5 Minute Core Strength for Busy Marathoners: Prevent Hip & Groin Injuries

I know....

You're thinking, "why does my core strength matter to my hip and groin?"

BUT IT DOES.

2 quick stories to illustrate my point.

First Story: Wet leaves on a trail got me. Twice. Leaving me with a groin twinge/minor-tiny pull in my right adductors. I doubled down on my leg strength. Noticed I wasn't seeing the improvements I wanted to see. Played around with core strength and.... TA DA! Pain went away; I was able to run stronger, all the good things.

Second Story: I've been working with another PT because whooo chronic pain stuff and we found a tiny-but-important weak link (left serratus isn't quite strong enough to support my core and thoracic rotation...it's a whole saga). So she gave me a side plank variation and I noticed how FAST my left side glute and core fatigued TOGETHER. This could explain how my form breaks down, etc...

Ok, but now bonus story....

This is Chris's story: We worked 3-4 months together to fix a fairly intense groin strain he had that kept him from running, playing hockey, and chasing his kids around in the backyard.

Yup, you guessed it.

We focused on a LOT of leg strength (hips and adductors).

But only AFTER we hammered home core strength.

Because when it comes to repeat hip and groin injuries, your core is your foundation. It's where those hip and inner thigh muscle groups get their power from.

So if you're looking for a stronger, faster stride while preventing injuries as you chase faster paces, we need to start with a solid foundation.

So let me show you my 5-10 minute core circuit you can even do on your living room floor to keep you running stronger and faster and prevent pesky groin and hip injuries from making a come back.

Let's go.

5 Minute Injury-Preventing Core Strength for Marathoners

Circuit:

3 sets each // Medium + Heavy weights

1/2 Kneeling Halo: Optional Front Foot Elevated

• 6 reps clockwise/ 6 reps counter clockwise @ RPE 6-7

• option to increase difficulty by placing front foot on a low foam pad, 10 lb plate, pillow, towel roll, etc

Running side plank: Elbow to High Knee

• 8-12 reps ea side (depends on your personal fatigue levels and form degradation)

Bear crawl row with TA activation

• 8-12 reps ea side @ RPE 7-8

Up-Down Plank

• 8 EACH SIDE (total 16 reps in one set)

The Core Strength Long Distance Runners are Missing: Prevent Hip & Groin Injuries

1/2 Kneeling Halo: Optional Front Foot Elevated

• Time to bring back an oldie but a goodie...

• THE SECRET: the exercise will let you know REAL fast if you have one glute working harder than the other to stabilize your running stride and core. How will you know? You'll find it much harder to balance on one knee vs the opposite one.

• This exercise is STILL effective even if you don't place the front foot on top of anything. But it's a fun way to progress this and challenge your glute + core connection even further.

• Because I don't explain this exercise a lot in the video, heres' a quick run down.

  • Start by standing on one knee and allow your other foot to be a comfortable distance away from you, keeping the front knee roughly bent at 90 degrees (this will depend on whether you elevate that foot or not. start basic-this is ok!). Holding your weight firmly, circle the weight around your head with cues to bring the weight in front of your eyes, to your ear, to the back of head, to the opposite ear, and back in front of your eyes. I personally like to keep the weight relatively close to me.

Running side plank: Elbow to High Knee

• When I say this side plank humbled me…I mean it. Can I do it? Yes? Am I exhausted by the 3rd round. ALSO YES.

• HERE'S WHY: My bum cheek closes to the ground is the one working hard as it's actively preventing me from cratering back to earth. This happening by me pushing the ground away with the knee that's on the floor. (it's moving into relative hip abduction which is the sign for glutes to activate).

• The supporting shoulder is doing something similar. As I push the ground away with my planted elbow, that entire shoulder girdle is supporting my upper core. So with just this simple set up, I'm already strengthening and teaching my upper and lower core to work together.

• Then add in the dynamic parts. By bringing that high knee up, we make this look like running AND ask our core to work overtime, getting stronger in what we call anti-rotation. Confused? Just imagine me not holding this position very well: you can see how I'd face plant. (Ta-da! anti rotation ;) ) I also like "knee to elbow" cue to make the "looks like running" theme stronger, helping you build running specific strength.

  
  

Bear crawl row with TA activation

• Take this exercise in steps. I promise it's worth it.

• PRO TIP: finding and engaging your transverse abdominus (TA) is the secret to making EVERY strength exercise a core exercise. Start in a bear crawl position WITH NO WEIGHTS. Thinking about drawing your hip bones together sends the signal to find and contract your TA. It's 100% ok if it takes you a hot minute to coordinate this mind-muscle magic.

• Once you've got that contraction locked-down, hold it. Grab that weight. Row. Don't forget to breath-it's ok that the contraction/muscle activation softens here. It's also ok to do all the reps on one side first. Having a hard time staying balanced? Bring your feet wider apart so you're more stable!

Up-Down Plank

• I know: you've seen too many fitness influencers do these so WHY BOTHER?

• THE BIG BECAUSE: I love this exercise for runners. You can make it easier by having your feet wider apart, make it harder by having them closer, and you need a floor. That's it.

• But most importantly, as you PUSH up with one arm, the opposite hip + groin complex is working hard to stabilize you and your core is engaged in more anti-rotation goodness. This is the magic exercise that helped clear up so many of my groin problems (in addition to specific adductor work).

• Not to mention, because this core exercise involves an upper body pushing motion with an opposite hip girdle activation, this IS your running stride. I understand; it doesn't look like running. AT ALL. But the mechanics of the reciprocal movement pattern that is your running stride is there.

WRAPPING UP

What I want you to take away from this....

I see a lot of well-intentioned runners "doing all the things" to stay injury free.

And I applaud them for being so dedicated!

Because the reality is, I'm too lazy.

Too lazy to do a 30 minute core workout on YouTube.

Too busy to be chasing down new core circuits every week.

Because these things...

they're nice.

But NOT necessary.

Let this be a weight lifted off your shoulders: you DO NOT need a 20-30 minute core workout to be a strong, fast, injury-resistant runner.

Because I realize the majority of us have very busy lives and running is our outlet. And these injury preventing exercises aren't just to make us speedy; it's to help us keep our running and preserve our me-time.

So give this extremely runner-fied core circuit a go.

It's meant to be fast and effective.

Easy to do at home.

It may be wildly hard; it may not.

But you can rest assured it does work. And reclaim 20 extra minutes to go run a few more miles ;)

Looking for more way to stay ahead of running injuries?

Check out my BRAND NEW, FREE Calf & Achilles Cure Toolkit.

I made it for the marathoner whose tired of being sidelined by repeat Achilles pain and strains and is ready to ditch tight, unstretchable calves for good.

Because if these sound like you, they're signs you need running-specific ankle mobility drills and gastroc strength exercises that go beyond "just do 1000 calf raises" (because you're probably already doing those).

Until next time running fit fam.

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit