The more efficiently you run the faster and longer you can run. So running efficiency or economy are key. And part of this economy of effort can be derived from running form.
We are all different so there will never be a perfect answer. Just watching the olympics in the past few days has confirmed that there are many body types and many ways of moving those bodies. However, watching the 5000m final you can certainly start to put a few things together! Number one - they aren't carrying any excess weight! Simple!?
Other desireable hallmarks of an efficient running style include:
1) relaxed shoulders,
2) good use of arms (activating the posterior chain muscles) - with the elbows not coming forward of the body, the arms not crossing the midline at the front, a good rhythmical arm swing.
3) a relatively upright posture with a natural curve to the spine - cervical spine extension, thoracic flexion, lumbar extension - creating a spring.
4) the pelvis held in neutral beneath the natural spine curve - and held well by the right core muscles - NOT the rectus abdominus, diaphragm, gluteus maximus and hamstrings - these should be used for their purpose - breathing, running...
5) a good fast leg lift (hip flexion) - this helps to bring the heel up behind the body and allows the hamstrings to whip the leg through with less effort.
6) a quiet, light stride (no heavy heel strike and no 'spongy' running i.e. getting no 'lift' out of the footstrike
7) a fast cadence - shorter, faster more efficient strides with less energy lost and less force absorbed.
8) footstrike beneath the body, not in front, preferably with the midfoot. The heel causes a braking force and is less efficient.
This isn't a comprehensive list. Just a few ideas. Concentrating on just a few of the above will help others to work of their own accord e.g. concentrating on a fast leg lift will encourage a good heel lift with little hamstring effort and this will help to bring the leg through. Concentrating on good, rhythmical arm movement (elbows back) will help to activate the posterior chain (arms, back, bum, hamstrings) which 'sling' across the body and aid the opposite leg as it moves.
And to get the posterior chain going you can use the following exercises:
1) good mornings
2) single leg romanian deadlifts
3) sling twists
4) nordic hamstrings
5) hamstring bridges (a different degrees of knee flexion - 90, 45, 0)
All of the above are available if you 'google' them, I am sure!
I looked at the women Triathlon athletes at the Olympics, and they all had something which looked like a non-ideal arm movement (the arms crossing the midline at the front). Is this because with all the muscles in the arms they can't do it differently? Would they likely benefit from changing the style?
ReplyDeleteBefore answering I went back and had a look at the youtube video of them running. I would say that the majority of the front runners were bringing their arms close the midline but were not in fact crossing the midline.
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to see whether they would benefit from considering a more 'front-to-back' arm movement however. Just standing still, if you perform 'running arms' and do a 'front-to-back' arm movement and then compare this to a movement that brings the arms more across the body, you can feel there is a difference with regard to momentum.
The important thing is that the arms movement should drive the activation of the movement of the lower limbs and in particular the front-to-back arm movement stretches the sling across the front of the body (from the shoulder down to the opposite leg) which then aids in initiation of the leg lift - and this activation is energy neutral - relying solely on elastic recoil of this sling of soft tissue/fascia.
The swiss girl (Spirig)and the british girl (Jenkins)do appear to have good arm movement that doesn't cross the midline (although I didn't watch 'til the end of the race when it is possible it might deteriorate!) and their shoulder position is good (not protracted).
The 'ideal' running technique that I have outlined is of course only as good as the observational evidence that has been collected to date. There have been no randomised controlled trials....the ideal technique was developed through observation of elite athletes as well as through treatment of service personnel (British) with anterior compartment syndrome symptoms - to move them from a heel strike running technique to a midfoot/forefoot strike and thereby hope to resolve their symptoms.
Anyway - it's all very interesting!
Thanks a lot for your thorough reply! It felt strange how they run comparing with what you see on e.g. a 10.000 meter - nice to get some explanations. Will be following your blog with interest now after finding it earlier today (after a Tweet by Eva:)
ReplyDeleteNo worries!
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