Hello Sensei, Please Improve my Running Technique
I've written in the past how roughly 60-70% of runners will suffer a serious injury in a given year. This is primarily due to two critical variables: poor general movement quality, and less-than-optimal running specific technique. The terrible movement quality that most runners possess is a byproduct of musculoskeletal weakness, mobility restrictions (in key areas), and lack of stability (in key locations). When you take all of those deficiencies and utilize them to perform roughly 1,500 plyometric repetitions per mile, it’s no surprise that most runners end up injured in one form or another. When it comes down to running technique, most people don’t think twice about hiring a coach to help them. They just hop on the road and get after it. Let me ask you:
- If you had never been shown how to swim, would you jump in the deep end for a casual dive?
- If you had never been taught how to spar, would you enter a cage for a mixed martial arts fight?
- If you had never been instructed on how to drive, would you just hop in the car and speed off on the highway? Well, maybe some of you would, but I digress.
Yet most of us, when we want to run, just go out and do it. Interesting, huh?
I’ve previously discussed how hiring a coach is extremely important if you’re serious about reaching a particular goal. This may be a business coach, a martial arts coach, or a strength coach (wink wink). It’s a no brainer that if we genuinely want to reach our goals as efficiently and effectively as possible, then we should hire an expert to guide us to a desired outcome.
Well, this past weekend was an opportunity for me to put my money where my mouth is. As I’m increasingly falling in love with obstacle course races, and would like to pursue this endeavor for quite a long time (and thus need to keep myself free of chronic injury), I decided to meet with a running instructor (and fellow strength colleague) John, to help me “fix my stuff.” In fact, Kelsey (my fiancée, and also a CSCS) joined in, too, so it created something fun/relaxing to do as a couple in the midst of wedding preparation.
It was an incredible learning experience for both Kelsey and I, and also a fantastic reminder for what it’s like to be on the other side of a coaching session. Given that both of us spend the majority of our week helping others with movement-related exercises/improvements, it was definitely cool to be the ones receiving the coaching cues for a change. It was also a great reminder to experience what it feels like to try something new, and go through the step-by-step process of learning a new skill.
Here is a video that John took of me running before any instruction. He just told me to run as if I was going on a nice Summer jaunt. I slowed down the video so you can see what’s actually happening.
You can see that I reach WAY out in front of me, landing on my heel and keeping my center of mass well behind my foot strike. There’s a host of other problems (that John pointed out to me), but I’ll keep it simple for now.
After John filmed Kelsey and me running in our “natural” form, he took us inside for about 75-minutes of instruction and practice. We performed drills on a wall, partner-assisted exercises, and various progressions to help us learn proper running technique. It was pretty cool and John did an excellent job of teaching us to “crawl” before we run. It reminded me of how, at SAPT, we teach someone to goblet squat well before placing them under a barbell.
Now, look at my running form after John worked with us. Obviously it is still far from perfect (you can only perfect so much in 75-minutes), but I was still amazed at the improvement in such short a time span:
You can see that I now land on the ball of the foot, keeping my center of mass over my foot strike (thus significantly reducing the impact force on my body). Again, there were MANY other improvements that John helped us with (slightly leaning forward to take advantage of gravity’s assistance, “pulling” with the rear leg, maintaining a neutral pelvic tilt, landing softly, etc.), but I’ll spare the detail for now.
I still have a LOT to work on, and the greatest challenge for me will be to resist the urge on performing 800-meter repeats (or even 200 meters) with a different running form than I'm used to. Just like we SAPT coaches won't put someone under a barbell until they've proved they're ready for it, I need to "cook myself slow" in order to set myself up for success in long haul. Rome wasn't built in a day, ya know?
Anyway, I guess the point of this post was to:
A) Give a gentle reminder that, no matter who you are, you're never above receiving instruction from someone else. It would have done me no good to stubbornly insist that I don't need help with something exercise-related because I'm a performance coach. We can ALWAYS improve on something, even if it's within the same general sphere as our "expertise."
B) Bring home the point that we need to be PROactive in our modalities for treating dysfunction, not REactive. Most runners (and lifters) tend to treat their problems only after they arrive (surgery, ice, NSAIDs, etc.) instead of taking measures to prevent an issue before it even arrives. In this case, for me, it was learning how run more efficiently (reduce ground impact forces upon landing, expend as little energy as possible on each step, etc.), in hope that I can enjoy something I love for a longer period of time with minimal interruptions.
C) There is no C, but I wanted three points, so there we go.
Recovery...
If you’re in the midst of grinding through the back third of a spring sport season, the following provides some quick ideas about how you can hasten and improve your rate/quality of recovery between competitions…and generally just stay healthy! -Don’t forget to eat
You must make eating a priority. I remember teammates losing 10-15lbs throughout a competitive season. Coincidence that these same guys were the one’s always nursing something in the training room? They blamed travel, lack of quality food on the road, etc. for their dramatic weight loss. Yes, while these variables did make finding the time for frequent-quality feedings more difficult, it’s certainly possible if you make eating a priority.
I used to pack “road coolers.” I’d stuff that sucker full of fruit, veggies, trail mixes and sandwich accoutrement. Safe to say my processed and fast food consumption was significantly less, meal frequency much more regular, and weight fluctuation less drastic, as compared to my peers.
-Sleep
Becoming regimented with your sleep is also extremely important. It’s important that you try to hit the sack at the same time every night, while shooting for 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep. This too was challenging as Madden wars or Poker hands (not for money of course…settle down) sometimes impeded on my desired hour of retirement. For me, melatonin, sleep mask, and a quality set of ear plugs always did the trick.
High-school guys and gals, you have no excuse for this one.
-Ice
I touched on this in an earlier post. You can see what I have to say about that here…
-Soft tissue work
Whether it’s self-inflicted (foam rolling), or delivered manual by a therapist (you can’t beat this), you got to find time to address tissue quality. Restrictions within the musculature will severely impede proper blood flow (and subsequent delivery of nutrients), and also prohibit proper movement patterns. A little bit of preventative maintenance in this area will go a long way, trust me.
-Low intensity cardio/mobility/activation drills
All of these can be accomplished in the same 20 minute session. Blending these components will not only aid in flushing toxins and delivering new nutrient rich blood, but will also help ward off mechanical asymmetries that can crop-up from overuse and the repetitive nature of sport.
It’s important not to overreach during these sessions, as the intent is to aid in recovery, not cause greater disruption. A perfect session might include various sled pulls, crawling variations, hip flexor and thoracic mobility drills, and some glute activation.
Having Adonis DNA helps, too…
Chris
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Text Your Ex Back Free - Last week I was reminded that those of us who work at SAPT are in possession of some pretty special information: Over at Mason I was finishing up with the Throwers and needed to excuse myself to the restroom. No big deal, they w
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ere all stretching and the session was wrapping up – the intern would keep an eye on things. But, to my HORROR upon return, I found the intern instructing the male throwers in the “fine points” of standing biceps curls. I’m sure you’re thinking: “What’s the big deal?” right? Well, it’s a big freaking deal and this is why…
What is shoulder impingement syndrome?
“Pain and dysfunction due to excessive overhead use or abnormal positioning of the shoulder during overhead throwing activities are common and may result from multiple etiologies, including impingement syndromes… Primary impingement has been attributed to abnormalities of the shape of the acromion and other static and dynamic causes… Secondary impingement is a similar entity but is due to an occult dynamic instability (usually anterior), which leads to symptoms similar to those seen in primary impingement.”
Essentially, what happens with overhead athletes and throwing athletes is that the tendons about the shoulder become inflamed from the crazy positions athletes put their arms in for the sake of a kill or an out or the butterfly stroke. Once the tendons become inflamed it requires lots of rest to allow the inflammation to go down. Most athletes do not get enough rest, especially in-season. So, let’s say we’ve got a volleyball player with biceps tendonitis, now we’ve got a situation where the biceps tendon is larger (due to the inflammation) thus not sliding within the shoulder the way it should. This poor sliding or impingement causes excessive wear and tear on the tendon and the joint in general.
What can make shoulder impingement worse?
So, the million-dollar answer – insert drum roll – DIRECT BICEPS TRAINING! Hopefully, I’ve already created some decent imagery of an inflamed tendon squeezed tightly into the shoulder capsule and beginning to show wear and tear. Now, imagine this same athlete with this same shoulder trying to get his pre-party pump on. He is innocently going to town on the biceps curls (because a good biceps pump is, after all, the key to a lady’s heart), but in reality he is effectively causing more inflammation in the tendon via the increased blood flow and direct work.
This additional, unnecessary volume is the culprit and can push a good shoulder into the danger zone of season-long pain and stiffness.
But, Sarah, how can I train my biceps, avoid shoulder pain, and still be a hit with the ladies?
It’s actually an easy and significantly more worthwhile way to spend your time: use compound pulling exercises. Think chin-ups, pull-ups, lat pull-down variations, any and all row variations, etc… These types of movements allow for intense training of the biceps and several other muscle groups. They also effectively allow your body to work in the way it was designed. There is generally no pain associated with these substitutions, however, if you give my suggestions a try and experience pain you should discontinue the movement immediately and try a different variation, angle, or exercise all together.
...Well, to finish my story: the intern clearly had no idea what the problem was and it turned out neither did one of our Mason GA’s. So, this post is for you, Adam and Matt.
These are the kind of details that put SAPT into a class all our own.
If you want to keep your head attached, never, ever add additional workload to my programs. Ever. It’s that important and, yes, it makes a difference. - Sarah
