Our Top 6 Pilates Exercises For Runners

Pilates can be a fantastic way to keep your body balanced, which is especially important in a repetitive sport like running.

Here’s our top 6 Pilates exercises to strengthen and tone your running muscles, help to prevent injury and improve your running technique and efficiency.

Foot Series

  1. Stand with your feet hip width apart
  2. Bend your knee into a squat, keeping your chest upright and knees pointing over your toes
  3. From the squat position slowly rise up onto your toes (keeping the knees bent) then lower the heels
  4. Repeat 5 heel raises per squat, 10 times
foot series pilates


Shoulder Bridge 

  1. Lying on your back with your knees bent
  2. Squeeze your bottom to lift your hips off the floor
  3. Slowly extend one leg in line with your body, keeping the pelvis level
  4. Lower this leg then repeat on the other side
  5. Aim to do 10 on each leg
shoulder bridge pilates


Scissors

  1. Lying on your back, bring both feet off the floor so that your hips and knees are at a 90 degree angle
  2. Keep you back flat to the floor
  3. Slowly lower one leg to tap the toes on the floor, then bring it back up to 90 degrees
  4. Repeat on both legs 10 times
scissors floor


The Clam

  1. Lay on one side with your knees bent, hips stacked one on top of the other and feet back in line with your bottom
  2. Lift your heels so they are hoovering 6 inches off the floor
  3. Squeeze your bottom muscles to lift the top knee towards the ceiling, keeping your heels together and not rolling back from the pelvis
  4. Repeat 20 on each leg
clam level 1

Swimming 

  1. From your hands and knees draw your tummy muscles in so your spine in straight
  2. Lift one arm up in front of you and the opposite leg out behind you
  3. Hold this balance for 5 secs without rotating or arching your back
  4. Repeat 10 times on each side
swimming 1


Hip Flexor Stretch

  1. Kneel with one knee in front of the other
  2. Keep your chest upright and slowly push your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the front of the back thigh
  3. Gently tuck your tailbone underneath you to increase the stretch
  4. Hold 30 secs each side
hip


Read More 

Centring – the building blocks of Pilates

Clinical Mat Pilates

Pilates Timetable

Running Rehab Service

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