Speaker 1: 0:00

So you're thinking about running, but not sure how to take the first step. My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's Rompod, and if you're still with me listening to all these episodes, I'd just like to say thank you. Thank you very, very much, and, wherever you are in the world, I hope you're having a great day. Anyway, in today's episode, we're going to be looking at Gate Analysis and Running Technique. So, looking over the show notes, we'll give you some tips on running form and, as I said, we're going to be looking at Gate Analysis and hope to demystify it. Plus, we will also look at some tips to how to improve running form. Anyway, without further ado, let's crack on. So tips on running form.

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Now, it's always important to look ahead. Don't stare at your feet. Your eyes should be focused on the ground about 10 to 20 feet ahead of you. Not only is this proper running form, but is also a safer way to run because you can see what's coming and avoid falling. Is your head jutting forward as you run? This puts a lot of stress in your neck and shoulder muscles, which can lead to tension. To make sure you're not leaning forward with your head when you're running, hold it so that your ears are right over the middle of your shoulders. Keep your hands at your waist. Try to keep your hands at waist level, right and where that might lightly brush your hip, and your arms should be bent at a 90 degree angle. Some beginners have a tendency to hold their hands way up to their chest, especially if they get tired. You may actually have get even more tired by holding your arms that way and you'll start to feel the tightness and tension in your shoulders and neck. Relax your hands as you run. Keep your arms and hands as relaxed as possible. Avoid tightening your hands into fists. If you're clutching your hands, the tension will move up from there up to your arms, to your shoulders and neck. Check your posture. Keep your posture straight and erect, so your head should be up your back straight and shoulders level. Keep your shoulders under your ears and maintain a neutral pelvis. Make sure you're not leaning forward or back at your waist with some runners do as they get fatigued. So check your posture once in a while.

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When you're tired at the end of the run it's common to slump over a little, which can lead to neck, shoulder and lower back pain when you feel yourself slouching, poke your chest out. In addition, wearing zero drop running shoes can help prevent heel strike running. Relax your shoulders. Your shoulders should be relaxed and square, facing forward, not hunched over. Rounding the shoulders too far forward tends to tighten the chest and restrict the breathing, and you'll breathe a lot easier if your shoulders are relaxed. Check that your shoulders are not shrugged up close to your ears. If they are, squeeze your shoulder blades together on your back or as if they're elevated doors that you need to close. Keep them in that position and allow your shoulders to drop. Keep your arms at your sides. Avoid side to side arm swinging. If your arms cross over your chest, you're most likely to slouch, which means you're not breathing efficiently. Inefficient or shallow breathing can also lead to side stitches or cramps in the abdominal area.

Speaker 1: 4:19

When runners get tired or tense, these hands start to move up towards the shoulders, shorting the distance between the upper arm and the forearm. If you notice this happening, allow your arms to drop by your sides and shake them out. Reposition them at about a 90 degree angle, with your shoulders back and relaxed. Rotate your arms from the shoulder. Your arms should swing back and forth from the shoulder, not the elbow joint. Think of your arm as a pendulum swinging back and forth at your shoulder. Drive your elbow backward and then let it swing towards you. Your hand should be almost grazing your hip, as if your arm comes back in front of you. Your arms should swing by your sides. If you're crossing over your chest, they'll start moving up towards your shoulders and you'll find yourself hunching over. Hunching can make it hard to breathe. Keep your arms at your sides parallel to each other. Imagine a vertical line splitting your body in half. Your hand should not go past the line.

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Don't bounce. When you bounce, you're known as vertical oscillation. Your head and body are moving up and down too much, which weighs a lot of energy. The higher you lift yourself off the ground, the greater the shock you have to absorb when you're landing and the faster your legs or fatigue. To minimize bounce and save energy, run lightly and land softly on your feet. Try to keep your stride low to the ground and focus on quick stride turnover. Take short, light steps as if you're stepping on hot coals.

Speaker 1: 5:58

Experts say that a cadence of 90 with a left foot or 180 strides per minute with both feet is the turnover rate. Someone with most efficient runners. Shorting a stride will raise your cadence. Practice only changes in your cadence and foot strides for shorter periods only. They will feel unnatural at first and you don't want it to overdo it. As they become more natural, you'll be able to do them for longer periods of running of the workout. Some of the best sports watches allow you to track your cadence so you can see what your current cadence is and experiment with adjusting it.

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Let's move on to gate analysis. Gate G, a, I, t analysis demystified. What is gate analysis? Knowing your gate and getting the correct shoe for your foot is an important part of injury prevention. A person's gate describes the way in which they walk. A gate analysis is a simple exam that provides you with the important information about walking or running style. Learning about your running style and getting fitted for a shoe that will help protect you from your injury is essential. Whether you are a seasoned runner or just beginning, having the right gear and proper form can vastly improve your running experience. When should a runner get gate analysis? Physical therapist Daniel Curin recommends multiple analysis Always the beginning of the activity, but then later at the intermediate and advanced stage. The reason is that you may not be the same runner you were when you began.

Speaker 1: 7:42

During the evolution of running, the muscle profile has changed for the better, automatically changing the gate, gaining more amplitude and cadence, so resulting in better performance. He says this leads to different needs to the same athlete at different fitness levels. So there's the neutral pronation. Neutral pronation occurs when the foot lands on the outer edge and then rolls inward into a controlled manner, so distributing weight evenly and helping to absorb shock. On push off, there isn't even distribution pressure from the front of the foot, so as recommended type of shoe would be neutral. Under pronation, sometimes called subonation, this is what the outer side of the foot strikes the ground at a steeper than normal angle, with little or no movement inward, causing a jarring effect with a larger transmission of shock through the lower leg. It is usually seen in runners with high arches, and so a recommended type of shoe would be neutral Over pronation. So around 70% of population over pronate. So this is by far the most common pronation type amongst runners. As the foot is planted, it rolls inward excessively, transferring right from to the inner edge indicate instead of centering it on the ball of the foot. It's usually seen in runners with low arches or flat feet. So stability a stability shoe would be best for someone who is over pronating.

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In an article by Claire Callaghan, she gives six tips that a gait analysis will give you. It will A understand your running mechanics. She says that the body is a bit like a car with its own ways of operating, strengths and weaknesses. So to share the knowledge of the biomechanics, look at the patterns of movement which are either the cause of the symptom or injuries and muscle imbalances. This guides treatment with your ability to manage yourself. It's like a personalized exercise program. Through knowing which problems you have, an expert can give you the best exercises for your problem. It's best to do fewer high-quality exercises than many non-specific ones, depending on the problem. Some exercises can also make you worse. So number three she says freedom from pain. In short and long term. Some gaiter patterns are linked to specific pain.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Knowing and, if necessary, making small changes to gait Clarity on running terminology. Running aficiados have helped develop a language and methodology of their own and I can cut through the pronation, heel, strike, cadence and more, given the research based on the information and what types of running styles correlate with the benefits and provide research-based information. So, in terms of the running magazines are starting to overwhelm you or have technical questions about running it and basically having an analysis and give you your answers. So don't fancy reading the chunky gate book or doing the courses, but once again a depth of knowledge about running. Then why not get it Analyzed? And there are loads of places, no doubt locally where you live, that will do some form of gate analysis. It will also get you to focus on your training and running goals, making sure your training plan matches your needs. It'll help you understand the control of speed, what types of running to practice and why going up downhill versus running on the flat or grass and how to vary effort levels. So it'll give you a knowledge.

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Number six she says it'll give you knowledge and empowerment. If you know and understand the body's mechanics and injuries, you'll better be able to manage the issues and your health now and in the future. So you can do your own test to see in terms of if you are stupid, if you're overpronate or if you're under underpronation or your new neutral pronation. So there is a what's called a wet foot test. Basically, simply wet the sole of your foot, step onto a piece of heavy-duty paper or a dark tile or paving slab and examine the footprint. When you leave behind, the degree at which your sole of your foot is visible in the footprint will give you an indication of your arch type and the kind of shoe you might need. So, for instance, if you have a high arch, indicates is possible underpronation and the recommended shoe is neutral. If your arch is normal, indicates a neutral gate, so the recommended shoe would be neutral. So if the arch type is flat and low, indication would be a possible overpronation and recommended shoe would be stability. So we will have be having pictures in the show notes and Also a link in the show notes to this particular article.

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So what are the some practical tips for improving running form? So here's some drills. Runners should regularly incorporate drills into their training and I better able to recruit muscles needed to task, leaving them less injury prone. And when the going gets tough they are more efficient than the runner who doesn't work on the proper form. Giving that Improvement of running economy can be just as good as improvement of VO2 max. When it comes to that final number on the stopwatch, it only makes sense to squeeze as much free speed out of one's performance as possible.

Speaker 1: 14:10

In an article in training peaks. Again, I'll put a link in the show notes. They say the key to developing good running form is to ingrain proper movement patterns into your muscle memory. So they're becoming automatic and the proper movements can be trained through running drills. With proper movement patterns instilled in default setting and you'd be better prepared when the fatigue threatens to break down your running form. So what are the top running form drills? Excuse me with the glass of water. These drills for running perform our best performed on a soft surface such as a rubberised track, in field of a track, a flat, dirty trail or a grassy field. Perform the drills after you have completed your initial warm up or in the middle or end of your run. Do each drill for about 10 to 20 meters and you will go through the sequence at least once. If time permits, you can repeat the sequence 2 to 3 times. Aim to incorporate at least 1 to 2 drill sessions into the running program each week.

Speaker 1: 15:18

Side to side skip. Running takes place almost exclusively in a sagittal plane, so flex and extension to propel the running forward. Yet muscles that operate in the frontal plane abduction and abduction play an important role as stabilisers. These first two drills build strength and coordination among the stabilising muscles From side to side skip. Skip side to side by bringing your feet together and then shoulder width apart and letting your arms cross over each other in front of the body as you skip Grapevine. Take the side to side. Skip. The grapevine drill further works with stabilising muscles that play as secondary but nevertheless vital role in running as you move sideways, cross one leg over the other, in front of the other and then behind, and hold your arms out to the side as you begin. As you start to get the hang of the drill, you can use your arms as you would while running Also a good one to do when you're warming up Skip.

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These next drills recruit the primary moves, namely the glutes and hamstrings that operate during the active propulsion phase of the run For a skip, a skip with high knees as you bring your leg down, finish with a slightly pouring motion as you pull backwards. The pouring motion, to often neglected, is also a key element of powerful stride. Focus on initiating that pull from the glutes as the hamstrings then join in the motion. This will ingrain the backward pulling motion important to the running propulsion into your muscle memory. Use the same arm motion during this drill as you use while running. B skip is nearly identical to the A skip, but first it extends the leg forward. The extension to the leg dramatically stretches on the hamstring and then allows you to really emphasise the backward pouring motion as the foot lands on the ground and pulls through. Get into the rhythm of the A and B skips by listening to the pattern of the sound of your feet make as you contact and scuff the ground, pouring backwards, and use the same arm motion during this drill and as you use while running.

Speaker 1: 17:45

Again, I'll put links in the show notes so you can have a better idea to see what it looks like. So butt kicks this is quite self-explanatory. So this one I regularly use for warm-ups and the butt kick drill further conditions to co -ordinate the glutes into hamstrings for a stronger running strike. The butt kick drill should almost feel like a variation of running with the high knees. Rather than simply kicking backwards, pull your heels up directly beneath you, keeping the knee, heel and toe up through the drill. Use the same arm motion during this drill as you would use while running High knees. The high knee drill works the loading phase of the run and they keep to performing the drill correctly as to focus on driving the foot down and letting it spring back up to the ground. Use the same arm motion during this drill as you would while running Straight leg and this is kind of quite comical, this one is so straight leg reinforces the important pouring motion practice in the A skip and B skip and the start. Slowly and gradually increase your speed and avoid the temptation to lean backwards. In other words, keep your upper body perpendicular to the ground and as you run with the straight legs and as your foot contacts the ground finished with the same backwards pouring motion as you practiced in the other drills squeeze the glutes and hamstrings as you pull back.

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Ankeling.

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Ankeling drill helps facilitate the proper loading and spring during running. Start at the toe, push forward, push the foot down so that the heel barely contacts the ground. The movement can be difficult to learn at first, so begin in slow motion, then gradually pick up the pace and keep the cadence high. So there's quite a range of different drills you could do. Don't obviously do all of them at once. Maybe do some as a warm-up, like I've said, maybe some that you could do as a cool down, or maybe break up the training and use a couple of these drills. So, and maybe over after a while, you can gradually have greater intensity and increase the difficulty of the drills.

Speaker 1: 20:22

The bottom line, basically, is good for me cause free speed. Time crunched athletes can easily work these drills into a few easy running days each week and, as you do, focus on the consistent practice and proper application to gain the most benefit of your running. The dividends will come in the form of better neuromuscular coordination and stronger muscles dedicated to the activity of running. So, however long we have may been running, there are always new things to learn, and I suppose it is the point of this podcast.

Speaker 1: 21:01

Learning about your running gait is a good way to focus on your technique and is also making sure that you have the right equipment and shoes, and we've looked into the running form and the key thing is it's all about being relaxed and not to bounce too much. We looked at gait analysis. Any good running shot will do an analysis so that they are you're buying the right shoe. You obviously can go to a physio and they will give you much more detail in terms of your actual running and do a much better analysis. However, it is always good to know what type of runner you are, and we looked again. We looked at some running drills that could be incorporated as part of your training.