Many runners tend to overlook the crucial importance of their running form when they embark on their running journey.
There are straightforward guidelines that can be adhered to in order to enhance running technique, which is great news.
Some beginning runners fail to pay attention to their running technique, which can lead to frequent injuries.
To run strongly and without injury for an extended period, it is essential to prioritize one’s running form and not overlook its importance.
It is important to acknowledge that each runner possesses their individual running technique, stance and rhythm. Running form cannot be standardized for everyone.
Each runner possesses unique biomechanics that dictate their individual style of running.
With a few minor adjustments, you’ll quickly improve your speed and overall running performance.
WHAT IS RUNNING FORM AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
By maintaining proper running form, you can increase your efficiency and economy while reducing the risk of injury, requiring less effort.
Improving your running technique can enhance your speed and comfort level, while minimizing the amount of strain placed on your body.
Reducing the stress on your body is crucial in order to decrease the likelihood of fatigue and maximize the benefits of your running activity.
Proper running form is the result of a combination of the following components that work together.
- Posture
- Arm swing
- Core
- Cadence
- Footstrike
In essence, if executed correctly, proper running form promotes good health and enables runners to attain their targets.
HOW DO YOU FIX POOR RUNNING FORM?
It is possible that you are questioning whether it is feasible to enhance your running technique. The response is affirmative!
With gradual improvements over time, one can make minor adjustments and corrections to their running form.
Towards the conclusion of this guide, we will provide you with four uncomplicated suggestions to ameliorate your running technique. Additionally, you can implement the subsequent steps to increase your probabilities of correcting your form.
- Do a gait analysis. A gait analysis is basically a review of how your foot behaves when you run. This is important to understand how your feet are behaving in terms of any imbalances that could be causing niggles and injuries. Many running shoe stores nowadays offer a free gait analysis.
- Focus on one area at a time. As discussed earlier, there are different components when it comes to running form (posture, cadence, foot strike etc). Don’t be tempted to focus on every area at once as you will quickly be overwhelmed. The key is to target one area at a time in each session.
- Do running form drills to improve running form. Running form drills and exercises such as high knees and forward lunges can go a long way to help you improve your form. These can be tailored depending on the component of running form that you’d like to improve. Check out my guide on running form drills for more information.
TIPS FOR PROPER RUNNING FORM
1. UNDERSTAND PHYSICAL TENSEGRITY MODELS
As we shift our position, certain areas of our body become tense while others experience relaxation. A helpful analogy to understand this process is to view the body as akin to a sailboat. The boat advances when certain ropes are pulled taut, others are slackened, and the wind powers the sail. This mirrors how our breath, muscles, tendons, and ligaments work together to move us forward.
To achieve proper running form, it is necessary to simultaneously maintain relaxation and tension in the body. This entails relaxing muscles that aid in breathing, such as the neck, while tensing muscles that enhance stability, such as the glutes. Relaxing certain muscles also enables the body to conserve energy for more demanding actions, such as scaling an unforeseen hill. Correct tensegrity in the body guarantees that the ankles spring off the ground smoothly, rather than pounding the ground like Frankenstein.
2. ESTABLISH YOUR RUNNING POSTURE
Similar to enhancing your posture when sitting or standing, you can also enhance your posture during running.
A great number of individuals who spend the majority of their workday using a computer display an inclination towards forward head posture coupled with a curved upper back, which is commonly referred to as kyphosis.
Running with this posture will not allow one to make quick progress. It is preferable to adopt a stance that is tall and leans slightly forward, like this one.
Discovering proper running technique can be achieved through the following steps:
- Stand tall: Imagine you are dangling on a line strung from the crown of your head (like an ornament on a Christmas tree). Casually lengthen your neck and joints.
- Activate core stabilizers: Gentle tension in the abs and the back increases the efficient transfer of force from the limbs to the ground. Try out these core exercises for runners.
- Keep shoulders neutral: Imagine your shoulders are a bird’s wings, gently folded into a resting position on your ribcage. They don’t need to be squeezed together, but they also are not flared out at the tips (called winging).
- Look ahead: Resist the urge to look at your feet or tilt your chin up. Your body follows your gaze!
- Tilt: Lean slightly forward into your run. This creates more power when pushing off the ground and a stronger sense of balance. Tilt with the ankles and hips, not the back.
3. FIND A RHYTHMIC ARM SWING
Your initial focus when altering your running style may be placed on your legs, but it is typically undervaluing the role of the upper body and arms in running.
When people become fatigued, they tend to let their arms hang by their sides while running.
Running becomes more difficult when you either keep your arms straight or cross them in front of you. Running symmetry involves a natural right/left pattern where the left arm and shoulder swing forward as the right foot moves forward to prevent falling. By keeping the arm at the side and bending the elbow, we provide power to this movement and avoid hindering our own momentum.
To achieve an effective arm swing, it is important to bend the elbow and keep the hand relaxed (don’t forget to release the muscles that are not necessary for motion!).
The following tips can help enhance your arm swing:
- Start from the shoulders: Keeping shoulders neutrally relaxed on the ribcage, the arms are freer to swing.
- Bend elbows: Keep them at about 90 degrees.
- Keep the elbows “tucked” in: Pull them backward parallel to the body, so that your arms don’t dangle by your sides. The elbows should not flare out to the sides or cross over the front of the body.
- Relax fists: Squeezed fists often create tight shoulders and throats. If you feel the arms and shoulders getting tense, try dangling your arms long by your side for a few strides, shrugging, and wiggling the shoulders a few times. Another option is to hold something soft and light in your hands, like stress balls.
4. HEEL STRIKE: GET OFF THE BRAKES
The patterns of running and walking differ. While walking, the lower leg and foot lead the step, with the heel making contact with the ground first and the knee remaining more or less extended. However, this approach in running would likely result in overstriding.
Overstriding involves landing on the ground with your foot positioned excessively ahead of your knee, causing a stretched-out knee upon impact.
A braking mechanism can be achieved by striking the ground with your heel in front of your knee, which not only slows you down but also puts strain on the knee joint.
To initiate the running movement, the knee should lead the way and move forward. This action is akin to stepping over an obstacle rather than traversing a level ground.
To prevent overstriding, the following actions can be taken:
- Lift and flex the knees: A bent knee will function more like a spring and less like a brake.
- Use your back leg: Propulsion comes from a powerful and rapid push off of the back leg.
- Lift the heel of your back leg: Lifting the heel after you push off prepares the leg for a better forward swing.
5. RELAX YOUR SHOULDERS
Make an effort to keep your shoulders as loose as you can while running. If you experience muscle tension in your hands while running, this is an opportune moment to unclench them and relax.
Continuously tightening your fists may result in significant discomfort as it tightens the muscles in your arms and shoulders.
To keep their fingers warm during winter runs, numerous runners cover their hands with their sleeves.
While there’s no disapproval about this, it can lead to clenching of fists, which in turn causes tension in arms and shoulders.
Instead, purchase a pair of cozy gloves and ensure that your hands and fingers remain comfortable during your run.
At the beginning of your run, inhale deeply and loosen your shoulders to prevent tension.
You should let your shoulders relax a bit. Relaxed shoulders can widen your chest and improve your breathing while running.
6. REVIEW YOUR POSTURE
Improving your running form can be greatly aided by following this advice.
As exhaustion sets in during your run, you might observe a slight forward slouch in your upper body.
The curved posture that you may perceive as comfortable, in reality, makes running more challenging.
If your core is not activated, it will lead to tightness in your lungs and subsequently hinder your breathing.
Maintain a similar posture when running as when walking or sitting, with your shoulders lowered, head held high, and core muscles contracted.
Visualize lifting up from the crown of your head as if there’s a helium-filled balloon tethered to it.
Ensure your chest and chin are raised and maintain a gentle forward inclination. Refrain from directing your gaze towards the ground!
If you stand upright, it can lead to increased energy by enabling improved breathing and more effective posture.
