If you’re running for a 5k race or preparing for the marathon, or just seeking to make running easier on your body, your running form is not to be missed.
The following suggestions in your mind will allow you to ensure that you’re running correctly as you rack up your miles of training into the bank!
1. Avoid Over-Striding
Whatever the case, whether you forefoot or heel strike, the angle of the contact relative to your body plays a significant impact on the force of the impact and consequent braking forces.
A useful guideline regarding over-striding is to check at the alignment of the ankle and knee upon first contact. The ideal situation is for your knee straight over the ankle upon the first contact. When the person running is striding too much then you’ll notice the ankle over the knee.
Ankle under knee The same for both Heel Striking and forefoot
Patterns of over-striding such as those that you see above could result from several causes, including poor posture or running at a frequency (stride frequency) that is too slow for the speed.
Increase your running cadence (stride speed) by five percent. Feel how it makes you want to lower the over-stride. The result is that you’ll feel more light on your feet, as the time you contact is reduced.
A simple digital metronome can be a useful tool in creating and maintaining an increase in running cadence.
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2. Keep a Tall Body as You Your Run
Your posture when running is a key element to getting into an efficient, healthy posture. The postures you take at your desk throughout your working hours and in the car, or sitting on the sofa can are a great influence on your running style.
We spend most of our time in a seated position (I’m at my desk typing this! ) with shoulders turned forwards , and our hips are flexed. By sustaining this position, we can get hip-flexors that are short and tight, as well as other anterior muscles as well as weak, inactive glutes as well as the other muscles of posterior.
This becomes a problem when we attempt to run, our body requiring an upright posture and proper hip extension. In reality, we’re an outcome of the postural habits we engage in typically and then run in a semi-flexed posture, particularly around the hips.
Then, consider triathletes. A lot of them suffer from postural problems that come from working at a desk. Then we get on our bikes for hours at a time and it only serves to increase the tightness in the hips that is caused by a long time sitting in a position that is not seated.
To counteract the tightness in the hip flexor to reduce tightness in the hip flexor, I ask all of my triathletes and athletes to do the hip-flexor mobility exercise below prior to and following each session, at the gym, in work… in in general whenever they’re not sure of what else to do in their busy day!
It’s about working to break this hip-flexion pattern and then regaining some range of extension.
3. Relax Your shoulders
The tension in your neck, shoulders or upper back can limit your arm movement. Arms are required to give you balance, rhythm and power when you run.
Similar to your legs as with your legs, the faster you speed the greater the arm motion must be. However, running slow will require smaller, but still active movements of the arms, extending out from your shoulder. The motion pattern isn’t altered, just the volume of the movement.
It will take some time to get used to, but once you feel tired, keep your arms moving since they assist in keeping your legs in an even pace.
4. Strengthen Your Glutes & Core
Whatever you do to strive to improve your running technique, one significant factor that will affect your running performance and ability to remain injury-free is your strength base and the ability to engage the gluteal muscles. These two muscles are crucial in stabilizing your pelvis, your lower trunk and hips.
Insufficiencies and imbalances in these areas can lead directly to hip, knee, and back injuries as well being a result of running-related problems to legs, lower leg, and Achilles.
Integrate regular stability and strength exercises into your routine every week to increase these crucial aspects and you’ll gain the benefits in the long run. In terms of injury prevention as well as enhanced performance.
5. Don’t bounce or spin too much.
It is considered to be a linear process that is when you run forward in straight lines. While many of the constituent motions at parts and joints require rotation in order to perform properly the body shouldn’t be rotating too much between sides. The excessive rotation can hinder the purpose of making progress forward. Actually, it takes energy to manage and stabilize and maintain stability. This is an enormous waste of energy!
Similar to that, your focus should be toward the forward direction and not upwards. A slower cadence and consequently the tendency to overstride (see above) frequently results in an excessive upward movement as well as a “bounce” during the stride.
For marathon runners such as, say 1 inch of bounce for each step (which does not sound like much) could be equivalent to one mile upwards over all of the length… What is this. *
Actual figures may differ based on the length of stride – but you’ll get the impression!
6. Take Control of Your Breathing
Your breathing pattern when you run should match the general rhythm that all your muscles are working towards. The ratios you use to exhale and inhale will likely differ as your level of exercise changes. Making sure you breathe properly is crucial to the running technique you use and must be practiced to ensure that you keep your cool during race time when your attention is elsewhere.
The Running Form is an Individual
There has been a lot of debate during the past few years about running techniques, it’s essential to recognize that there’s an absence of any solid scientific evidence to support the use of one technique over another.
Through my coaching experience with endurance athletes, it is evident that the middlefoot strike can be beneficial for an individual type of athlete. This is, if an proper approach to progressive training is followed to improve running technique from head to toe and if enough time is allowed to let the body adjust slowly… is a reason why too many people fail to use properly!
However, there are many endurance athletes who would be better off utilizing an effective heel strike and consciously focusing on developing an “light heel strike” instead of a hard over-striding heel strike. This is like we see in so many runners who smash their heels against the pavement every time they run!
Many of these athletes have a particular background of injuries or goals (Ironman or ultra running , for instance) which causes them to be more suitable to develop a more gentle heel striking technique instead of advancing towards an active forefoot or midfoot strike.