I keep telling myself not to do it.

But it's like signing up for another race 3 days after finishing the last one.

But to be fair: the reason I plug in "core workouts for runners" into the Instagram search bar is because I want to see what YOU'RE seeing. (or at least what's trending, what the internet thinks is 'good').

And sometimes, I'm blown away at the talent I find in other physical therapists, athletic trainers,...personal trainers!

And then other times...I'm left shaking my head. However I stand by...

There is always a time and place for each and every exercise (yes, even my nemesis, banded clamshells.)

But I think what irked me the most this time was how "flat" some these exercises seemed. Let me explain.

A plank. You can feel how either you booty wants to stick up in the air or you want to sag your belly towards the ground. Because gravity is perpendicular to you, pushing you DOWN.

A bird dog is "better" in my opinion because if you're at not balanced when you lift your opposite arm and leg, you're going to do some combination of flipping and face planting, showing you (rather dramatically) that your core has some rotational issues to sort out.

Internet "core workouts for runners" will tout these more flat or one dimensional core exercises and I think it comes from our fear as runners of being leery of hard exercises because we don't want to wreck our next run.

Either that or the internet says "HERE!" and hands you a 25# plate to stack onto your crunches.

Is that bad? no. Can we get more nuanced with our core work and therefore achieve better running results? YES.

So this week I wanted to give you a fast, speedy, 3 exercise core workout you can do at home with either a dumbbell or a kettlebell and a bench. (a kitchen chair will do in a pinch.)

But I realize marathon training and high mileage builds are in full swing and I didn't want to leave you unprepared, especially if you were considering holding a 2 minute plank "just to make things harder".

Let's add some spice, and frankly some fun, to your core workout. Because if I'm being real here, no one really enjoys planks. So your core workout doesn't get done.

But make it fun, engaging, a challenge you want to crush....I just might tempt you into doing core 2-3x a week ;)

You can check it out here:

And, this will take 2 seconds and I'd be endlessly grateful,...what do you think?

Dare to Train Differently,

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

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