3 Important Tips To Run Faster and Longer
How to Access If You Are Running Efficiently
You run. You know how to run, but how do you know if you are running efficiently? There are so many components to the running gait but, there are three essential points to focus on that can get you running faster, more stable and, more powerfully.
Tip 1: SPINAL STRENGTH AND STABILITY!
Many runners overstride which, is a position that brings the front leg too far forward. A long stride will create a long reach. Overreaching can cause a heel-strike to decrease momentum and contribute to the trailing leg's hyperextension, resulting in the low back compensating by tightening and shortening.
Keep the spine healthy and stable by performing superman exercises, planks, and the dead bug.
Tip 2: HIP, KNEE AND BIG TOE NEEDS TO BE MOBILE!
Tight hip flexors can limit hip extension. Keeping the hip flexor mobile is vital to allow full mobility and strength of the gluteal muscles which, are your primary muscles to generate force and power during running. So, getting your leg fully behind you is essential to engage the muscle throughout its full range of motion.
Keep the hip flexor mobile by doing over the couch or bed stretches or a Thomas position stretch.
The knee is the hinge joint that takes on the ground reaction forces from below and your body weight and gravity from above. It can endure unnecessary load and shearing forces if the hip or ankle doesn't do its part in weight distribution.
Keep the knee stable by challenging your balance in a single-leg stance on uneven surfaces to train the proprioceptive system.
The big toe plays a large role in the running gait's push-off phase. Without an adequate amount of great toe extension, the runner will not be able to engage the foot properly, leading to overuse of the calf muscles.
Keep the toe mobile with wall mobility drills or manual passive stretching of the toe joint.
Tip 3: POWER TO THE PEACHES!
The gluteus maximus is the power punch muscle of the hip and leg. If you do not have adequate strength in the gluteal complex, you will not drive your body forward with power. Gluteal strength is vital to force forward mobility while moving on one leg.
Training the glutes with plyometric drills like kettlebell swings or box jumps can improve the muscle complex's explosive power.
To read more about Trigger Point Dry Needling and how this can benefit the health of your running muscles, click here!
