A Great Ab Workout & Why It Is So Important For Runners

The importance of changing up workouts and targeting different groups of muscles is not a secret. Doing this helps you to gain muscle faster without unnecessary injuries. So it was not a surprise when yesterday I decided to work on my abs after a long Sunday run.

OKAY, I will admit, it wasn’t the only reason. I slacked and hadn’t run for the past 3 weeks, so my legs were super sore after a 10 km run. Yes! You heard it right! I’m not perfect and there is nothing wrong with taking breaks! *Oh, excuses, excuses!*

All jokes aside though, ab workouts are super important for any fitness enthusiast, especially for runners. According to this source: ‘At any given point during a typical run, your body weight rests entirely on one leg or the other. That means the muscles in the core (abdominal) area of your body must remain contracted in order to help you keep your balance. A weak core means other muscles, like those in your back and neck, must pick up the slack, which can lead to aches, pains and even serious injury. At the very least, weak abs compromise your running performance, making you slower and causing you to tire faster.’ 

This means, not only that you have to suffer because your stomach is not as appealing as you’d like it to be, but also that you are slower than other runners AND in pain! How crazy is that?!?! This alone is enough to motivate anyone like me! Therefore, now when someone is talking to me about an ab workout, all I hear is this:

1. I’m gonna show off my sexy stomach at the beach this summer! Woop woop!
2. I’m gonna run at the front of the pack and think *SUCKERS!!!*
3. Next time I go for a massage, it’ll be for my own pleasure and not to work on my ‘problematic’ a.k.a. painful areas.

Also:

The following workout is really great. It is very effective, even though it’s only 8 minutes long. Personally, I really enjoyed it. My puppy also participated in the exercise by pulling on my ponytail from time to time. She is a true team player as you can see!

Please, don’t be afraid if you don’t speak any French, there is not much talking involved, and the counting is done in English. Simply follow the robot! REALLY! You’ll see what I mean! HAHA!

How did you like it? What are your favorite ab workouts?

xoxo
Olena