For most of the 20 years that I’ve been a competitive runner, I’ve intentionally disregarded yoga. I assumed that it wouldn’t offer anything meaningful to my workout routine. But as I’ve become older—and, it seems, wiser—I’ve found the exact opposite to be true. Especially when it comes to the benefits I experience from core-strengthening exercises in yoga and what they contribute to my training.
After racing competitively in college, I shifted my focus to intense training for half-marathons, marathons, and other road races. It wasn’t until after I began incorporating core-strengthening exercises from yoga into my gym workouts that I began to feel stronger than ever.
Yoga poses engage the less-obvious core muscles often ignored by runners, hikers, cyclists, mountain bikers, and other outdoor athletes. Those include the transversus abdominis and other deep core muscles, the side abdominal muscles, the spinal stabilizers, and the overlooked pelvic floor muscles.
Although the benefits of incorporating yoga into your training aren’t limited to making the shapes. It’s also how you hold yourself in the shapes. I’ve found that the long holds and slow breathwork emphasized by yoga have enhanced my endurance, my balance, and my ability to be more aware of my body.
When I coach others, I encourage them to take a “training wheels” approach by incorporating a few simple yoga poses into their usual ab or core workout. This ensures that you’re not neglecting whatever static or dynamic core strength training already works for you. Yoga will never supplant your gym workout. But it can supplement it to bring you surprising and tangible results.
7 Best Core-Strengthening Exercises for Athlete Needs
Rely on the following sequence of core-strengthening exercises as a complete core workout or incorporate three or four of them into your existing core exercise routine. Maybe you swap out your usual Forearm Plank for Chaturanga or replace V-ups or toe-touch sit-ups with Boat Pose.
1. Cat-Cow
Cat–Cow is a dynamic exercise that mobilizes the entire spine, which is often overlooked during core-strengthening exercises. It’s basically a slow transition between two poses, and as you sync your movement with your breath, you bring awareness to your ability to isolate your vertebrae. You also train yourself to engage your deep transversus abdominis muscles each time you draw in your belly, which helps stabilize your core.
2. Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-Limbed Staff Pose)
This core exercise is similar to the familiar Plank and Forearm Plank drills. But Chaturanga demands that you draw your pubic bone toward your belly button to maintain your balance on your forearms and your toes, which engages your pelvic floor muscles. This is important as the pelvic muscles are crucial for improving your breathing mechanics and your stability as you run, squat, bike, or practice whatever outdoor adventure you most love.
Also, be sure to squeeze your glutes to relieve strain on your low back and find safe and optimal alignment.
3. Virabhadrasana 3 (Warrior 3)
All Warrior poses in yoga engage your core, but Warrior 3 is the best for strengthening your core muscles. The full-body balancing pose requires engaging all of your core muscles in a 360-degree manner to find and maintain your stability. You experience a similar demand on the core in running, hiking, and weightlifting exercises, although it’s easier to cheat on your form since you’re upright rather than steadying yourself on one foot.
4. Paripurna Navasana (Boat Pose)
Boat Pose is a static, isometric hold that requires tons of core control. This yoga core exercise strengthens not just your abs but supporting muscle groups, including your quads, hip flexors, and spinal stabilizers.
It’s important to keep your back and shoulders straight, rather than rounded, because this helps build your core strength and balance while also supporting proper posture. It also practices engaging the lower abs and lower back, which synergistically support your form. To maximize the benefit of this pose, bend your knees if you must rather than allow yourself to slouch.
5. Vasisthasana (Side Plank Pose)
One of the best yoga core-strengthening poses for your tricky-to-isolate obliques (side abdominal muscles) is Side Plank. It also shifts the load to your shoulders and demands support from your front and back core muscles, which must engage in varying degrees to support your balance.
6. Eka Pada Utkatasana (One-Legged Chair Pose)
This variation of Chair Pose is basically like holding a single-leg squat but by lifting one foot any amount It’s a strong pose for runners, cyclists, and outdoor athletes because it requires engaging your core to keep your trunk upright and body balanced while simultaneously strengthening your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and back. It not only strengthens your muscles but your sense of proprioception, which is an awareness of where your body is in space.
7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)
Downward-Facing Dog is one of the best yoga poses for any athlete as it stretches the entire posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, lower back, calves, and Achilles tendons), which is not only essential but feels incredible after biking, running, hiking, rowing, using the elliptical machine, and almost any workout. It also strengthens the shoulders and core, which are often overlooked by those who engage in these endurance sports.
Focus on drawing your belly button toward your spine and squeezing your inner thighs and pelvic floor muscles. This approach engages your core in a complete and balanced manner. Engaging your quads and glutes will increase the intensity of the pose.
Additional Core-Strengthening Exercises for Athletes
If you’re looking to switch up your routine and work in different core-strengthening exercises, consider including bicycle crunches, reverse crunches, Pallof press using a resistance band or cable machine, Russian twists, and either hanging leg raises or stability ball jackknives.
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