Principles of Natural Running with Dr. Mark Cucuzzella

hi I'm dr. mark Cuckoo's ala director of the natural running center and owner of Two Rivers treads in Shepherdstown West Virginia our goal is to improve your running economy and reduce impact and injury what is running economy essentially this is the amount of energy used to run a certain speed by moving in a more efficient pattern we move faster with less effort we can improve running economy by running more but only up to a point 60 to 80 percent of runners get hurt every year and many suffer the effects of overtraining and fatigue if we can improve our movement we reduce the risk of injury and recover better from every run so what are the simple principles of running economy the first principle is understanding and optimizing the elastic component of running with efficient running energy is stored in the tendons and returned to Ford motion with every stride think of this as a spring or strong rubber band as long as the spring is stiff and strong the Mort is loaded the more energy returned the spring attenuate shock also as well as reduces the muscular work of running think about jumping rope or watching an animal hop in nature let's look at the gait cycle when the foot hits the ground the glutes quads and abdominals activate to support and stabilize the hips spine and pelvis it is critical that this action happened quickly and with strength the posture is tall the Achilles plantar fascia and calf load elastically as the hips extend rear would also loading elastically when the hip is fully extended the knee reflexively drives forward the faster runner will facilitate this action with an active knee drive forward at the report once the knee is moving forward just let it go the momentum of the knee recoil causes the lower leg to fold under the thigh shortening the lever the foot is not picked up by lifting the heel with a hamstring the hamstring activates to control the forward moving foot and when stretched will activate the down would drive by the glutes next is the critical part of the running stride when the foot is extended in front of the knee the runner must activate the glutes to bring the foot down under the center-of-mass thus effectively loading the spring and the proper vector the more powerful the downward force the better the elastic return this is free energy the body has a slight forward lean to maintain the proper line of force but one must be mobile in the ankle and hips to achieve the proper lean do not bend from the waist we have natural muscle tendon elastic recoil frequency and this is about a hundred and eighty steps a minute this is the same frequency you will see in children while skipping rope and this facilitates the elastic recoil 50% of energy is stored and reloaded if the cadence is optimal try running in place with a slow sticky cadence and with a quicker springier cadence what is less work what is more important than what part of your foot hits the ground first is whether you are loading elastically in the right position your foot should land close to under the center of mass your foot should not be reaching out try for a shorter ground contact time do not push when the foot is loaded just load and spring our arms and hands counterbalance the trunk rotation elbows are at 90 degrees or less and hands move in a circular motion there is a rear wood pool as if you were chopping wood the arms recoil forward and the shoulders rotate slightly stride length is shorter on uphill longer on the downhill let's see what happens at slower and faster paces notice the cadence remains the same at faster speed the stride angle opens as more forces applied to the ground essential range of motion in the ankles and hips allows the fast pop off the ground in the right vector from the back view we see in a line pelvis and leg and minimal crossover in the legs the foot lands under the hip and with a strong hip and core the pelvis remains supported so let's review the essential features of natural running run tall with a proper posture we say you can't fire a cannon from a canoe so the inner core must be strong and stable planks bridges in a shoe with more proprioception optimise this one must have adequate hip mobility to achieve hip extension and an improved stride angle the glutes must be active and strong we recoil off the ground by applying the force to the ground the glutes are the fatigue and injury resistant primary movers and humans in a sitting world these muscles are often left asleep when we walk and run now let's look at a few patterns which could be improved notice the feet landing well in front of the knee the dorsiflex foot the lack of hip extension and the short stride angles in this pattern which we call prancing notice that the foot is loading well in front of the center of mass this uses a lot of energy and is not elastic the head forward pattern is inefficient as balanced and spring are compromised and one tends to bend at the waist so losing energy from an unstable core the backseat runner is not using the force vector forward has little to no hip extension and leaks energy from an unstable for the purpose of drills is to reinforce the proper movement patterns not to build Fitness in almost every activity we do there is a focus on drills to improve technique running is no different a nice safe drill to feel the activation of the glutes cadence and foot placement is running with the tether and trying to run away from a mini or the ground try using your hamstrings to pull you or hip flexors to lift you as you do this drill you'll find it inefficient and difficult progress to pulling a tire or a sled if you wish to enhance the drill the Razor scooter is fun and is a great practice for foot placement and getting the foot to the ground on the right vector as well as extending your hip try doing this in the heel strike pattern it does not work running with the jump rope is also an amazingly simple drill for posture balance and rhythm it is very difficult to over stride while doing this now let's learn to run get yourself tall run in place with an elastic rhythm it's more work if you slow the steps now pretend like you're going to give someone a kiss change the force vector and you move forward thanks for watching and please go to our website for more on natural running Oh

Channel: NaturalRunningCenter

Views: 1,323,650

Rating: 4.9599214 out of 5

Keywords: Running, NATURAL, barefoot, Training

Id: zSIDRHUWlVo

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 06 2012

Reddit Comments

[u/boboguitar]

This gets posted on this sub all the time.

I hope it gets posted 100 more times, it's a very well produced video.

[u/Aghan]

Ok, that all looks great and makes a lot of sense, but I still have a few questions. When I am running very quickly, I can hold this form fairly well but I don't feel like I am running fast enough on most of my runs to fit into that form. How do I keep a high cadence at lower speeds? Or is a lower cadence ok at lower speed?

[u/enlightened_j]

Upvote for the scooter drill. Looks so much fun!!

[u/spaceamerika]

I like this drill, I will have to try it out. I am a heel striker and have been working on becoming more of a mid-foot striker. I read somewhere to think of you feet moving like the arms of a clock and the ground being 6. Moving my feet in a more circular and less elliptical motion helps me strike with the middle of my foot more, and I engage my core a lot more. Thanks for video.

[u/Runner40]

Can you post the YouTube link so I can save it please Edit: found it!

[u/NewsMom]

Every few months, "Dr. Mark" hosts a free running mechanics clinic at a WV hospital. If you're within 2-3 hours, it's worth the drive.

[u/mightytwin21]

This is a slow motion of Kimetto running at Berlin. I'm almost certain his foot is out in front of him. I haven't refreshed on physics in a while but I feel like your momentum would move your center of mass/gravity out in front of you. Am I taking crazy pills?

[u/jwa007]

This is great! I wish the importance of glute strength had been so clearly emphasized for me when I started running. Total dead butt over here.