Marathon Runners and the Benefits of Pilates Katie Burroughs CTTC January May 2014 South Pasadena, CA 1
ABSTRACT First-time marathon runners spend a few years preparing for a marathon. Conditioning and training for the 26.2 mile distance is crucial. Given the likelihood of suffering an injury from running such a long distance, the runners must be physically and mentally prepared for the race. My cousin has been running marathons for a decade. Her experiences have taught me that injuries can occur more often than usual if one does not continuously strengthen the muscles that are used. The most common injuries that marathon runners battle are: runner s knee, stress fractures, shin splint, Achilles tendinitis, muscle pulls, ankle sprains, plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome, blisters, and temperature related injuries. Using the Basi Block System, I created a workout routine for a marathon runner to strengthen muscles, which will help prevent injury and increase speed. My cousin has worked with me the past few months and through my workout routine, she has noticed immense improvement in her running goals. It is true, running a marathon is one of the most challenging and rewarding events that any of us will experience (Barder, Why Run a Marathon? ) which makes it important to strengthen muscles in order to prepare and maintain the lifestyle of a marathon runner. While running a marathon is rewarding for the runner, equally as rewarding is the knowledge that I helped a person obtain goals that she never thought possible. 2
Table of Contents Anatomical Description pg. 4 & 5 Introduction pg. 6 & 7 Case Study pg. 7-11 Conclusion pg. 11 Works Cited pg. 12 3
ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION Figure 1. The sole of the foot is extremely important to strengthen and engage, as it aligns a person s entire body. In strengthening the muscles in someone s feet and ankles, it will also help with alignment problems. In other words, by strengthening the foot, the rest of the body is strengthened. 4
Figure 2. The entire body is engaged and active during running, especially long distance running. In order to build endurance and speed, it is vital to strengthen and lengthen the leg muscles. Tight hamstrings and quadriceps are common for a runner, and can be extremely painful. It s important to spend time stretching in order to lengthen the tight muscles. Strengthening the hip flexors can also help with your ability to run. These are some of the most important steps necessary to help a person improve their endurance and speed, as well as avoid injury. 5
Preparing to run a marathon requires a plethora of time and effort. It is a challenging and rewarding event from start to finish. My cousin, Jacqui, is 32 years old and started training for marathons at the age of 20. She ran her first marathon at 22 and her second a few years later. She constantly amazes me with her athletic ability to run 26.2 miles. Jacqui loves running, but has endured minor injuries that come along with the sport. Even after dealing with injuries, she ultimately wanted to pick up her pace and be a faster runner. Jacqui used to randomly stretch before and or after a long run, and her workout routine did not dramatically alter from that. In following her progress and becoming more aware of her routine, I believed she would be an excellent candidate for Pilates. Pilates can benefit a marathon runner in many different ways. I knew that if Jacqui took the time and training, using the BASI block system a few times a week, she could easily be able to pick up her speed on the track. Pilates is a whole body workout. It helps strengthen and stretch muscles. My cousin has had a few injuries while training for marathons such as; blisters, ankle sprains, and incredibly tight hamstrings. But there are more serious injuries that can occur from being a marathon runner such as; runners knee, Achilles tendinitis, ankle sprains, and shin splints, just to name a few. As a marathon runner you are using several muscles at the same time as a motor unit. Running can be tough on the body if one does not stretch and strengthen muscles. I came up with a workout based on the Basi Block System to help strengthen muscles and prevent future injuries, which will ultimately increase her running pace. The full body needs to be addressed in strengthening and stretching a marathon runner. Foot, Ankle, Legs, Calves, Hamstrings, Hip Flexors, and Abdominals are all areas of the body that will benefit a marathon runner by stretching and strengthening them. The ankle and foot complex will help target and focus on alignment. Strengthening the legs, calves, and hamstrings 6
will benefit the runner and help increase their speed and endurance. Hip Flexors and Abdominals will also help with alignment. Jacqui is 32 years old and has always enjoyed running. Throughout her childhood she was on the track team. She never explored other exercise routines, solely enjoying running. She spends a few minutes before and after a long run to stretch. The stretches she usually does are lunges and calf raises with a resistance band. She wants to improve her pace and with doing so, also wants to strengthen and stretch her muscles. According to marrathonnation. the only thing that can make you faster on your next attempt at that run is stronger legs. Jacqui s main muscle focus she wanted to target was her legs. I put together 20 sessions using the BASI block system to not only strengthen her legs, but her entire body. In the end of the 20 sessions, she not only felt stronger and leaner, but was able to run at a faster pace and prevent injuries from occurring. Sessions 1 10 Block/Equipment Exercise Purpose Warm Up/Mat Roll Down Pelvic Curl Warm up the spine. Spinal articulation, hamstring control. Spine Twist Supine Spinal rotation, pelvic lumbar stabilization, abdominal control with oblique emphasis. Chest Lift Abdominal strength, pelvic stability, Footwork/Reformer Chest Life with Rotation Parallel Heels Parallel Toes V-position Toes Open V position Heels Open V position Toes with oblique emphasis. Hip extensor, knee extensor strength, Ankle plantar flexor strength. 7
Abdominal Work/Reformer Hip Work/Reformer Spinal Articulation Stretches/Reformer Full Body Integration I (FBI) Arm Work/Reformer Calf raises Prances Single leg heel Single leg toes Hundred Prep Hundred Supine Leg Series Frog Circles down/up Openings None Hamstring Stretch Group Standing lunge None Arms Supine Series Extension Adduction Ankle plantar strength Hip extensor and knee extensor strength. Abdominal strength, shoulder extensor control, pelvic lumbar stabilization. Hip adductor strength, knee extensor control, pelvic lumbar stabilization. Hip extensor control, Hip adductor strength, pelvic lumbar stabilization. Hip flexor and hamstring stretch. Should extensor strength, scapular stabilization. Scapular stabilization, shoulder adductor strength. Full Body Integration II Leg Work/Wunda Chair Lateral Flexion and Rotation/Wunda Chair Circles Up Circles Down Triceps None Leg Press Standing Hamstring Curl Side Stretch Shoulder adductor strength, shoulder extensor strength, shoulder mobility. Elbow extensor strength, scapular stabilization. Strengthening hamstrings. Help balance. Hip extensor control. Knee extensor control. Strengthen hamstrings. Knee flexor strength. Pelvic lumbar stabilization. Abdominals and oblique emphasis. Lateral flexion stretch. Abdominal control with oblique emphasis. Back Extension/Wunda Swan Basic Back extensor strength. 8
Chair Abdominal control. Scapular stabilization. In Sessions 1 10, I used fundamental exercises to strength and condition Jacqui s whole body. Since Jacqui s goal was to become a faster runner, I thought it was important to focus on her footwork, which helps engage the hamstrings and quadriceps. The stronger her legs become, the faster she will be able to run. Tightening up her core muscles will also help prevent injuries from occurring. Hip work will strengthen her hip flexors and help with stabilizing her pelvis. Arm work was also important in strengthening and stabilizing her shoulders and upper back. We then continued with legwork, emphasizing on hamstring strength. Next, we turned to lateral flexion and rotation and back extension, which helps target more abdominal work. Sessions 11 20 Block/Equipment Exercise Purpose Warm Up/ Mat Roll Down Pelvic curl Spine Twist Supine Chest Lift Chest Life with Rotation Warm up the spine. Spinal articulation, hamstring control, Spinal rotation, pelvic lumbar stabilization, abdominal control with oblique emphasis, Abdominal strength, pelvic stability. Abdominal strength with Footwork/Reformer Parallel heels Parallel toes V position toes Open V position heels Open V position toes Calf raises Prances Single leg heel oblique emphasis. Hip extensor and knee extensor strength. Ankle plantar strength. Hip extensor and knee 9
Abdominal Work/Reformer Hip Work/Reformer Spinal Articulation Stretches Full Body Integration I (FBI)/Reformer Arm Work/Reformer Full Body Integration II Leg Work/Wunda Chair Single leg toe Hundred Prep Hundreds Coordination Supine Leg Series: Frog Circles down/up Openings Extended Frog Extended Frog Reverse Bottom Lift Bottom Lift with extension Hamstring stretch group Standing lunge Up Stretch 1 Up Stretch 2 Arms Sitting Series Extension Bicep curls Rhomboids Hug A Tree Salute None Hamstring Curl Hip Openers extensor strength. Abdominal strength, shoulder extensor control, pelvic lumbar stabilization. Hip adductor strength, knee extensor control, pelvic lumbar stabilization. Hip extensor control and hip adductor strength. Pelvis lumbar stabilization. Hip adductor strength, knee extensor strength, and pelvic lumbar stabilization. Spinal articulation, hip extensor control. Hip flexor and hamstring stretch. Trunk stabilization, shoulder stabilization, hamstring and shoulder stretch. Trunk stabilization, scapular stabilization. Shoulder and elbow extensor strength, trunk stabilization. Elbow flexor strength, and trunk stabilization. Shoulder horizontal abductor and scapular adductor strength, trunk stabilization. Shoulder horizontal adductor strength, and trunk stabilization. Elbow extensor strength and trunk stabilization. Strengthen hamstrings, knee flexor strength, pelvic lumbar stabilization. 10
Lateral Flexion and Rotation/Wunda Chair Side Stretch Back Extension/Cadillac Prone 1 Prone 2 Abdominals and oblique emphasis, lateral flexion stretch. Ill fill this in at the end* In Sessions 11-20, Jacqui was able to explore more of a challenge for the whole body. We incorporated spinal articulation and Full Body Integration I into her workout. Both of these blocks are important to include at an intermediate level. In Spinal Articulation she was able to focus on her abdominals and hamstrings, which helps with hip extensor control. Full Body Integration I helped with her tight hamstrings and focused on her abdominals and back extensors. All of the blocks used during these sessions ultimately helped gain and strengthen Jacqui s muscles and allowed her body better performance. In conclusion, Jacqui decided to use the BASI block system twice a week for 10 weeks. In those 10 weeks, she has shown tremendous progression. During Sessions 1 through 10, I noticed a few things about Jacqui s body, such as her tight hamstrings and her unaligned hip flexors. She lacked strength in her abdominals, arms, and back extensors, but by the end of session 20, Jacqui showed immense improvement. Jacqui continued to run twice a week on top of her Pilates training. She noticed her endurance increase. She felt less tension and soreness throughout her entire body. The improvement from the workout has proven how important it is to mix up your fitness routine and give the body the time and ability to regroup and recharge the muscles. Runners tend to get tight hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves. Flexibility and stretching is important to prevent injury while running, and increase your strength and the length of each stride by promoting longer, leaner muscles ( 6 Ways to Strengthen. ). Pilates improved Jacqui s muscle tightness, flexibility, and strength so she can be a better marathon runner. As Joseph Pilates said, the whole must be exercised to achieve good health. 11
Works Cited Barder, Owen. Why Run a Marathon? Running for Fitness. N.p:n.p., 2010, also available at, <http://www.runningforfitness.org/book/chapter-12-twenty-six-point-two-miles/why-runa-marathon/>. Clippinger, Karen and Rael Isacowitz. Pilates Anatomy. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics, 2011. "Common Running Injuries: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment." WebMD. Ed. Varnada Karriem-Norwood. WebMD, 11 Apr. 2014. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/running-injuries-causes-preventiontreatment/>. Isacowitz, Rael. Study Guide: Comprehensive Course. Costa Mesa, California: Body Arts and Science International, 2013. Logan, Linzay. "Four Key Core Exercises For Runners - Page 2 of 5 - Competitor.com." Competitorcom. N.p., 02 July 2014. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://running.competitor.com/2014/07/injury-prevention/four-key-core-exercises-forrunners_41874/2/>. McCrann, Patrick. "Marathon Training Schedule Marathon Nation." Marathon Training Schedule Marathon Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2015. <http://www.marathonnation.us/marathon-training/run-fitness-is-in-your-runningmuscles/>. 6 Ways to Strengthen Your Running Muscles. Women s Health & Fitness. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. <http://www.womenshealthandfitness.com.au/fitness/workouts/402-6-waysto-strengthen-your-running-muscles/>. 12