At the core
February 25, 2015
Hello profileMyRunners
So far this blog series has covered running form on everything from the hips down. While the lower body is constantly turning over, the upper body is keeping you stable and efficient. The hips work in tandem with one of the bodies largest muscle groups, the abdominals. It's no surprise that everyone featured on the cover of Runners World has kickass abs. In this post, we'll discuss the why and how of using your core while on a run:
The concept of using your abs for running is directly tied to how you lean your body while you move. Most of us have a tendency to slouch as we stand/walk/run, a result of the countless hours that we spend sitting everyday. Those of us who manage to correct our posture and run with a straight back are closer, but not quite there. In order to make efficient use of your transversus abdominis (deep abs), you need to let gravity do the heavy lifting.
Chi Running, borrowing from the martial art of Tai-Chi, preaches four overarching themes to proper form: Posture, Strong Core, Relaxed Legs, Mindfulness. To correct your posture and engage your core, keep your back straight and lean forward as you start to run. Your shoulders should be a little bit ahead of your hips, and your abs will activate to keep your body stable. Once you settle into this lean, relax your legs and arms; allow them to almost go limp. The idea is that your legs function to support your body rather than forcing it forward. Leaning and gravity will bring you forward. At the end of your run, the only sore part of your body should be your abs.
Want to practice this concept? Here’s two useful exercises from NYT blog and Active, respectively:
Ab Engagement:
“Sit straight in a chair and lean against the back for support. Now lean forward slightly, keeping your back straight and staying mindful of good posture. You should feel a noticeable engagement of your abdominal muscles.”
Hip Alignment:
“Stand against a wall and try to press your lower back into it. Watch what happens to your pelvis. You have to engage your lower abs in a vertical "crunch" movement. Remember that feeling, and try to maintain it as you run.”
Next time you hit the road/trails really focus on engaging your core. Not only will you cover more ground with less effort, but the reduced impact on your legs and joints will decrease the risk of injury.
Take Away Tip: At the start of your run, lean forward until you begin to fall (known as a falling start). Once your legs catch you, keep the angle and settle in.
Hello profileMyRunners
So far this blog series has covered running form on everything from the hips down. While the lower body is constantly turning over, the upper body is keeping you stable and efficient. The hips work in tandem with one of the bodies largest muscle groups, the abdominals. It's no surprise that everyone featured on the cover of Runners World has kickass abs. In this post, we'll discuss the why and how of using your core while on a run:
The concept of using your abs for running is directly tied to how you lean your body while you move. Most of us have a tendency to slouch as we stand/walk/run, a result of the countless hours that we spend sitting everyday. Those of us who manage to correct our posture and run with a straight back are closer, but not quite there. In order to make efficient use of your transversus abdominis (deep abs), you need to let gravity do the heavy lifting.
Chi Running, borrowing from the martial art of Tai-Chi, preaches four overarching themes to proper form: Posture, Strong Core, Relaxed Legs, Mindfulness. To correct your posture and engage your core, keep your back straight and lean forward as you start to run. Your shoulders should be a little bit ahead of your hips, and your abs will activate to keep your body stable. Once you settle into this lean, relax your legs and arms; allow them to almost go limp. The idea is that your legs function to support your body rather than forcing it forward. Leaning and gravity will bring you forward. At the end of your run, the only sore part of your body should be your abs.
Want to practice this concept? Here’s two useful exercises from NYT blog and Active, respectively:
Ab Engagement:
“Sit straight in a chair and lean against the back for support. Now lean forward slightly, keeping your back straight and staying mindful of good posture. You should feel a noticeable engagement of your abdominal muscles.”
Hip Alignment:
“Stand against a wall and try to press your lower back into it. Watch what happens to your pelvis. You have to engage your lower abs in a vertical "crunch" movement. Remember that feeling, and try to maintain it as you run.”
Next time you hit the road/trails really focus on engaging your core. Not only will you cover more ground with less effort, but the reduced impact on your legs and joints will decrease the risk of injury.
Take Away Tip: At the start of your run, lean forward until you begin to fall (known as a falling start). Once your legs catch you, keep the angle and settle in.
Big data aids marathon runners
January 20, 2015
Sport Techie recently released an article discussing how big data helps marathon runners achieve their goals. Information gathered from tens of thousands of runners is being captured and analyzed daily. Our smart insoles will be adding something new to the internet of things, and we're thrilled to find out just how far this data can go.
Check out the article here!
Sport Techie recently released an article discussing how big data helps marathon runners achieve their goals. Information gathered from tens of thousands of runners is being captured and analyzed daily. Our smart insoles will be adding something new to the internet of things, and we're thrilled to find out just how far this data can go.
Check out the article here!
Interview with IEEE Young Professionals at CES 2015
The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and art
Hello ProfileMyRunners,
Hope all has been well on the roads and trails
For this blog series, I'm going to analyze running form from the bottom up. Starting with the foot and ending with the head, I'll release posts covering a different aspect of your form and tips to help you improve. Since so many amazing blogs already exist on the topic, I'm going to use these resources as a reference to give quick, concise information that you'll remember as the miles take their toll.
So, let's jump to it.
You've no doubt heard about the importance of a proper foot strike when going the distance. Furthermore, ProfileMyRun happens to be an excellent tool for analyzing your footstrike pattern, so this aspect of running is a natural place to start.
"The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art"
Leonardo DaVinci
With 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, the human foot is a feat of engineering (had to do it). Evolutionarily designed to support up-right posture, our feet poses mechanisms to help cope with the abuse that we put them through.
So you may be wondering, how should your foot strike the ground?
The Barefoot/Minimal Argument:
Ever since Chris McDougall's trip to Mexico, barefoot running has cultivated a dedicated following of early adopters. The argument goes that humans evolved to run and shoes actually hinder performance and increase the likelihood of injury. Our team at Palo Alto Scientific has been able to confirm some of these findings: shoed runners typically have a greater impact peak force on ground contact when compared to barefoot runners. Below you'll find two videos from RunBARE demonstrating the results:
Hope all has been well on the roads and trails
For this blog series, I'm going to analyze running form from the bottom up. Starting with the foot and ending with the head, I'll release posts covering a different aspect of your form and tips to help you improve. Since so many amazing blogs already exist on the topic, I'm going to use these resources as a reference to give quick, concise information that you'll remember as the miles take their toll.
So, let's jump to it.
You've no doubt heard about the importance of a proper foot strike when going the distance. Furthermore, ProfileMyRun happens to be an excellent tool for analyzing your footstrike pattern, so this aspect of running is a natural place to start.
"The human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art"
Leonardo DaVinci
With 26 bones, 33 joints, and over 100 muscles, the human foot is a feat of engineering (had to do it). Evolutionarily designed to support up-right posture, our feet poses mechanisms to help cope with the abuse that we put them through.
So you may be wondering, how should your foot strike the ground?
The Barefoot/Minimal Argument:
Ever since Chris McDougall's trip to Mexico, barefoot running has cultivated a dedicated following of early adopters. The argument goes that humans evolved to run and shoes actually hinder performance and increase the likelihood of injury. Our team at Palo Alto Scientific has been able to confirm some of these findings: shoed runners typically have a greater impact peak force on ground contact when compared to barefoot runners. Below you'll find two videos from RunBARE demonstrating the results:
For barefoot runners, the midfoot/forefoot strike is valued over the heelstrike.
The Shoed Argument:
Before you kick off your shoes and start running around, know that there is always the other side to the argument. Researchers may be able to hypothesize that we evolved for running, but they certainly haven't proved it. We may have even evolved to be aquatic mammals, who knows. And as far as the aforementioned studies on impact force goes, researchers have also found that shoed runners may exhibit more physiologically economical running form, using less oxygen than their barefoot counterparts. Cracked.com has a very entertaining piece arguing for shoed running; scroll down to #4 in this link for further reading.
Conclusion:
After going through study after study, I can tell you that the verdict is is still out as to which method of running is better. Both sides have solid arguments, and until further testing is done, we cannot claim that one form is inherently better than the other.
My Personal Experience:
I started running barefoot in 2010 after reading Born To Run. I can be an impressionable idiot, so I figured, "wow! I'll just throw away my shoes and run an ultra marathon no problem". That's not how it works. After gaining experience with every type of shoe you can think of (sandals too), here are my thoughts:
I prefer minimal shoe running and have found that my old nagging injuries have mostly gone away with the adjustment of my form. My times have improved and my running technique feels much smoother with my midfoot strike.
If you're considering a transition, take it slow! I can't stress that enough. Against my better judgement, I spent 0 time adjusting and incurred two stress fractures (one for each ankle), and some nasty plantar fasciitis on my heel. You'll be using muscles that you've never even dreamt of before, so please do not rush the process.
TAKEAWAY TIP: When your foot strikes the ground, Keep Your Toes Under Your Nose.
-Lexi
The Shoed Argument:
Before you kick off your shoes and start running around, know that there is always the other side to the argument. Researchers may be able to hypothesize that we evolved for running, but they certainly haven't proved it. We may have even evolved to be aquatic mammals, who knows. And as far as the aforementioned studies on impact force goes, researchers have also found that shoed runners may exhibit more physiologically economical running form, using less oxygen than their barefoot counterparts. Cracked.com has a very entertaining piece arguing for shoed running; scroll down to #4 in this link for further reading.
Conclusion:
After going through study after study, I can tell you that the verdict is is still out as to which method of running is better. Both sides have solid arguments, and until further testing is done, we cannot claim that one form is inherently better than the other.
My Personal Experience:
I started running barefoot in 2010 after reading Born To Run. I can be an impressionable idiot, so I figured, "wow! I'll just throw away my shoes and run an ultra marathon no problem". That's not how it works. After gaining experience with every type of shoe you can think of (sandals too), here are my thoughts:
I prefer minimal shoe running and have found that my old nagging injuries have mostly gone away with the adjustment of my form. My times have improved and my running technique feels much smoother with my midfoot strike.
If you're considering a transition, take it slow! I can't stress that enough. Against my better judgement, I spent 0 time adjusting and incurred two stress fractures (one for each ankle), and some nasty plantar fasciitis on my heel. You'll be using muscles that you've never even dreamt of before, so please do not rush the process.
TAKEAWAY TIP: When your foot strikes the ground, Keep Your Toes Under Your Nose.
-Lexi
It's all in the hip
November 9, 2014
Hey ProfileMyRunners,
Now that you're more familiar with how different footstrikes determine your running economy, let's keep it moving to the hips, quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus.
In my opinion, the hips are the most important factor to consider when practicing your running form. The hips connect the lower body to the upper body. They're the body's center of mass. When I practiced Jiu Jitsu, our coach told us to, "swing, dip, move your hips!". Baseball coaches teach batters to use their hips for power. The same applies to boxing. If you've seen Happy Gilmore, you'll know that "it's all in the hips":
Hey ProfileMyRunners,
Now that you're more familiar with how different footstrikes determine your running economy, let's keep it moving to the hips, quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteus.
In my opinion, the hips are the most important factor to consider when practicing your running form. The hips connect the lower body to the upper body. They're the body's center of mass. When I practiced Jiu Jitsu, our coach told us to, "swing, dip, move your hips!". Baseball coaches teach batters to use their hips for power. The same applies to boxing. If you've seen Happy Gilmore, you'll know that "it's all in the hips":
The hips are crucial for every athletic pursuit that I can think of. Since I'm writing a running blog, I'll cover how to best use your hips to turn your body into a running machine.
That's how I see the running body anyway, as a machine. Thinking in that sense, the hips are the beginning of the machine that is your lower body. The hip flexor muscle is responsible for driving your legs forward, so exercise and stretch your hips often. You'll find your stride length increasing and your running mechanics becoming smoother if you can actively use your hips.
Once your leg is pulled forward by the hip flexor, keep your toe in dorsiflexion (just point your toe up), and strike the ground with your toes under your noes. I used to be a competitive sprinter, and dorsiflexion is necessary for speed. With distance running it's not as important, but if you're looking for a kick at the end of a race, dorsiflexion it's worth remembering.
Upon initial foot contact your quadriceps will engage, and if you've run a bunch you'll know that they can take a beating. Try body weight exercises such as prisoner squats to increase your muscle strength. The quadricep is the single largest muscle in your body, so you can bet that it's important for maintaining a quick stride.
After initial contact, you'll begin to pull the ground behind you through the use of your hamstring. There's plenty of great exercises and stretches out there, as the hamstring is the second largest muscle in the body. Treat this muscle with the same importance as any other - years ago I tore my hamstring while sprinting since my quadriceps were disproportionately stronger. I couldn't run for months; don't let it happen to you.
With the leg pulled back, it's time to bring it forward again. In my opinion, thegluteus are the second most important factor to consider when practicing your running form, since these muscles works closely with the hips. With your leg behind you, focus on using your butt muscle to swing your leg forward. Bringing your heel closer to your tush adds efficiency to the swinging motion. Essentially, the gluteus will bring the leg from back to neutral and the hip will bring the leg from neutral to forward, resulting in the act called running. Planks are an excellent way to increase strength in the abs/glutes.
TAKEAWAY TIP: With each step, imagine that you're stepping over a log. The bigger the log, the faster you'll run.
-Lexi
That's how I see the running body anyway, as a machine. Thinking in that sense, the hips are the beginning of the machine that is your lower body. The hip flexor muscle is responsible for driving your legs forward, so exercise and stretch your hips often. You'll find your stride length increasing and your running mechanics becoming smoother if you can actively use your hips.
Once your leg is pulled forward by the hip flexor, keep your toe in dorsiflexion (just point your toe up), and strike the ground with your toes under your noes. I used to be a competitive sprinter, and dorsiflexion is necessary for speed. With distance running it's not as important, but if you're looking for a kick at the end of a race, dorsiflexion it's worth remembering.
Upon initial foot contact your quadriceps will engage, and if you've run a bunch you'll know that they can take a beating. Try body weight exercises such as prisoner squats to increase your muscle strength. The quadricep is the single largest muscle in your body, so you can bet that it's important for maintaining a quick stride.
After initial contact, you'll begin to pull the ground behind you through the use of your hamstring. There's plenty of great exercises and stretches out there, as the hamstring is the second largest muscle in the body. Treat this muscle with the same importance as any other - years ago I tore my hamstring while sprinting since my quadriceps were disproportionately stronger. I couldn't run for months; don't let it happen to you.
With the leg pulled back, it's time to bring it forward again. In my opinion, thegluteus are the second most important factor to consider when practicing your running form, since these muscles works closely with the hips. With your leg behind you, focus on using your butt muscle to swing your leg forward. Bringing your heel closer to your tush adds efficiency to the swinging motion. Essentially, the gluteus will bring the leg from back to neutral and the hip will bring the leg from neutral to forward, resulting in the act called running. Planks are an excellent way to increase strength in the abs/glutes.
TAKEAWAY TIP: With each step, imagine that you're stepping over a log. The bigger the log, the faster you'll run.
-Lexi
There has to be one best way of running
September 17, 2014
Hello ProfileMyRun Community,
First off, I'd like to welcome you to the ProfileMyRun preliminary blog series! ProfileMyRun is more than just an app; it's a new way of experience running with technology and technique at the core. Our team is building a community that understands the advantages of proper running form, and we'd like you to be apart of it.
Now on to the real reason for why we're all here - running form. Alberto Salzar, a former professional runner, once said, "There has to be one best way of running." I agree. Whoever you are, there has to be one best way for you to run. One technique where the tilt of your head, the angle of your arms, the lift of your knees, the strike of your foot (etc) are all perfectly aligned to bring your body moving forward with the least amount of effort. Maximum efficiency. The elite runners are closest to it and still need improvement. That has to be my favorite part about running. No matter how much you train and practice, you'll never perfect your form. Sure, you may hit that perfect stride for a moment, but only the best runners can sustain it, and even they break down given enough distance.
Nothing is sweeter than hitting that perfect stride. That moment when everything clicks is what motivates us as runners. It's what keeps us on the roads and trails from sunrise to sunset. Throughout this preliminary blog series, I'd like to shed some light on how to improve your technique. As our website and offerings develop so too will this series. For now, stay tuned for updates on tips to help you find your stride.
In the meantime, check out the cool video below on running technique from 1980s Soviet Russia that I came across on reddit r/running
Keep on runnin',
Lexi
Hello ProfileMyRun Community,
First off, I'd like to welcome you to the ProfileMyRun preliminary blog series! ProfileMyRun is more than just an app; it's a new way of experience running with technology and technique at the core. Our team is building a community that understands the advantages of proper running form, and we'd like you to be apart of it.
Now on to the real reason for why we're all here - running form. Alberto Salzar, a former professional runner, once said, "There has to be one best way of running." I agree. Whoever you are, there has to be one best way for you to run. One technique where the tilt of your head, the angle of your arms, the lift of your knees, the strike of your foot (etc) are all perfectly aligned to bring your body moving forward with the least amount of effort. Maximum efficiency. The elite runners are closest to it and still need improvement. That has to be my favorite part about running. No matter how much you train and practice, you'll never perfect your form. Sure, you may hit that perfect stride for a moment, but only the best runners can sustain it, and even they break down given enough distance.
Nothing is sweeter than hitting that perfect stride. That moment when everything clicks is what motivates us as runners. It's what keeps us on the roads and trails from sunrise to sunset. Throughout this preliminary blog series, I'd like to shed some light on how to improve your technique. As our website and offerings develop so too will this series. For now, stay tuned for updates on tips to help you find your stride.
In the meantime, check out the cool video below on running technique from 1980s Soviet Russia that I came across on reddit r/running
Keep on runnin',
Lexi
