Learning to Run
Most people think they know how to run. But if you look at the injury rate in the running population that probably not true depending on what you read 60 – 85% of runners are injured every year – so essentially they don’t how to run.
So if we look at your style we would be able to show you a few pointers.
Two main points
- Landing on the heel…. Smack! Smack! Smack! On the heel you can only do that because you are wearing conventional running footwear it is not a natural way to run, it hurts if you do that barefoot.
- Bending in the hip – it is what is called a ‘head chaser’ – the head is to far forward from the rest of the body.
These are two things we need to fix –
(1.) Where you land on the foot and
(2) the posture you have when you run.
We have not evolved to put our body weight or that impact to the heel.
It’s only conventional running shoes that is allowing you to run and land on your heel, if wasn’t for those thick heels – you wouldn’t be able to land there
You need to correct these two thing and if you correct these two things. That is the skill of running.
These are the skill of running – (maintain the right posture over the right part of the foot.)
First thing to do is to take your shoes off and it is guaranteed after a few strides you come off your heel and get on the fore of forefoot, which is how nature intended for you to run.
After a bit of running barefoot your brain would take over and realize ouch! ….that’s hurt and you would change you change your foot strike pattern to the ball of the foot. You would feel you are using different muscles and you can tell by the noise or sound coming from your feet interaction with the treadmill.
Sort out the posture …Drills
If you can’t jump properly, you can’t run properly. So we would use jumps as a way of exploring and coaching your posture. It is important to sort posture before you run.
We would use jumps as a way as a way to sort out posture – go on a box or park bench and choose a spot on the ground and land on the spot without losing balance on landing in the position. Try and maintain your balance and position.
If when you jump and land on your foot and you go forward by unbalancing it is because you are chasing your head and that is what you do when you run. You need to sort this out before you go running.
What you need to do is to try it again and be aware that you are letting your head go forward.
When you jump let your knee bend more and drop down in a straight line.
This needs to be fine tuned some more.
We need to sort this out a little more you need a weight bar any kind of weight bar would do. Using this bar we would try to reset your posture.
You would do a posture squat – put the bar where your color bone is on your arms under your chin and with your arms out-stretch. Any time you misalign your posture you lose the bar. (It would roll off your hand or roll back under your neck.
You need to connect your body weight with the ball of your foot. Any change of posture you would pick it up on your feet. Your feet would tell you everything you need to know.
Next.
Hold the weight bar over your head – with the same principle – go all the way down and all the way up without losing your balance. It is a self coaching exercise if you lose your balance very quickly you are not align properly.
The question must be asked how to do this at home, how you continue what you learn.
The key is to keep your balance. The point is if you do this without a bar, you would throw your head forward and you wouldn’t lose your balance. The trick with the bar is it is self coaching… if you get wrong – You immediately find out. You go forward or you loose the bar. It is important you have something other than your own body to interact to fine tune your posture.
Rhythm Drills
Bare foot runners have a different rhythm than people who run with shoes; they tend to have a shorter stride and a faster rhythm
This would be
To demonstrate this take a weight bar in your hands and place it over your head and start bouncing, start bouncing up and down, then bend the knees down a little more. Briefly bend your knee down a little again, then up and hold, up and hold, up and hold, up and hold. This is called a sticky running pattern like a jogger – go back to a faster rhythm… then bounce, then back to a nice fast rhythm, one, two…. One, two…..one, two… One, two….
It would be easier … that is the rhythm, that you should run at.
Correct posture, correct rhythm that is essentially running.
Posture and Rhythm
On the thread mill we would be looking for that alignment and rhythm of one, two…one, two…. One, two…. One, two, three, four. Your head should be hardly moving – the sign of good runner is the head. A runner head should be upright and moving straight forward
Running should be 50 % muscle action and 50 % elasticity – which are your tendon and ligaments – this is based on rhythm.
Good posture reduces injury rate and right rhythm makes you faster, more efficient runner.
It important you don’t forget what you learn. You have come this far and you have to try and retain this knowledge. To maintain that sharpness the answer is drills, jumping drills. Especially if you work in the office seating posture is the enemy… that and shoes. If you sit down for the whole day, you need to reset your posture using these drills. When you know you are aligned properly then you run.
You should feel a difference – you should be lighter on the feet and this should increase the joy of running and should be lot more fun.
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