Alright, so now that cross country season is starting to gear up (first day of official practice for the high schoolers in Ohio is Monday!), I thought it'd be a good time for another post geared towards the scholastic runners. Not that this topic isn't applicable to everyone else out there, but I think it'll resonate most with the former type of runners.
Showing up at practice, no matter what team you run for or who your coach is, you can bet one of the first things you will run through are the classic form drills. High knees, butt kicks, A-skips, B-skips, high skips, carioca, backwards running; the list goes on. You've probably already done some of those and you probably also do some other not on that list. And if you're in school, you'll probably do them just about every day from Day 1 without any more specific rationale than, "they improve your form."
But do they improve your form? In my opinion, the answer is no.
So you do you really need to be doing them? In my opinion, the answer is yes.
Wait, what?
Form drills are still important, but not for the reason we're taught (that they improve your form) because, well, they don't improve your form.
The logic is pretty simple: by isolating and exaggerating one motion within your stride (say, for example, kicking your butt with your trail leg), you can train your muscles to fire in a similar patter. And, since most all elite runners have a noticeable butt kick when they're running fast, then it stands to reason that practicing the butt-kick motion will help you run faster and more efficiently.
Except that's not how running actually works. The butt kick is not an active component in the stride; it is a reactive component. Basically, it means that kicking your butt is the natural reaction of the leg after full extension: after your back leg pushes off the ground, your fully stretched hip snaps your leg back in front of you. As your leg is snapped forward, your knee bends, shortening the pendulum which requires less energy to move. Actively making an effort to kick you butt after your stride uses more energy and is actually less efficient, accomplishing the exact opposite of the supposed goal of the form drill. Your heels clipping your butt as you run is not a cause of running at a speed, but rather an effect. The same can be said for most other form drills, high knees in particular. (And I don't want to go into more detail because I'm not an exercise physiologist.)
So if form drills don't actually improve our form, then what are they good for.
They're good for two things that are both very important:
1) Dynamic warmup. Everyone's probably heard by now that static stretching before physical activity is bad. As part of a dynamic warmup, these form drills move your lower body through an exaggerated plane of motion, gradually loosening up your muscles in a sport-specific manner. They also get blood flowing to the muscles while priming the nervous system for the task you're about to put it through: namely, running; preferably, fast.
2) Form drills also serve as a great low-level plyometric exercise. This is especially true for many of the various skipping exercises. Plyometrics improve the force that your body exerts into the ground, thus allowing you to run faster. And because most of the standard drills don't involve the huge bounding efforts of some plyometric regimes, they're a little bit safer (less impact) on your body. Just look at the Ethiopians: they're famous for doing "calisthenics" (essentially, skipping drills) from a young age, and they typically have a beautifully effortless, powerful stride.
So then how should you incorporate form drills (at this point, can we please stop calling them that?) into your regular schedule?
Before workouts and races, after you initial warmup jog, run through a set of drills to complete the warmup. Follow them up with some strides, too, just so you can prime your body to run fast.
On your normal run days, don't worry too much about doing them before you run. Just start out easy and that should be plenty good warmup. But then, try doing a set or two of drills after you finish your run. Your legs will be moderately tired, and then you get the strength work of low-level plyometrics.
And if not form drills, how should you improve your form? Strides and hills. All the time. Run them at a fast pace, but not so fast that you're out of control. The key is to run fast while staying relaxed. Pick out one or two cues that you could improve: stand tall, don't slouch; or, parallel arms, 90-degree elbows; or, drive the knees, land my foot under my body. These are just a few suggestions; it's important to know you own body and be up-front about your own strengths and weaknesses.
Showing up at practice, no matter what team you run for or who your coach is, you can bet one of the first things you will run through are the classic form drills. High knees, butt kicks, A-skips, B-skips, high skips, carioca, backwards running; the list goes on. You've probably already done some of those and you probably also do some other not on that list. And if you're in school, you'll probably do them just about every day from Day 1 without any more specific rationale than, "they improve your form."
But do they improve your form? In my opinion, the answer is no.
So you do you really need to be doing them? In my opinion, the answer is yes.
Wait, what?
Form drills are still important, but not for the reason we're taught (that they improve your form) because, well, they don't improve your form.
The logic is pretty simple: by isolating and exaggerating one motion within your stride (say, for example, kicking your butt with your trail leg), you can train your muscles to fire in a similar patter. And, since most all elite runners have a noticeable butt kick when they're running fast, then it stands to reason that practicing the butt-kick motion will help you run faster and more efficiently.
Except that's not how running actually works. The butt kick is not an active component in the stride; it is a reactive component. Basically, it means that kicking your butt is the natural reaction of the leg after full extension: after your back leg pushes off the ground, your fully stretched hip snaps your leg back in front of you. As your leg is snapped forward, your knee bends, shortening the pendulum which requires less energy to move. Actively making an effort to kick you butt after your stride uses more energy and is actually less efficient, accomplishing the exact opposite of the supposed goal of the form drill. Your heels clipping your butt as you run is not a cause of running at a speed, but rather an effect. The same can be said for most other form drills, high knees in particular. (And I don't want to go into more detail because I'm not an exercise physiologist.)
So if form drills don't actually improve our form, then what are they good for.
They're good for two things that are both very important:
1) Dynamic warmup. Everyone's probably heard by now that static stretching before physical activity is bad. As part of a dynamic warmup, these form drills move your lower body through an exaggerated plane of motion, gradually loosening up your muscles in a sport-specific manner. They also get blood flowing to the muscles while priming the nervous system for the task you're about to put it through: namely, running; preferably, fast.
2) Form drills also serve as a great low-level plyometric exercise. This is especially true for many of the various skipping exercises. Plyometrics improve the force that your body exerts into the ground, thus allowing you to run faster. And because most of the standard drills don't involve the huge bounding efforts of some plyometric regimes, they're a little bit safer (less impact) on your body. Just look at the Ethiopians: they're famous for doing "calisthenics" (essentially, skipping drills) from a young age, and they typically have a beautifully effortless, powerful stride.
So then how should you incorporate form drills (at this point, can we please stop calling them that?) into your regular schedule?
Before workouts and races, after you initial warmup jog, run through a set of drills to complete the warmup. Follow them up with some strides, too, just so you can prime your body to run fast.
On your normal run days, don't worry too much about doing them before you run. Just start out easy and that should be plenty good warmup. But then, try doing a set or two of drills after you finish your run. Your legs will be moderately tired, and then you get the strength work of low-level plyometrics.
And if not form drills, how should you improve your form? Strides and hills. All the time. Run them at a fast pace, but not so fast that you're out of control. The key is to run fast while staying relaxed. Pick out one or two cues that you could improve: stand tall, don't slouch; or, parallel arms, 90-degree elbows; or, drive the knees, land my foot under my body. These are just a few suggestions; it's important to know you own body and be up-front about your own strengths and weaknesses.
Comments
Post a Comment