Most runners want to improve their running form.
Maybe you’ve seen some race photos and thought ‘my form needs some “work”’ or maybe someone told you that if your form was a bit better you could run a bit faster.
Doesn’t matter who told you or even why they told you. I think it’s absolutely possible to improve your running form.
And maybe you get faster from it, but at the least, you’ll be more likely to reduce your risk of injury.
Ways to Improve Your Form
Core Strength
Core strength is super important for most adult runners. We sit a lot for work. We don’t get to move around as much as we used to. We need core to help strengthen our midsection, including our hip flexors.
I wrote a blog post a few years back that is comprehensive and will give you the routine I still use. Find it here.
Full-Body Strength
Stronger legs, hips and glutes will all help you stabilize your stride and reduce side to side motions. These are things you need to improve your form (and run faster).
Want the bear minimum exercises you should do? Squats, pushups, lunges, and dips.
The stronger your musculoskeletal and nervous systems with strength training, the better you can literally hold yourself up.
f you’re looking for more guidance on racing, training structure, or motivation, I’ve got you covered. Sign up for a coaching plan or in-person session today. Let’s make this your best season ever.
Running Drills
Run-specific drills teach your body to move the way you want it to move, especially at the end of a race or a hard workout. You really should be doing drills daily [they take 5-10 minutes, so don’t give me the ‘I don’t have time’ talk] so that your form is dialed in.
Remember, when you’re at the end of a hard session, you don’t have the brain capacity to think about your form. Teaching your body to move through the right patterns happens during drills sessions.
Flexibility and Mobility
Stretching and mobility work help keep muscles and tendons moving as they were intended. When everything flows and moves like it should, you’ll be able to get that knee drive you’re looking for.
Go ahead. Show me more than 2 elite distance runners with running form that looks like yours. More likely than not, they do hours of running form drills a week because they know how important running form is.
Have questions or want to talk about your training? Send me an email!
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