Just saw a video of me running at a tri last Sunday. Anyone else look like (or used to look like) a T Rex when running? I mean when you bunch up your shoulders tight when running, resulting in really short arms swinging like little useless t rex arms. I know I probably need a gait analysis, I’ve known of this tendency, and feel like I am loosening the shoulders, but clearly I am not.
Anyone else ever resolved this? Tips?
I can’t comment on ways to resolve this. For all I know, I may run the same way.
But - Are you fast? How much are you running? Do you want to get faster?
I have ZERO professional experience to be able to comment on how your gait should look, but I say just go out and run. Shorten your stride if you can. Run fast. Run slow. Run short. Run long.
Do you run this way if only after a bike ride? It might be a bike fit issue that is causing your shoulders/arms to work like that. Do your shoulders hurt?
No, not fast by ST stds, but down about 25-30 pounds from last year and getting faster. I tried barryp’s plan but at my previous weight I’d get calf injuries every time I went over 25 mpw. Knock wood I haven’t had that happen this year.
Don’t think it’s a bike thing. But it affects my as my shoulders tend to get fatigued on longer runs from trying to hold them up, and my form changes (I think…)
I used to get a stiif neck when running from bunching up my shoulders. Only by being self concious about the way i was running and force myself to stay relaxed did i fix that. I dont know if i had T-rex arms though. I do get them when asked to pay for something other then bike parts.
Well, I tend to think of myself more as a bear crashing through the woods. You know how sometimes you can catch up to someone during a run and startle them as you go by? That never happens to me. They hear the panting, stomping creature behind them long before they can even see me.
I’ve tried different gaits, different shoes etc. but, with age, I have come to accept that I will never quietly and swiftly sneak up on a deer in the woods.
J
I do get them when asked to pay for something other then bike parts.
LOL.
OP, my girlfriend does…bad…(save my soul if she ever reads this) and it’s a combination of tight shoulders and hand position. I tell her to rotate her hands as though she’s holding a beer.
Might be a dumb question … is running like a tRex bad? I hold my hands high. I’m not particularly fast, but mileage is not a problem. I occasionally get lower neck upper trap cramping in high intensity runs of HM or more. Is this the cause? I’m old enough to not worry so much about how I look while I run … pheobe.
So I say it again, is it bad? why?
I have a bit of first hand experience with this.
I noticed this in some pictures of me racing during my first year of training (2010). I knew my form looked god-awful, and I wasn’t sure why my arms drifted upwards. The trend looked like it was always late in the race when I was spent. I also noticed I had lost all forward lean and perhaps was even leaning backwards some.
For my concern, it was wasted energy keeping my arms clinched. It also seemed to create more twist in my gate than I wanted.
The good thing about it was that once I was aware of it, I could correct it. I spent a few weeks being very aware of how I was carrying my arms during my long runs, and I haven’t seen T-Rex since. I still focus on form while running, but my concern has shifted.
Hope that helps!
I was a shoulder-buncher. The way I fixed it was to be mindful and check my form every few minutes. If my shoulders were riding up, I’d hang my arms loose at my sides and shake them out. I’d also do an exaggerated motion where I’d purposefully squeeze the shoulders up as tight as they’d go, hold it a few seconds, then release. This helped them relax.
I also have gotten much better at loose hands. I used to hold a little piece of something like foam polystyrene (foam coffee cup stuff) between my thumb and pointer finger as I ran.
Doing these things along with increasing frequency and mileage (built strength and endurance to maintain good form) helped cure me.