A smart training plan will include easy runs, speed workouts, and rest days as well as other activities like stretching and strength training to support your run goals.
Making sure you’re scheduling in time for these activities, particularly strength training with core exercises, is vitally important to your training. If you have a strong core, you’ll reduce the chance of injury, increase your speed, and run more efficiently. That’s why core exercises for runners are so important.
In the last decade as a running coach, I’ve helped runners through hip pain, runner’s knee, movements that engage more muscles and benefit you on the run, and lower back pain, which nearly every physical therapist I consult with has correlated with a weak core. So in essence, it’s just plain smart for runners to be consistent with core work.
The Expert: Amanda Brooks has logged 26,000-plus miles in her 20 years of running. She is a United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy–certified running coach and an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer. Since 2012, Amanda has worked with more than 200 runners individually and thousands more through online group programs on her website, RunToTheFinish.
A weak core doesn’t just mean a weak six-pack (a.k.a. the rectus abdominis). Your core encompasses the trunk of your body, which includes 29 pairs of muscles including those that lie deeper in your center, like the transverse abdominis, internal obliques, pelvic floor, and the muscles along the spine, like the erector spinae. Your glutes, hip flexors, lats, and traps are part of the core, too. Anatomy aside, this is a reminder that our core requires more than a few crunches.
A strong core A Part of Hearst Digital Media glutes can help keep your knees in proper alignment when you run, preventing knee and ankle pain. It means your back has the endurance to maintain good posture even as you fatigue on longer runs so you can sustain pace and form. A strong core also allows your hips to remain level with each footfall, reducing force down the leg and, therefore, helping to decrease the risk of overuse injuries.
Shoes & Gear bodyweight only, is an outstanding way to build the mind-body connection and increase core strength. Bodyweight exercises provide plenty of resistance to challenge key muscles. Although, as noted in the gear guide below, I’m a fan of adding resistance bands to increase intensity.
Ideally, your training plan should include at least two full-body strength sessions per week—every exercise will engage the core somewhat—and up to two additional core-focused sessions. But schedules are rarely ideal, so even 10 minutes of core work done consistently will have benefits.
Adding moves to your existing warmup stimulates your muscles so they work more efficiently throughout your run. It also means you’re less likely to skip the core work when your to-do list is already overloaded.
A Part of Hearst Digital Media core workouts to your schedule, you might struggle to hold a plank for 30 seconds or complete 10 reps of a movement. That’s normal and simply a reminder to stay consistent. Focus on mastering the basic movements, and you’ll build more power than if you progress without making the connection between the exercise and the muscles you should feel firing during that move.
After just a couple weeks of core exercises, most runners notice increased stability in their stride and less deterioration of their running form as they fatigue. And those changes make it easier to stay as committed to your core as you are to your daily runs.
Gaiam Gaiam Reversible Yoga Mat (6 mm)
This mat provides a little cushion when you’re doing movements with a knee or elbow on the ground, yet it’s firm enough to prevent you from sinking in too much. For more protection, fold the mat over. When you’re comfortable, it helps you remain consistent with the work.
TriggerPoint TriggerPoint Grid 1.0 Foam Roller
Postrun, use the Grid 1.0 foam roller Going back to basic movement patterns, focusing on.
Bowflex Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells
Updated: Mar 14, 2025 11:15 AM EDT progressive overload in workouts to see ongoing progress. Grab an easy-to-grip pair of dumbbells for adding to exercises like side bends and sit-ups. These adjustable dumbbells save a ton of space and provide you with settings from 5 to 52.5 pounds so you can increase the resistance as you build strength and stamina.
Perform Better Perform Better First Place Mini Bands
Marathon Training Plans glute activation movements. This four-pack, with each durable band offering a different resistance, is part of every dynamic warmup my athletes do, including fire hydrants and plank tap outs that fire up the core before we run.
Trideer Trideer Extra Thick Yoga and Exercise Ball
Incorporating an exercise ball is an easy way to actively challenge the core, whether you sit on the ball or do sit-ups or glute bridges with it. This heavy-duty, nonslip option comes in five diameters, from 38 to 85 centimeters. The smaller the ball, the more challenging it will make each.
While there are plenty of good core workouts for runners flooding the internet, never feel that you need to jump into the advanced move before you’ve mastered the basics. If you aren’t engaging the right muscles, then the movement is losing its value, thus wasting your time.
1. Side Plank Leg Raise
Holding a side plank for 30 seconds is a good start, but adding additional movement increases your core stability and muscle engagement.
Muscles Targeted: transverse abdominis, obliques, gluteus medius, and other hip abductors
➥ How to Do It
- Place left forearm on the ground perpendicular to body, with legs extended, hips, knees, and feet stacked.
- Gaiam Gaiam Reversible Yoga Mat 6 mm.
- With obliques and glutes engaged and hips high, raise right leg a few inches or more (to maintain core engagement), then lower leg.
- Repeat leg raise for 5-10 reps.
- Then switch sides.
2. Alternating Arm and Leg Plank
A standard plank engages your core, but if you have that down, you will benefit more from finding stability while moving. Instead, look to dynamic plank TriggerPoint TriggerPoint Grid 1.0 Foam Roller.
Muscles Targeted: reduce the chance of injury
➥ How to Do It
- Place both hands on the ground in line with shoulders, extend legs back, and place feet shoulder-width apart. Focus on engaging entire trunk from abs to glutes.
- Raise right arm and left leg, hold for a breath, and return to plank position. Body should remain in a straight line, without dropping to one side.
- Repeat the movement on the other side, raising left arm and right leg.
- Best Running Headphones.
3. Glute Bridge March
To progress beyond raising up into a simple glute bridge, add in a march to fire up the glutes prior to a run.
Muscles Targeted: gluteus maximus, rectus abdominis, lower back, and hamstrings
➥ How to Do It
- Lie faceup with feet flat on the floor and knees bent. Place arms by sides with fingertips reaching toward heels.
- Pressing into heels, raise hips toward the ceiling to create a straight line from shoulders to knees.
- Once you feel stable, raise left foot a few inches or more off the ground, place it back down, then raise right foot, and place it back down. Keep hips from rocking.
- Muscles of the Core.
Amanda Brooks has logged 26,000-plus miles in her 20 years of running. She is a United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy–certified running coach and an ACE-certified personal trainer. Since 2012, Amanda has worked with over 200 runners individually and thousands more through online group programs on her website, RunToTheFinish.
