Photo by Paula Guerreiro on Unsplash
The three ingredients in the title of this post go hand in hand in hand…….you cannot optimally achieve efficiency without addressing posture and form.
Many people ask why there is so little about this area in the NHS C25k app and podcasts and I think the obvious answer is that some could feel overwhelmed by too much information. This guide of the very basics will hopefully set you off in the correct direction, but there are many other techniques to be learned if you want to optimise your efficiency. There is also a fourth ingredient which will aid all of the above and that is strong muscles, especially your core……….running is so much more than just the legs.
POSTURE
Stand with your legs comfortably astride, feet under hips, shoulders back, head up and with your arms by your side. Keeping your back straight, without bending from the waist, lean gently forward, keeping feet flat on the floor, until your centre of gravity moves forward to the point that you are about to fall forward. At this point, you have the choice of falling flat on your face or taking a single short step to prevent it. That short step will invariably land under your torso, not out in front and this is the basis of jogging, or shall we call it slow running.
Understanding this very basic principle can be a major lightbulb moment in many new runner’s lives and enables them to use gravity to aid their motion, not to be a hindrance. Basically, a line through your core to your head should be inclined forward, not purely upright.
By keeping your head up and shoulders back, in a relaxed manner, your chest is open and your windpipe is not restricted, meaning that there is nothing impeding your breathing. When running, your arms should swing from the shoulders, in a relaxed manner, in opposition to your stride. Elbows should be tucked fairly close to the body (not sticking out, or chicken wings, as it is sometimes referred to) and bent at approximately 90 degrees while hands remain relaxed and unclenched.……..imagine you are holding a potato crisp between your thumb and forefinger.
This swinging motion should be forwards and back with very little sideways action, which wastes energy. One way to check this is to imagine a line down the centre of your chest, across which your hands should not cross. It helps in all running but particularly when running uphill when this pumping action can help drive you up an incline.
RUNNING FORM
For simplicity, I am defining form here as your leg and foot action, but it is fully integrated into the posture advice given above.
Much is debated about footstrike, but despite the advice on the C25k app and podcasts that heelstrike is recommended, most of the remainder of the running world agrees that heelstrike gives the greatest jarring impact stresses to your legs and body and is best avoided, to minimise injury risk. Heelstrike is often associated with overstriding and making sure your footfall is under your torso, as mentioned above, reduces those impact stresses. However, for many people (the vast majority of recreational runners) heelstrike is the natural way to run and trying to consciously change your natural heelstrike can cause more issues than it cures. The important point to stress is that however your foot first contacts the ground, it should gently roll (pronate in running speak) until you are ready to push off from your toes. If you hear slapping, then that is kinetic energy being converted into sound and is wasteful. That slapping is also braking you on each and every stride, whereas a shorter stride, preferably with a virtually silent midfoot strike is far less likely to do that and is therefore more efficient.
Alongside overstriding, rigid knees can also cause a braking effect. If your knees are gently bent on impact then they act as far more effective shock absorbers, reducing stresses, minimising braking and ultimately are more efficient. Try not to bounce and try not to rock from side to side……….both waste energy. As with arm action, it is preferential and more efficient, for all body momentum to be aligned in a forward/ backward plane.
It is always tempting to lengthen stride when heading downhill, but this is when maximum impact loads will be encountered, so avoid the temptation and increase cadence, ie. the frequency of strides per minute. Shorter stride and increased cadence is always less risky than increasing stride length in terms of injury risk and also efficiency.
All the above is relatively simple and will become easier if you develop your leg and core strength and while it may be easy to apply at the beginning of a run, it is in the later stages, as you tire, that you need to check again. As runners tire, very often the head will drop, the shoulders hunch, the fists clench, the arms flail, the waist bends, footfall becomes heavy and a rocking from side to side will develop……..(anyone recognise this?).......all this is wasteful of your remaining energy reserves, so needs addressing to finish your run efficiently. Aim for smooth symmetry.
The above is a brief outline of posture and form basics and there is a wealth of other techniques to work on as you get more experienced. The excellent videos of James Dunne on YouTube, such as this youtu.be/KXS0DlpWKd4
and also by many others can give you more refined pointers to technique that will improve posture, form and ultimately efficiency.
Anyone who has seen Tirunesh Dibaba run will see that her arms wave all over the place and those long Ethiopian strides are not recommended to be emulated by any new runner…………..remember, she has been running all her life and if she can see off the opposition with such unorthodox technique, why would she worry.
You will also see other runners stride past you, leaving you in their dust who do not conform to the patterns outlined above, but you neither know how long they have been running, nor how long they spend on the injury couch each year, so stick to the above and as your efficiency grows, so will your ability to run for longer and hopefully you will avoid the injury couch.
Keep running, keep smiling
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