In the video, "Iron-woman", Jill is doing some full range goblet squats. Goblet squats are a fantastic squat technique exercise. By holding the weight in front of you, it naturally engages your "core" and allows you to smoothly sit down and back on the squat. It is a fantastic teaching and easy to learn exercise. Jill recently started preparing for an Ironman so the goblet squats are used to develop strength in her lower body while maintaining full range of motion and mobility without putting too much stress on her body. The full range of motion on a squat varies for individuals and since Jill has good ankle and hip mobility she is able to squat all the way down. Next week, I'll show you the progressions to lower your squat and how I got Jill to the full range of motion. http://www.mattkasee.com/
Band Walks: Band walks - walk sideways and forward and backwards. When going forwards and backwards step out at about 30 degrees so you place tension on the outer hips. Band walks are a fantastic exercise to strengthen your glutes, inner thighs and outer thighs. Loop the band around either your ankles or your knees, the lower on your legs you place the band, the more challenging the exercise will be. By placing an emphasis on training your glutes we create more stable and stronger hips. Strong and balanced hips help to control your knees and reduces stress into your lower back. This can reduce back pain and knee pain while running. Stronger hips and legs can handle more miles!
Reserve plyometrics for more advanced training and make sure you have a good strength foundation first.
Plyometrics are fantastic for developing power and elasticity in your lower body. Runners need to be powerful and one way we can improve this is by getting strong and then incorporating plyometrics. Consecutive hurdles teach your body to absorb higher amounts of force safely and in a controlled manner. Start by doing the hops individually and as you get better do consecutive hops to reap more benefits and become a stronger and more powerful runner. www.mattkasee.com
The upper back is one of the most important areas to strengthen as a strong upper back is vital to maintain a strong upright posture, particularly as the mileage starts to increase. http://kaseetraining.com/
