Today I will be sharing the first set of exercises that I learned in physical therapy. You can check out this post to read about my gait analysis. These exercises are focusing on hip strength and stability. I’ll also be sharing some quick drills to help with my overstriding, and the stretching and piriformis release that I have been doing. Please read my disclaimer…I am sharing these because I think that they can help most runners, but if you are injured pleased consult with a medical professional before trying any of these.
I’ve been doing all the standing exercises barefoot because it helps to develop foot strength! And it’s more challenging to balance without shoes on.
The first exercise is focused on strengthening the abductors (the muscles on the outside of the hip). I learned this the last time I was in PT but realized I had been doing it slightly wrong. You should bend your outside knee slightly, and push into the wall/table that your bent knee is up against. You should feel it in the outside hip area of the leg that is on the ground. Push into the wall for 5 seconds, 10 times on each side.
The next exercise is also for hip stability and balance. It’s best if you have some sort of unstable surface to stand on. Balance on one foot and use a medicine ball to throw against something that will allow it to bounce back..at PT we have a net type thing but at home I just ask Rob to catch it and throw it back to me:) Another option is to just balance or do one-legged squats. I’ve been doing 30 on each foot.
Next up is the bridge with a ball that you can squeeze between your knees. This works the glutes and adductors. I’ve been doing 2 sets of 15 with a 5 second hold.
I’ve also been working on strengthening my adductors using a resistance band. I tied a band to the leg of my table and then made a loop that my foot goes through. Stand on one leg, loop inside foot through the band, and pull foot with band through in front of standing leg, 2 sets of 15 on each side.
My PT also has me doing two drills that should help with landing on my mid foot and avoid overstriding. They are ankle hops and jump squats. Both are really hard to take pictures of and I’m not really up for sharing videos of myself:) But they are pretty much how they sound.
For ankle hops, stand with feet hip width apart, and hop quickly without stopping in between, 2 sets of 30.
For squat jumps, place feet slightly wider than hips width apart, and jump up and back down into a squat, 3 sets of 10.
Finally, I’m also stretching and trying to relax my piriformis. I never really felt like stretching it did a whole lot but I am trying to be a good PT patient and follow their recommendations. These are two stretches I am doing- holding for 30 seconds each and completing 3 sets on each side.
I use a lacrosse ball to roll out my piriformis muscle. My PT also does deep tissue massage for it and ART when I am there. At home I cross my tight leg over the other leg so I can get deeper into the muscle, and sit on the lax ball, roll around and hold any spots that feel really tight.
The other stretch I am doing is for my adductors– again, 3 sets of 30 second holds on each side. I also move around a bit to get more of a stretch and also go down to my elbows.
As I get more exercises to add on I’ll share them, since so many of you seem interested in how I am working to fix all my running form issues! Besides, it seems like these are great exercises for any runner to do to stay strong and prevent injuries!
Looking for other workout ideas?
Check these out these workouts and total body workouts!
Have you tried any of these exercises before?
Have you found any other good ways to release the piriformis?
I agree that hip problems or not, these are great for any runner. I do find that the piriformis is a tough area to stretch so the lacrosse ball is probably great to isolate it. I was just thinking recently that I need one of those.
I think the foam roller works ok too but the lax ball really gets in there! And yes all runners can definitely benefit from working on hip strength!
Looking at you roll out your piriformis reminds me that I need to much better about that. Saving these exercises!! Thanks!!
When I’m feeling good I start forgetting to roll it out as often. Did you have any issues with your SI joint? Last night in PT we talked about a theory around that causing alot of my problems. I’ll share more as I piece it all together but just wondering if it was something that was an issue for you.
Not that I know of. That was never brought to my attention. I will be interested to see what they tell you, because maybe that is an issue of mine too.
I do many of these but not all. The only thing I think made a big difference on my piriformis is when I had a PT do myofascial release on it. He was a former trainer for the Romanian Olympic gymnastic team and he was SO different from any PT I ever had. Then he moved to Denver. Sigh. I hope this works for you!
I have had so many different professionals work on my piriformis and I definitely found that some were better than others! The last time that I had these issues dry needing was able to keep it at bay for over a year, but this time it only helped for a few weeks.
I’ve definitely been there with you, as you know (and thus why some of the exercises I gave you match up with some of these!) but I’m glad that you are in an expert program now. The piriformis is a tricky bitchy–she doesn’t like to be under or over stretched. Silly cow.
I thought it was pretty great that some of the same exercises were in your workouts! I definitely need to keep up with these types of workouts even when I am back to running healthy.
I’ve started doing hip strengthening exercises several times a week. I had a TFL injury in the fall and it made me realize how weak my hips were! It sounds like you are getting really good help!
Its amazing how many of us runners have weak hips! I am learning even more about how the whole pelvis needs to be stable in order to run efficiently. I wish that staying healthy didn’t need to be so complicated!
Great tips! The abductor stretch looks really effective! I’ve never seen it done like that before but I’m willing to give it a try.
Thanks!
I had sort of given up on stretching lately because I didn’t feel like it did anything, but I’m willing to try again if thats what my PT is suggesting! I really feel the stretches more doing them this way!
Thanks for sharing Lisa! I should really try the balance/ball toss. I know I have poor stability on the leg side and need to work on that!
Its a challenging but fun exercise! I’ve even just tried to do things like brushing my teeth while standing on one foot- and to make it even harder I try closing my eyes!
These are such great exercises—thanks for sharing! The piriformis stretch always feels so good! I also like seated twists in yoga, I feel like they give a good stretch to the piriformis in the bent leg.
I love twists like that too! I also feel like my low back gets tight and the twists feel good for that as well!
Thanks so much for sharing these! Stretching out the piriformis is one of my favorites! I gotta try the rest of these out!
No problem! That silly piriformis can get so tight and cause so many problems!
I do ALL of these exercises!! Probably need to do them more in fact!
Glad to hear you are doing them too! I really feel like the standing exercises on one leg are so beneficial.
I think with all of our sitting and such that it is easy to develop tight hips. Funny timing because I literally just added some similar style exercises to my workouts over the weekend. I felt like I was missing some multi-directional movement. Have a great Tuesday!
It’s true that we sit so much and its so easy to get tight hips! Its always good to change things up once in a while:)
Hip strengthening exercises are something I don’t do enough of! I need to use the band more (esp for knee exercises).
Karen @karenlovestorun
I love using resistance bands too! They are so versatile!
The lacrosse ball hurts so good. My Airrosti doc had me use one in his office after each massage session and I keep it up at home. I found the perfect spot on my leg to target to keep things loose.
Its such a great tool for getting into some of those small muscles that can get tight! Once you find that perfect spot, you just know:)
I am pretty sure I cover all of these exercises with Pure Barre. Just another reason I love it so much! And yes to barefoot – when teaching our kids to walk it’s encouraged to have them barefoot to develop foot strength. I used to get crazy when I saw moms putting shoes on their babies who were first learning to go from crawling to walking. They couldn’t grip the floor and learn to walk!
Its funny you said that because I went to Pure barre yesterday morning and was thinking about how so many of the exercises are really similar. I definitely felt all my hip muscles working!
Thanks for sharing! Several of these are things that my PT has recommended, but unfortunately a few of them have dropped off my list of regular activities :-/ So thank you for reminding me of them!
I hope these are helping you!
That’s what happens to me too! After I stop PT I forget about some of the exercises. I’m hoping that posting about them will hold me accountable!
Thanks for sharing! I think you’ve inspired me to have a gait analysis after my next race in March. I’ve had a nagging hip problem for two years now. It seems to come and go, and doesn’t respond to all of the strengthening I do. I hope this helps you!
Sounds really familiar to what I am dealing with! And the other piece that we are considering is the SI joint. My PT has noticed that mine is usually a little off when I go in which can contribute to those issues that tend to come and go. I think its a great plan for you to eventually get a gait analysis!
Thank you so much for posting all these exercises for us. I think a lot of people will be able to benefit from all that you are getting from PT! (I plan on doing some of these at home! Especially now that I’m hiding inside a lot more due to snow.)
I’m hoping it can help some other runners! I know when I am dealing with minor issues I like to try addressing any weaknesses on my own before committing to PT.
My PT has me doing an adductor exercise and it’s really made a difference in my hip strength. I strap 10lb weights to each ankle, lie on my side, bottom knee bent and top leg straight, toe pointed down, heel to the ceiling and then lift my leg slowly up, 30 times per leg each day. Not sure if I explained that right–I shouldn’t quit my day job.
Oh yes I have done that too and I really feel it- and I don’t even use weights! However, I think the reason we are focusing on doing the standing exercises is so that they directly impact the muscles I use when I am in the stance phase of running. I guess we’ll see if it makes a difference!
These are great stretches that will help anyone even if you are not struggling w an injury. I need to stretch more. Some of these I never saw.
Glad you got to see new ones! Its always better to work on this stuff all the time rather than wait until an injury pops up:)
Thanks for posting! I love stretching out my hips, feels so good, but don’t do it nearly enough! I really like these “do it at home” exercises. Even when I take the classes at the gym, I feel we don’t get enough time at the end to property stretch. Thanks for sharing! Have a great day!
I also love a good hip stretch! I like when I get to a yoga class that happens to be focused on hip openers. Thanks for stopping by!
You have a great list. I’m supposed to be doing hip strengthing and glute exercises too. Hopefully they help!
The hips and glutes seems to be such a problem area for runners huh? I hope that you strengthening is helping too!
These are great! I’ve done all of them except the bent knee against the wall one. It’s crazy how crucial it is to have strong hips. Mine right side is finally starting to feel a little better after a few weeks of really sticking to my rehab exercises. And I also tried that hip flexor stretch you posted about a few weeks ago that you hold for a couple of minutes. I tend to neglect whatever isn’t bothering me at the time and I think I need to pay more attention to the opposing muscle groups. Now I just need to keep it all up…the hard part haha:)
I know what you mean! When I am feeling good I tend to just go with it when really I should be doing this stuff all the time. The knee against the wall one is real good if you do it right! I actually feel my outer hips engage a little bit when I run now which I don’t think was happening before!
Love that you’re sharing the photos for these- it’s always so helpful to have a visual when explaining exercises! I’m trying to focus on hip strength this training cycle but could be better. All that balance work will really pay off for you!!
Balance is so important for runners! I know they say that running is like a “whole bunch of single leg squats” and when you think of it that way it makes you realize just how key good balance is!
That piriformis stretch with the lacrosse ball is killer. All of these stretches/exercises remind me of PT for my hip labrum!
Hopefully your running issue gets fixed soon!
I did some of these exercises after my surgery too, but forgot about them as time passed! Hopefully now that I put them on the blog I will keep up with them over the long-term!
These are great cross training exercises! Hip issues are so common for runners (myself included!) so it’s great to be proactive about strengthening & stretching. I hope your PT continues to go well!
Thank you! There are so many runners with weak hips and injuries caused by hip issues. I also love finding new ways to strengthen my hips, which is why I figured these were worth sharing with others!
Thanks for sharing these exercises! As a runner, I find them very useful (the ones I’ve done- a coupe on here I haven’t, or at least don’t on a regular basis!). I have issues with my left knee a lot. I’m not sure what my issue is technically called (someone told me a while back, and I just don’t remember), but I need to start doing exercises, etc that will help with that.
I always hear that knee problems come from hip issues, so hopefully these can help you! I try to do this stuff on a regular basis but its easy to let it slip when you’re feeling good!
Bravo being so disciplined with your physical training. I did a few sessions of personal training after a running knee injury post half marathon. It was a frustrating time. But, once I started doing more cross training (Insanity) and less running, I haven’t had any issues since, when my knee used to get tweaky all the time! The crosstraining also led me to PRs in all my races. I am a firm believer in HIIT style training. LOVE IT!
It’s so great that you figured out what works for you! PT can be intense but I think it will be worth it.
Great exercises!!! I am doing the Runner’s World Prehab exercises to prevent injuries. I think I need to add the last 2 stretches to my routine!
That is so smart of you to do exercises to prevent injury rather than waiting for something to go wrong! Hope you like the stretches!
Looks practically identical to the plan I have from my functional fitness and form assessment. A lot of them I still do routinely.
That’s great! Hopefully you have seen improvements in your strength since starting this. It’s awesome that you have kept up with it for awhile, too!
Great exercises! I have problems with hip and pelvis instability ever since I had my second child. I actually had to do PT while pregnant because just walking and getting in and out of the car was super painful because my joints and ligaments got way too loose during the pregnancy. Thanks for linking up with us and good luck on your PT!!
Thanks! That’s pretty crazy how bad your pelvis and hips got during pregnancy. I always hear that after having kids the hips muscles because even less stable.
These are wonderful stretches, especially for runners. When you run, the outside muscles of your hips and knees tend to wear and become sore, which can cause problems later on. I recently started training for a marathon, and these physical therapy stretches will hopefully make running less strenuous on my muscles. Thanks for sharing such great stretching ideas and tips.
As an adult I am out of the house for upwards of twelve to fourteen hours each day. I am also in a wheelchair that entire time. My hip hip flexor seem to tighten up and ache when it is time for bed. Are there exercises that I can do in the morning and night to loosen up my hips?
I do some of these! Going to incorporate the rest of them so I can be as flexible as possible. My hips always get so stiff.
I agree that you should do the ball toss. Doing that while balancing on one foot is one of the best exercises for balance. I think balance is key to a safe recovery.