Why Your Abdominal Muscles Ache After Running
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Why Your Abdominal Muscles Ache After Running

Why Your Abdominal Muscles Ache After Running
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Updated on August 7, 2025
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If you have muscle soreness during or after a run, this is probably just ‌abdominal fatigue‌ from thoroughly exercising your core. It's fairly common to experience muscle soreness or stiffness, especially if you're a new runner.

If you're experiencing abdominal aches and pains after a long run, it’s probably from normal abdominal fatigue or delayed-onset muscle soreness; if the pain persists, it could be due to an injury.

Read on to learn more about why your abs hurt after running, and how to reduce the chances of it happening.

Why Abs Are Sore After Running

When you run, you're primarily using your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and hip flexors, but your abdominal and upper body muscles are getting a workout, too.

Your core ‌provides stability,‌ ‌keeps the body erect‌, and is a ‌vital part of your movement‌. So it's no wonder you may experience sore abs after a long run, especially if you're a beginner or you've increased your distance or the intensity of your runs.

Persistent Abdominal Muscle Pain After Running

In short, if your abs are sore after running, it's probably because you're exercising your core in new, intense ways. But if you're experiencing actual pain, it could be for a number of reasons.

If you experience persistent stomach pain after a run, talk with your doctor.

How to Avoid Stomach Muscle Pains

To prevent lower-ab pain after running, try out some preventive measures — namely, warming up and stretching.

Stretch and warm up for at least 6 minutes before you exercise. This can include calf stretches, light yoga or walking, which can greatly reduce muscle stiffness and soreness, and help prevent injuries. Activating your glutes before running can also help with hip and knee pain later.

To help strengthen your core and abdominal muscles (the likely reason you're experiencing soreness), add some weight training and ab exercises, like crunches or sit-ups, to the mix.

Finally, stay properly hydrated to replenish electrolytes lost in sweat, and try eating some protein after your workout to keep your energy levels up.

The Takeaway

  • Sore ab muscles after you run is a common occurrence because of the groups of muscles that are activated by running.
  • Persistent ab pain after running could be a sign of something more serious.
  • To avoid ab pain after running, make sure to stretch before you exercise.

Resources We Trust

EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Wiecha S et al. Physical Therapies for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness: A Protocol for an Umbrella and Mapping Systematic Review With Meta-Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine. March 29, 2024.
  2. How to Warm Up Before Exercising. National Health Service. July 12, 2022.
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Jennifer Frediani

Jennifer Frediani, PhD, RD

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Jennifer K. Frediani, PhD, RD, ACSM-CES, is a nutrition scientist, exercise physiologist, and registered dietitian with over two decades of experience in clinical research, education, and lifestyle intervention. She's an assistant professor, research track, at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University, adjunct faculty in the nutrition and health sciences program at the Rollins School of Public Health, and a member of the Winship Cancer Institute.

Dr. Frediani earned her PhD in nutrition science from Emory University, and a master’s in exercise science and a bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics from Georgia State University. Her doctoral research focused on body composition and dietary assessment among tuberculosis patients in the Republic of Georgia, and her postdoctoral work explored nutritional influences on pediatric liver disease.

She has published widely in journals such as Nature Scientific Reports, The New England Journal of Medicine, Clinical Nutrition, and Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases.

At Emory, she directs adult clinical studies for the NIH RADx initiative, overseeing trials on novel diagnostics for infectious diseases. She also leads the development of Emory’s fully online master of science in clinical nutrition program, designed to prepare future registered dietitian nutritionists through integrated coursework and supervised experiential learning.

Her research focuses on weight-neutral lifestyle interventions to improve cardiometabolic outcomes, with a special emphasis on dietary assessment, physical activity, and metabolomics.

Frediani’s teaching philosophy centers on creating inclusive, student-driven learning environments that foster critical thinking and professional growth. She is passionate about reducing weight stigma in clinical care and promoting sustainable, individualized approaches to food and movement.

Outside of work, Frediani is an avid runner and food enthusiast who travels the world to explore culinary traditions and cultural foodways. She believes that everyone deserves to enjoy food that nourishes both body and soul — without shame or restriction.

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Justine Harrington is a journalist, yogi, and avid hiker based in Austin, Texas. For two years, she co-edited Austin Fit Magazine, the city's first and only monthly magazine dedicated to keeping residents fit, active, and healthy. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Backpacker, USA Today, Austin Monthly, the Austin American-Statesman, Texas Highways, and elsewhere.

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