Add hip and glute strengthening exercises

What to Do

Perform hip and glute exercises 2-3 times per week: single-leg squats, clamshells, glute bridges, and side-lying hip abduction. These take 15-20 minutes and require no equipment.

Why It Works

A Finnish study found runners following a hip-core strengthening program had a 39% lower injury rate and 52% fewer substantial overuse injuries. Weak hip abductors and glutes are the root cause behind runner's knee, IT band syndrome, and shin splints. Hip and knee strengthening together is more effective than knee strengthening alone.

Tips

• Start with 2 sets of 10-15 reps per exercise
• Single-leg exercises (single-leg squat, single-leg bridge) are most specific to running
• Supervised strength training is significantly more effective than unsupervised home programs
• Add planks and side planks for core — runners with stronger cores get injured less and run faster