Running technique - footstrike position
I’ve been trying to change my footstriking position over the last two months so that I land on the mid-foot rather on the heal. It just seemed logical that there would be less impact on my knees, but I had no proof to back this up.
I came across this post by Dr. Ross Tucker that discuss this issue. It is a very interesting read.
The conclusion:
“There is no evidence that heel-strikers are injured more, no evidence that mid-foot runners are faster and perform better than heel-strikers, and so the ultimate question is:
Why would you want to change your foot landing to begin with? Science has little to offer you in support of this. And so my advice … is to forget about the possibility that you’re landing “wrongly”, and just let your feet land where, and how they land, and worry about all the other things you can when you run!
If there is one thing you change in your running, don’t focus on your footstrike, but rather on WHERE your feet land relative to your body. Because if you are over-reaching and throwing your foot out in front of you, that’s a problem, but what happens when the rubber meets the road is less relevant!”
A very interesting read and conclusion. Now what is the best position for your feet to land relative to your body?
Filed under: Run, Technique
|
Digg! this story.
|
Leave a Comment
Learned a little swim technique today
As I progress with the swimming I’m constantly learning new things. I try to focus my training on endurance and technique.
Today, I figured two things out:
- Lift your butt, and
- Don’t take huge strokes.
As I got tired I noticed that my body started to sink more, with only my head and shoulders sticking out of the water. This obviously causes a lot of drag, since your body is angled in the direction your moving. I lifted my butt on the final lap and it felt much easier to get through the water.
The second technique is to take strokes closer to your body. Hmmm… how can I explain this. Say your friend is on top of a sky scraper, and your waving to him telling him to come down. Something like that. I bend my elbows a bit more and try to increase the area that acts as my paddle.
These techniques might not be the best way of doing things, but it helped me a lot tonight.
I’m struggling with my kicking action, though. I’ve got it pretty consistent now, but it doesn’t feel as if it’s really helping to push me forward.
Suppose the best thing would be to join a swimming group or get a trainer. I’ll try to get my time around 2:00-2:10/100m for 2000m and then I’ll join the local Tri-group.
Logbook Activity
- Type: Swim
- Date: 03/06/2008
- Time: 17:45:00
- Total Time: 00:34:31.00
- Calories: 291
- Distance: 1500 m
- Average Pace: 2:17.93/100m
Filed under: Swim, Technique
|
Digg! this story.
|
Leave a Comment
