In Ewen's last post he gave a link to Steve Magness's website.
I found a very interesting article he had written on 'learning how to run'. In fact Steve was basically saying everything i thought i knew about correct running form was incorrect!!!
At first I felt a bit annoyed, but I kept an open mind and the more I read and watched his video's the more what he was saying made sense.
basically in simple terms he teaches you to use the 'hip stretch/reflex mechanism' so you can run with less effort.
Think of the road like a treadmill, with the road moving under your feet.
As you land let the ground drag your foot back so your hip and leg are fully extended behind you [see photo above].
Allow a passive toe off, now the interesting bit, keep your leg relaxed as your foot lifts from the ground, now feel your knee moving forward without any conscious effort on your own part,
at the same time your knee will bend letting the heel come up towards your butt and all this happens without effort, no powerful and tiring knee drive or hamstring butt kicking needed!
And even better the faster you run the faster and stronger will be your knee drive and heel lift and I repeat this all happens without conscious effort!!!
'Hip stretch/reflex mechanism'
So how does this work ?
Simple! by letting your foot get dragged back more, which in turn extends your hip and leg the muscles and tendon in front of the hip are stretched, as the foot leaves the ground after toe off the muscles snap back, like a elastic band, pulling your leg forward!
It took me 2 runs to get the hang of this 'new to me' way of running. It feels much easier than my normal way of running, your just using energy to hold yourself upright in a good posture instead of burning lots of energy driving the knee and kicking your heels up, very very cool :]
now as i look at photo's and video's of elite runners i notice they all have this very extended hip and knee and are using their muscles and tendons as springs!
So please read Steve's article and video and have a go at turning your legs into powerful springs, let us know how you get on, remember to keep an open mind, it will be worth it in the end!
READ HERE
VIDEO
Oh, and a big thanks to Ewen for the link!
