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Running is an ideal symmetrical
activity for keeping fit. However, it is
common for people to blame running for
injuries rather than accept that it may
be how they run that is at fault. Is
there more to running than just putting
one foot in front of the other?
The answer appears to be yes! If it
were as simple as this there would not
be so many running-related injuries.
Observe the many different styles, or
interpretations, of running and it is
obvious that we may not necessarily know
how to put one foot in front of the
other! What should be an ideal way to
improve and maintain fitness is often
the cause of many problems. A large
percentage of runners, whether running
for fun or as part of a training
programme, do not seek coaching. We
assume it is within our ability to run
as we did when young. However we cannot
suddenly change our body and attitude
when going for a run. How we use
ourselves during the day will have an
impact on running and if we spend hours
slumped at our desk or on the car, our
style will reflect the asymmetric nature
of a body that has lost the poise of
youth.
Our approach to any type of training
is susceptible to habit. If we keep
doing the same things we will get the
same result, yet this is exactly what
most of us do. Try the following in
place of your usual routine. If you feel
you do not want to interrupt your
schedule for fear of your performance
suffering, you may well be a slave to
habit. Leave your stopwatch at home to
avoid giving any consideration to the
time.
Following your warm up, try walking
the first two hundred yards. Enjoy the
ease of the movement and let your legs
swing from the hip joints, note these
are located at the front of your pelvis.
Allow your arms to swing like pendulums
from your shoulder joints. Be aware of
the ground beneath your feet and think
of 'walking tall' by using the upward
thrust from the ground in response to
your body weight. Before you start to
run let the arms swing faster without
losing form and allow the legs to match
the speed.
The next stage is important. Before
you move up to a running pace, see if
you start to prepare for the effort by
holding your breath, stiffening your
neck or lifting the shoulders in
anticipation of effort. Any unnecessary
tension applied at this point is likely
to be carried throughout the duration of
the run. Try to make the transition from
walking to running without additional
effort. Allow the arms to bend at the
elbow and keep them swinging in a linear
motion. Think of the legs swinging from
the hips and raise the legs with the
knee leading the move.
Once the knee has been raised, the
lower leg can be allowed to swing
through. The common kicking action of
most runners increases the workload on
the quadriceps, and in my view totally
unnecessary. Be conscious of the hip,
knee and ankle joints working together
in the movement. As with walking tall,
think of running tall to utilise the
force of gravity. This may sound a
little strange initially but the ground
is where the force comes from that moves
us forward. Be wary of trying to hold
yourself up to achieve an upright
position. If you can remove unnecessary
effort, your body will attain an
effortless upright stance due to the
absence of inappropriate muscular
activity.
The stimulus to return to your normal
way of running will be very strong, as
this would be the most familiar. If the
new way feels wrong you are on the right
track - this will not be your
comfortable habitual style. Resist the
urge to get it right and continue the
experiment for as long as possible,
thinking up through the spine and
letting the limbs move freely. Try
changing the speed of the arm movement
to regulate the pace. Remember to
monitor whether you have stiffened the
neck. A head pulled back by tightening
the neck and trapezius puts more
pressure on the back and ultimately
affects the whole movement.
At some point along the route allow,
the arms to stop swinging and drop in
front of your hips, an action common
with many runners. Observe what this
does to your back. You will notice the
back starts to twist and shoulders roll.
The movement of the psoas muscle, in the
lower back, requires a balancing action
in the upper trunk to maintain form.
This unnecessary twist reduces
efficiency by throwing weight in the
wrong direction. Return to swinging the
arms and observe how the twisting action
disappears. The most common response to
the thought of stepping up the pace is
to put more effort into the stride. If
the legs are already being over worked
due to a less than efficient technique,
the centre of the brain (motor cortex)
that initiates the action has to send
more impulses adding to the traffic in
the feedback loop. We have the sensation
that we are running quicker because of
the increased effort, but are we using
our energy efficiently?
When you want to increase your speed
try the following method. Initially,
when you have decided to quicken the
pace, observe what you normally do to
achieve this. After a minute, slow down
to a comfortable jogging pace and again
think about raising the pace. This time
do not think about running faster but
instead just move your arms quicker. If
we think of only moving the arms faster,
requiring less energy, the legs will
match the speed. Try the exercise and
experience the difference. The first
time you speed up you will use your
usual habitual method, the second will
feel different because it will be
unfamiliar. Try experimenting with your
running, always with the goal of giving
an alternative approach a chance. If you
are experiencing injuries or loss of
form first check your style, get someone
to watch or take a video. If its
habitual actions that are the cause, you
will be the last person to notice -
because you are the habit!
Running coach legend Percy Cerutty,
who coached Olympic Gold medalist Herb
Elliot, stated:
"The head rests loosely on the
shoulders, that is, is not held rigid.
It should be capable of movement as the
needs of the athlete demand. In my
techniques I often test this rigidity of
an athlete. Many are quite incapable of
turning their heads freely on their neck
and shoulders. Any rigidity here spreads
right through the whole musculature.
Keep the head and neck free and the rest
of the moving parts will tend to be
free."
Less is more!
Roy Palmer is a Teacher of The
Alexander Technique and author of The
Performance Paradox: Train Smarter to
enhance performance and reduce injury.
More information can be found at
http://www.artofperformance.co.uk. He works with sports people of all
abilities to recognise and overcome
performance-limiting habits. |
