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DR.ROMANOV'S ARTICLES Dr.Romanov has written many articles. Easy to read and understand, these articles will help you understand Pose Method® better and will introduce you to a new approach to running and training.
220 TRIATHLON (UK)
March, 2005
RUN REVOLUTION: Part II
POSE CONDITIONING
by Dr. Nicholas Romanov and Steve Freestone
Your second instalment of the Pose Method of Running will help condition your body and have you running faster - without injury. Dr Nicholas Romanov reports...
Last issue we gave you the exercises required to implement the basics of the Pose Method of Running. So it's only natural that this month we'll give you an array of drills to further your Pose development.
But before we move on, let's recap. The running Pose is the ability to allow your body to freefall under the influence of gravity, directed through your general centre of mass (GCM). You need to swap support by pulling your foot from the ground vertically under the hip, using the hamstring muscles.
By employing all the forces involved in running - gravity, inertia, ground reaction and muscle elasticity - you can use gravity to drive you forward. And that's the perfect time for us to 'drive forward'...
| SUPERIOR STRIDE
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DOS
- Change support quickly from one leg to another
- Raise your ankle straight up under your hips
- Keep supporting yourself and your body weight on the balls of your feet
- When on support, keep your feet behind the vertical line going through your knees
- Keep your shoulders, hips and ankles aligned along the same vertical line
- Increase your stride frequency to speed up
- Keep your heels slightly off the ground
- Pull your ankle up when your weight is on the balls of your feet
- Keep your knees bent and relaxed upon landing
DON'TS
- Touch the ground with your heels
- Don't leave it until your weight reaches your toes before pulling your ankle up
- Increase the length of your stride to speed up
- Straighten your knees upon landing
- Push-off on landing - only pull up
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All in the hips
If you've been following the drills so far, you'll know solid physical condition is vital to elicit full effects from the Pose, in particular your hips and hamstring. On top of that, you'll need a range of muscle elasticity. Why? Because it'll guarantee you execute the main elements of this program to faster, injury-free running, namely: retaining the Pose, failing from the Pose and pulling your foot from the ground. Let's take the hips... Now be honest, have you ever consciously trained your hips for running? Chances are, the answer is no. But for Pose training your hips are vital, because:
- Their anatomical and biomechanical position acts as a bridge between your upper and lower body, which ultimately affects the integration of your whole body's movement
- Their stability and strength provide the path for the mechanical energy flow through your body during support and flight time
- Strong hips provide the foundation for loads on the lower extremities on support, reducing the lower back impact
To strengthen your hips, get into the press-up position, then raise and lower your hips with your own bodyweight or resistance provided by a training partner [pic 1]. Next, raise alternate arms and legs to improve your stability [pics 2 and 3]. Perform 3-5 sets of 10-20 reps.
Hamstring progression
Now it's time to extend the hamstrings a step further than last issue... A month of strengthening the hamstrings will have given the largest muscles in your body - the workhorses of a runner - Pose confidence. They're responsible for releasing the support from under your body and allowing you to repeatedly fall forward on each stride.
The best drills to fine-tune there power-generating muscles are the ones that most resemble the actual running technique. And the most effective way of recreating the running technique is with stretch cords.
Using stretch cords teaches you to keep perfect balance and precise direction of movement when pulling your foot from the ground under your hip [pics 4,5 and 6].
Pulling drills can be performed in place with the stretch cords attached to your ankles. The same can be done with a progressively forward movement, slowly building up to running itself. But make sure you're accustomed to the unique feeling of using stretch cords before moving on to the drills. Perform 5-10 sets of 20-30 reps of these exercises.
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| Pic.4 |
Stride Frequency
Stretch cord drills are also vital because they'll assist with stride frequency, which is one of the most important parameters of running technique, and one of the most difficult to maintain, for three primary reasons:
- It's difficult and uncomfortable to change frequency too often because the rate of movement is unfamiliar to our muscles
- The stride frequency is perceived as an isolated movement, not related to the whole running process
- We don't know how to achieve high stride frequency as a movement or command
To overcome this trio of hurdles we need to understand the role of high cadence in running and how to learn it. And it's really quite simple…
| POSE DRILLS
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The following range of exercises are designed to help you achieve Pose perfection…
FOOT TAPPING
Jogging on the spot, get a partner to gently tap your hamstring every time your foot touches the ground. This gets you focused on using your hamstring to lift your foot off the ground.
HOPPING
To begin with, hop barefoot on a forgiving surface, such as grass or indoor mats. Again, don't push off - just pick up your ankle. Start out hopping in one place and then progress to moving forward.
FRONT LUNGES
The lunge position isolates the hamstring and forces you to work with no other muscles. The object is to pull the front leg from support using the hamstring only. Start in running Pose stance, working on the spot, and progress to moving forward, not by pushing off but by leaning forward.
Note: racing flats or very light shoes with flat, thin soles are the best type to use for Pose running. You need to develop a precise interaction between your feet and the ground while landing. Pose running biomechanics improve your foot speed and acceleration, which are reduced by heavy shoes.
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- Your foot needs to be pulled from the ground quickly while maintaining the vertical alignment of your ankle, hip and shoulder
- The hamstring muscle group, which flexes your leg with a rapid firing action, initiates the recovery of your other leg. The rapid removal of your foot from the ground initiates your body's fall forward, creating momentum
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| Pic.5 |
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| Pic.6 |
So for greater speed, increased stride frequency is more effective than increased stride length. Look at run legend Haile Gebreselassie. At the end of a 10 km run, the Ethiopian speedster reaches 240 steps per minute (180 steps per minute is a low level pace for an elite runner). And it's the conditioning of his muscle elasticity that enables him to up the tempo. (Research on "lesser" athletes has shown that using the muscles' elastic properties reduces oxygen consumption by around 20% and increases efficiency by up to 50%.)
Greater elasticity
Flexibility exercises are of paramount importance because joint mobility, ligament and tendon elasticity, and the muscles' ability to be elastic and relaxed, are necessary components for smooth and effortless running. Try imitating Steve Cram with creaky joints and stiff connective tissues.
The importance of elasticity in good running can't be overstated. In your connective tissue, elasticity acts as a buffer system, shifting the load away from your joints, bones and muscles, thus reducing a risk of injury.
To achieve a greater range of movement (ROM), carry out swing exercises - they're an integral drill for greater flexibility. Simply, you swing your legs in a perpendicular motion, increasing speed and range of motion to promote the desired effect.
Generally speaking, the concept is very simple. When it comes to running there are no redundant parts in your body; every single fibre comes into play during peak performance and must be prepared accordingly.
While nature may bless some of us with greater flexibility than others, we can all vastly improve out flexibility with just a modest amount of attention and time. You don't need miracles to run faster, just perseverance.
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