3x Olympian Hazel Clark and Exercise Physiologist Shannon Grady to bring a new series to MileSplit. Tuesday Topics are set to tackle specific issues and training tips for the high school athlete. Tune in every Tuesday to dig into the sport science of Track & Field.
Build Your Foundation: Core Strengthening for High School Runners
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In the competitive landscape of high school track and cross country, where endurance meets explosive power, a strong core is the unsung hero that drives efficiency, stability, and injury prevention. Building on Week 3's dynamic flexibility exercises, this Week 4 installment of our educational series breaks down foundational core strengthening tailored for high school runners. We'll explore the science of core training, its benefits for runners, key exercises with progressions, and tips to address psychological hurdles, empowering young runners to optimize biomechanics amid growth demands and varied event needs.
The Science of Core Strengthening for Young Runners
Core strengthening has emerged as a cornerstone of injury prevention strategies for runners, with recent research (2020-2025) emphasizing its role in reducing overuse injuries, enhancing stability, and optimizing biomechanical efficiency.
The core encompasses muscles from the diaphragm to the pelvis, including abs, obliques, lower back, and glutes, functioning as a stabilizer for posture and power transfer. For high school athletes, core training enhances running economy by 4-5%, reducing energy waste and overload during efforts. A robust core enhances force distribution and stride efficiency especially for a repetitive motion sport like running.
Core training improves running economy and form stability, directly addressing repetitive stress in running. For runners, this translates to reduced anterior pelvic tilt and hip drop, common culprits in gait inefficiencies and lower body stress injuries. Research from 2024 showed that a hip and core exercise program in runners lowered injury prevalence by 39%
Both distance and sprint athletes can benefit from starting with a foundation of basic, functional core exercises.
Why Core Strength Matters for Distance vs. Sprint Athletes
High school runners face unique risks: Distance specialists endure repetitive impacts, leading to imbalances and injuries like IT band syndrome in 50% of cross country participants. Core training stabilizes the pelvis, reducing hip drop and enhancing hill endurance. Sprinters, meanwhile, generate high forces in short bursts, where weak cores impair block starts and top-end speed; targeted exercises boost power transfer by 10-15%. Overuse injuries plague 50% of adolescent runners, but core interventions show promise. Studies on knee injury prevention highlighted that 8 weeks of core muscle training significantly lowers lower limb injury risk by improving pelvic position, strengthening stabilizers, and improving joint alignment.
Essential Foundational Core Exercises
Perform 2 sets build up to 1 minute for each exercise, 2-3 times weekly, post-run or as standalone. Start with bodyweight, progress to light resistance.
Emphasize stability and form
1. Prone Planks (Forearm or High)
2. Side Planks (Forearm or High): Repeat on each side
3. Reverse Planks (Forearm or High)
4. Dead Bugs: Alternate arm/leg extensions
5. Pelvic Tilt Glute Bridges
6. Glute Bridges: Shoulders on floor alternating lifting or using stability ball
7. Prone Back Extensions or using stability ball
8. Standing Side Twists
9. Med Ball: Reach ups (with partner)
10. Med Ball Overhead Sit Ups
11. Med Ball Side to Side
Overcoming Psychological and Practical Challenges
Core sessions can feel monotonous, leading teens to skip them; this risks imbalances. Build discipline with short circuits and consistency. A strong core isn't flashy-it's your secret weapon for staying injury free and training consistency.
Stay Tuned for Week 5 - on Strength Training for runners!
Hazel Clark Running Camps & Clinics provide world-class training for high school athletes of all abilities. Directed by Hazel Clark, a six-time U.S. national champion and three time Olympian 800m specialist. Hazel's elite racing and coaching expertise deliver unprecedented value to young athletes and coaches, fostering data-driven, personalized training methodologies for middle distance and cross-country success.
The MyBya App revolutionizes training for all levels of athletes with expert insights and analytics that turns heart rate and/or lactate data into personalized heart rate zones, training targets and workouts for any event and level based on an athlete's real-time physiology.