12

Forget foot strike, good form comes from the pelvis and glutes (Read 354 times)

    By the way I wrote 2 blog posts over the course of several months on my injury recovery and subsequent build up that give a lot more detail:

    Breaking down, getting healthy, and getting stronger

     

    and

    Breaking down, getting healthy, and getting stronger, Part Deux

     

    Here's the quote that's most germane to the current topic:

     

    Also at the end of October, I began doing a weekly hill workout, as well as doing most of my long runs on hilly courses. Hills provide really good feedback for whether I'm running with good posture--something I still need to stay conscious of so that none of my bad habits come back. And hills are really good for strengthening the hips, glutes and hamstrings. Every Tuesday, I run one of two hill loops--both have uphills that are moderately steep (about 7% grade). One is about a half mile loop with a hill that gains about 70 feet in about .16 mile with a gradual downhill around the block back to the bottom. The other is a mile-long loop with a hill that gains about 108 feet in .3 miles and also has a nice gradual downhill that loops around back to where I stared. I alternated every Tuesday doing either 10 x the short loop, or 8 x the longer loop plus warmup and cooldown for about 10.5-12 miles total. I plan to gradually add a few more reps to each of these workouts as I get deeper into my Boston training.

    I run the uphills at a steady but not brutal clip. These are not sprints. I focus on running tall, straight back, bringing my heel up to my butt, landing with my foot under my center of mass, and driving from the hips. On the downhills, I don't back off the effort completely but rather focus on turnover and remaining fluid while running pretty quickly downhill. It's really easy to feel good form on the uphills and so I use that time to drill into my brain over and over what good form should feel like. It's really easy to let your form get sloppy on the downhills so I use that time to practice maintaining that good form when there is a lot less feedback. It's a great workout and good mental practice. Both the uphills and the downhills are important.

     

    In terms of tangible results, despite not running any higher mileage than normal, or doing anything different apart from really committing to that weekly hill workout from October through March, I have run PRs at 3000m (track), 10 mile (very hilly road course) and 5k (road.) The 5k broke a 10 year old PR.

     

    It's amazing the difference having two good legs makes. And, of course, hills. As my buddy Mark said as we were toasting my 5k PR, "Thank Prospect Street!"

    Runners run

      So with a free night from kids' practices, meets and games, I made the 20 mile journey to Marco Island with my running bud to run the Jolley Bridge a few times. It's a half mile from one end to the other with about a 80'-90' elevation gain (I think). 4 times over and back plus another 5 miles mostly tacked on at the end and I feel stronger already (said partly facetiously and partly seriously). I'm going  to make the effort to do it weekly going forward.

       

      As  you said Mikey , I just ran at a steady clip focusing on form and keeping my feet under me.  As to your blog posts on the subject, I knew about them as I had already read them. I should note that I particularly enjoyed the Flying Monkey and Vermont City blogs.

       

      EJ and I go back to 2007 when I used to race in the Lowell area quite frequently and I know some of the other GLRR  runners you mention in your blogs, so keep them coming.


      Mmmmm...beer

        Just wanted to say thanks for posting this!  It's really helped me.  Since reading the article, I figured out that my hips should be rotated slightly forward from where they usually are when I run.  So for the last couple of weeks, I've been focusing on keeping my hips rotated slightly forward, and lifting my heels up higher.  This has resulted in much, much smoother running, I can barely hear my footsteps now.  I can also feel more of the work taking place in my glutes, as it should be.  In the past I've had the occasional run where everything just felt super smooth, I'm guessing that on those runs my hips just happen to be in the proper orientation on their own.  Now I can replicate that smooth feeling on every run. Smile

        -Dave

        My running blog

        Goals | sub-18 5k | sub-3 marathon 2:56:46!!

        BeeRunB


          Good article. I started doing something akin to this a few years back. I never think about footstrike. One other thing is that I no longer have that extreme wear on the heals of my shoes that I used to get. It's definitely been good for my shoe bill. I get a LOT of miles out of a pair of shoes now.

           

           

          This may have been posted already but I thought this was a really good article in Running Times.

           

          Foot strike is bs. It's all about posture. Keep your spine straight and your pelvis neutral and your feet will take care of themselves. A lot of the stuff in the article is exactly how I fixed myself during most of 2013 and why I'm running the best I have in 10 years. Well, this stuff plus HILLS.

           

          A good quote from the article:

           

          "More often than not, I see foot strike as simply being the end result of so many other things that are happening farther up the kinetic chain," says David McHenry, physical therapist and strength coach for Alberto Salazar's Nike Oregon Project. "The foot is really just the end of a big kinetic whip--the leg. Core and hips are where every runner should be starting if they are really concerned with optimizing their form, maximizing their speed and minimizing injury potential."

          Zam


            This article has changed me. I have struggled with a weak left side for my few years running. Now when I stand, walk, do push-ups, run, I am focusing on keeping my hips more stable in the frontal and sagittal planes, engaging my glutes, and trying to open up my hips. I especially like the tip to reach as if I were getting something from a high shelf to rotate my pelvis forward and reset my form.

             

            I have been strengthening and focusing on trying to fix this for well over a year. But coming at it through focusing on the hips? Awesome. I have been thinking about this throughout my days since I read this. On tonight's run I felt like my weak side is "breaking through" in terms of posture, form, and stability. Feeling sore in places where I never have. I have a long way to go, but this helped. Thanks a ton.


            flatland mountaineer

              Here is a great video from the pt clinic I use. There are several other interesting videos by the same author on the site. The suggested exercises on there are but a fraction of what they have me do. They are probably the only reason I am still able to run.

               

              http://hruskaclinic.com/blog/view/runners-loris-new-blog-shows-you-how-to-turn-off-your-hip-flexors-and-run-i/

              The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!

              Support Ethanol, drink the best, burn the rest.

              Run for fun? What the hell kind of recreation is that?  quote from Back to the Fut III

                I really liked this article, but as I was reading it, I kept thinking that much of it was lifted from Denny Dreyer's Chi Running books and videos. The stuff about the pelvis being a bowl that should not spill forward is definitely part of Chi Running.

                "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back, so shake him off, oh wo-oh!" - Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine) - Shake It Out

                  I really liked this article, but as I was reading it, I kept thinking that much of it was lifted from Denny Dreyer's Chi Running books and videos. The stuff about the pelvis being a bowl that should not spill forward is definitely part of Chi Running.

                   

                  Yeah but MrH once used the same analogy, so I'm comfortable.

                  "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

                    Great thread, thanks for posting the links to the article and your blog posts.  Your description of finally acknowledging your injuries in part 1 really resonated with me --- In 2012 I was the fastest I've ever been --- had gone from working toward a sub-20 5K to several times running 19:3X 5Ks as tempo runs in the middle of 7 mile runs.  Really thought my running was going places.  Then everything kind of got injured at once in the lead-up to a goal 5K (achilles, hips, knees. groin, even my neck hurt).  Kept trying to run and hurting every single step.  Eventually gave up and took 6 months off.

                     

                    I've been running a bit on and off since, mostly focused on trying not to over stride and to move to forefoot/mid-foot foot strike.  This never quite made sense to me, but it gave me something to do and slowed me down, so I have not gotten re-injured.  Working on posture and hip flexibility makes so much more sense.  I've ordered the running anatomy book and will work out a plan once I get it.

                    bap


                      This is why my chiropractor and physical therapist have me doing a ton of glute and hip exercises. They say it's to prevent further bouts of pf  but I suspect really it's for them to make money. I don't care, I'm insured.

                      Certified Running Coach
                      Crocked since 2013

                      12