Pilates can be a fantastic way to keep your body balanced, which is especially important in a repetitive sport like running.
Here’s our top 6 Pilates exercises to strengthen and tone your running muscles, help to prevent injury and improve your running technique and efficiency.
Foot Series
- Stand with your feet hip width apart
- Bend your knee into a squat, keeping your chest upright and knees pointing over your toes
- From the squat position slowly rise up onto your toes (keeping the knees bent) then lower the heels
- Repeat 5 heel raises per squat, 10 times
Shoulder Bridge
- Lying on your back with your knees bent
- Squeeze your bottom to lift your hips off the floor
- Slowly extend one leg in line with your body, keeping the pelvis level
- Lower this leg then repeat on the other side
- Aim to do 10 on each leg
Scissors
- Lying on your back, bring both feet off the floor so that your hips and knees are at a 90 degree angle
- Keep you back flat to the floor
- Slowly lower one leg to tap the toes on the floor, then bring it back up to 90 degrees
- Repeat on both legs 10 times
The Clam
- Lay on one side with your knees bent, hips stacked one on top of the other and feet back in line with your bottom
- Lift your heels so they are hoovering 6 inches off the floor
- Squeeze your bottom muscles to lift the top knee towards the ceiling, keeping your heels together and not rolling back from the pelvis
- Repeat 20 on each leg
Swimming
- From your hands and knees draw your tummy muscles in so your spine in straight
- Lift one arm up in front of you and the opposite leg out behind you
- Hold this balance for 5 secs without rotating or arching your back
- Repeat 10 times on each side
Hip Flexor Stretch
- Kneel with one knee in front of the other
- Keep your chest upright and slowly push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front of the back thigh
- Gently tuck your tailbone underneath you to increase the stretch
- Hold 30 secs each side
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