These gentle exercises can help strengthen the most vulnerable parts

Joe Dunbar provides some exercises to strengthen the gluteal and hamstring muscles, which will help provide you with a good posture.

Whether you aim to run a marathon, perform step aerobics, scrummage for Harlequins, or cycle from London to Brighton, you should not neglect a proper conditioning routine as part of your training if you want to achieve muscular balance and avoid injury. The best-prepared sportsmen and women tend to have a comprehensive routine, often involving muscles that are not directly connected with their particular activity.

One of the most common sites of injury, regardless of the sport, is the lower-back region. There is a whole host of causes for lower back pain. E.g. in runners weak or inflexible hamstrings can often be the culprit. Poor posture is another common cause, so conditioning the muscles that help to maintain a stable posture should form part of the schedule of anyone who exercises regularly, whatever their discipline or sporting standard.

A variety of muscle groups contribute to good posture, and all require attention. Naturally, the lower back muscles need strengthening, and work on the abdominal muscles is also important as it will complement work undertaken in the back region. It is dangerous to develop muscular imbalances by working on just one side of the body. The contribution of the gluteal and hamstring muscles should not be overlooked when considering good posture and preventing injury to the back region.

It makes sense, therefore, to develop a session that will work on all these areas and give the right level of conditioning for injury prevention. As several different exercises are used in the following training session, it is possible to construct a mini-circuit. The idea is not to undertake "circuit training", with athletes working eyeballs-out in a gym, trying to pump out as many repetitions of each exercise in as short a time as possible. Far from it, if you adopt that attitude to this particular session, you will be risking injury rather than helping to prevent it.

Your emphasis here should be on completing the exercises in a controlled manner so that there is no loss of form and no unnecessary tension throughout the body. For this reason, the session is known as the "No-rush Circuit". There is no stopwatch involved and no target heart rate. The intention is to condition the muscles gently rather than to boost cardio-respiratory fitness.

Six exercises are involved, and you move from one to the next to complete the circuit. If you incorporate such a session, once or twice a week, into your exercise schedule, it will prove valuable, whatever your sport or activity.

The six exercises

Sit-ups (abdominal development): Here you lie on your back with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands on your thighs and sit up until your hands touch your knees. Note that you do not sit up, but slide up and move back down in a controlled fashion.

Back arches:

Lie on your front with your legs crossed so that your feet remain firmly anchored to the floor.
Raise your upper body off the floor, taking care to keep your head in a neutral position (neither looking to the sky nor staring at the ground).
Hold this position for two seconds, then lower yourself down again in a controlled fashion.

It is easiest to keep your arms resting on your back, but as you get better at the exercise, you can put them in the "hands up" position or straight out in front to add to the resistance. You may progress to holding a weight.

Speed cramps: These work on a different part of the abdominal muscle group and are performed a little faster. Lying on your back, keep your legs in the air, bent at the knee. Your hands can rest lightly on the side of your head and NOT interlocked behind the neck. Raise your body to bring your elbows to your knees and go straight back down.

Gluteal and hamstrings:

Start in the same position as for the sit-ups except having your hands lying by your side.
From here, raise your hips and one leg and hold for a second before lowering.
Repeat with the other leg.

Short sit-up:

Start in the same position as for the sit-ups but keep your hands in the same position as the speed cramp.
Raise your body so that your torso is at a 30 to 40-degree angle to the floor. If you come up any higher, the work is concentrated more on the hip flexors than the abdominals.
Hold this position for two seconds before coming back down slowly.

Back extensions:

Sit with legs bent, feet flat on the floor.
Position your hands on the floor behind you to take some of the weight.
Raise your body off the floor so that your torso is parallel with the floor.
Hold and lower.

Keep a sense of balance

The first time you do this circuit, start with ten reps of each exercise and complete just one circuit. As with any training programme you need progression, so you can add to this in subsequent sessions. Begin by increasing the number of reps you do within each circuit. Do not expect to be out of breath at the end. Remember that the idea is to tone the relevant muscles to condition your body well.

Keeping a sense of balance is essential for all your training. If you do other types of strengthening work, think carefully about the muscles that you are training and whether the session is appropriate. For example, in most gyms around the country, there are many pieces of equipment to help strengthen your quads but few to address the hamstrings. The danger is that the quads will be far stronger than the hamstrings, and this can cause all sorts of injury problems.

The answer here is to work hard on the hamstring muscles, either with leg curls or, if the machinery is not available, get a partner to hold your ankles as you kneel. Then gently rock forward as far as you can and let your hamstrings pull you back. You can perform several reps of this exercise to help redress the balance. Similarly, if you work out in the gym regularly and give a lot of attention to the biceps, make sure you do not neglect the triceps and cause another imbalance.

Article Reference

This article first appeared in:

DUNBAR, J. (2003) These gentle exercises can help strengthen your most vulnerable parts. Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, (ISSN 1745-7513/ 5 / September), p. 4-5

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

DUNBAR, J. (2003) These gentle exercises can help strengthen your most vulnerable parts [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni5a5.htm [Accessed


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Whether you aim to run a marathon, perform step aerobics, scrummage for Harlequins, or cycle from London to Brighton, you should not neglect a proper conditioning routine as part of your training if you want to achieve muscular balance and avoid injury. The best-prepared sportsmen and women tend to have a comprehensive routine, often involving muscles that are not directly connected with their particular activity. One of the most common sites of injury, regardless of the sport, is the lower-back region. There is a whole host of causes for lower back pain. E.g. in runners weak or inflexible hamstrings can often be the culprit. Poor posture is another common cause, so conditioning the muscles that help to maintain a stable posture should form part of the schedule of anyone who exercises regularly, whatever their discipline or sporting standard. A variety of muscle groups contribute to good posture, and all require attention. Naturally, the lower back muscles need strengthening, and work on the abdominal muscles is also important as it will complement work undertaken in the back region. It is dangerous to develop muscular imbalances by working on just one side of the body. The contribution of the gluteal and hamstring muscles should not be overlooked when considering good posture and preventing injury to the back region. It makes sense, therefore, to develop a session that will work on all these areas and give the right level of conditioning for injury prevention. As several different exercises are used in the following training session, it is possible to construct a mini-circuit. The idea is not to undertake "circuit training", with athletes working eyeballs-out in a gym, trying to pump out as many repetitions of each exercise in as short a time as possible. Far from it, if you adopt that attitude to this particular session, you will be risking injury rather than helping to prevent it. Your emphasis here should be on completing the exercises in a controlled manner so that there is no loss of form and no unnecessary tension throughout the body. For this reason, the session is known as the "No-rush Circuit". There is no stopwatch involved and no target heart rate. The intention is to condition the muscles gently rather than to boost cardio-respiratory fitness. Six exercises are involved, and you move from one to the next to complete the circuit. If you incorporate such a session, once or twice a week, into your exercise schedule, it will prove valuable, whatever your sport or activity. The six exercises Sit-ups (abdominal development): Here you lie on your back with your legs bent, feet flat on the floor. Rest your hands on your thighs and sit up until your hands touch your knees. Note that you do not sit up, but slide up and move back down in a controlled fashion. Back arches: Lie on your front with your legs crossed so that your feet remain firmly anchored to the floor. Raise your upper body off the floor, taking care to keep your head in a neutral position (neither looking to the sky nor staring at the ground). Hold this position for two seconds, then lower yourself down again in a controlled fashion. It is easiest to keep your arms resting on your back, but as you get better at the exercise, you can put them in the "hands up" position or straight out in front to add to the resistance. You may progress to holding a weight. Speed cramps: These work on a different part of the abdominal muscle group and are performed a little faster. Lying on your back, keep your legs in the air, bent at the knee. Your hands can rest lightly on the side of your head and NOT interlocked behind the neck. Raise your body to bring your elbows to your knees and go straight back down. Gluteal and hamstrings: Start in the same position as for the sit-ups except having your hands lying by your side. From here, raise your hips and one leg and hold for a second before lowering. Repeat with the other leg. Short sit-up: Start in the same position as for the sit-ups but keep your hands in the same position as the speed cramp. Raise your body so that your torso is at a 30 to 40-degree angle to the floor. If you come up any higher, the work is concentrated more on the hip flexors than the abdominals. Hold this position for two seconds before coming back down slowly. Back extensions: Sit with legs bent, feet flat on the floor. Position your hands on the floor behind you to take some of the weight. Raise your body off the floor so that your torso is parallel with the floor. Hold and lower. Keep a sense of balance The first time you do this circuit, start with ten reps of each exercise and complete just one circuit. As with any training programme you need progression, so you can add to this in subsequent sessions. Begin by increasing the number of reps you do within each circuit. Do not expect to be out of breath at the end. Remember that the idea is to tone the relevant muscles to condition your body well. Keeping a sense of balance is essential for all your training. If you do other types of strengthening work, think carefully about the muscles that you are training and whether the session is appropriate. For example, in most gyms around the country, there are many pieces of equipment to help strengthen your quads but few to address the hamstrings. The danger is that the quads will be far stronger than the hamstrings, and this can cause all sorts of injury problems. The answer here is to work hard on the hamstring muscles, either with leg curls or, if the machinery is not available, get a partner to hold your ankles as you kneel. Then gently rock forward as far as you can and let your hamstrings pull you back. You can perform several reps of this exercise to help redress the balance. Similarly, if you work out in the gym regularly and give a lot of attention to the biceps, make sure you do not neglect the triceps and cause another imbalance. Article Reference This article first appeared in: DUNBAR, J. (2003) These gentle exercises can help strengthen your most vulnerable parts. Brian Mackenzie's Successful Coaching, (ISSN 1745-7513/ 5 / September), p. 4-5 Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: DUNBAR, J. (2003) These gentle exercises can help strengthen your most vulnerable parts [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni5a5.htm [Accessed