Fixing 5 Flaws in Your Running Form

If you're like me, just hearing the word "run" makes your skin crawl. Some people claim to find peace of mind on their daily jog. Are these people crazy, or have they just found some sacred running nirvana-type state? Well, if you work on your running technique, you will undoubtedly find that you will improve all of your times, and the whole process just might be a little bit less arduous!

Like a power clean or a deadlift, there a lot of technical nuances involved when sprinting or distance running. The fastest and most efficient runners are experts in perfecting their stride length, stride frequency, heart rate, and breathing patterns. All of these things work together to help you channel your inner Tyson Gay. Here are five of, what I deem to be, the most common technical errors in gait:

1. You're striking with your heels first. Try something for me: jump up in the air, and then deliberately land on your heels first, rather than on your toes. How did that feel? Presumably, pretty awful. In one of my previous posts, I touched upon jumping mechanics. The author of Running Science, Owen Anderson notes, "...motion analysis of Olympic Games competitors has suggested that ... medalists are more likely to employ MFS (midfoot strike). In addition, video analysis of world-champion and world-record holding runners ... has indicated that such competitors employ MFS, and occasionally FFS (forefoot strike), but not RFS (rearfoot strike) while training and competing." It has been theorized that a RFS can place more stress on the knee joint and simultaneously increase breaking forces, which may decrease running economy. There appears to be a correlation between race times and MFS/FFS.
2. You're leaning too far forward. As with standing posture, you're trying to maintain a nice vertical torso, and make yourself "tall." This means you shouldn't be hunched over like Quasimodo and looking at the pavement. While that may be ever-so-tempting once you get fatigued, you'll be more efficient staying upright. Worldrunning.com mentions that "[if] you have bad posture then your body will have to use up energy to keep you upright, which wastes energy you should be using to run faster and further."
3. You're not moving your arms enough. Now, let me start by saying that you don't want to go overboard with arm movement, either. Ideally, it should be a relatively passive motion. Pumping your arms like crazy isn't necessarily going to make you a speed demon. On the other hand, I've seen some people who leave their arms to flop limp at their sides, which is equally as inefficient. The arms should be moving in sync with the legs (the left leg and right arm together, and the right leg and left arm together), allowing for a little bit of rotation in the hips. "The main function of your arms is not to drive the body forward but to provide balance and equilibrium as gravity pulls you forward," notes Dr. Nicholas Romanov, the founder of the Pose Method of running.
4. Your knees are collapsing as you run. Running is a forward, linear movement, performed predominantly in the sagittal plane. Any forces that counteract that are going to result in unnecessary energy expenditure. Knees caving inward (valgus knees) are usually coupled with external rotation of the feet. Take a look at the the photo below of the sprinters. The two sprinters on the left are maintaining forward momentum, while the gentleman on the right has some internal rotation of the hip, as his foot externally rotates. With a little bit of hip strengthening, he could shave some seconds off of his split and lower his risk for injury.
5. You're breathing incorrectly. Breathing in any activity is, to me, the most important determining factor of success. In an aerobic activity like a longer distance run, breathing should be a first priority. As you fatigue, you may have noticed that your breath becomes shorter and more rapid. Maybe you start wheezing like an asthmatic, and you're doing anything you can just to finish your run. Experienced runners, however, have mastered the rhythm of their breathing. While different coaches have numerous methods for the proper cadence of the breath, there are some aspects that are universal: you should aim to expand the ribcage and the belly as you breathe, rather than just the chest, and, your breath should remain relaxed rather than laborious. Both of these things can help you manage your heart rate and keep you running faster for a longer period of time!

Running doesn't have to be a miserable experience (although it'll never be a pastime I particularly enjoy...). If you correct your technique, you will minimize the amount of energy you waste with each stride, and maybe, just maybe, you'll find that elusive "runner's high" I've heard people mention in fables.

Works Cited:

1. "10 Ways to Perfect Your Running Technique." 10 Ways to Perfect Your Running Technique. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2015.
2. Anderson, Owen. Running Science. N.p.: n.p., 2013. 52-55. Print.
3. Born to Run. Marty Stouffer Productions, 1983.
4. Kasmer, Mark E., Jeremy J. Wren, and Martin D. Hoffman. "Foot Strike Pattern and Gait Changes During a 161-km Ultramarathon." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 28.5 (2014): 1343-350. Web.
5. Weijers, René E., Alphons G.h. Kessels, and Gerrit J. Kemerink. "The Damping Properties of the Venous Plexus of the Heel Region of the Foot during Simulated Heelstrike." Journal of Biomechanics 38.12 (2005): 2423-430. Web.

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Revamping the Dumbbell Row

Rowing movements, like the dumbbell row or the kettlebell row, are a staple in any weight training or bodybuilding program. In fact, I would venture to say that a well-developed back is a fantastic indicator of overall strength and athleticism.

When you implement these movements into your routine, you want to make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck. If you execute a dumbbell row correctly, it is an excellent exercise for improving grip strength, shoulder stability, posture, and it can also advance your other big lifts like the bench press and the deadlift!

Two of the biggest blunders I notice most on this movement are the following:

Check out the position of her supporting arm. Don't do that.

1. Scapular retraction of the supporting arm. I mentioned this same concept on my post about perfecting the plank. Scapular retraction (when you pull the shoulder blades back), is a significantly less secure position than either scapular protraction (pushing the shoulders forward), or maintaining a neutral position somewhere in the middle. If you can see your entire shoulder blade, you're pulling from an unstable foundation.
2. Kipping as you pull. Kipping is great for those who want to lift the most weight (for their own ego boosters), or individuals who are mostly focused on achieving more reps per set, but if you want to utilize the powerful latissimus dorsi muscles to their capacity, you're better off without it. If your main goal is strength, use a lighter weight, or do as many repetitions as you can perform with strict technique.

While the dumbbell row might seem like a pretty simple exercise, there are a lot of little nuances involved to achieve maximal contraction of the prime movers. Make these two easy fixes, and your friends and family will look at you and say "baby got back!"

Works Cited:

1. Cressey, Eric. "Strength Training Technique: Scapular Movement During the Push-up." Eric Cressey. N.p., 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.
2. Paine, Russ, and Michael L. Voight. "THE ROLE OF THE SCAPULA." International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy. Sports Physical Therapy Section, Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.
3. Somerset, Dean. "Deconstructing the Dumbbell Row." Deconstructing the Dumbbell Row. N.p., 9 Sept. 2011. Web. 02 Oct. 2015.

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You're Injured–Now What?

At some point in nearly every athlete or active person's career, he or she will experience some injury, either major or minor. Whether you've torn a tendon or ligament, sprained a muscle, or you just have a nagging painful area that won't seem to go away, you understand how frustrating it can be when you're making a lot of progress and your body forces you to a screeching halt.

She does not look like she's having a good time.

Unless it is a traumatic injury (broken bone or a complete muscle tear), many people will just bite their tongues through the pain and continue to train normally. Perhaps they'll rest for a few days, or they'll avoid painful movements.

If you're currently suffering from some sort of issue, you're probably trying to figure out what the safest approach is that will allow you to continue to make progress towards your goals.

Injury (or pain) can be a slippery slope. Often times, people will approach me saying "my XYZ hurts. What should I do about it?" First, let me start by saying that I'm not an Orthopedist, a physical therapist or a chiropractor. I simply work in an environment in which people have a pretty high injury risk if they're not being careful, and I've had the opportunity to rack the brains of some very intelligent people who are much more qualified in this area than I am.

Here are some safe approaches to dealing with a painful or injured area without losing your precious gains that you've worked so hard to achieve:

1. Get assessed! This is the number one, without a doubt, biggest priority. So many people put off going to a physical therapist or chiropractor for one reasons or another. Perhaps they're afraid of what a doctor will say, or they're just too stubborn. Alternatively, they'd prefer to deal with the pain on their own, and they exacerbate their symptoms. Often times, problem areas are a pretty quick fix, assuming you see the right therapist. Finding out what muscles are weak or under-active will be helpful in preventing other similar injuries down the line.
2. Prioritize corrective exercise. I hear so many people complaining about pain, but yet no one wants to do anything to fix it. Instead, they will pop a couple Aspirin and hope it'll disappear on its own. Sorry to rain on your parade, but that won't work in the long term. Where there is pain, there is dysfunction. Injuries are very rarely caused by one isolated incident, but, rather, the culmination of months (or years) of bad movement patterns. Pain happens when your body says "Whoa, something needs to change. I can't keep working like this." Breathing drills are absolutely important to bring your body back to the parasympathetic nervous system. Correcting your posture will improve your mechanics. Strengthening weak muscles will lead to more optimal movement patterns. Do your shoulder stability work, core strengthening, and hip stability exercises. Without consistency, your symptoms will persist.
3. Only lift with perfect technique. This goes hand-in-hand with number two. Don't put more weight on the bar than your body is ready to handle. Injuries happen when you compensate.
4. Don't train painful movements. Figure out a way to work around the pain. If squats are painful when you pass parallel (full knee flexion), try doing box squats or lunges for a while. Are front squats bothering your wrists? Stick with back squats. When a movement causes you pain, you will, subconsciously and consciously, move differently. Your body is going to reflexively shift weight away from a painful area, so you might place more weight on one side of your body than the other, or recruit muscles you shouldn't be recruiting.
5. Focus on other areas of your body. While your ankle is bothering you, you may use this time to work on your pull-ups and your bench press. Try adding some gymnastics movements into your routine. If your shoulder is injured, now's the time to improve your sprints and increase your back squat. Spend time strengthening the uninjured areas, so that you can still stay on top of your game.

Injuries are frustrating, but they're not the end of the world. If you take all of the proper measures to treat them, you can be back to training normally in just a few weeks.

With an injury, the worst thing you could possibly do would be to ignore it and just hope it gets better on its own. Be proactive and help yourself! Remember, we all experience injury at one point or another, and you can still make progress while you're injured. Always listen to your body and train safely.

Works Cited:

1. Cook, Gray. "The Three Rs." Gray Cook Physical Therapist Lecturer Author. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 July 2015.
2. Myers, Thomas W. Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2001. Print.
3. Nickelston, Perry. "10 Things Breathing Patterns Tell Me About Your Body." Stop Chasing Pain. N.p., 8 Mar. 2012. Web. 31 July 2015.

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Perfecting Your Plank

Several months ago, I wrote an article called "Perfecting Your Push-up," in which I gave you some insight on how to correct some common flaws in a seemingly simple (yet incredibly intricate) movement.

This post will be a sequel to that post, as a solid plank is the foundation of a push-up.

The plank is a staple exercise in many bodybuilding, strength and conditioning, and even powerlifting programs. It's an isometric movement that teaches (ideally) total body rigidity and stability. The forearm or straight-arm planks can be excellent exercises to develop the core if executed properly. Here are some cues to help you get your planks straight:

1. If you're doing the plank on your hands, make sure your fingers are spread so that you can "grip" the ground." If you are doing the plank on your elbows, keep the arms parallel to one another, still spreading your fingers
2. Stack the elbows directly underneath the shoulders in both variations
3. Place the feet close to one another
4. Squeeze your butt*
5. Actively pull your shoulder blades downward to engage the lats*
6. Do not let the hike the hips or let the hips drop
7. Keep the neck in line with the rest of the spine
8. Breathe

I put asterisks next to numbers 4 and 5, because I think they are the most common mistakes in a plank. We like to think of the plank as an "ab" exercise, but yet, we forget about the muscles that should assist the abdominals in this movement like the latissimus dorsi and the gluteus maximus. If you're not squeezing your butt, you're likely drifting into hyper extension, and if your lats aren't engaged, your shoulders are in an unstable position. All of these synergist muscles work complement each other beautifully to stabilize the core.

One other crucial mistake I have seen people make is to try to go until absolute muscular failure. They hold the plank as long as they can even if their bodies are shaking and their hips start to drop towards the floor. This completely defeats the purpose of the exercise and reinforces a bad position. As soon as you lose the integrity of the movement, stop! If you start to shake, give yourself a minute or two to recover before doing another set. Remember, more is not always better.

When the standard plank becomes too easy for you, you can try other variations: single arm planks, single leg planks, weighted planks, shoulder taps (in which you touch one shoulder and then the other shoulder without moving the hips), plank press-ups (in which you go from a forearm plank into straight arm plank, and back into a forearm plank) and so on and so forth! There are many different possibilities.

The next time you want to do planks, make sure you're doing them properly! You will get more out of the movement, and that strength will translate into other activities.

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Your Hips Don't Lie...Or Do They?

We'd all like to move our hips like Shakira (or maybe that's just me). One thing I've noticed, though, in many of my clients, is that the cue "hinge at the hips" usually raises confusion. The fact is that many people I've met do not know the difference between bending at the hips and bending at the waist. I am to put an end to this gray area.

Whether you're picking something up from the floor or preparing yourself for a deadlift PR, it's crucial, for the longevity of your spine, to learn how to properly load the hips.

This guy knows how to drop it low.

Take a look at the photo: which one looks safer? If you were going to pick up your dining room table while moving into a new house, what do you think would be the safest and most mechanically optimal way to do so? Which position would allow someone to efficiently deadlift upwards of 500 pounds?

I'm guessing (and hoping) you picked the photo on the left.

The photo on the right will place excessive shear force on your intervertebral disks and prevent you from properly engaging the powerful forces that are the erector spinae, the gluteus maximi and the hamstrings complex.

Look at that hip hinge...

To help clients learn to hinge at the hips, I have them lift up one leg and place a hand in the crease of the hips. Once they've established this placement of the hands, I ask them to keep their hands there and try to bend and squeeze their hand with their hips as they push their butts back towards the wall. This tactile cue allows them to feel how they should load a weighted movement.

You'll know you're hinging at the hips properly when you feel a nice stretch in your hamstrings at the bottom of the movement--this allows us to use that elastic capacity to extend the hips as we stand.

You should lift both a laundry basket and a barbell in the same manner: loading the hips and bracing the core. When used properly, the hip extensors (like the hamstrings and the glutes) can produce an incredible amount of power. When misused, we run the risk of injury and we are limiting the full potential of the posterior chain.

Your glutes are (arguably) the biggest muscles in the body, so why wouldn't you want to take full advantage of them while lifting heavy weight?

If you want to learn to move like Shakira, the first step is to understand how to prime the hips for movement.

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