Description

In this video series, running expert Richard Francis demonstrates the proper form and technique needed when starting your running routine.

Transcript

The clip we just covered includes basics to a training program, to get you to a marathon. This next clip, we'll cover the form and technique. Now with running, it's a natural human movement, so there is no real technique, heavy drills to do, as oppose to golf and tennis. But there are some basic techniques. The most important thing to remember, is having relaxed shoulders and relax your body. Because a lot of people run very tense. When you run very tense, your gait is going to be very tense. So if you run with really tight shoulders that a lot of people do, your feet are going to follow. So the one thing to remember is that your feet will follow your arm motion, your hand movement. So if you have tight hand movement, you're going to have short steps. You want a natural gait. So with a natural gait, natural arm swing and your feet will follow. Now most endurance runners run with a heel to toe roll off. So you land with your heel or mid-foot and you rolled your toe. If you are a sprinter, most sprinters actually start off their toes, roll from their toe forward, and almost run on their toes. But endurance runners, distance runners, run from heel to toe. So it's not something you've to focus on, it'll come naturally. You don't really need to go out there and think about rolling from your heel to your toe, it will come naturally. But the one thing you do want to remember, is that you want your arm swing to guide your leg movement. So remember to not clinch your fists, but to lightly touch your fingers together, will help you relax your shoulders and relax your hands. Keep your hands near your waist level as you swing your arms. You don't want to over exaggerate your swing, that'll lengthen your stride and increase your chances of hamstring pull or an injury to one of your leg muscles. So try to keep your arm swing natural. Don't over exaggerate, don't keep it cramped up. The other thing you want to remember when you are running, is to keep your head forward and look straight ahead rather than down at the ground. That will guide your back. So a lot of runners, you see leaning far forward, others you see too far back. You want to have a pretty vertical stance. Some people like to run a little bit further back to put a little bit more weight on their hamstrings. There are different theories on what's more comfortable in running, what's more efficient, but everybody is different, just like in the training programs we discussed, everybody follows a different program, and everybody's body adapts differently to exercise. Everybody will have a little bit slightly different running gait, and also a slightly different stance in running. But the main thing to remember, is keep your arm swing natural and loosen up your upper body, don't be too tensed, loosen up those, relax those shoulders and those arms, and your legs, and your feet will follow. The next clip we're going to cover, is properly building mileage into your program.