By Brett Cohen

Running is one of the greatest types of exercise available to most of us. It has one of the lowest equipment needs of any sport. You really only need a pair of running shoes, a t-shirt and a pair of shorts.  Right?

What is running anyway?
You could simply define running as the act of putting one foot in front of the other…. But as runners do you know how this happens bio-mechanically? What muscles get you from step to step, from point A to point B?
From the Starting Line to the Finish Line
What drives you forward are your hips. The hips are quite complex and it would take much more detail than this article allows to go over all the muscles and mechanisms that contribute to proper hip function. So, this article will be limited to the function of the gluteus (hip extensors) and hip flexors.

We are, by-in-large, a sedentary population. Now matter how many miles you run in a week, the majority of people reading this sit between 40-60 hours a week. When you spend much of your day in front of a computer, behind the wheel of a car, or in front of the television set bad things can happen that can be detrimental to a runner’s performance. One such problem is the loss of hip mobility. Hip mobility can be restricted by both soft tissue and muscle length and strength discrepancies. The key to hip mobility is to get the right muscles moving in the hip joint and decrease the movement of the lumbar spine as a substitute for hip movement.

If The Hips Don’t Move, The Spine Will
Being in a seated position tends to lengthen the gluteus and surrounding hip stabilizers and shortens the muscles on the front side, the hip flexors. The hip flexors create a paradox in that they need to be flexible enough to allow for full range of motion of the hip extensors and also be strong enough to create full hip flexion. In other words, the ability to lift your knee up to hip height so as to create space for the leg to move forward in the swing phase of our running gait. Additionally, if a runner has an inability to flex the hip this will usually result in flexion of the lumbar spine (the low back). Done repetitively, this can lead to Low Back Pain!
The problem arises when chronic quad/hip flexor tightness “inhibits” (down regulates) your gluteus (the body’s main hip extensor). When your gluteus are not working properly it forces your hamstrings to take on the job which can lead to hamstring strains/pulls, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, patella femoral tracking disorder, and lower back injuries that often results in a decrease of neural input to the hip extensor muscles and hip flexor muscles.
There are 5 hip flexors…. Rectus Femoris, . TFL. Sartorious. Iliacus. Psoas. The TFL, RF, Iliacus, Sartorius all insert at the level of the iliac crest. They do great up to the level of the hip. The psoas acts directly on the spine. So, in the case of an under-active psoas, the femur may move above the level of the hip but it is not from the action of the psoas, but rather the momentum created by the other four hip flexors. This is what commonly causes Hip Flexor Strains and Quad Pulls under hard training loads. That’s what makes the following movements so effective in that it eliminates the momentum of the other four flexors.
When you think of loosening a muscle stretching automatically comes to mind. However, you can also loosen your hip flexors through certain exercises. It works by taking your muscles through their range of motion dynamically.
Here are some ways you can stretch and strengthen both your hip flexors and hip extensors using nothing but your own body weight.

90/90 Side Lying Hip Flexor Stretch
On your side with both knees pulled to chest, holding the top ankle with the top hand and the bottom knee with the bottom hand
Contract the top gluteus while pulling the top leg back until stretch is felt
Hold two seconds, return to start position and repeat for prescribed number of repetitions
Switch legs and repeat
For a demonstration, click here.

The Quadruped Hip Extension
Start in a quadruped position (on your hands and knees).
Tighten your core and contract your abs to stabilize the spine.
Focus on contracting the left gluteus. You may need to place your hand on your gluteus to be sure it contracts.
Slowly lift the left leg up while keeping a 90-degree bend at the knee.
The left thigh should be nearly parallel with the ground.
Slowly lower to the start position and repeat 10 reps per side.
To increase the intensity of this exercise, place and grip a small 3-5 pound dumbbell behind your knee or add an ankle weight.
For a demonstration, click here.

Supine Single Leg Bridge
A single leg supine exercise that strengthens pelvic stability, gluteus muscles, ankles and especially the hamstrings is the single leg bridge.
Start by laying flat on your back and raise your hips off the floor. Then lift your left foot a few inches off the floor and straighten your left leg.
With your leg extended, move your hips up and down for 10 seconds. Lower your left foot and repeat the exercise on the right leg.
Do five repetitions on each side.
For a demonstration, click here.

Overhead Split Squat
This is a variation on the basic lunge and is good movement for opening up your hip flexors.
Hold a weight plate (or barbell) overhead, with your feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. Without using any weights another option is to keep hands at sides and extend your arms up as your hips travel down.
Keep the weight directly overhead (in line with the shoulder joint), and take a comfortable step forward in to a deep lunge position.
Make sure your forward knee remains over your forward foot (not in front of it).
Forcefully drive your forward heel in to the ground and return to the starting position.
Perform up to 10 repetitions on each side and then switch sides.
Maintain perfect posture throughout the movement — your head is level, your eyes are looking forward, your chest is held high and your back is flat.
Don’t bend your elbows or let the weight sink during the movement.
Don’t let your front heel lift off of the ground.
For a demonstration, click here.

Backward Lunges
Here is how to do a backward lunge, step by step:
To begin, your feet should be shoulder width apart, torso erect with arms hanging straight at your sides, palms facing in.
Take a slow, controlled lunge (or large step) backwards with your left foot.
Lower your hips so that your right thigh (front leg) becomes parallel to the floor. At this point your right knee should be positioned directly over your ankle and your right foot should be pointing straight ahead.
Your left knee should be bent at a 90-degree angle and pointing toward the floor. Your left heel should be lifted.
After reaching the bottom of the movement (when your left knee is almost touching the floor), pause for a moment, or a breath, then push with your left, or back foot to move almost straighten both legs (photo on the left). Keep both feet on the ground – you are not returning to the starting position, just raising your pelvis up a bit and almost straightening your knees.
This completes one, now bend your knees and lower your pelvis down to complete another.
Return to the starting position (standing with both feet underneath your pelvis); now repeat the movement on the other side, stepping back with the right foot. Do ten up and downs (or reps) on this side now too.
Try and work with two sets of 8-10 repetitions for both the overhead and reverse lunge.
Keep your torso as upright as possible during any Lunge exercise to minimize the stress on the back. Start slow and don’t go too low if you are new to the reverse lunge. As you progress you will be able to lunge deeper and to work your gluteus more. Press the heel of your front foot into the ground to feel the gluteus activate and engage.
Move slowly down and up, this will allow you to work your muscles more without jarring your knees.
To make the backward lunge a little more challenging, try adding a torso twist or hold dumbbells at your sides while you lunge. To help maintain balance, look straight ahead instead of down at your legs.
For a demonstration, click here.

Step Ups
Use a step height that places your leg close to a 90 degree position or one that puts the hip slightly higher than the knee.
The key for getting the most out of your step ups is on using only the leg on the box to raise the leg on the floor up to the step. To ensure this, lift the toes of both feet up in your shoes and keep your tail bone tucked under.
Keep your shoulders over the hips and your eyes on the horizon. Center of the knee cap in line with the second toes.
If you have to lean forward on your step up then your step is probably too high. Do 8-10 repetitions. Complete all repetitions for one side before moving to the other.
For an added challenge introduce dumbbells, body bars or  kettlebells.
For a demonstration, click here.

Brett’s Bottom Line:
What you do throughout the day has a huge impact on your ability to move effectively in sports. It takes much more than changing shoes to become a better runner. You need strong, balanced muscles that Drive You Forward.
Our job as strength/performance coaches is to get you to understand what muscles aren’t functioning properly, identify what muscles need to be used/strengthened and then teaching you how to use them properly.
About the author:
Brett Cohen is a sports performance coach, endurance athlete and founder of Integrated  Training Systems and creator of Ready To Run, a comprehensive conditioning program specifically designed for runners and endurance athletes.

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