Pelvic and abdominal power

Why talk about all of these drills that seem to build supporting muscles without actually running? Well, awhile back I spoke about the idea that we are making running a habit and a Practice and this means that we are trying to shape it into a process oriented thing rather than a goal oriented thing. Further you have heard my bias that we are all made to run and yet when we enter into something new, it will often show us an asymmetry, an imbalance or weakness somewhere in our body as we develop into the new activity – be it gardening or golf. This is why we train the supporting musculature.

Why talk about all of this now? Recall that I said that we could easily overwhelm you with good information that could seem insurmountable to a newcomer. Some people will not need to do core work as they come to a program with developed anatomy from another sport or genetic gifts. Others will find that seven to ten weeks into their program they are coming into a few minor glitches and wondering how to hop over them. That is why we take the time now to talk about posture and core strength and balance – because for some it will be the next key and you have to present information as folks are ready to absorb it. The pelvis is an area that we are talking with many folks about when looking at gait and best running form as well.

So in a potpourri of topics related to core strength I will begin with a summary of a great article by Dimity McDowell, Runnersworld 3/09 titled Never Get Hurt.

Many common injuries are associated with pelvic instability or lack of strength in this region according to the Center for Endurance Sport at the University of Virginia.

Injuries such as shinsplints, iliotibial (IT) band syndrome, and lower back pain are some injuries that can be addressed at the cause and possibly “pre-habilitated” by doing an abdominal and pelvic workout.

If you develop a stable pelvis that supports the legs below and the torso above; the legs will spin almost effortlessly beneath you while the upper body remains quiet and solid. Think about the Roadrunner in the cartoons as he buzzes away from his attacker.

Many of these exercises will positively affect posture and ease the chance of injury from the road. The core work that some folks may already doing for strength training nicely augments this routine.

Drills are about 20 minutes three times a week and can be done before a run
Video of each exercise is available at
http://www.runnersworld.com/video/0,8052,s6-1-0-5,00.html

Besides your abs many muscles help make up the runners core
Transverse Abdominals – cough or laugh and you’ll feel these muscles which stabilize the spine and pelvis, right above your pelvic bones.
Gluteus medius – this muscle on the side of your glutes minimizes side to side rotation.
Your lower back also plays a key role and you need to think about being as strong as is practical – all the way around your core as a protective cumber-bund and to build posture that promotes more structural running.

Some of my favorite stability drills come from Danny Dryer: in one example he ask you to lean forward against a table edge so that the table touches your leg at mid-thigh and you maintain a slight – whole body- lean forward as if you are a 2x4 from ankle to head. Hold this position for as long as you can and slowly increase your time. This is working the lower abdominals in a way that is similar to the way they support you going down the road.

Working these muscles is done with body weight resistance and can be done w/o equipment. Clean form is a must and you only do what you can muster comfortably, and slowly you increase the repetitions or interval weekly.

Some posture guidelines for thinking about a stable pelvis.
Heavy heel strikers typically see lower back pain down the road. Do not overstride and seek to have feet fall nearly beneath you while maintaining a long and neutral spine. Practice good posture daily and translate this to your running. While it may be hard to think about your stride all the time – you take five minutes to think about it, twice during each run, and from there we build muscle memory for best form that will follow you later in your runs.

Danny Dryer in his book ChiRunning, takes this a step further and talks about where we generate power from. “Efficient movement comes from your core muscles, not the muscles in your legs. We are so used to being told that strong legs are the answer to efficient running that when we are told to relax our legs, it is a huge mind body shift away from how we normally move.” So you ask, “Relax my what?” and my simple answer is that you are asking a very big question – but I know that this is not a sufficient answer. You generate the most power from your core and if you have ever hit a baseball, drove a golf ball, skied bumps in spring, practiced martial arts or rowed a boat then you know what I am talking about. These are core sports and activities that require what the literature calls “upper/lower body separation”. In short that means that sometimes your entire body is moving together and other times you isolate the motion of one half from the other half or top from bottom. So while you do need legs to best achieve maximum performance in these sports you will often isolate the movement of the legs from the core and have each doing different tasks or workloads. The core is where a great deal of Danny’s award winning speed and grace comes from and this allows him to not power through on his legs which are not as efficient.

He goes on to say later in the book that the true test of mastery is in how long you can maintain correct technique – quality reigns supreme over quantity. This should sound familiar to you as well. By working these core muscles we allow you to support yourself structurally for longer stretches of time and this will not just benefit your running but your daily posture, air exchange, and daily well being.

On page 72 of ChiRunning, Dryer presents an example of a great drill that you can do anytime to tune into your own posture habits and work on better form. He calls it the vertical crunch and we practiced the idea of this in running seminar in June. If you place your hands at your own waist line (one on your navel and one on your lower back, each just above the bony prominence, or iliac crest) you should get a sense of their relationship to each other. If you are seeking to use your hands to reference the top of your pelvis; is one hand higher than the other? Are they at the same elevation, front and back? Dryer states that this relationship will offer insight into whether you are using more of your lower back, and compressing discs in the process or bowed forward and tipping your pelvis to the rear. If there is an imbalance here - between your two hands “elevations” there may be less room in between vertebrae and a chance of low back stress. You may struggle to breathe from the diaphragm as we have discussed earlier. He points out that when you bring these hands into alignment, front to rear, that you should only be using abdominal muscles to do this and these are lower abdominals that seldom get used so it may take some time and focus to make it all come together.

Other posture tidbits that I find help runners. Another one from Danny Dryer: to begin each step, think about lifting your feet off the ground from the heel – this helps recruit muscles from the back of the body in your running stride.

More training guidelines to prevent injury
Your longest run should not be more than half of your weekly total mileage.
The “10% rule” states that total mileage does not increase by more than 10% each week.

If you are limping you have no business running. If the pain is sufficient to cause a limp your stride will create alignment issues that will tear something else loose before the end of your run. You would not drive with one wheel rubbing the wheel-well because you know that the misalignment of the car would throw you into the ditch or give you a flat. In the same way that you would not drive the car with the rubbing tire, do not run when you have pain to the point that you are compensating somewhere, even subtly.

Here is another great running drill that gives you the strong feel of what solid running posture would be like and points to any current weakness you can work on. This comes from the Chi running instructors.

Leveling Your Pelvis
A Killer Exercise to Develop Coordination and Strength
By Scott Smith, ChiRunning Certified Instructor of the Month
(articles about Chi techniques, and a subscription to the newsletter can be found at chirunning.com)

As a ChiRunning Instructor, one of the most important services I can provide is educating a student on coordinating and strengthening the muscles that that are used to level the pelvis. This movement is essential for optimal posture and efficient movement. Whether I am skiing, cycling, running or kayaking, I always draw my strength, balance, and endurance from my pelvic floor/lower abdominal region. Low back pain and tightness can be reduced greatly by recruiting the muscles that level the pelvis, thus signaling the opposing back muscles to release (reciprocal inhibition).

The following rope exercise teaches you how to level your pelvis while moving your legs (engaging your hip flexors), simulating walking or running.

Step 1: Lay on your back with knees bent, heels close to buttocks, toes up and slide a 3/8" to 1/2" rope underneath your low back where the largest gap exists.
Step 2: Flatten your lower back against the rope by pulling your navel to your spine, pinching the rope against the ground. Try to pull the rope out with one hand. Make sure your head, shoulders and tailbone all stay on the floor.
Step 3: Test your starting point: If the rope slips, then do 3 x 30-second holds, 4-5 days per week. When this is mastered with no rope slippage, add movement of the knees up and down while slowly walking your heels away, half an inch at a time until the rope begins slipping. Now back up half an inch and use this as your starting point, doing 3 x 30 knee lifts for 4-5 days per week. Keep advancing heels away from the butt over the next couple months until you can do straight leg raises, with your core engaged, back flat, and no rope slippage.

With practice, this is an excellent way to engage and strengthen your lower abdominals. Notice that we are not doing crunches but trying to build core strength in a balanced way Good Luck!