Running Tips

Being a runner myself, I can’t help but notice other runners’ form. Honestly, sometimes it’s so bad, I have to stop myself from offering advice. But, not wanting to be rude or seem like a know-it-all, I usually keep my thoughts to myself. For anyone seeking to improve their running form, I have a few tips. You may ask, “What do you mean by ‘form’ and why is it important?” Well… Just like your car’s tires have to be balanced and aligned for it to drive smoothly, efficiently, and without causing undue wear to your vehicle, your body has to be properly positioned to run without using too much energy or causing injury to self. I’ll describe to you the proper form in order to achieve maximum speed and distance with minimal effort.

1. Your body should be upright with your shoulders back and chest tall… Like your mom used to tell you…
2. This is very important… The way you hold and swing your arms… OK, pretend like you are holding a lipstick tube. You don’t want to clinch your fists or have your hands flopping around. Don’t carry your hands too high. If they are by your chest… they are too high! Ideally, your thumbs should brush by your hip bone. If you try this and it feels funny, just trust me, give it a week and you will see that it conserves energy and you will get comfortable with how it feels. When you swing your arms, don’t cross your body and drive your elbows straight back.
3. I frequently see runners gazing up at the sky. This is wrong. When you look up you compromise your airway making it more difficult to breathe. Your chin should actually be down a little; this will open the airway and allow you to take in full, deep breaths. You should also breathe every three strides. In…two…three…out…two…three. The rhythm of your breathing will greatly effect your stamina. Breathe too fast and you will hyperventilate… to slow and you will fatigue and gasp for oxygen.
4. Your feet should strike the ground mid-foot and roll up on your toes. If you run on your toes, you run the risk of shin splints; on the other hand, if you run on your heels you will never have a fast turn-over and therefore will not be able to run fast. Middle of the road (no pun intended) is the way to go. It will enable you to absorb shock effectively while allowing a reasonably fast turn-over.
5. You should have short, quick strides. Trying to bound 1/10 a mile with every stride takes too much energy and is just not effective. Short strides allow you to conserve energy and are friendly to the joints.

There you have it… Just a few tips to help you improve the quality of your run and reduce the risk of injury. Oh yea, one more thing… don’t forget to stretch. Stretching is critical, but that’s another story.

This entry was posted on June 20, 2006 at 10:35 am and is filed under Fitness Tips, Exercise. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.