THE POWER OF A KEY POSITION
When people talk about the
Pose Method of Running, the tendency is to simply equate it to a
forefoot landing. Folks with better knowledge and understanding of the
Pose Running technique, know that forefoot landing is only a small part of a bigger scenario.
That bigger scenario is the following: when moving, your body goes through an infinite number of positions or poses in space and time. Some are the result of proper positioning and others are the ones that lead yet again to proper positioning of your body. In the center of that we have one key body pose that serves as a conductor.
The key position
- harnesses the power of elements of previous movement, and defines the consequent movements
- defines optimized interaction of all forces involved
- helps integrate all forces during the support phase
- provides for the best interaction with support, and support is an essential part of any movement
- significantly optimizes muscular efforts
- utilizes natural properties of the entire muscular skeletal system like muscles' ability to contract and relax, and their elasticity, etc.
- eliminates extra unnecessary movement so less energy is spent
- allows to move with sharp precision
- simplifies teaching and learning of any technique
I.e. - you get better results with less effort and don't abuse your body in the process. This applies to all sports and all
pose techniques developed for them.
In running,
landing on forefoot is a part of the key position taken by your entire body. It's an
S-like body position where the runner lands on the forefoot under the hips, or GCM, with a slightly bent knee.
It was scientifically shown that what reduces the impact on knees by 50% is that S-like body positioning prescribed in the Pose Running Technique. It wasn't just the forefoot landing, it wasn't just landing under the hips, it was landing on forefoot under your hips with a slightly bent knee, i.e. the entire pose of the body that made the difference.
Just so we're clear - everybody goes through that key body position. The difference between the
heel-strikers and pose runners is very simple - the heel-strikers waste a lot of energy on extra unnecessary movements in the cycle of key positions, as well as incorrectly use a
number of parts of the body. The pose runners, on the other hand, are able to quickly and seamlessly go from pose to pose thus minimizing effort and energy expenditure.
Pose runners tap into the natural forces at play when running,
gravity being the leading force. This is physics and biomechanics performing in perfect unison. Key position allows us to use the natural forces by redirecting them at will and using their power, instead of clashing with them and suffering the consequences.
That is the gist of the grand theory with a funny name. The Pose Method is simply a precise name.
Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov
Composed by L. Romanov
