Weekly Workouts Offer Time to Improve How You Move
by Dr. Dan Powers, Powers Family Wellness Center
Proper form when running or walking is essential to ease stresses on your body, improve performance and prevent injuries. I’ll go over a few basics that will do just that and maybe make your training just that much more fun.
Most of these points are just common sense and you experienced walkers and runners may read these and say, “well, duh!” But bear with me -- even experienced athletes need reminders once in a while. We can so easily slip into sloppy habits.
First, consider what we call leg turnover. Basically, this is how many steps you take per minute. Obviously, you don’t want to be taking tiny little baby steps, but you don’t want to be over-striding either. Both of these will put the brakes on and slow you down. If you think about it, the only time you actually propel yourself is when you have contact with the ground; so the more you’re propelling yourself, the faster and more efficient you will be. Increasing leg turnover without over-striding also will enable you to land on the center of your foot, as opposed to your heel or toes. Doing either of the latter can lead to heel and foot injuries, calf injuries, or knee and hip injuries.
Another thing to consider is proper arm swing. It’s a simple thing that can have big consequences. Running is not just a matter of propelling yourself with the power of sheer muscle contraction. Our bodies also use kinetic energy. We load kinetic energy in our muscles, tendons and ligaments and then release it much like a wire spring snaps open when unwound.
The better our form, the better we make use of this kinetic energy to reduce how much our muscles have to work. For instance, swinging your arms front to back is a much more efficient way to produce kinetic energy than swinging your arms across your hips or not swinging your arms at all. Every time you bring your arm upward, your opposing knee should be drawn upward with it. This visualization has really helped me in the latter miles of marathons and half marathons.
The last, and possibly most important aspect of running form I'll cover here, is proper posture and core alignment. There’s less stress and more efficiency of movement when you are straighter and more in alignment. Walking and running for any distance is stressful enough on our bodies, and adding more stress with improper posture will inevitably lead to injuries down the road.
The most balanced posture with the least amount of stress on our bodies is ear over shoulder, shoulder over hip, and hip over knees. Bringing your chest slightly forward while attempting to do this. Cross train and keep your core muscles strong so that after a couple of hours on the road you won’t tire out and start schlumping forward or sideways.
Improving your form won’t happen overnight. It’s something you’ll have to keep working on, but If you pay attention and stick with it, you will reap the benefits over time with better finishing times and less injuries.
If you would like to learn more about the Powers Family Wellness Center, please visit us here.