November 29, 2005
USING HIP FLEXORS VS. HAMSTRINGS FOR LIFTING THE FOOT FROM SUPPORT IN RUNNING
Skidd 777, I am flattered by similarities you mentioned between Chi and Pose. The biggest difference, you think, you see, is that Mr. Dreyer advocates lifting the leg by using the hip flexors rather than the hamstrings. Please, get the Chi running DVD and you will be surprised to see that Mr. Dreyer doesn't "advocate" using hip flexors anymore, but shows how to lift the heels by flexing knees in air. I can't imagine how it is supposed to be done by hip flexors. From the book to the video it is a quite radical shift in "understanding" of running...
Read More
November 21, 2005
HOW TO STOP WEARING ORTHOTICS AND MAKE A SMOOTH TRANSITION TO BETTER RUNNING?
It's one thing to know that orthotics are not helpful to keep you running pain-free, and it's another thing to stop wearing them after many years. We all have our habits, which become our second nature, which we don't want to change. We get fearful just at the thought of any possible change ahead, because we don't know what the outcome could be and it forces us out of our comfort zone. The benefits from the change seem to be illusive and it is questionable if there is any sense in taking this risk. That's what's going through the mind...
Read More
November 15, 2005
ORTHOTICS: SHOULD YOU WEAR THEM?
It doesn't seem to go away and people constantly ask the same questions. People want simple answers. Nobody is listening to the reasoning about the use of orthotics. So I am going to write in a simple way as much as possible. My recommendation is to stop wearing them. Return them and get your money back, and start thinking differently about this matter. According to Dr.Lyle J.Micheli (The Sport Medicine Bible, 1995, p.p.121-122), orthotics are shoe inserts designed to correct some abnormalities, such as flat feet, high arches, feet pronation and as a treatment for the ITB (iliotibial band) syndrome...
Read More
November 08, 2005
DO WE NEED TO PUSH IN RUNNING (SPRINTING)?
As I mentioned in the previous parts of this topic, the question about push off is a very interesting thing for me, very challenging and exciting. I was taught, as everybody else involved in training and racing in track and field, that push off is the cornerstone of technique and the most efficient way to best results in running. So I did perform millions of "special" exercises to develop my ability to do push off. I became very good in performing these drills, but my running abilities didn't improve too much. On the opposite, the better I got with exercise...
Read More
November 01, 2005
THE EXTENSOR PARADOX IN RUNNING
The original article below, devoted to the present topic, was published in Biomechanics of Distance Running in 1990. As you read the data and conclusions from this research you'll see that the running science community was not ready to accept the idea about the role of gravity as a motive force in running. A classical vision of gravity as a vertical force only was predominant in the scientists' minds and didn't allow them to look at the facts from a different aspect. The most important thing there, a relationship between extensor muscles and gravity as one non-conflicting system with...
Read More