There were a couple of questions about this recently and a couple of PMs, so I thught I'd paste this one into the forum. I've included some pretty good videos as well. Enjoy.
______________________________________________________
1st off, check out this video. Look at the 3 runners about a minute into it.
Note: This is from Frank Day's website endorsing Powercranks. At this point I have no opinion about the product, and Frank will likely respond to this post to add his endorsement. I will say, however, that his slow-mo videos ARE very good (even at the expense of making Paulo throw up again).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOG0PaDYJvs
Notice particularly that the runners (even the average one) all stand up straight. In addtion, you want to land with your feet almost directly underneath you. Having a high cadence, standing tall, and focusing on picking up your feet and leading with the knee will help with this.
Now look at this video. I haven't watched it with the volume on, so I have no idea what they are saying. Just pay attention to what their legs are doing for the whole 6 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFFD1u-sVAU
Okay - Now how can YOU run like them? (You won't......but you can get closer than wher eyou are today).
Watch the next three videos. I just searched them and they look pretty good....though, again, I don't have the volume on right now. I'll have to check them out again this weekend.
High knee, butt kickers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjNAt708Ykc
skips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gE7N_PSjoI
strides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euN56EFx1XM
I do these a lot of these drills almost every time I run. In fact, I've been doing them for over 20 years now (Rome wasn't built in a day). Here's what I recommend (you can do them in your back yard or at nightime so the neighbors don't see you.....or, you can do them at the local track where you won't look quite so wierd).
PHASE 1:
At least three days a week before (after 5 minute warm up) or in the middle of your run:
*Note - 3 days a week was a recommendation for someone who wanted to make some significant improvements on their form. 1-2 days a week may be enough for maintenance for many avid runners*
1) 2x10 (each leg, for all of these) skips with rest in between. Make sure you move your arms, raise the knee high, and point the toes UP.
2) 2x10 high knees. You want these to be quick. The idea is that you are training your neuro-muscular system to tell the leg to spring up as soon as it hits the ground.
3) 2x10 butt kicks. Again, quickly.
4) Low hurdles. Get 8-10 15oz soup cans and set them up on the sidewalk, on a track, in your backyard....where ever it is convienient and you won't be embarassed. Line them up in a row about 3-4 feet apart. Run over them like you are running a 5K or 10K race with your feet landing inbetween each one. Don't "leap" over them. You want your head to stay relatively level. You'll find that you have to pick your feet up a bit in order to clear each can. You'll also find that it helps to lift your leg (like in a butt kicker) and drive the knee (like in high knees and skips). Stand up tall and use your running arms.
Note: You may land on your forefoot, on your midfoot, or on your heels as you do this. IMO it really isn't that important as long as you lead with your knee, point your toes up as the foot swings through, and land with the foot at plus or minus 15 degrees to the ground (either striking the heel then quickly roll to the forefoot, striking the mdifoot then roll quickly to the forefoot, striking the forefoot then quickly touch the heel to the ground then quickly roll to the forefoot, or land only on the forefoot....over time you will find what works best for you).
Run over one set, make a 180, jog back to the beginning, repeat. Do thi sat least 10 times. You can do this all afternoon if you wish!
Note: Undoubtedly I expect some cheap shots on the soup can hurdles. Feel free to spend $115 a hurdle here: http://www.trackoutlet.com/.../42/products_id/2106 or you can stop by a local competetive track facitily and maybe borrow theirs. Trust me, this is no gimick. 100 hurdles a day will do wonders to your form.
5) Strides. These will be done at a fairly high speed, but not sprinting. The idea is to try to use everything you learned in the previous 4 drills. REALLY focus on good form, the best you can, during these. Do 6 sets of 50 meters.
Keep in mind that the motions used in the above drills are all exagerated motions, much like when a martial artiist paractices his katas. When running 8, 9, or even 12 minutes a mile, you won't be driving your knees up to your waist or picking your feet up so high that you can step over 15oz soup cans. However, the fundamentals will still be the same. You'll just be doing it at a lower speed.
PHASE 2:
Once or twice a week find a fairly steep hill. Run up it, jog down it. Do this for 15 minutes.
When you run up it focus on everything you learned in the drills. Pick your feet up over those cans (but don't leap) and drive your knees as you run up this hill. Focus on form, not speed. Stay on your forefoot as you run up the hill.
*Note: Simply running hills regularly and focusing on form as you run up them year round may be all that is needed for avid runners*
PHASE 3:
Work on your cadence. You want to get it up to 180+ strides a minute (90+ cycles per minute). There ARE cheap portable metronomes out there smaller than an ipod nano for pretty cheap. I suggest stopping by a local music store. I know my brother had one when he was a marching band drum major. Being at what feels natural and run to the beat. Then, every few minutes speed it up by 1 bpm. Do this until you reach 90 bpm. I'd suggest even ramping it up to 95 bpm for a while so that 90 feels comfortable (maybe even slow).
You can also run with an ipod and download asong that advertises its bpm (again, look for 90 or 180).
You can also periodically check during your runs by looking at your watch. When it hits XX:00, count strides for the next minute. Do this over and over again for several minutes. Try to beat your last count.
Again, keep in mind that these are all drills to help you improve your form. During workouts and races you definitely want to pay attention to your form, and hopefuly your body will begin to naturally gravitate to what is more efficient. However, you won't actually be kicking your butt and stepping over soup cans.....not at 10 minutes a mile!
Hopefully this helps. You may want to read this a couple of times and go back and check out the videos again.
Good luck!
* runtraining8 *
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
______________________________________________________
1st off, check out this video. Look at the 3 runners about a minute into it.
Note: This is from Frank Day's website endorsing Powercranks. At this point I have no opinion about the product, and Frank will likely respond to this post to add his endorsement. I will say, however, that his slow-mo videos ARE very good (even at the expense of making Paulo throw up again).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOG0PaDYJvs
Notice particularly that the runners (even the average one) all stand up straight. In addtion, you want to land with your feet almost directly underneath you. Having a high cadence, standing tall, and focusing on picking up your feet and leading with the knee will help with this.
Now look at this video. I haven't watched it with the volume on, so I have no idea what they are saying. Just pay attention to what their legs are doing for the whole 6 minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFFD1u-sVAU
Okay - Now how can YOU run like them? (You won't......but you can get closer than wher eyou are today).
Watch the next three videos. I just searched them and they look pretty good....though, again, I don't have the volume on right now. I'll have to check them out again this weekend.
High knee, butt kickers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjNAt708Ykc
skips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gE7N_PSjoI
strides
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euN56EFx1XM
I do these a lot of these drills almost every time I run. In fact, I've been doing them for over 20 years now (Rome wasn't built in a day). Here's what I recommend (you can do them in your back yard or at nightime so the neighbors don't see you.....or, you can do them at the local track where you won't look quite so wierd).
PHASE 1:
At least three days a week before (after 5 minute warm up) or in the middle of your run:
*Note - 3 days a week was a recommendation for someone who wanted to make some significant improvements on their form. 1-2 days a week may be enough for maintenance for many avid runners*
1) 2x10 (each leg, for all of these) skips with rest in between. Make sure you move your arms, raise the knee high, and point the toes UP.
2) 2x10 high knees. You want these to be quick. The idea is that you are training your neuro-muscular system to tell the leg to spring up as soon as it hits the ground.
3) 2x10 butt kicks. Again, quickly.
4) Low hurdles. Get 8-10 15oz soup cans and set them up on the sidewalk, on a track, in your backyard....where ever it is convienient and you won't be embarassed. Line them up in a row about 3-4 feet apart. Run over them like you are running a 5K or 10K race with your feet landing inbetween each one. Don't "leap" over them. You want your head to stay relatively level. You'll find that you have to pick your feet up a bit in order to clear each can. You'll also find that it helps to lift your leg (like in a butt kicker) and drive the knee (like in high knees and skips). Stand up tall and use your running arms.
Note: You may land on your forefoot, on your midfoot, or on your heels as you do this. IMO it really isn't that important as long as you lead with your knee, point your toes up as the foot swings through, and land with the foot at plus or minus 15 degrees to the ground (either striking the heel then quickly roll to the forefoot, striking the mdifoot then roll quickly to the forefoot, striking the forefoot then quickly touch the heel to the ground then quickly roll to the forefoot, or land only on the forefoot....over time you will find what works best for you).
Run over one set, make a 180, jog back to the beginning, repeat. Do thi sat least 10 times. You can do this all afternoon if you wish!
Note: Undoubtedly I expect some cheap shots on the soup can hurdles. Feel free to spend $115 a hurdle here: http://www.trackoutlet.com/.../42/products_id/2106 or you can stop by a local competetive track facitily and maybe borrow theirs. Trust me, this is no gimick. 100 hurdles a day will do wonders to your form.
5) Strides. These will be done at a fairly high speed, but not sprinting. The idea is to try to use everything you learned in the previous 4 drills. REALLY focus on good form, the best you can, during these. Do 6 sets of 50 meters.
Keep in mind that the motions used in the above drills are all exagerated motions, much like when a martial artiist paractices his katas. When running 8, 9, or even 12 minutes a mile, you won't be driving your knees up to your waist or picking your feet up so high that you can step over 15oz soup cans. However, the fundamentals will still be the same. You'll just be doing it at a lower speed.
PHASE 2:
Once or twice a week find a fairly steep hill. Run up it, jog down it. Do this for 15 minutes.
When you run up it focus on everything you learned in the drills. Pick your feet up over those cans (but don't leap) and drive your knees as you run up this hill. Focus on form, not speed. Stay on your forefoot as you run up the hill.
*Note: Simply running hills regularly and focusing on form as you run up them year round may be all that is needed for avid runners*
PHASE 3:
Work on your cadence. You want to get it up to 180+ strides a minute (90+ cycles per minute). There ARE cheap portable metronomes out there smaller than an ipod nano for pretty cheap. I suggest stopping by a local music store. I know my brother had one when he was a marching band drum major. Being at what feels natural and run to the beat. Then, every few minutes speed it up by 1 bpm. Do this until you reach 90 bpm. I'd suggest even ramping it up to 95 bpm for a while so that 90 feels comfortable (maybe even slow).
You can also run with an ipod and download asong that advertises its bpm (again, look for 90 or 180).
You can also periodically check during your runs by looking at your watch. When it hits XX:00, count strides for the next minute. Do this over and over again for several minutes. Try to beat your last count.
Again, keep in mind that these are all drills to help you improve your form. During workouts and races you definitely want to pay attention to your form, and hopefuly your body will begin to naturally gravitate to what is more efficient. However, you won't actually be kicking your butt and stepping over soup cans.....not at 10 minutes a mile!
Hopefully this helps. You may want to read this a couple of times and go back and check out the videos again.
Good luck!
* runtraining8 *
-----------------------------Baron Von Speedypants
-----------------------------RunTraining articles here:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...runtraining;#1612485
