By Elizabeth Towe
Are you having a nagging tightness or discomfort in your upper hamstrings? Before you begin ramping up the miles for your fall distance event, take the time to take care of these early symptoms before they turn into pain or strain. These symptoms are often a sign of the hamstrings overworking to stabilize the pelvis as the foot hits the ground in running. This exercise is designed to help you focus on stabilizing the pelvis while the hamstrings are actively lengthening.
Exercise:
- Lying on your back with both heels on a bench.
- Brace abdominals to stabilize the spine.
- Lift the hips up (using both legs) to bring the body up into a straight line. Be sure that you are initiating at your hip joint—do not tuck the pelvis under. Lift up in 2 counts.
- While holding that position, lift the right leg off the bench and lower torso and pelvis slowly and smoothly to the start position with your left leg. Take at least four counts to lower the pelvis to the start position. Be sure to move only in the hip joint and the spine remains in the same position throughout the exercise. The pelvis should be level with the ground at all times (no rocking).
- Put both heels back on the bench and repeat the lift.
- Alternate sides, with no rest between reps, 10-15 reps for 2-3 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 over 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.
