Although running primarily involves the lower body, it is crucial to recognize that the body functions as a unified system rather than individual components. The act of running engages the entire body, from head to feet, hence the position of your hips and spine, also known as your running posture, should not be overlooked.
The ideal running stance is:
- Comfortable: Able to run hard without pain.
- Efficient: Use the least energy required for a given pace.
- Minimally stressful: Forces generated by impact and propulsion are distributed evenly throughout your bones, muscles, and connective tissues.
Should you have incorrect running posture, it could result in overuse injuries like plantar fasciitis, Achilles and hamstring injuries, IT band pain, knee pain, and low-back pain. Additionally, posture is a determining factor in efficiency. Adopting good running posture allows you to cover the same distance with less energy expenditure compared to running with poor posture.
In case you experience pain while running, have a record of injuries, or are not satisfied with your speed, modifying your running posture might be necessary. On the contrary, if you are comfortable and happy with your running pace, there might not be a need for any adjustments.
Torso & Pelvis Position
It is essential to have the correct alignment between the pelvis and torso. To achieve this, the torso must be directly above the pelvis, the ribs drawn downwards, the spine maintained in a neutral position, and the pelvis held level with the ground. By adopting this posture, the glutes can be engaged most effectively, and undue stress on the lower back can be avoided. When running, the ideal technique is to have your feet barely in front of your center of mass, and this posture makes it easier to achieve that.
On the other hand, incorrect running posture involves flared up and outward ribs, as well as an excessive curve in the lumbar spine, coupled with a forward tilt of the pelvis. You can imagine your pelvis as a water-filled bowl that can tilt forwards and backwards on hinges at your hips. When the pelvis tilts forwards, it causes the water to spill out of the front of the bowl.
Frequently, the posture where the body tilts forward causes discomfort in the lower back and hinders the use of the glute muscles. When the glutes are not functional, the hamstrings, adductors, and calves must compensate, resulting in increased strain. Additionally, an anterior pelvic tilt can cause the feet to land considerably farther in front of the center of mass, thereby placing more pressure on the feet, lower legs, knees, and hamstrings.
Running With a New Posture
Initiate the process by utilizing a basic exercise that involves employing your hands as signals and focusing on stability, for the purpose of achieving correct running position and aligning your abdominal and gluteal muscles.
Begin with a basic approach and employ the posture exercise while strolling. Maintain finger placement on the ribs and pelvis and walk for a brief period. Simultaneously, be aware of your glutes contracting and pushing you forward. This sensation may seem unfamiliar, particularly for those of us with flawed postures who are accustomed to extending and tugging.
After mastering the technique, remove your fingers and work on recognizing proper posture while remaining relaxed. Occasionally adopting poor posture can serve as a reminder of what to steer clear of. Use this posture while walking throughout the day and regularly check in with your body to assess if you can feel your ribs being pulled down and your glutes propelling you forward.
If you are able to sense the new posture and incorporate it into running without any discomfort, you may not have to do anything else. On the other hand, if you encounter challenges adopting this posture, continue reading to discover ways to overcome common obstacles.
Obstacles to Good Posture
Our modern, sedentary way of life frequently hinders our capacity to move correctly. Numerous impediments may impede one from aligning their upper body with the pelvis and moving one’s arms fluidly and efficiently. It is not unusual to encounter limited movement in the hips, spine, and shoulders. Moreover, muscle deficiencies and imbalances often lead to poor posture.
Here are a few exercises for improving running posture by enhancing mobility and strength. Regularly perform these exercises for optimal results, preferably two to three times a day. It’s important to combine mobility with movement, so follow up with strength exercises after your mobility drills.
Running form – Why is it important?
Enhancing your knowledge and applying good running form can be advantageous for anybody. Aiming for a proper running technique promotes improved motor patterns and muscle activation, leading to an increase in running efficiency and a decrease in the likelihood of tiredness and overuse injuries, especially when running for extended periods or frequently.
It is rare that one should attempt to alter their running style. Each individual’s physique and other factors contribute to their unique way of running. Therefore, it is important for everyone to have their own distinctive running form.
One may inquire as to why they should partake in a workshop that focuses on improving their running form.
Gaining knowledge about proper running form and engaging in various running exercises and methods will offer an insight into the elements that influence good form. Even if you don’t completely alter your approach, you can acquire and apply appropriate adjustments to enhance your running form and endurance.
Three key concepts of good running form:
- Body position/posture
- Foot strike position
- Cadence
Our intraining Running Form Workshops are based on comprehending the inherent diversity in these ideas and learning how to modify them (if necessary).
Learning good body position is interrelated with developing a good foot strike position and cadence, all of which have a significant impact on one another. So, acquiring proper body position increases the probability of attaining an optimal foot strike position and cadence.
Body position and posture
Drills that involve running can be very effective in acquiring and improving targeted muscle activation as well as proper running form. These drills enable you to become more aware of your running technique and how your body and limbs are moving while running. By gradually increasing the difficulty of the drills, you will develop better posture, coordination, strength, and power.
As you continue to learn and execute particular exercises, your running technique will improve, and you will become more aware of any form issues that may arise as exhaustion sets in.
Good foot strike position
The key to a proper foot strike is the position where your foot lands with respect to your body’s center of mass (COM). Irrespective of striking at the heel, midfoot, or forefoot, the foot needs to make contact with the ground underneath your body. Overstriding is a prevalent form error when the foot lands in front of the COM, leading to braking forces that decelerate the body and augmented joint stress, which heightens the risk of injuries. While an exaggerated foot strike sound may suggest overstriding, it can also be attributed to other factors.
Running cadence
The optimal footfall rate or number of strides taken per minute varies from person to person and is heavily influenced by their limb length, as well as other considerations. It is important to maintain a consistent cadence across different running speeds, while allowing stride length to adjust accordingly; faster paces should have longer strides while slower ones should have shorter strides. Fatigue can cause runners to decrease their cadence and keep a longer stride, unwittingly causing overextension and increasing the risk of injury.
In general, running at a faster pace typically results in improved running form compared to running at a slower pace. However, this does not necessarily mean that slower runners have poorer form. Rather, it is likely that your technique is at its best when running at a tempo pace, which is approximately the pace of a 10km race, based on your current ability level. When running at a slower pace, your ground reaction time is increased and your ability to generate power from tendons, such as the Achilles tendon, is decreased. This is why, in some cases, it may be beneficial to run faster when returning from an injury, but it is important to be careful with the amount of stress placed on your body.
Running form and fatique
As fatigue sets in, running form typically deteriorates. It is advisable to be mindful of your running technique and the form flaws that are likely to arise when you become tired. This awareness is beneficial as it helps you to recognize and sense when your running form is compromised. In addition, you can acquire easy prompts to correct these form flaws while running. Becoming knowledgeable about proper running form and undertaking running drills is an excellent approach to determine which drills suit you best and which ones aid in maintaining your personal running form.
