Fleet Feet Hip Mobility Class and Cycling = soreness!

Last week I took another class through Fleet Feet - St. Louis called Hip Mobility/Strength.  For some reason I thought this class was meant to be a one-time, get the information and put it to use workshop but when I arrived, the other participant knew the exercises because she had taken the class almost 20 times this year.  I pasted the class description below:

Tight hips, sore hips, this is the class FOR hips. Lack of mobility in the hips is not only one of the most common causes of injury in runners, walkers and triathletes, but it also inhibits and decreases performance. By focusing on full-range hip motion through a variety of targeted exercises, this class improves hip mobility and increases strength.

Class duration: 45 minutes.

We went through various hip/adductor/abductor exercises for 45 minutes straight, so I can't remember everything we went over but some of the exercises we went through were:

• Walking lunges, forwards and backwards
• Lateral squats
• Hip circles
• Clam leg lifts with and without resistance band
• Double leg glute bridge

You can also find good exercises on You Tube from other trainers and gyms.  After class I was talking to the other participant about the long-term benefits of the class and she said that she started having hip pain during her first marathon, so she started taking this class frequently and has been fine ever since.  So fine in fact that she said she is running 11 half marathons in April.  WOW!  That is what I love about going to these classes, being a race ambassador, and being part of running clubs.  You have your own list of accomplishments and you feel pretty proud of them, and then you talk to another runner about their accomplishments and you are suddenly humbled, yet inspired at the same time.

Saturday morning I was still a bit sore between the last week of boot camp and the hip mobility class, but I got up early to get to the 1st cycling class.  I haven't taken a cycling class in several months and my road bike has sat on the trainer in my apartment unused for months as well.  I wanted something with a high calorie burn that would work my legs so that I could really stretch them out afterwards since my hamstrings have been so tight.  This class gave me exactly what I was looking for.  My face was bright red and I was pretty much breathless by the end of the class, so I know my calorie burn was decent. Afterwards, I spent about 10 minutes just stretching my legs, which felt amazing!  I think I will try to take this cycling class again for the next several Saturdays until the Fleet Feet Half Marathon training program begins January 24th.  I am going to keep my mileage low for the next couple weeks to give myself a break and try to incorporate more stretching so that I am back up and rebooted by late January.

Have a great week everyone and Happy Holidays!!!