If you will only learn one thing from this video let it be this. Efficient runners take relatively short quick strides at any running speed. Most runners over-stride taking steps that are too long and too slow for the speed they are running, especially, at easy aerobic paces. The most important reason for this is Vertical Displacement. If I would have thrown a baseball to you while you stood only 10 feet away, I would throw it on a relatively straight line without having to arc it up in the air.
If I were to throw it to you while you stood 50 yards away, I would need to arc it high in the air to get it to you before it hit the ground. In the same way, a runner who wants to cover a lot of ground with every stride is to propelled himself significantly upward as well as forward. As we discussed earlier this ways the energy is going up, the energy cost of vertical displacement, and going down, the energy cost of support. If your quadriceps, the muscles in the front thigh fatigue after long runs at a leisurely pace, you probably over-stride. Long strides also increase impact-stress, an injury risk. What goes up must come down. Overtime this will cause a greater number and more severe injuries.
Efficient runners use extremely high turnover and relatively short strides when running at any pace. This requires less vertical displacement minimizing the energy cost of both vertical displacement and support. It also requires less force for contractions for horizontal propulsion by breaking the workload up into more manageable units. When you stretch out a rubber band and then let it go, what happens? It snaps back forcefully. Many human tissues operate the same way. Efficient runners store energy from one stride at foot strike and release it at push-off as propulsion for the next stride. Almost as if they had springs in their shoes. While you may not have springs in your shoes, you do have springs in your calves and in your feet. The calf muscles, the Achilles tendon, and the plantar fascia in the arch of the foot are very elastic.
Efficient runners tap this as a source of energy as well as shock absorption, using a reaction called elastic recoil. Elastic recoil, if utilized properly provides runner with free speed. This source of propulsion does not require energy expenditure and it does not fatigue The elastic components of your tissues never run out of fuel, never build-up lactic acid, and never dehydrate. Unlike a rubber band, human tissue does not snap back as forcefully if the stretch is held. Watch an efficient runner and you'll see that their feet are the ground for just a split second. Efficient runners use a stride rate of approximately 180-182 foot strikes/minute, regardless of running speed. The energy stored in the elastic tissues is released as propulsion before it is time to dissipate. Most runners think, since taller runners have longer legs, they should have proportionately longer strides than shorter runners, and therefore require fewer strides/minute. While this makes sense from a physics prospective, it is not from a physiological prospective.
Taller runners need to use the same stride length and turnover as shorter runners. This is necessary to keep contact time between the feet and ground short in order to maximize elastic recoil. The key to learn to run with increased turnover is shortening your stride. Many athletes increase their turnover by 20% or more without shortening stride length. They find they can run fast, but they have no endurance. While they feel smooth and efficient, they start breathing very hard, heart rate goes through the roof and they cannot sustain it. The evolution running techniques will enable you to run fast without nearly as forceful to push-off.
I recommend finding what your natural turnover is before you make any changes to your stride, and gradually increasing that towards 180. We have our runners use a metronome to monitor turnover. This is a small electronic device that would beep at whatever rate you set it to. Metronomes can be purchased at most music stores for about $35. This allows you to monitor your turnover objectively, eventually, making a 180 foot strides/minute with natural rhythm.
As you work on increasing turnover, keep the movements quick and light. Make sure that your push-off is less powerful than normal. Remember that if you increase turnover by 20%, you will run faster even with a stride length that is 15% shorter than normal. The next aspect of running technique we are going to cover is Foot Strike Placement, where your foot hits the ground in relation to your body?
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