Doing balance exercises "stabilizes your foot strike, so if you overpronate you might benefit especially," says Mindy Solkin, owner of The Running Center in New York City. "It's going to give you strength, better range of motion and flexibility. It also builds balance and coordination, which is going to help your running economy. You'll waste less energy." If you have any nagging lower-leg problems, such as shin pain, Achilles tendonitis or plantar fasciitis, balance exercises may help prevent them from reoccurring.

The technical name for balance exercises is proprioception training, which is improving your body's ability to adapt and maintain your equilibrium as your surroundings change. It's especially good for outdoor running, trail running in particular, because it improves your sense of balance as you move over uneven terrain. Here are three basic balance exercises to try. You can do them daily as long as you're not sore the next day. The more often you do them, the sooner you'll see results. (To increase the difficulty of any of these exercises, do them with your eyes closed.)

Isometric One-Legged Squat
Balance on one foot with both knees bent. Vary the difficulty by bending the knee on your balancing leg more or less. Work up to balancing for 30 seconds at a time, then switch legs. Do this a total of 3 times on each leg.

The Swinging Leg
Balance on one foot as you swing the opposite leg forward and backward 10 times and side to side 10 times. Switch legs and repeat. Perform a total of 3 sets with each leg.

Heel Up, Toe Up
Standing on one leg, lift yourself up first on your toes, then on your heel, of that leg 10 times each without holding onto anything. Switch legs and repeat. Perform a total of 3 sets with each leg.

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