Once you’ve caught the running bug, it’s hard to imagine anything better than going for a gentle 5k around the block on a sunny afternoon. But if anything can bring you crashing back down to earth, it’s injury, and depending on the severity, that can either put a dampener on the whole experience or knock you out of action entirely. 

But there are things you can do to decrease your risk of injury that don’t involve simply running less. 

Pilates is a prime example: designed to improve strength, flexibility and balance, this mostly body-weight-based exercise is ideal for slotting in between runs to maintain stability and mobility through the legs and core and boost performance.

Liz Patient, a certified pilates instructor and founder of Pilates for Runners, says pilates’ ability to help reduce this risk of injury and improve form is what makes it so special. 

“When we think of running stronger, we often think of performance,” she says. “While pilates has been proven to deliver on that front, the real power of pilates for runners is much wider reaching. Incorporating pilates into your training can keep you running for longer, in terms of both distance and longevity into later life, all while increasing your enjoyment in each run.”

With these benefits in mind, we asked Patient to share five key pilates moves runners can use to improve their strength and stability, reduce injury risk and run stronger.  

“Improving your single-leg balance and control is a fantastic way to not only build leg, glute, hip, and core strength, but also to support great running form and improve your performance,” Patient says. 

“This hip hinge is a great way to develop your motor control, proprioception (body awareness), strength and coordination, all essential skills in improving your single-leg balance. The hinge also targets flexibility and strength in the hamstrings, a common weak spot for runners, which can leave them feeling ‘tight’.”

How to do a single-leg hip hinge

1. Standing on one leg, bend the opposite knee and lift your leg up in front of you (beginners may want to start with their arms out to the sides to help their balance, while improvers can take the arms overhead).
2. From here, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your bottom behind you as you bend at the waist. Keep the non-standing leg bent at the knee as the foot comes up behind you. 
3. Hinge as far forward as you can, then come back to the start position. Do three sets of 15-20 reps per leg, with a 45-second rest between sets.

Patient’s top tip: “Think ‘smooth moves’. You’re trying to keep your movement smooth and constant, so slow it down if you’re struggling with balance and control, then speed it up once you’ve mastered it.”

“Running is all forward and backward motion for the arms and legs, which is movement on what’s called our sagittal plane,” Patient explains. “This is highly repetitive for our bodies, and it can mean our lateral or side muscles get a bit neglected. However, our lateral muscles are key in helping to properly stabilise and support the body when we’re on the move so making sure you do a good amount of lateral strength work outside of running is key to balancing out the impact running has on our bodies. 

“It also ensures that we maintain the best movement possible, not just for running but our overall health, movement and wellbeing. There is nothing worse than having running-related niggles impact the rest of your life and activities too.”

How to do kneeling side-kicks

1. Kneel on the floor and take one leg out to the side. 
2. Take your opposite hand to the floor to help support the upper body. 
3. Lift and lower the long leg, pausing briefly at the top and slowly lowering the leg to keep up the work on the way down.
4. Do three sets of 10-15 kicks per leg, with a 45-second rest between sets.

Patient’s top tip: “Turn your toes and knee on the moving to face forward or slightly down and towards the floor. This helps to really target those lateral muscles.”

“Planking is a fantastic way to build core strength and trunk stability, which is great for our running form,” Patient says. “The stronger and more stable we are through our centre, the more power we can deliver with our arms and legs to drive us forward. 

“Think of throwing a ball while standing on a paddle board (as oppose to being stood on solid ground). You’ll be able to deliver a much more powerful throw when your body is stable on solid ground. This one has the added bonus of some hip mobility work too.”

How to do a plank with knee-to-elbow taps

1. Start with your knees on the mat, in a kneeling plank position. The aim is to keep your torso as still as possible, so think about drawing the bottom of your ribs down towards your hip bones to prevent the back from extending and your belly dropping towards the floor.
2. Once you are in a stable plank position, bring alternate knees out to the side and towards the elbow as close as you can, while keeping as still as possible in your torso. 
3. Do three sets lasting between 45 seconds to 2 minutes depending on ability, with a 30-second rest between sets.

Patient’s top tip: “Planks with movement are so much more functional for us as runners than static ones.”

“Our calves absorb somewhere between three and eight times our body weight when we strike the ground while running. That is a huge force for those muscles to absorb and can often result in the sensation of ‘tight’ calf muscles or niggles and injuries if we don’t build their resilience outside of running with appropriate strength work. 

“Not only is this exercise great for building calf strength, but it also builds strength around the feet and ankles too. Plus, the single-leg work is great for our balance and stability. It’s a winner all around for us runners.”

How to do a split squat with heels raised

1. Take a big step forward with one leg into a lunge position, then hinge slightly at the hip to take the majority of your weight over that front leg so your back heel is off the floor.
2. Lift your front heel off the floor. Squat up and down. Think ‘up fast and down slow’. You want to make sure you keep the front heel lifted throughout.
3. Do three sets of 12-15 squats per leg with a 45-second rest between sets. Add weights if possible (see below).

Patient’s top tip: “If you can add a weight in your hand on the opposite side to the front leg, then even better.”

“If you find yourself with rounded shoulders when you run, this one is for you,” Patient says. “Great running form involves a slight lean forward leading from the chest, which means opening out those rounded shoulders and running tall. But when we get tired towards the end of a long run or race, we can find ourselves instead collapsing forward in the upper body, rounding the shoulders and folding in from the hips. 

“Building back (or posterior chain) strength is a great way to counteract this and keep us running tall and floating across that finish line with a great running form. As a bonus, this one is great for core and single-leg strength.”

How to do a standing swim

1. Standing on one leg, lift the crown of the head to the ceiling to lengthen the body and take the other leg behind, hinging forward slightly at the hip and keeping the length through the spine. 
2. Take the arms overhead. 
3. Lift and lower the leg and opposite arm.
4. Do three sets of 12-15 on each leg, with a 30-second rest between sets. If you want to up the difficulty, add some light weights in your hands. Just make sure you keep the shoulders back and chest open.

Patient’s top tip: “Pause at the top of each lift and think about reaching the fingers and toes in opposite directions so you’re as long as possible.”

Images: Getty; Liz Patient