"RUNNING MUSCLES"
"Running muscles" is a constant on a "top 10 keywords" searches that lead to our website, according to our website stats provided by Google's analytics program. It is also one of the few questions that are constantly asked no matter what we write or say. Various muscle groups and their intended function(s) have already been discussed, but it looks like we need to talk specifically about "running muscles".
It is interesting to note how that key-phrase alone shows us a significant difference between Pose running and how running is traditionally viewed.
From the Pose Method® of Running point of view:
- There are no "running muscles" per se, because one should not take a human body "apart" - these muscles are for running, these are for cycling, and these are for walking, etc. This is not how it works. This illusion comes from a foggy understanding of how a human body should operate. Each muscle and muscle group perform their own important function, but they are all interlinked. The only muscle group that is actively used in running is hamstrings. So if anyone insists on singling out "running muscles" - then single out the hamstrings, but keep in mind that...
- All muscles work in sync. Every muscle in our body has its purpose and its intended function. We might not know all of those things, but the best part is that we do not need to know. The quads and calves work as "anti-gravitational" supports, the hamstrings keeps the running cycle in motion, the trunk and hip muscles help keep it all together, etc. Everything works in synchronicity. Just like muscles, all our limbs, all our body parts work in sync, each with its own important function. Here's an example that should be easy to visualize and remember, a body in sync is perceived as grace, lightness, even beauty itself, and accordingly, a body out of sync looks like an uncoordinated mess.
- There are things we need and don't need to know. It is human nature to want to know. But just because we're curious, it doesn't mean we NEED to know. As a matter of fact, certain type of knowledge prevents a lot of people from seeing the "big picture". It's OK to amass information, just don't loose sight of correct hierarchy of things. If you want to do something like run, throw, jump, swim, what you need to know is how to do it and what particular action to take, singling out various muscle groups and focusing on their work alone will not take you where you want to go, literally.
Whether we want it or not, our body, our muscles "know" what they need to do and they do it. Our problems begin when we insist on controlling every aspect of our body moving on top of having the wrong instructions. While we think about what we need to do to move our leg this way or that way and we think of what muscles should be working - our body and its constituent parts have already not only activated the necessary muscles, but might have already finished the job, too. The speed of our thought and consequent actions, no matter how fast we assume we think, is a lot slower than any interaction that naturally goes on within a human body. So, unless it is your intent to slow yourself down, think only of
the action that needs to happen to promote a particular task at hand, i.e. if you want to run, think only of the three key elements of running technique:
pose-fall-pull.
In our gravity controlled environment there is a particular order of things that should be maintained when it comes to movement of a human body. Keep those in correct order and your movement - whatever it is, running, cycling, walking, etc - is guaranteed to be better and more efficient.
Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov
