I think to be great at running, you need to understand why we run in the first place. What is the point of running? Running is our most advance movement for travel. Some might say sprinting is, but do I really need to show you how to sprint or could I simply release a tiger behind you? Some how I think you'll sprint.
Human movement starts with crawling. We see others walking upright so we learn to hold ourselves up by holding on to walls until we have mastered it hands free. Again, whats the point of running?
Thousands of years ago the only way humans traveled long distances was to walk, but if they wanted to get to their destination more quickly they needed to run. They didn't have cars, bikes or even trains. They walked or ran.
In nature the species best suited for the situation survives. Humans are perfectly made for long distance travel. So if you don't think you were meant to run...you are wrong!
Let me explain. What other animal moves on only two feet with an upright posture? What other animal sweats like humans?
The upright posture allows us humans to move while holding something in our hands. It also moves our center mass directly above our feet and below our heads. All of this allows us to move forward using less effort.
Running takes energy which causes heat that over time would make any other animal over heat, but not us humans. We have more sweat glands that allow us to release our body heat which helps prevent us from over heating and allowing us to keep running all day. I would say we humans are genetically built to run and with our history humans traveling on foot for 1000's of years the evolution looks like it agrees. This brings me back to that same question, but with twist. What is the point of running, now that we don't need to?
"Lions can run about twice as fast as the fastest Olympic sprinters over short distances to catch their prey. Early humans relied instead upon tiring their prey by running them down to exhaustion, combining a springy step with sweat glands all over the body that prevented overheating." - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/2747-caveman-modern-human-win-olympic-gold.html#sthash.vdesuRU6.dpuf
The fact is humans probably don't run as well a they did 10,000 years ago before cars, bikes and trains. Humans don't really need to run these days. Our brains have out smarted our bodies and figured out ways to travel little to no physical demand. As they say "Use it or lose it". Today humans run mainly because they WANT to.
So, what does this mean to you? What's my point with all this? My point is that our bodies evolved 1000's of years ago for travel running. It you don't start off by building "travel running" as your foundation everything else will be built in an unstable foundation. You must start off on the right foot!
What is "Travel Running"? Great question. Imagine your next meal and drink is 25 miles away and your only option is on foot. How would you get there? Trust me, you will get there. How? Very carefully. You would need to pace yourself even if it includes walking. The bottom line is that you will get there. In fact lets make it 50 miles away. Guess what? Yep, you would still make it there.
What are my tips to "Travel Running"?
Tip #1 Posture must be as upright as possible. this is the single most important tip.
Tip #2 Keep your legs and arms close to your body. Hold a gallon of water or milk away from your body and you'll see why.
Tip #3 Lift your feet just enough off the ground to take a step. Your steps should be short, very quick and light feel.
Tip #4 Swing your arms backwards instead of forwards and keep a nice tempo.
Tip #5 Do what ever it takes to keep your heart rate down even if you have to walk most of it.
Let's talk about tip #1 "POSTURE"
This is the foundation of our body make up. Our spine is between our hips and skull. It is meant to be upright. We run up and down, but because we shift/lean our weight forward we move forward. If you want to run backward you simply shift/lean your weight back. Watch people run at the park and you'll see a lot of them bend forward, not lean. There is a difference. Leaning is at your feet and bending is at your waist. See below.
Human movement starts with crawling. We see others walking upright so we learn to hold ourselves up by holding on to walls until we have mastered it hands free. Again, whats the point of running?
Thousands of years ago the only way humans traveled long distances was to walk, but if they wanted to get to their destination more quickly they needed to run. They didn't have cars, bikes or even trains. They walked or ran.
In nature the species best suited for the situation survives. Humans are perfectly made for long distance travel. So if you don't think you were meant to run...you are wrong!
Let me explain. What other animal moves on only two feet with an upright posture? What other animal sweats like humans?
The upright posture allows us humans to move while holding something in our hands. It also moves our center mass directly above our feet and below our heads. All of this allows us to move forward using less effort.
Running takes energy which causes heat that over time would make any other animal over heat, but not us humans. We have more sweat glands that allow us to release our body heat which helps prevent us from over heating and allowing us to keep running all day. I would say we humans are genetically built to run and with our history humans traveling on foot for 1000's of years the evolution looks like it agrees. This brings me back to that same question, but with twist. What is the point of running, now that we don't need to?
"Lions can run about twice as fast as the fastest Olympic sprinters over short distances to catch their prey. Early humans relied instead upon tiring their prey by running them down to exhaustion, combining a springy step with sweat glands all over the body that prevented overheating." - See more at: http://www.livescience.com/2747-caveman-modern-human-win-olympic-gold.html#sthash.vdesuRU6.dpuf
The fact is humans probably don't run as well a they did 10,000 years ago before cars, bikes and trains. Humans don't really need to run these days. Our brains have out smarted our bodies and figured out ways to travel little to no physical demand. As they say "Use it or lose it". Today humans run mainly because they WANT to.
So, what does this mean to you? What's my point with all this? My point is that our bodies evolved 1000's of years ago for travel running. It you don't start off by building "travel running" as your foundation everything else will be built in an unstable foundation. You must start off on the right foot!
What is "Travel Running"? Great question. Imagine your next meal and drink is 25 miles away and your only option is on foot. How would you get there? Trust me, you will get there. How? Very carefully. You would need to pace yourself even if it includes walking. The bottom line is that you will get there. In fact lets make it 50 miles away. Guess what? Yep, you would still make it there.
What are my tips to "Travel Running"?
Tip #1 Posture must be as upright as possible. this is the single most important tip.
Tip #2 Keep your legs and arms close to your body. Hold a gallon of water or milk away from your body and you'll see why.
Tip #3 Lift your feet just enough off the ground to take a step. Your steps should be short, very quick and light feel.
Tip #4 Swing your arms backwards instead of forwards and keep a nice tempo.
Tip #5 Do what ever it takes to keep your heart rate down even if you have to walk most of it.
Let's talk about tip #1 "POSTURE"
This is the foundation of our body make up. Our spine is between our hips and skull. It is meant to be upright. We run up and down, but because we shift/lean our weight forward we move forward. If you want to run backward you simply shift/lean your weight back. Watch people run at the park and you'll see a lot of them bend forward, not lean. There is a difference. Leaning is at your feet and bending is at your waist. See below.
For practice stand straight up with your weight even on your feet. Now shift your weight onto your heels. Your now ready to walk backwards. Now try it and shift your weight towards the ball of your feet. You now ready to walk forward. Makes sense, yes?
See image to the right. The person on the left is upright, the person in the middle is leaning forward (despite having the worlds most curved shin bone I have ever seen) and the person on the right is bending forward at the waist. Don't copy the version on the right. How do I know if I am leaning or bending? You need someone to video you while running.
What if I bend forward unintentionally? Some people just bend at the waist. You can NOT fix this while running. This is a structural issue that could have negative effects on your running. So, how do I fix this? You have two option. First don't do anything and see if becomes an problem. Honestly, sometime it ends up fine. Depends how much your bending. Second option is to see either a Physical Therapist or a well certified Personal Trainer who specializes in postural correction. These two specialist can give you a set of exercises and stretches that should help correct it. Bending at the waist almost always creates back, hip and knee pain.
