5 Pilates Exercises That Are Great For Runners

Controlling your alignment and breathing will help with your core stability, an essential for a good running technique.

For runners, sometimes a slight imbalance in the body will go on to create problems because it’s such a repetitive movement. Even a small adjustment to your posture (or in your core stability) can make a huge impact. Use the following moves before your next run to strengthen and stretch the muscles you need to run stronger.

Here’s how to use Pilates to warm up and rebalance your body, improve posture, core stability and more.

1. Spine curls

A) Lie on your back, knees bent and feet in parallel on the floor.

B) Breathe out and curl your tailbone, tilting your pelvis back as you peel your spine off the mat. Roll up to the tips of the shoulder blades. Breathe in and hold. Breathe out as you roll down.

Repeat 10 times.

2. Oyster

A) Lie on your side with your bottom arm under your head and knees bent so your heels are aligned with your pelvis.

B) Exhaling, open your top knee from the hip joint, keeping your feet connected. Keep your pelvis stable. Inhaling, return to start.

Repeat 10 times on each side.

3. One-legged pilates squat

A) Stand on one leg then bend your knee to do a small squat.

B) Reach forwards with both arms and direct your knee over your center. Breathe out as you straighten your squat leg.

Repeat eight times with each leg.

4. Prone knee lifts

A) Lie on your front. Rest your forehead on a towel with your fingertips under your pelvic bones.

B) Bend your right leg to 90-degrees. Breathe in and lift the leg up slightly off the mat. Breathing out, lower the leg back down.

Repeat 10 times on each side.

5. Pilates squat

A) Lengthen through the spine as you bend the knees and the hips simultaneously to hinge forwards slightly from the hips.

B) Reach forwards with both arms for counter balance. Breathe out as you straighten your legs.

Repeat 10 times.



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