I have been practising Pilates and Yoga for many years now, but the one thing that has been consistent in my life, even before those, is running. I have run for over 25 years. Through all three pregnancies, to lesser degrees at times, and postnatally, I have run. I thought that I’d run more on moving out of London but I actually find myself running less.The reason for this? It is so much more dictated by the weather and accessibility in the countryside. Do we really want to run through waterlogged fields ?I also used to love night running, but not so good in the dark country lanes. I don’t use running as the mode of transport that I used to. In London I used to either run or cycle to work. If I cycled, I’d go for a run at lunchtime. There was hardly ever a day when I didn’t run. The only thing that stopped me was getting a knee injury whilst marathon training. After that, I was really careful about recovery, stretching and warming up properly. The thing that has kept me pain and injury free is Pilates and yoga. Pilates for keeping my core strong and yoga for a really thorough stretch to keep me flexible, especially as my muscles and bones age. Core strength and posture are really important to a runner. As you tire, your posture goes off and you are more likely to lose technique and over compensate with certain muscles. So maintaining good posture helps you to run more efficiently towards the end of a long run. As with running, both can help with recovery and avoiding injury in general. Why not incorporate a few yoga asanas after your gym session? Why not add some core strengthening pilates moves on the mat after a cardio workout? All really valuable to work alongside any other form of exercise, whether it be HITT or body pump or spinning.