Core Workout for Runners

To become a stronger, faster runner, it helps to add core workouts to your routine.  Core training can help you prevent injuries, maintain good running form, and maximize your performance on race day.

Last week, I made an early New Year’s Resolution to focus on toning and strengthening for the upcoming year.  With just one month away from 2015, I decided to just get an head start on it.  (Patience was never a virtue for me! Hah!)  Starting December, I’ll start strength conditioning and core workouts at least twice a week. I’m hoping it achieves two goals: 1) It makes me a stronger runner and helps me break my PR next year, and 2) It gives me abs like Ani de Leon LOL.

I met with trainer Yzza Flores at Fitness First Aura for an introductory core workout session.  This was, I’m guessing, the basic core workout they give to endurance athletes like me who’ve tried to evade core routines for years!

To start, Yzza gave me a warm up with the Ladder Run – short bursts of running through a “ladder” painted on the floor, almost like hopscotch but 5x faster.  By the time I was done, my heart rate was up and I was sweating as if I had run 5k.

Then, the real workout began.  We used three different equipment for the core workout: Kettlebell, Vipr, and SX.

1) Kettlebell – Double Arm Swing

2) Vipr – Plank Vipr Pull

3) SX – Plank Pike

4) Vipr – Ice Skater for the glutes

That was it!  The session was short and sweet, but, woah boy, it was definitely not easy for me.  Okay, that’s an understatement.  I was dying!  To be completely honest, it was quite the humbling experience!  It was a wake up call for me to start building muscle and giving importance to strength, not just endurance.  It’s a brand new challenge for me and I am psyched!