Having a strong core (lower back, hips and abdominals) is essential to help keep proper running form… as well as help prevent injury… and most importantly be a helpful aid for looking damn good before bikini season is upon us. Here are two highly effective core workouts for beginners:

The Plank
* Get face down on the floor resting on your forearms and knees.
* Push off the floor, raising up off your knees onto your toes and resting mainly on your elbows.
* Engage your abdominals to keep yourself up and prevent your booty from sticking up. (Envision a string pulling itself taut from your bellybutton through your core to hold the position.)
* Keep your back flat (like a plank).
* Hold for a minute (30 seconds at least).
* Repeat 2-3 times.

You can also do a variation of the plank by starting off on your knees if holding the position on your toes proves to be too difficult. Here’s a good video explaining the how-to:

Next comes a difficult, but cool looking calisthenics workout: the mountain climber.  Mountain climbers work on your core, heart rate, quads, glutes, you name it…

The Mountain Climber
* Start in pushup position.
* Bring the right knee in towards the chest, resting the foot on the floor.
* Jump up and switch feet in the air (left foot in, right foot back).
* Keep switching feet as fast as you can for one minute.

This will make you feel out of shape, try not to be so hard on yourself. Here’s a good instructional video on how to do these.

Challenge. Try doing these the next time you run along the beach or are out in public. It’s a good way to get over any social anxieties you might have. Seriously!