Chi Running (Read 960 times)

The issue is that gravity CANNOT pull you forward, only down. With one foot on the ground and a forward lean you can fall "forward" around your pivot (foot), but this requires that in your next step you push your center of gravity back up...otherwise you would be lying flat on the ground in a few steps as you exhaust the potential energy stored in the height of your center of mass above the ground. Now, this doesn't mean that adding a forward lean to your form cannot help you...I'm just saying the science behind it is bunk. For certain people I'm sure this may correct certain issues with their form that help them go faster. But to say that more and more lean will lead to more speed is false, gravity is giving you nothing, you are still putting just as much energy into the system on push-off. You can also look at very fast runners and they don't have 45 degree leans, they look pretty similar to the rest of us. Michael Johnson set the WR in some of the fastest events, 200/400m, with one of the most straight upright forms on the track. I've always been told that I appear to have a very efficient form and don't appear to be working even when I'm racing hard. I do run with a very slight forward lean but it is not very significant. It's more important to get the foot landing under your center of gravity so you aren't "braking" into each stride and focusing on getting a "light" step and quick transition.

Holy crap, 4 minutes. I'm buying the book.