You are into sneakers that have the Cleansport NXT feature which helps control odor on your feetMolly Huddle Wants You to Improve Your Running Form

Running more makes you better at running, right? Totally. To a degree.

Running for many years, or running high mileage, is going to cause desired effects, like fitness. But it can also cause some undesired effects, including issues with your running form. (My chiropractor tells me to either stop running or blame gravity!)

Although I’m not a coach or biomechanics expert, whenever I’m asked for advice about running form, I try to steer runners away from completely changing what kind of runner they are. I think your body finds the way it’s supposed to run based on your unique build. You might have noticed all kinds of form winning major marathons. There are pronounced heel strikers, forefoot runners, heavy pronators, shufflers, runners who carry one arm funny, etc. Looking “good” doesn’t always mean you’re the most efficient runner out there.

Still, improvements are always possible. I think it’s better to focus on functionally repairing or maintaining your personal best form rather than trying to look a certain way, or imitate a certain form that isn’t your natural pattern. Instead, try to optimize your own way of running, which can shift over time as you nike elite cushion quartes sock running from daily postures (like sitting a lot or stooping over a phone), compensate for small aches and pains, or increase mileage and/or intensity.

For example, I’ve noticed with the uptick in mileage during marathon training that I’ve had a few form changes. I’ve gotten way better at longer runs. I’ve also progressed some imbalances that were unique to me (my innate hip imbalance, some anterior pelvic tilt, and a weird side lean to the right) and taken on some imbalances common in many high-mileage runners (hello, tight adductors!).

These are subtle changes, but they lead to more injuries and small leaks of energy and power, all of which makes races feel a little harder, which at some point is a big deal!

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Watch Your Posture!
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While I don’t think there’s an optimal kind of form, there are some ways to optimize posture so that your stride is more efficient and has a lower injury risk.

We all may be doing more hunching over devices as we have increased our Zooming, online ordering, and social media scrolling while at home. We’re probably sitting more too, if Netflix has sucked you in with all its captivating content lately.

Shoulder hunching and slouching has been a personal bad habit my entire life. It’s a common posture issue in distance runners. Since I haven’t been getting my normal amount of body work done lately, I’ve focused on rolling and stretching my pectoralis muscles with a lacrosse ball. (Standing against a door frame works best). Some muscles in my neck are pretty tight as well, so if you also feel like you’re getting text neck, Kids Denim Riptape Sandals 3 small-13 small scalenes kourtney kardashian penelope shopping gianvito rossi thong sandals.

There are also some band exercises you can do to strengthen your upper back. You may even need to go with lighter resistance to be sure to target the muscles right between your shoulder blades, which can get pretty weak even if your arms are strong. Finally, there are a few yoga moves that are really helpful for opening up the front of your chest. Check out Fish pose, Cobra pose, Sphinx pose, and Beyonce pose (I made one of them up but it will still help).

Somewhat related to this upper-back hunch are Best Limited-Edition Sneakers and lower-back tightness that can put you into another common running posture issue—anterior pelvic tilt. This can cause you to run with either a really arched back or even a bent-over posture.

There are endless hip extension exercises to help fight this. Some of my favorites are using a resistance band around your hips to push into as you extend from a kneeling position on your feet position to kneeling up. Another good one is to do a bridge with your upper back on a bench and a weight on your hips as you lower your hips and then extend up into the weight. I like to do dynamic stretches for my hip flexors as well, like lunge walks.

You are into sneakers that have the Cleansport NXT feature which helps control odor on your feet | Stride Right

Your stride is another area you can optimize while we wait for racing to return.

Overstriding girls air jordan 6 rings gg pure platinum fuchsia blast shoes new runners. I noticed it as something that seemed to naturally right itself in easy runs as I ran more mileage and for more years. Consider it as a sign you’re overreaching for paces you may not be ready for. Sometimes I still overstride when I’m kicking at the end of a races due to fatigue and sloppy sprint mechanics. Regardless of your particular running style, you want to keep your feet under your body as you land.

I don’t use cadence as a metric as much, but it’s a good way to check in on your stride length during an easy run. The Polar Vantage and other high-end smart watches have a built-in cadence feature, so there’s no need to obsessively count your steps in your head if you want to use this data. (Polar is one of my sponsors.)

Basic running drills and strides, like the 10 minutes of A skips, B skips, and butt kicks, done with a focus on staying underneath yourself, are good reinforcements. I try not to think too much about my form while I’m actually running because it would drive me crazy, and it may even make you less efficient.

Power Moves
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Power is also something you can work on in regards to form.

As we know, the glutes are what power your runs. A lot of the time, they’re “weak.” I was always confused how I could be doing so much running and still have weakness anywhere in my legs. More accurately, sometimes runners can’t get into the right positions to access all their glute power because of moving in such limited ranges of motion so much. That’s why the hip mobility drills are so important. I’ve talked a lot about hurdle drills, and those are great. Lately I’ve also been focusing on deadlifts, which to do properly requires sitting fully into your hip capsule.

Additionally, you can traction your hips (ankles are great, too) with a stretching rope looped to something stationary. This is a helpful prerun task to make sure all those steps you’re going to take are going to be building on good movements rather than the movements our body uses to “cheat” around avoid painful, stuck joints.

In addition to these at-home exercises, you can build your newly found functional glute strength sans workout facilities with your classic, old-school hill repeats. I don’t have these explicitly written into my workout schedule, as when I’m home in Providence, Rhode Island, almost all my mileage is on hilly New England back roads I can run to from my door. I’ve noticed if I’m not home and I don’t make an effort to go find hilly loops for a few weeks, I feel like I start to “sit” too much into my form.

These are all things you can do at home without much of a gym.

When we’re able to race again, we may be showing up with zoom roots, unmanicured nails, or a gnarly quarantine beard. But we can be running a little taller, smoother and more powerfully when the gun goes off, eliciting cheers of “you look great!” for all the best reasons.