INDIANAPOLIS — Friday's Fit Tip is for those of you who have set a goal to run the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon this year. And when you're thinking about all the things you need to do to get ready, you might not be thinking about strengthening your hips or your glutes. But Dr. Clark Scott at Summit Spine and Therapy in Castleton says that's exactly what you need to do.
"A big thing I typically hear myself saying a lot in office is, 'hey, if you want to run faster or longer, you have to get stronger,'" said Dr. Scott. "And you want to start in your hips, especially your glutes."
He demonstrated a great exercise to drive that.
Loading an elastic band right above the knee to put a load on the trunk, next put your hands where your glute meets your upper thigh with thumbs pointed forward and fingers back, so you feel your glutes working. Then go into a half squat. From that point, load into a clamshell exercise by spreading your knees further apart, then back together, keeping tension on the stretch band.
"If you feel your hip flexors working here," said Dr. Scott, "I would stand, reset and make sure you get in your glutes. I will start with 15 to 20 seconds and then work yourself up as high as you can go. Maintain good form."
Watch Dr. Scott demonstrate the exercise in the video player.
The bands we used for the demonstration were pretty light. So if you want a little more challenge, you could get a tighter or more challenging band.
Strengthen your glutes to run the distance as you work to be a best you.