Anna and I are here to show you how you might be able to improve your performance with one
simple adjustment to your running.
What exactly is cadence? Running cadence is defined as the total number of steps you take per
minute, and it's your running cadence in your stride length that determines your speed.
Having a higher cadence doesn't always mean you're faster though.
There's a lot of other factors at play.
Anatomy for one. Taller runners tend to have a lower cadence than shorter runners, but
aren't always slower.
It's common for runners looking to increase their speed to only think about
stride length, trying to take longer strides.
But actually this adjustment often leads to over striding where you reach out
in front of you and bring your heel down in front of your hips.
The higher impact can put more stress on the knees, hips and lower back, which can lead
to more joint pain and injury.
A lot of elite athletes have done so much running that they self optimist their cadence, but
for the rest of us, a slightly higher rate of cadence might be beneficial.
Shorter, quicker strides will have your feet landing beneath your hips and therefore your
centre of mass.
This helps to reduce impact on your knees and hips distributing it throughout your body.
Research from a 2011 study found that runners who increased their cadence by between five and
10% from their normal running pace, decreased the amount of vertical movement and
created less braking force at contact with the ground, and this essentially means you're
wasting less energy moving up and down, so we know what it is.
How do we monitor our running cadence?
Well, the good news is you don't need to go into a high tech fancy lab to work it out.
It can be as simple as grabbing a stopwatch and counting how many steps you do per minute.
Just make sure that you're on a flat surface, repeat the test at least three times for
accuracy and try to run as normally as you can.
If you have a high tech running watch.
These often come with built in cadence sensors, so the work may already be done for you and
it's just a matter of checking the data. We rounded up a host of running
gadgets, most of which measured cadence to do.
Check out that video too.
Now, for years, athletes and amateur runners were told the magic cadence was a rate of
180 SPM. So strides per minute.
This was after famous running coach Jack Daniels analysed the strides of elite runners taking
part in the 1984 olympics.
Now, his assessment found that the fastest runners Had a cadence between 180 and
200 steps per minute.
After these findings were made public, every runner was advised to aim for a cadence of
180 spm regardless of their ability.
Now, unsurprisingly, recent studies have shown that it isn't that simple and there are a
multitude of factors that come into determining an individual's optimal cadence,
like height, weight, age and ability.
The research has now placed the emphasis on the individual rather than chasing
one single number.
2018 study looked at elites in the 100 kilometer World
Championships, and whilst they had an average cadence of 182, individually they actually range from
155 to 203 which is quite a range.
It's also worth noting that in other studies in elite athletes, it's been shown that the
same runner will have different cadences depending on the speed they're running at with higher
cadences for higher speeds.
So not only is it not one magical cadence for everybody, it's not even one number for each
person.
So rather than looking to hit a certain number, think about whether improving your cadence by
between 5 and 10%, as we mentioned earlier, could help with your running performance.
So Rick now we know what cadence is and we know how to go about finding what our cadence is.
How do we improve it?
Well, on the face of it, it's actually quite simple.
Just take smaller steps when you run.
Well, that's right.
So if you take your current base steps per minute and aim to increase it by around 5%.
So if you're currently running at around 162 steps per minute, then your goal cadence should
be 170 steps per minute. It might actually feel a little bit bizarre, almost
unnatural at first, but don't worry because your body will actually adapt to it.
Yeah, and the key thing is don't rush it, soon you'll be able to get there without
even thinking about it. Tip one:
make sure you focus on smaller steps, not on running faster, the speed will
come, the priority is getting your body used to taking those smaller steps.
If you have access to on a treadmill, can be an ideal place to get used to your new pace.
You can even use a mirror or your phone to look at how you're running.
Tip two: think about starting with shorter efforts.
Maybe practice some 100 m strides with a really exaggerated high cadence to get
your body and mind away from what's normal for you.
Now, remember for your normal runs you're only thinking about a 5-10% difference.
But doing these strides could help to kick start the change. Tip three:
try workout sessions that are specifically designed for a
higher cadence rate.
For example, sprints or strides down a very slight incline.
This forces your muscles to work faster and adapt.
Focus on making contact with the ground underneath your body and not reaching out in front of you.
Otherwise you risk extra impact. Tip four: think about your
arms, ultimately your arms, drive your legs.
So focusing on actively driving your arms, can increase your cadence whilst you're doing this,
do a full body form check too, stay nice and tall, keep your hips up.
Don't sink down when you're running. Run to a beat.
Now, this could be as simple as a metronome app that you can download onto your phone
or a similar feature on your watch that you can have through your headphones with some
metronome apps, you can even have it on in the background while you listen to a podcast, so you
don't have to actively think about it at all.
So there you have, it isn't just about achieving a faster speed but can also help prevent injury.
Let's know in the comments how you get on improving your own cadence and we'll see you next time here on The
Running Channel.