Hey guys its JP and this time I'm going to talk about why you should try DECREASING your
step rate. This basically means to decrease how quickly you take steps as you run. Now, this might
come off a bit controversal as I already made a video on why increasing your step rate or cadence
may be helpful. And plenty of videos looking at step rate manipulation, usually only talk about
increasing it as well. HOWEVER, that is not the only option to go when manipulating this variable.
I did not want to make a short form video on this one as this one requires a bit more context.
In this video, I will talk more about why this strategy may be useful in helping you run FASTER!
First, lets talk briefly on the purpose of increasing your step rate. In a previous video,
I talked about the 5-20 rule, which basically means that a 5% increase in step rate,
can decrease forces seen in the knee by 20% as you run. Shoutout to Chris Johnson for coining this
one. Anyway, this was based on research looking at the effects of step rate by Heiderscheit.
Basically, if someone has pain when they run, specifically at the knee,
increasing step rate can be a simple and effective way to help a runner continue running.
So...I just talked about why increasing step rate can be useful, but now how about DECREASING it?
Generally, if a runner is not limited by pain, this is an option, they can experiment with.
Lets talk about what this may do. First, lets look at a simple equation for speed,
which is speed equal to step rate multiplied by step length. If you decrease your step rate,
you will need to increase your step length to maintain the same pace. Now, lets talk about
what contributes to your step length or how big your step is. One obvious thing is the length
of your limbs. However, just because you have longer legs does not necesarily mean you will
have a longer step as you run when compared to a person with shorter legs. This is because
another factor you have to think about is the power you produce as your foot pushes against
the ground to propel you forward. The more force you can produce, the farther forward you will go;
therefore, increasing your step length. It is this factor that will mostly be affected when
you try to decrease your step rate. Now, how can this be beneficial to running?
By decreasing your step rate, this will force you to try to produce more power with each
step you take as you run. This can be a way to help improve the amount of force you generate.
This is kind of similar to the concept to why strength training can be beneficial to runners.
To put it simply, strength training can help improve the capacity of your muscles to do
their job as you run to help you go faster. However, the problem with strength training
is that the actual strength of the muscles does not always correlate to being faster.
This may be due to the fact that running is not really about how strong the muscle is,
but rather how fast you can produce the force...which is known as power. This is
why strength coaches tend to focus on more power oriented exercises when race day is coming closer.
They are basically working on converting the strength you built..
into power, so it can be more applicable to the sport the athlete in participating in.
Now, to get EVEN better results with training, you typically want to make these exercises
more SPORT SPECIFIC, so they can better translate into improving their performance.
Now, I know that was a lot to take in, so I will summarize how this can be applicable for a runner.
By decreasing step rate, you will have to generate more power with each step to maintain the same
pace. This helps improve the legs ability to produce force in the most SPORT SPECIFIC
WAY because you are already running. To give an example of how this can be done...maintain the
desired pace you want for a run. A treadmill can be useful to get started as it will keep you at a
constant pace. Then, figure out your preferred step rate and attempt to decrease it by 3-5%.
For example, if you present with a step rate of 180 steps per minute, you can try running at
around 170-175 steps per minute. I would only try this for short bouts initially with a reasonable
pace. Then, after having done a couple of sessions of this, I typically test the athlete out without
any restrictions. When you COMBINE the improved power from the legs, along with going back to
your preferred step rate, you may notice that you will be able to run FASTER with a lower effort.
And thats all for the video, I hope that gave some context on why decreasing your step rate may
not be a bad idea to experiment with. I'd love to hear your thoughts and any questions you may have!
And as always, THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!