Mix an unstable surface into upper- and lower-body exercises and you have a blend of moves that seriously turns up the core challenge. That’s where sliders (and slider workouts) come into play, whipping up a routine that not only strengthens your muscles from head to toe, but forces them to work in overdrive to keep you steady.
Runner’s World coach, Jess Movold, loves sliders for this very reason, as well as their simplicity. “If you’re traveling or don’t have access to heavy weights or machines at the gym, incorporating sliders allows you to increase muscular tension, deepen muscle engagement, and get in a killer workout,” she says. “They also allow you to incorporate tempos, speed, and explosiveness depending on how fast or slow you do the exercise.”
The Benefits of Slider Workouts for Runners
Running is a single-leg activity that also requires a strong core to keep you upright and run efficiently. Slider workouts can help you target the stability you need to jump from one foot to the other, while challenging you to keep your midsection strong and stable.
The moves Coach Jess chose for this workout target the hamstrings, glutes, and abdominals, which will make you a stronger and more capable runner, she says. The goal for each exercise: Move slow and with intention. “The more time under tension, the stronger the activation. So when doing these, faster isn’t always better,” she says. “Take your time and do them well.”
How to use this list: “Slider workouts have the potential to create some serious soreness in your hamstrings and core two days after performing the movements,” Coach Jess explains. “Therefore, incorporate slider workouts two to three times per week throughout the off season and during your training build, remove slider workouts two weeks out from race day.”
To incorporate this slider workout into your running schedule, Coach Jess suggests pairing it with a speed workout or long run, to maximize recovery time after.
Coach Jess demonstrates each exercise in the video above so you can learn proper form. She also offers a modification for most moves, so do the variation that makes the most sense for you and allows you to nail form. Do each exercise for 35 seconds, resting for 25 seconds between each exercise. Do 1 to 3 sets.
You will need sliders for this workout. But if you don’t have any, towels or a pair of socks on a slippery surface will work, too.
1. Slider Reverse Lunge
Why it works: This exercise targets the quads, glutes, and hamstring of the planted and loaded leg, not the leg with the slider, Coach Jess says. It also closely mimics running form, as you focus on one leg, then the other.
How to do it: Stand with feet hip-width apart, right foot on the slider. Slide the right leg back, bending both knees 90 degrees to lower into a lunge. Pause, then drive through left foot to stand back up. Repeat. Then switch sides.
2. Hamstrings Curl
Why it works: You need the back of the legs strong to give you power on the road, and this move offers extreme focus on the hamstrings, with a secondary benefit to the calves and glutes.
How to do it: Lie faceup on the floor, knees bent with feet under hips, and both heels on a slider. Engage glutes and hamstrings and lift hips into a glute bridge position. Slowly straighten legs, lowering hips toward floor. Then, drive heels into the ground to pull heels back in toward glutes, lifting hips back up to a glute bridge. Repeat.
3. Slider Reach Outs
Why it works: Talk about a core challenge! This move maximizes your midsection strength, while getting the upper body involved too.
How to do it: Start kneeling on the floor. Place both hands on the sliders, shoulders right over wrists. With glutes and abs engaged, slide right hand forward as you simultaneously bend left elbow straight back into a shallow push-up. Go as far as your strength allows. Then press through left hand and slide right hand back under shoulder. Repeat. Then switch sides.
4. Eccentric Slider Glute Bridge
Why it works: This exercise places a controlled tempo on the hamstring, strengthening it in the eccentric (or downward or lengthening phase), making this move particularly challenging and effective, Coach Jess says.
How to do it: Lie faceup on the floor, knees bent, and both heels on a slider. Engage glutes and lift hips up to a glute bridge. Very slowly, straighten legs all the way out—aim for a count of 5 to 10. Then, lower hips to ground, pull heels back in toward glutes. Repeat.
5. Slider Pike-Up
Why it works: This core-focused exercise requires glute stability, maximizes abdominal strength, and demands upper body strength and stabilization too, Coach Jess says.
How to do it: Start in a plank position, with each foot on a slider. Shoulders over wrists, forming a straight line from head to heels. Pull belly button up toward spine, as you lift hips up into an inverted V position. Then slowly lower back to a plank position. Repeat.
6. Single-Leg Hamstring Curl
Why it works: “Removing one leg and performing single-leg hamstring curls accentuates the challenge and demand on the working leg,” Coach Jess says. “This will increase tension and require a stronger need for stabilization as only one leg is working at a time.”
How to do it: Lie faceup, right heel on slider. Lift left foot off the floor, knee bent about 90 degrees and over hip. Straighten right leg out. Then, as you pull right heel in toward glutes, lift hips up into a glute bridge position. Lower hips back down. Repeat.
Mallory Creveling, an ACE-certified personal trainer and RRCA-certified run coach, joined the Runner's World and Bicycling team in August 2021. She has more than a decade of experience covering fitness, health, and nutrition. As a freelance writer, her work appeared in Women's Health, Self, Men's Journal, Reader's Digest, and more. She has also held staff editorial positions at Family Circle and Shape magazines, as well as DailyBurn.com. A former New Yorker/Brooklynite, she's now based in Easton, PA.
