Physics...Physiology...Physical Therapy

Running Form Drill: Overhead Zombie

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It’s no secret that your running form is important to your success and happiness as a runner. While proper running form can seem like an elusive carrot, it’s important to find ways to progress on a regular basis.

Today’s video covers one of my favorite running form drills. It not only will help your form, but will help you engage your core and glutes more effectively…win/win/win!

It’s super easy to perform, but also very effective. Don’t let the name fool you, there are more zombie drills to come that all have their special place in developing different parts of our form, and addressing the common inefficiencies we can tend to display.

So, what’s the point of performing this drill? Simply put, our upper bodies work to counter-balance our legs as we run. When we change the action of the levers (your arms), then it will have an affect on your legs as well.

By raising your arms overhead, that creates a longer lever arm. Your core and hips have to work harder when there is a longer lever arm above.

Use this drill as part of your warm up, as well as sprinkled into your runs for ten seconds at a time, and let it serve as a reminder of how your posture and core/glute engagement should be going.

I think you’ll find that your landing-to-push-off sequence will be faster and more efficient as you get comfortable with this drill.

As always, holler with any questions or to let me know it goes for you. Run Fast Friends!

Please check out my book ‘Runner’s Fix’ on Amazon. I wrote it as a resource for all runners to help take care of nagging issues that we face. If you’ve ever had trouble keeping it together for your marathon training cycle, or for an entire cross country season, the stretches and strengthening exercises contained in the book could make the all the difference to you.

The link above is an affiliate link for Amazon.

Video: Running Form Drill for Better Efficiency

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Running efficiently is not a new concept. We don’t need any convincing that it’s important to be as efficient as we can.

But how do we take that from philosophy to practicality? What does it look like and how do we get it?

One of the most basic things we need to get correctly is to land with our feet close to underneath our hips. The opposite of this is called overstriding, we definitely want to avoid this!

A common barrier is lack of balance and poor body awareness. The fancy word for this is Proprioception.

Today’s video covers a running form drill called the ‘A’ drill. There are a few subtle variations on this, but they are all working toward the same goal. That goal: develop proper leg swing and landing point.

My recommendation is to perform this drill for a few moments as part of your warm-up every time you run. It may feel awkward at first, but will become more graceful as you practice.

Give it a try and let me know how it goes, Run Fast Friends!

Check out my book Runner’s Fix for taking care of common runner issues and nagging pains! Use it as a reference any time cranky spots start to creep in.

The link above is an affiliate link, which means I get a few pennies commission for any purchases on Amazon.

Video: Power Skips Running Form Drill

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How many of you have considered your running form? Most of us would rather just lace up and go, then get bogged down in details.

Now, I’m not saying you need to fully geek out on your form, that can come later! But I do believe that it’s worth your time and effort to make yourself more efficient when running.

That’s the purpose of today’s video. We cover a basic form drill called Power Skips. I recommend performing this drill as part of your warm-up routine at the outset of your run, then also sprinkled into your run every few minutes.

Why? Again, you don’t need to get too bogged down with details, but simply put, your form will tend to break down if you’re not being proactive about it. Every time you perform this drill, it’s like calibrating your body to operate at peak form.

Every step you take, your foot spends between .2-.3 seconds on the ground. How efficiently you can land, gather yourself, and push off again determines a lot when it comes to how fast you run and how well you avoid injuries.

Power Skips are one of my favorite drills to develop better efficiency!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes! Run Fast Friends!

Please check out my new book, Runner’s Fix, and utilize it to keep yourself in tune while training for your big race!

I am an affiliate for Amazon, which means that any purchases you make give me a small commission if you click through the above link, at no extra cost to you

Podcasts…Who Knew How Much Fun They Could Be?!

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So, I had the chance to be featured on, not one, but two podcasts recently. I am super thankful to Heather and Pam from Michigan Runner Girl for inviting me to be their guest for the special live recording at their recent retreat.

Not going to lie, it was a little intimidating being in front of a room full of women, but I had a blast and we had plenty of good laughs as we covered a lot of ground (pun intended!) in sorting out common running injuries.

Here’s a link to the podcast. Please give it a listen, send some love to Heather and her gang at MRG and let me know what you though of our conversation! Also, if you listen soon enough, you might have a chance to get in on the book giveaway!

Also, I was a guest on the Ordinary Marathoner podcast last week. I was recently turned on to Scott’s podcast and was super impressed by how down to earth and real he is with his training as well as his skill as a podcaster.

We had a fun chat and had a few laughs, partially at his expense! Give his podcast a listen and spread it around. Here’s a link to that conversation.

All in all, I had a lot of fun. Not only with good conversation and meeting great people, but they were also great opportunities to promote and share my book.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, it’s available in paperback and kindle on Amazon. Or, if you live in Northern Michigan, you might just be able to pin me down for a signed copy!

The link to the book is an affiliate link, which basically means that if you make any purchases on Amazon, I get a few dimes off of it.

Video: Run Like a Penguin for Better Form?

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Okay, don’t actually try to run like a penguin, that won’t get you far or fast! However, if you are like most runners, you could stand an upgrade to your foot strength!

Today’s video covers a form drill called ‘Penguin Running.’ This drill will challenge you to develop strength and quickness in your feet.

You might be asking, what do I need quickness for when running a 5K or marathon? Think about it this way. Every time your foot hits the ground, your foot will spend between .2-.3 seconds on the ground. If you can shave even .01 off that, your efficiency will significantly improve.

Many times, the most inefficient part of our body is our feet. Check out the video and challenge yourself with Penguin Running as part of your warm-up routine!

Run Fast Friends!

Also, if you are not aware, I released my first book this past fall. Thus the lapse in blog posts, I was a little pre-occupied! The title is Runner’s Fix and it is a guide for preventing injuries and running your best. The book is divided into chapters based on parts of the body and common runners’ issues. It is loaded with pictures and descriptions of my favorite exercises for addressing the nagging pains we often experience. Pick up a copy on Amazon or hit me up for a signed copy!

Full disclosure: I am now an affiliate for Amazon, which means any money you spend on Amazon if you click through my link, will give me a small percentage commission.