How to be a Healthy Runner

The key component to more efficient running and avoiding most injuries is improving on landing softly. Not exactly groundbreaking advice but how does one go about learning to absorb contact more effectively?

Photo by Mārtiņš Zemlickis on Unsplash

First thing to address is technique. Landing hard on your heel is often due to over-striding instead of landing with the foot underneath your hip. Butt-kicks mimic where your foot shot be landing, when you're warming up perform a few meters of butt-kicks before resuming your regular stride.

Second would be posture. You want to maintain a slight forward lean which will in turn aide in your ability to use gravity to land more mid-foot. I always think hips high and run tall. I would be remiss if I didn't mention not everyone likes to run with a forefoot landing, preferring a heel landing, which still doesn't change the focus of today's topic of "landing softly". Many elite long distance runners are heel to toe type runners, so you have to find what sort of stride works bests for you. 

Often heard advice on running faster is increasing cadence, or stride frequency, but if you're plodding along loudly like a hungry dog the only thing that's going to increase are hip, knee and ankle issues. 

The final thing I would address is strength training protocol. Are you performing any type of jump training? It's important to focus on absorbing contact just as much as it is in learning how to produce more of it.

Here is a Depth Jump progression that can help you start running 

Depth Drop

• Teaches you how to land properly and absorb the impact.
• The mechanics are similar to squatting, I would not have a client perform any type of plyometric work until they can properly demonstrate a basic understanding of the squat. 

Depth Jump

• Like the depth drop, upon landing immediately dip back down and explode up. 
• Focus on landing softly.

Single Leg Depth Jump

• Stepping off a 12 inch box, landing softly with both feet. 
• Using only one leg, dip down and jump straight up. Land softly and repeat. This time by jumping off the other foot upon landing. 

Depth Broad Jump

• Step off a 12 inch box, landing softly and immediately performing a broad jump.
• Focus on using the hips, full extending, and once again land softly.

Ice Skater & Bounding

• Ice skater focuses on lateral absorption and power development. 
• Motion needs to occur from the hips, land softly. As competency increases, so can speed of the movement. 

• Bounding is a forward motion, great for working on timing, footwork, and linear power development. 

Give these a try and see how it might improve your ability to run faster, run longer and stay injury free. 

Thoracic Spine, Breathing and You

The thoracic spine/ribcage is the boss when it comes to deciding where the scapula sits. Trainers and coaches find that if an athlete is having trouble with overhead movements, thoracic extension and the muscles involved must be mobilized.

Some lifters don’t respond well to traditional t-spine exercises like thoracic extensions or back-to-wall slides, no matter how many times they're performed.  For these individuals those particular drills and mobilizations don't help because they're already stuck in extension. The goal is to try and move them into a more neutral position where the diaphgram and pelvic floor face each other. This allows for the upper back to move into extension thus allowing better movement and less strain on secondary breathing muscles. 

Improving your squat requires reps, so too does your breathing. By fully drawing in air and exhaling, you'll improve your rib and thoracic mobility. By correcting this it will free up a majority of shoulder impingements at the top of pressing movements. I have had countless clients attempt to breathe deeply only to be able to take in air for 2-3 seconds at most.

I would add that these clients often exhibit dysfunctional breathing muscular restrictions like overactive scalene, sternocleidomastoid, levator scapulae, pec minor and traps. 

Before beginning, if you're a female in the Los Angeles area looking to make long lasting changes and lose that stubborn weight, click on the link above in my profile for details👆🏼😬 *️⃣*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣ 90-90 hip lift with balloon. If you change your breathing mechanics, you can drastically improve your thoracic mobility. Using a balloon is an amazing tool to teach you how to better engage the muscles needed to stabilize the trunk and creating intra-abdominal pressure voluntarily. How to: Lie on your back with your feet flat against a wall. Knees and hips at 90 degrees. Stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth in order to maintain pressure. The hip lift encourages posterior tilt by trying to engage your hamstrings not the abdominal muscles. 1) Begin with an exhale to set rib position. The goal is use a minimal amount of oblique contraction to the ribs down during inhalation 2) Exhale fully through mouth without clamping down on your rectus abdominis (6 pack muscle). 3) Pause 2-3 seconds before inhaling again. Inhales and exhales should be relatively effortless. Limit straining, keep a relaxed neck. 4)Expand chest 360 degrees. Chest should expand, not rise towards the shoulders.

A video posted by Gary Heshiki Fitness (@garyheshikifitness) on Feb 1, 2016 at 9:03pm PST

I learned this trick from the Postural Restoration Institute (PRI). 

The balloon is an amazing tool to teach you how to better engage the musculature needed to stabilize the trunk, create and release pressure voluntarily.  Really honing this skill has immense carryover to all lifts and movements.  

Try to not pinch off the balloon with your teeth. Stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth in order to maintain pressure.  The arm lift helps to facilitate opening up the chest and the hip lift which encourages posterior tilt where you are trying to engage your hamstrings.

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Key Points

• Begin with an exhale to set rib position.
• The goal is use a minimal amount of oblique contraction to the ribs down during inhalation
• Exhale fully through mouth without clamping down on your rectus abdominis (6 pack muscle).
• Pause 2-3 seconds before inhaling again.
• Inhales and exhales should be relatively effortless.  Limit straining, keep a relaxed neck.  Expand chest 360 degrees.
• Chest should expand not rise towards the shoulders. 

Exercise Breakdown: Plank to Side Plank Rotations

I got this variation from the LA Lakers S&C coach Tim DiFrancesco

I believe most people would benefit from performing more side plank variations as it will increase lateral stabilization and often times fix most internal hip rotation restrictions. 

A side plank targets muscles like the Quadratus Lumborum, Lats, Obliques, and the Rectus Adomonis. The best part of this movement is that as you rotate in and out of the plank variations you'll have to get tight throughout the body and resist both extension and lateral rotation forces on the body. 

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How To:

• Begin in a prone plank position with your arms at 90 degrees, one in front of the other. 
• Brace into a plank position, deep exhale as to set the ribcage in the proper position and to achieve a strong core brace.
• Rotate onto one side while simultaneously rotating the feet to help facilitate a proper side plank position. Careful to not lose proper "shoulder stacking", meaning you should not feel ALOT of pressure in the front of your shoulder while doing this. 
• Rotate back to the prone plank and then repeat on the other side. 
• Perform 8-12 passes total near the end of a workout. 

Exercise Breakdown: Depth Drop

Everybody wants to get faster and jump higher. For most clients they have to learn to slow themselves down to go faster. 

This isn't some Yoda jedi mind trick, it really does mean that by learning how to effectively slow yourself down, you'll be better abled at accelerate safely out of said stop. 

There's not a whole lot to it except this cue: Land like a cat, not a dog.

Most cats at least, are pretty quiet when they move around. There's been times I'll be sitting forward in my chair only to lean back a bit and discover a cat behind me now. Gotta be nimble and quiet like cat.

If when you land you make a loud THUD foot slapping the ground noise, you're too loud. This also applies to box jumps where you're stomping onto the box. When you don't land controlled and softly it only shifts the weight more onto your joints, and that's a recipe for injury down the road. 

Exercise Breakdown: Band Resisted KB Swing

The band resisted kettlebell swing is great when you:

1. Run out of heavier bells
2. Want to increase the rate of force development

The second reason is the one I'm usually interested in. By increasing the rate at which your muscles fire, you recruit greater amounts of muscle fibers and thus allows you to more efficiently grow muscle and get stronger too. Many let gravity do the work on the downswing, I say no thanks! I would put the prerequisite that your technique be spot on before increasing the speed of the kettlebell swing, which in itself is already a very dynamic movement.

How to:

1. Grab a band and choke it on the handle of the band. I like to have the band pulled so the band is on the sides and not in the middle where my hands go!
2. Set the kettlebell in front of you like a football and hike it to begin with a solid hinge and forceful hip extension. 
3. What you should watch for is as the bell hits shoulder height, the band will get taught and you will have to reverse the motion much more quickly than if it were kettlebell only.
4. Repeat for 8-12 repititions.