Day 5: Pilates for runners

I got into Pilates because of a dodgy knee that really didn’t seem to enjoy running as much as I did. 

After consulting Dr Google and concluding that I either was in the process of having a stroke, or possibly the end stages of cancer (most likely both) I thought a bit more research might be in order. So I started reading about biomechanics and anatomy – how knee pain is usually caused by your alignment being out of whack, with some muscles overcompensating for their lazy colleagues resulting in joints starting to move in all sorts of weird ways they weren’t designed to. 

Which is where Pilates comes in. I always cringe a bit when I see the glossy posters outside gyms promising ‘bikini bodies’ from Pilates; billing it as a weight-loss programme is totally misleading. If you want to lose weight you need to look at nutrition and energy burning cardiovascular exercise such as running. But if you want to complement that training with exercise that helps balance you out, reduce the risk of injury and improve your posture (which will make you look slimmer, true), then Pilates is for you.

The intense nature of running, particular longer distances, means that runners tend to have pretty high pain thresholds, and a masochistic tendency to doggedly push on through. Pain: just weakness leaving the body, right? But ignoring niggling problems will probably make them worse over time.

For example: if you tend to pronate through your foot (roll inward) when you run, you knock your ankle out of alignment, which means you’re more likely to bring your knee in, which will impact on how the hip moves in its socket and will put you off balance, giving you a lopsided running style and putting pressure on your joints. The more you run in this way, the more you build up the muscles to keep you running in this way. So stop – and re-programme the way you’re using your body, for more efficient, aligned movement.

Here are a few exercises that are great for runners. Integrate them into your post-run stretches, to help you become a lean, mean, pain-free running machine.

Shoulder bridge: to strengthen the glutes, abs and the muscles around the hip. Lie on your back with your knees bent. Lift your hips off the mat and then raise one leg to the ceiling. Lower your leg with a flexed foot, and raise it back to the ceiling with a pointed toe. Keep your hips lifting off the mat and your pelvis stable – you don’t want to be dropping down on one side. Lift and lower your leg 3 times, then bring your foot down to the mat, and bring your hips back down. Repeat on the other side. Tutorial video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-kkSSQfR4

Leg pull front: on your front, push up through your hands to come into a flat-backed push up position. Lift one of your legs off the mat and point the toes away from you. Rock backwards and forwards on the foot that’s on the mat, while you point and flex the raised foot. This stretched and strengthens the muscles in the leg. Repeat 5 times, then swap legs. Try and keep your leg straight out behind you – think about your perfect alignment. Tutorial video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj1Z0-7ditc

 

 

Swimming – great for the quads (essential for good alignment and shock absorbtion through the knees): lying on your front, with your arms stretched out in front of you, lift your arms, chest, head and legs off the mat so that you’re hovering them a few centimetres above the mat. Lift one arm and the opposite leg higher off the mat, then switch sides. Keep your glutes, pelvic floor and abs contracted to prevent strain in the lower back, and keep your eyeline down to the mat to prevent neck strain. Repeat 10 times on each side. Tutorial video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJs5E2sI0f8

 Side leg lift series: lying on your side with your arm folded under your head, lift your top leg to hip height. Point the toe as you raise the leg and flex the foot as you lower it. After a few repetitions, raise the top leg, then bring the bottom leg up to meet it, and squeezing them together and lower them down. Then raise both legs up together, and lower down. Finally, with just the top leg, draw some circles one way, then the other, with your toes while your leg is raised. Repeat on the other side. Keep your hips and shoulders stable, and lift your lower waist up off the mat – don’t relax down into the floor!

 There are plenty more where these came from, get in touch if you’d like a copy of my “Pilates for Runners” sheet – loads more technical, geeky running anatomy info and exercises!