but there are a lot of things you need to remember…

• keep your pelvis stable (avoid too much arch in your lower back, by drawing abs in)
• avoid dropping the hip on one side
• keep the shoulders over the hips
• open the chest muscles for maximum breathing
• avoid lifting the shoulders
• work on good alignment in the knee, ankle and foot.

So how do you remember to do all of this when you’re having a hard enough time breathing and keeping your legs moving? Well it will take a lot of practice but practicing Pilates will also help you to achieve this by:

• teaching awareness of good posture and the importance of a strong core
• increasing core strength and correcting postural imbalances
• working all muscle groups to create uniform muscle development
• fostering good movement of the spine
• teaching breathing techniques and control
• ensuring muscles around the hip joint stay flexible and strong to support the movement of your legs.
• increasing balance in the muscles of the back and hips
• Improve co-ordination of upper and lower body to improve energy efficiency.

Which exercises will help me to be a better runner?

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