By Elizabeth Towe
This is the time of the year when anyone who is running a fall distance event is in the less-than-4-week window to their event. The mileage is high and the “tweaky” pains start to rear their head. Many of these pains can be corrected with some focus on core and hip stabilization. Let’s go back to Core 101.
Let’s start with stabilizing the hip. The job of the gluteus medius and glute minimus is to keep the pelvis laterally stable over the femur. A stable hip will help keep the wobble and swish out of your gait. The more we can prevent wobble and swish, the more we can prevent future injuries down the chain.
Here is a simple exercise you can do anywhere – while washing dishes, standing in the grocery line, brushing your teeth, etc.
Exercise:
- Stand on one leg with your weight distributed evenly through your forefoot and rearfoot. Put your hands on your pelvis.
- Without shifting your torso, let your pelvis on the non-weight-bearing side drop down.
- Begin to push your weight through the weight-bearing leg and bring the pelvis back to level. You should be able to feel your glute medius contract under your thumbs on the backside of the pelvis.
- Repeat this 10-15 times on each side, for 3 sets.
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Elizabeth Towe is a runner and a cyclist and the owner of Balanced Movement Studio in Carrboro. She graduated from East Carolina with a degree in exercise and sports science and has been personal training for more than 20 years. Her ultimate goal for all of her clients is to help them realize and achieve the optimal quality in their life – and to remember to have fun doing it.
