Hey everyone, it's Bretta Riches from runforefoot.com
and today I'm going to talk
to you about one of my favorite running tips
from Pose Running and that tip is
running with a forward lean that comes
from the ankle, not from leaning at the
waist. Leaning forward at the ankle when
you run with a forefoot strike landing
pattern, that is very important, is really
going to be the guardian that will help
fuel your forward momentum and give you
better energy sustainability if you are
a long distance runner. According to the
Pose Method of Running, when you lean
forward at the ankle when you run, it is
important that of course, the lean, like I
just said, comes from the ankle because
that is what's going to give you that
free-falling sensation, almost creating a
downhill running effect. To lean from
the ankle when you run forefooted,
pretend as if you're running over a
carpet and someone is literally pulling
the carpet out from under your feet. In
this regard, will feel as if you're
tripping forward, enabling that falling
forward sensation as if you are
continuously free-falling forward which
is going to be a big energy
transformation because running with a
forward lean is going to make it easier
to harness more forward momentum with
less stoppage at each step as compared
to if you were to run very upright with
your body torso which may push your body
mass back way too far when you run which
may create the basis to require a longer
stride length to pull your upper body
forward and running too upright may
cause more brake force or more forceful
stopping at each step which would
interfere with forward momentum and this
high braking may remain a very strong
component in hurting the knee-joint
because when you lean back with your
upper body with your torso when you run
your knee becomes more of a mechanical
driving force needed to help pull your
mass forward at each step when you run
which is a heavy task on the knee-joint
especially when you're running long
distances. When you lean forward when you
run
your mass or your upper body posture is
more in-line or lined up with your knee
joint when your foot strikes the ground,
which really sets the parameters for
making forward propulsion easier because
you won't be resisting or fighting with
the force of gravity when you tip
yourself forward when you run. Also
remember gravity is always pulling you
down, so by leaning forward when you run
you work with gravity, not work against
gravity, so you work with gravity by
letting gravity let you fall by creating
that forward, free-falling sensation when
you lean from the ankle, so there's going
to be less continuing mechanical effort
by the knee because there is less
pulling of the center of mass, which is
your upper body or your torso, required
by the knee-joint when you tip forward
which translates into less angular work
or overwhelming mechanical demands at
the knee when you tip yourself forward
during for running. Ultimately, leaning
from the ankle during running as per
Pose Running may create a sustainable
mechanical climate to help you flow
better, glide better and expand less
energy when you run. In the book, Pose
Runnng, which I will linked below if you
want to check it out, Pose Running
provides strong evidence that a forward
lean during running aims to achieve
reduced over-striding, so your stride
would become a little shorter, also
giving you a higher turnover, so it
enables you to run faster right away at
the end of a race and you get less brute
braking or blunt abrupt stopping with
each step. However, just to be clear again
pose running strongly emphasizes that
you lean from the ankle and not from the
waist. You don't want to hunch over with
your upper body by bending too far
forward at your waist and jackknife your
body because that will cause unnecessary
stress on the leg, particularly will
cause stress on the quads, you don't want
slouching of your upper body posture
when
run because that doesn't really play
well with helping you suck in oxygen
when you're running. Overall, make sure
you have an impulse toward leaning
forward at the ankle and making that a
continuing focus when you run. Ultimately,
forefoot running and leaning forward
while doing so, is at the forefront at
preventing a bumpy interaction with you
& the ground. It chisels away at the
collision force between you and the
ground and you get that glide-like
stride that we so often see in East
African distance runners. In looking
at the energetics of it all, how does
leaning forward while landing with a
forefoot strike running pattern help a
runner save energy and advance ones
running performance ? Forward-leaning
while forefoot running is an action plan
that puts more effortless pop in your
stride by bringing in more elastic
energy which is going to help you save
energy. By leaning forward during
forefoot running, you align your chest
with your initial foot strike position
whereby according to pose running, doing
so reduces mechanical energy and
muscular energy or muscle power because
leaning forward does a better job at
activating the springs in the lower leg
which is the Achilles tendon & the arch
of the foot. By leaning forward, keep your
chest lined up or above initial foot
strike position. This leaning postural
alignment during forefoot running adds
mass to the springs of the lower leg, so
the arch & Achilles tendon. When you put
mass on top of a spring, the spring
gets compressed . It squishes down on
itself and in the process of getting
compressed, or squeezed tightly, the
spring stores more explosive pop or
release in the form of elastic energy
that is released as soon as the mass is
removed from the spring. So when you
lean forward when you run with the
forefoot strike landing pattern, your
body mass conveniently gets placed on
top of the arch
of the foot and the Achilles tendon and
this is going to add weight to these
springs (the arch & the Achilles tendon)
and create greater spring compression,
allowing more elastic energy which is
effortless or free energy as i like to
call it, to flood in and accumulate
within the arch and the Achilles tendon
so when the mass is released when the
torso passes over the leg to initiate
the next step during running, the mass from
your upper body is then removed from the
springs (the arch & the Achilles tendon)
As a result, you get a pop or a rapid
release or a quick removal of the foot
off the ground. This is how forward
momentum is easier to work with during
forefoot running, when you lean forward
while utilizing a forefoot strike
landing pattern as leaning forward helps
reinforce spring or pep in your stride
so less muscular effort is needed to
pull the foot up and instead, the springs
in the lower leg effortlessly pulls the
foot to pop up off the ground, like a
piston. Your foot gets off the ground
faster, you're going to have faster leg
withdraw or retraction which is going to
help give you that faster turnover and
quicker leg speed when needed. In a sense
you can call this style of running
running on springs which is an
underpinning to conserving & saving
energy. So I just wanted to highlight an
important mechanical value of pose
running that may help you work your way
out of a running slump if you are having
difficulties with your running mechanics
and help you better pursue a more
efficient, safe mechanical strategy for
running. Small changes in your mechanics
can have a big impact on your
performance. Sometimes you need to begin
with recognizing how you are holding or
positioning your upper body posture when
you run to give you a better base on
which to build good mechanics that will
be good for, not only running performance
but be good for injury prevention as
well. For more information on Pose
Running vs Chi Running,
which is another great running learning
resource please visit my blog: runforefoot.com
and subscribe to my youtube channel
to stay updated on the latest health and
performance benefits of barefoot running
as well as the minimalist running. thank
you so much for listening and watching
have fun out there on the roads bye for
now!