Having good core stability will not neccessarily improve your running times, but it will help to improve your overall body strength, which will help you stay fitter later into life (and keep running as you get older!)

Planking, stability ball exercises, and Bosu exercises (it's like half a stability ball, with a flat bottom) are all good for building core strength. If you get to the stage where you're doing all three in one go, that's excellent!

Kettlebells are very effective - however, I wouldn't really class them as core training (not that I'm an expert, mind). I'd say they're more likely to be used for fat burning and muscle development.

I do think that rowing is a great exercise as it's cardio and muscular, but I struggle with machines - boredome kicks in very quickly for me.

I'm not completely convinced about this core stability being much use, figuring that any muscles useful to running will be used when running anyway and get stronger. However the counter argument is improving core strength will result in better running form and hence easier fster running.

Nearly a year ago i got a condition which stopped me doing as much running so i cut the milage down to 15-20 miles a week from 35-40 and joined a gym to do upper body and core stuff and some rowing. Well, the jury is still out as i don't see a lot of benefit so far although my race times haven't dropped too much (5k from about 18 mins to 19mins for example) so i guess it might be doing some good.

Anybody feel rowing is any great benefit? Its certainly very demanding mentally and physically ...on those machines anyway.

He was being a plank!!

I would highly recommend a stability ball. they sell them in most supermarkets now for about £5 and well worth having.

Core strength is not for having a rock hard stomach, it is to improve your stability which will prevent injury and improve balance and posture while running. Performing sit ups, crunches, press-ups and various other exercises on the ball improves muscle tone AND teaches your body balance and control.

Most balls come with a quick guide of exercises, or you can check out the internet for a simple workout- say 30 mins twice a week

Good luck

Here is what I do:

On getting out of bed Day 1: slippers on, sit on floor, toes under bed end so that you are sitting knees drawn up facing the bed. Stopwatch on; fold arms on to chest fingers in clavicles. Now do as many sit ups as you can in two minutes, touching elbows to knees on the up and shoulder blades to floor on the down stroke. TIP: if it really hurts your thighs try moving your bottom a little further back.

Day 2: Stop watch - as many press ups as you can manage in two minutes. TIP: if you really struggle at first then put your knees on the floor to start with and then progress to "proper" press ups in a few days/weeks.

Day 3: Repeat Day 1 etc.

Eventually you should be able to do the pressups for two minutes; rest for two minutes and then do two minutes of sit ups.

I'm no muscle man so as a guide, when I first started I could do about 15-17 of each in two minutes. Now I am between 40-50 of each consecutively but I have been higher - over 60 sit ups for example.

Good luck - let us know if it works for you!

Whilst my legs are in fairly good nick from the running, as age creeps in i'd like to improve my core and upper body strength. Does anyone have a good, quick and relatively easy routine to strengthen these areas without bothering heading to a gym or having one at home?

If you look online there are loads but they are all about developing a hulk like frame- i just want to lightly tone up and strengthen....