The Best Ab Exercises for Runners

Reading Time: 2mins

Last Updated: December 17th, 2024 at 2:51 pm

A couple weekends ago I was at the Evanston Blink Fitness’s Member Appreciation Event 

During the festivities, there was a Longest Plank competition

I wanted to see how long I could hold a plank for so I gave it a go

5 minutes and 14 seconds later, I had won the competition (see proud picture above)

When talking to one of the Blink personal trainers I found myself talking to him about how runners have strong abs

That competition and conversation got me thinking all about core training so I thought I’d share some basic fundamentals for everyone reading

For simplicity’s sake, I use “the core” and “the abdominals” synonymously 

One of the true functions of the core is to resist spinal motion

Meaning your abdominals act to stabilize your spine and prevent your trunk from moving

A really great example of this is a plank

In a plank, you hold a stationary position and fighting gravity’s pull to bend your spine

Your core is actively working to resist spinal motion

Making the plank one of the greatest ab exercises to train the true function of the abs

I know you’re probably disappointed by my recommendation of planking, so I’ll do you one better

Another one of the true functions of the core is rotational stability

Rotational stability essentially means rotating your trunk with control

Things like Russian Twists are great exercises to train rotational stability

But what if I told you there was an ab exercise that combines BOTH of the two true functions I mentioned already??

Would that excite you?

Behold! My all time favorite ab exercise: Thread the Needle

Thread the Needle both trains the abs to resist spinal motion AND provide rotational stability to the movement AT THE SAME TIME

I’ve gone ahead and recorded and posted YouTube videos of each of these exercises below:

Plank

Russian Twist

Thread the Needle

Incorporating these exercises or at least doing these particular ab exercises, are a great way to build a solid core for running

Also, if you’re looking for an awesome, local, and affordable gym to join, check out Blink Fitness in Evanston

They’ve got a clean gym with a friendly staff and all the equipment you could need for building a better body

They also have a discount code for runners I’ve written belowBlink Fitness Promo Code
=
RUNEVANSTON
If you’d like to work with a physical therapist who understands the ins and outs of running, schedule a free discovery phone call with me to get the ball rolling on your recovery

Over the phone we’ll talk about your specific issue, get you scheduled an initial evaluation, and establish a treatment plan for you to get you all patched up and enjoying running again

Your best is yet to come
Dr. Michael Your Success Is My Success Seeing my patients successfully complete their training and accomplish race goals fills me with immense joy. In this section, I wanted to share one of my favorite 5-star Google Reviews
Check out more reviews at the Valiant Physical Therapy Google Reviews page here!


Related Articles

How to Deadlift Safely

In last week’s newsletter, I laid out some basic concepts for my 12-week Own the Off Season 2025 program. Heavy Hex Bar Deadlifting is the centerpiece of the program and…
Read more

My #1 Health Tip for 2025

You know what my least favorite fitness goals are? Weight loss goals. Goals to lose X pounds by Y date. So boring and uninspiring.  I’ve got a better idea: choose…
Read more
We strive to help runners feel their best and run pain free