+1 on the biogrip. They seemed gimmicky and I was suspicious, but I love them. They changed my shoulder carriage, which in turn changed my hips/pelvis. Everything has worked better ever since.

Don't race with them, though.

I haven't ever run with hand sticks, but one of my problems running is that I tend to grip my fists tightly which then leads to tight shoulders, neck and a lot of wasted energy. At a couple of the 1/2 IM's I have run, it was blazing hot and they offered sponges dipped in cold water on the run route. I grabbed two of them and by lightly holding them, I was able to stop gripping my fists tightly and then able to relax my arms, shoulders and neck to the point that I could run more comfortably. I now will use almost anything small, like keys, a gel, a small water bottle just to help keep my hands relaxed.

lacrosse is awesome - played both box and field, and still have my sticks (including an absolutely beautiful leather-laced wooden field stick)! tried teaching the ol' man at one point so i'd have someone to play with, but since it requires hand-eye coordination he didn't enjoy it much ;)

cheers!

-mistress k

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36 kona qualifiers 2006-'23 - 3 Kona Podiums - 4 OA IM AG wins - 5 IM AG wins - 18 70.3 AG wins
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As I understand it, Arthur Lydiard used to advocate running with a piece of grass between a finger and thumb in each hand. The aim is to be so gently that the piece of grass does not bend. If you can achieve that you relax your shoulders more, apparently. I've never done it but Sam went through a stage of using it when she had excessive tension in her shoulders when running, seemed to work for her.

Although, the underlying philosophy behind would seem to be in contrast to what you're trying to achieve by having something to 'grip'?

I love lacrosse. Played for a few years in college for the Varsity/Club team. One of my favourite sports.

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I ran while carrying a refrigerator once but I did it only to show off. I was young and dumb. Now I run with an mp3 or a gel. It's a lot easier than the frig.

As a substitute for sticks, try running with your forefinger and thumb lightly touching (as they would when you make the "ok" sign). This helps keep the hand open and relaxed, and also relaxes the muscles in the forearm. As a bonus, you don't need to carry anything and it's free.

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That picture is so awesome. I can't stop just looking at it and smiling. :)

-Jot

I ran IM Kansas 70.3 carrying a princess wand for 13.1 miles... does that count?

I use sticks for early morning trail runs to minimize getting covered in cobwebs, carrying one like I would the Olympic torch. Not getting covered in cobwebs keeps me more relaxed during the run. But I don't think that's what you're asking about.

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Tad

It took awhile, but I finally discovered that its not the destination that's important, but rather the journey.

I'm not really gripping, just holding something lightly. The sponges weighed nothing wrung out and just gave my hands something to keep me from making a tight fist. When I hold a key, it's on a wrist strap and it's just gently to keep it from swinging against my arm. When I hold a water bottle or gel bottle, it's one of those little ones that weighs nothing and holds pretty near nothing, again just to remind me not to squeeze down. Same concept as the blade of grass, just different execution.

If you are referring to the E3 Biogrip Fitness grips then I noticed that there is a chapter and recommendation for using them in this new running book "Run for Life" by Roy Wallak (a former editor for Triathlete magazine). I used them a few years ago to some success. They were comfortable and seemed to help with my poor biomechanics, but I felt silly. I started trying them out again last week after seeing them mentioned in the book. I did a bit of a review here.

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It is interesting that how you hold your hands can really impact endurance running. That is the reason I asked for comments, just to make people aware.

Running around with a clinched hand isn't so good for going long. My thought is that when we really try to push, clinching the fist could happen naturally and carrying sticks would reduce that and make the runner aware of their hands more.

Suppose I did pose the question also because I think gripping the small sticks is less relaxed than just concentrating on keeping the hands open and relaxed.

Running can be boring so having a few cues such as listening to breathing, thinking about keeping relaxed hands/shoulders, good pelvis posture etc can help.


G.
www.TriathlonShots.com

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interesting seems these came back to life in tokyo:

https://www.planetatriatlon.com/...los-juegos-olimpicos