<p>Running mechanics seem like natural movement that is inherent to us as humans. After all, we have been running since we were kids. However, because of a lifetime of wearing ill-fitting shoes, previous injuries, muscular flexibility and other factors, we may need to provide our bodies with some guidance. Chris Thornham, a triathlete and owner of Flo Cycling, shares 5 tips for proper form running to run with reduced injury, increased speed, and more efficiency:</p>
[MUSIC PLAYING] My name is Chris Thornham. I'm the owner of Flo Cycling, a carbon-fiber bicycle wheel company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. I've been a triathlete and runner for about 10 years and today, we'll be talking about good form running. Some of the benefits of good form running are approved efficiency, improved speed, and reduction in injuries. Today, we'll focus on five key topics. Those will be posture, forward lean, foot strike, cadence, and arm carriage. Good posture when running will keep your body in a strong and stable position to help you spread the load properly through your joints and ligaments. Starting from the head, you want your head in a straightforward, neck in a nice, straight-line neutral position. We'll want to lift the sternum, keep a nice, tight, strong core, and rotate the hips forward to help engage the glutes. When running, we'll want to use the force of gravity to help pull us forward, instead of trying to use our muscles to drive us forward. Forward lean is what we use to do that. Instead of driving forward with our muscles, all we want to do is lean the entire body forward from the ankle joint. So if we were to stand in place, lift one leg, and then lean forward, we want to naturally run. Next, we'll talk about the midfoot and forefoot strike. From the side, a midfoot or forefoot strike will land under the runner's center of mass. This allows the runner's body to easily roll through the foot strike, in contrast to a heel strike, which causes a braking force. Cadence is the number of steps you take in a minute while running. A higher cadence will help promote a midfoot or forefoot strike by naturally shortening your stride length. When we're running down the road, we want to focus all of our energy in one motion, which is forward. So instead of having our arms cross our body like this, we'll want our arms to swing forward to move in the same direction we're heading. The next time you're out running, try to focus on the five things we talked about today, posture, foot strike, forward lean, cadence, and arm carriage. I hope it will help you improve your running technique so you can enjoy efficient and injury-free running.
Running mechanics seem like natural movement that is inherent to us as humans. After all, we have been running since we were kids. However, because of a lifetime of wearing ill-fitting shoes, previous injuries, muscular flexibility and other factors, we may need to provide our bodies with some guidance. Chris Thornham, a triathlete and owner of Flo Cycling , shares 5 tips for proper form running to run with reduced injury, increased speed, and more efficiency.
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StrideTek is manufacturer of high performance footgear including a patented orthotic insole and flip flop sandal that encourages proper biomechanics throughout the stride gait, reducing and eliminating pain from plantar fasciitis, shin splints, high arches, and many other foot issues.
