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The hips are the cornerstone of everyrunners body.
Savanna Ruedy
However, runners are infamous for imbalances in their hip muscles.
Its the hip adductorsmost notably the gluteus mediusthat keeps the femur sitting in the socket as designed.
(The hip adductors are the muscles that move your legs inward.)
Other studies have linked weak glute mediuses withlow-back painandplantar fasciitis.
Thats especially true for women who are bounding from one foot to the other as theyrun down trailsandtreadmillbelts.
of them to your cross-training workouts.
Lateral Band Walks
This exercise targets the hip adductors.
Monster Walks
Similar to (but just different enough from!)
Using a looped resistance band can help you maintain proper form and muscle engagement.
With each rep, work to keep your knees from caving in toward each other.
After all, running is pretty much just performing alternating single-leg squats for miles at a time.
