Improve Your Running!
Whether you want to get faster, fitter or just generally feel less pain during or after running then you’ll want to incorporate the five topics here into your training.
When we run, our bodies are effectively using muscles to force energy into the ground and then out of it to propel us in a forward motion. So to improve our running speed we need to teach our body and muscles to do this action as efficiently as possible.
You can do as much running as you like and follow all the best running programmes out there but if we include these five topics landing strikes, strength, plyometrics, flexibility and recovery into our training routine then our running performance will improve, and we will become better, more efficient runners.
Watch this exercise video for some exercises that cover some of the highlighted topics.
Landing strikes
First off is the landing, if we are landing with bad form and positioning then we are asking our bodies to transfer force through unnecessary muscles and joints and possibly putting excess strain on more sensitive structures which will lead to performance issues and/or injury.
Correct landing and eventually jump training should be practiced by athletes at every level. It not only improves performance, but it also creates a more resilient body. A soft yet solid landing with the proper technique and joint alignment and angles allows the hips, knees and ankles and surrounding muscles to properly absorb the tremendous forces from the landing.
So practicing solid and aligned landings can and will improve your running performance. These stability exercises teach muscles like the glutes to contract and keep stable in a similar position so that when your foot lands during each stride they absorb the shock of each landing so it is not expected of your joints.
The correct landing will also help to maintain a solid and correct posture. This is important for your running gait (running style in particular your foot placement). Poor posture causes your body to work harder as your muscles are forced to overwork, and this in turn can restrict blood and oxygen flow.
You can see plenty of examples of correct strong landing practices within the attached video in the link in the introduction.
Strength training
Secondly and continuing from your posture, holding your body in the proper positions can help improve your performance. Keeping your muscles strong in the proper positions means they have to work less on countering so they can focus on the job in hand and you run more efficiently.
The more your body is used to a particular motion and the stronger it is through that motion will allow it to perform more efficiently. So this leads to strength training which is very useful for runners as it has benefits in this area.
Here are some examples of strength training exercises and the benefits. Lunges within a strength training session will help improve your glutes and quads strength but will also help work on hip extension and posture stabilisation. These then help to improve a strong posture and powerful stride. Another area within strength training is high knee lifts which can help improve your hip flexors strength and range of motion which again in turn will help with your stride. Creating strong calf’s through calf raises will help with strength and power of the calf’s and also with the flexibility of those muscle which can help reduce calf-related injuries as well as create more force into and then directly out of the ground to help propel the body.
The main areas that you want to incorporate into your strength training will target the muscles that stabilise the hips, knees and ankles as well as a focus on a solid core. A strong and mobile lower body leads to better foot strike for faster running times and fewer aches and pains afterwards. The hips move in lots of different directions, but the hips positioning has an impact in what happens at the ankle when the foot strikes the ground. The glutes are the most important muscle group around the hip joint therefore training the glutes is a must for runners.
This links back to being strong when landing especially on one leg at a time.
We mainly do strength training to avoid injury, to make muscles, tendons, and ligaments stronger, and all this will lead to an improved performance. Stronger muscles are better shock absorbers and can have a better endurance and greater power.
By improving your strength, effectively you will allow your body to put more force into the ground which will lead to a better performance. Plus as a bonus, you’ll enjoy many of the other benefits that come with strength training, such as higher energy levels, increased bone density, a stronger metabolism, and if done correctly, less body fat.
When you first start strength training, a good way to begin is by only doing exercises that use your own bodyweight. Then, as you feel more comfortable or when the exercises become easier, you can incorporate some weights in too.
Plyometrics
So now that our bodies know how best to land for best performance and now we have the strength to exert maximum force into the ground from our strength training we need to start using those actions combined to propel the body forwards. When you think of it, running is basically jumping from one foot to the other in a forward motion. So Incorporating jumping motions into our training will improve our performance and link with our landings and strength. Plyometric exercises is a term used to describe this type of training method.
When our foot strikes the floor during running several muscles and tendons are stretched. This stretch is then followed by a release of force off the ground with those same muscles and tendons, think of an elastic band that you fire across the room, the same stretched elastic uses it’s own force to propel itself across the room.
The focus of these jumps then is to try to exert as much force from each impact of the ground in as quick an action as possible. In essence, we want these plyometric exercises to decrease the amount of time our feet are in contact with the ground and use the force going into the ground to come back off the ground. The less time on the ground, the faster the running performance.
Here are some examples of these types of plyometric jumps. Double leg box jumps, this teaches our body to spend as little time as possible on the floor to yet still achieve a maximum output, in this case it is getting high off the ground onto a box. Single leg hop exercises. These increase a runner’s ability to produce as much force as possible with just one leg at a time. Bounding, this exercise combines all the characteristics of little ground contact time and maximum output into a running specific forward propelling action.
So now we have our plyometrics training added to our landing training and combined with our strength training. We can now assume that our bodies can land effectively and put maximum force into the ground then use the response from that force to leave the ground as quickly as possible to propel ourselves forwards. This then is the greatest form of running and will have the best outcome for fast times and best achievements.
Flexibility
Flexibility now needs to be considered into the training regime as is important for positive ease of movements within the body. Flexibility should not be limited to the muscles, but also tendons, ligaments, and joints so when possible a mobility flexibility routine should be considered incorporating the areas around our joints. Limited flexibility will restrict your body’s movement and performance.
Recovery
The training routine and programme that you follow may seem like the best way for improvement of performance and results but it is during the recovery process where the actual gains are made. Therefore this is the most important aspect of your training and should be included into any program either in terms of rest or recovery runs or both.
Everyone is different and therefore the recovery your body will need will be down to you to find out what’s best. There are ways you can do this by purchasing certain watches or gadgets that can tell you when to have a recovery day or how long recovery you should take before your next session.
But as a general rule you should eat well to aid the process, you should sleep well to allow mind and body rest and you should listen to the body in terms of pains, aches, soreness and tightness.
For more detailed information on recovery, read my article An athletes road to recovery.
Summary
So there we have it. Yes you can do as much running as you like and follow all the best running programmes out there but if we include these five topics landings strikes, strength, plyometrics, flexibility and recovery into our training routine then our running performance will improve, and we will become better, more efficient runners.
