Training With Dr.Romanov: HUMAN BODY 101 Archives

HUMAN BODY 101

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROPER BODY POSITIONING & BODY ALIGNMENT
Did your mom ever tell you to sit up straight and stop slouching? Did your grandma tell you to keep your head up and not look down? If they did - thank them every day, because lots of people never get such valuable advice and enough pressure to follow through and maintain. Holding proper body posture and using proper body positioning has an encompassing effect on an individual physically, physiologically, biomechanically, emotionally and psychologically. It is not a readily seen connection, but it is a very powerful one. For a young individual, learning early on how to move right will... [Continue reading...]

QUAD MUSCLES IN RUNNING
Quadriceps femoris muscle, or simply - quads, is a large fleshy muscle group covering the front and sides of the thigh. It has four parts: rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius. They originate at the ilium (upper part of the pelvis, or hipbone) and femur (thighbone), come together in a tendon surrounding the patella (kneecap), and insert at (are attached to) the tibia (shinbone). (Encyclopædia Britannica) Quadriceps group is among the largest muscles of the human body and is essential to many movements routinely performed on daily basis. We do what we do and do not give... [Continue reading...]

ABOUT HIPS
Today's article was prompted by an advertisement on TV about a Class Action Law suit connected to a problematic hip replacement product. Apparently it has caused some serious problems, so if you're among the people that received that hip replacement now you can sue the company. That's great. That's exactly what everyone hoped to hear. A simple search online revealed that the available hip and other joint replacements do not last too long. For that reason it is advised to not have the hip replacement surgery too early in life, unless it is really necessary. The scary part is that... [Continue reading...]

THE ROLE & POSITION OF ANKLES IN RUNNING
In Pose Running it is recommended to hold your ankle in a neutral position, meaning your ankle should not be flexed, locked or forced into any specific position at any specific angle. Just let it be. This alone will help you eliminate quite a few potential problems that inevitably lead to injuries. A neutral position of an ankle is the relaxed position that does not require any deliberate action or muscle activity, nor does it require any focus. What you should focus on are the strengthening exercises for this area (muscles, tendons and ligaments) and running drills before you run.... [Continue reading...]

BODY MOVEMENT ON EARTH
Here on Earth, there are rules and regulations that were "written" by Nature and were in effect way before Adam and Eve came around. Many of those "rules and regulations" have to do with gravity and it's not a surprise, since gravity is the leading force in movement and in life. If gravity didn't work the way it does - none of us, not even the planets in our solar system would be here, or at least not in that shape and way. Is it not a puzzle that as powerful as gravity is, as omnipresent as it is and... [Continue reading...]

POSTURE
The topic of a correct or good posture has been touched upon in many of our previous articles but we never talked about it in detail. So, in this article we'll go over the definition of a proper posture from the Pose Method point of view and it's role in running. Everything starts with gravity. It is at the top of the "correct hierarchy of things" that we keep referring to in our articles. If it wasn't for gravity we wouldn't even look the way we do, to say the least about the way we move. While it's an omnipresent... [Continue reading...]

THE ROLE OF THE GLUTES IN RUNNING
We have previously discussed other muscles and muscle groups, and what they do or don't do when it comes to such activities as running. Today let's take a look at what is commonly referred to as glutes.

Glutes or gluteus maximus is the largest and most superficial of the three gluteal muscles in each buttock that arises from the sacrum, coccyx, back part of the ilium and adjacent structures, that is inserted into the fascia lata of the thigh and the gluteal tuberosity of the femur, and that acts to extend and laterally rotate the thigh. It makes up a large portion of the shape and appearance of the buttocks. [Continue reading...]

ACHILLES TENDON AND RUNNING
Let's begin with a simple fact - 99% of people (coaches, athletes, doctors, physical therapists, almost everybody...) do not have a proper understanding of the role of the achilles in running. We all know what it is and where it's at, but not how it works. We're not talking about observing achilles at work and then describing what we think we see, we're talking about knowing it's intended function and how it's supposed to work in running. [Continue reading...]

PREVENTING CALF SORENESS
When first starting with the Pose Method of running, majority experience calf soreness. While it is a common occurrence, it can be prevented and avoided. Follow the guidelines below to glide through the "beginner stage" and to build a lasting foundation to provide for a great running technique. START JUMPING ROPE AS SOON AS YOU DECIDE TO LEARN POSE RUNNING. This is one single best step you can do to help yourself! Start doing the jumping rope exercise as soon as you decide, and continue on while reading and learning. Start lightly and gradually increase the duration. You can also... [Continue reading...]

HEAD POSITION IN RUNNING
The head position is a crucial point in making the muscular system of the whole body engaged in a specific way, which could be more or less efficient and balanced depending on the head position orientation. Therefore, as a consequence, the movement of the body could be more or less balanced and efficient, as well. The base for this influence lies in the anatomical and physiological structure of the head. With such organs as vestibular apparatus in the ears and cerebellum, directly defining and regulating the body's position in space, the head has an exceptional influence on any movement. This... [Continue reading...]

THE ROLE OF KNEES IN RUNNING
The knee is an anatomical part of our body called a joint. The knee is one of the most important joints of our body. It plays an essential role in movement related to carrying the body weight in horizontal (running and walking) and vertical (jumps) directions. In general, the importance of knee joints can’t be overestimated. In fact, it is so obvious, that there is no necessity to try to prove it. But besides this obvious fact, there is also some other information about their function in running, which is very valuable and should be understood. Traditionally, in the conventional... [Continue reading...]

FLAT FEET
"The flat foot, also called pes planus, is pronated with a flattened longitudinal arch. The hindfoot may be in valgus. Occasionally, there is an associated accessory navicular bone. In this congenital deformity, the ossification center of the navicular tuberosity fails to fuse to the main bone and remains a bony prominence on the medial side of the foot. These are often locally symptomatic and require protection or surgical excision. Flat feet are classified as flexible or rigid. A flexible flat foot (or pronated foot) has full range of motion in the midtarsal joints. The arch of the foot can be... [Continue reading...]

HIPS AND RUNNING
Click here to see more images at washington.edu Hips are several pelvic bones performing several important anatomical functions such as a support for internal organs and tissues, for vertebras or spinal column, and a place of attachment of the leg's bones. Another important thing is that hips are an interconnection place for biggest muscle groups of the trunk and legs and at the same time they are a biomechanical center of the body, which means that application of all forces providing body's movement occurs through this place. Yes, this information is clear enough to consider hips as a very important... [Continue reading...]

ARMS WORK IN RUNNING
Improve your balance with IndoBoard! The fact that we are returning to this topic for the third or fourth time tells me that somehow it has not been addressed satisfactorily. Discussions about the arms work in running continue and the essence of this is continually debated in terms of the "intricacies" of the angle of bending, positions of holding and even the level of tension in the hands and fingers. Such debate goes beyond a reasonable approach and basically points - on the one side - to an overestimation of the work and role of the arms, and -... [Continue reading...]

ON YOUR FEET ALL DAY
I had a request to discuss this topic a long time ago from one of our clinic's attendees in London. He had a job requiring all day staying on his feet and had lots of problems due to such overloading. It is not just about feet, but also knees, hips and low back, but for now we'll talk only of feet problems. It is obvious that staying a long day on your feet has negative consequences. It is nothing new. Everybody is aware about this and can predict that it will happen one day. So the discussion will not go... [Continue reading...]

FEET WORK IN RUNNING
There are a lot of problems related with our understanding and not understanding the role of feet in running. The range of these problems goes from slight soreness to heavy injuries. I am not getting into the injuries now, we'll discuss them at a later time, let's talk about our understanding of what do feet really do in running? The major problem is to understand what they do and what they do not do. From this point of view our next questions are the following ones: 1) how much and to which part of "what they do" do we have... [Continue reading...]

THE ROLE OF TOES IN RUNNING
The existing understanding of the role of toes in running is based more on our imagination and "common sense" approach rather than on any serious science research. What we think to be the function of toes in running is coming from our vision of running, where the picture of the "hard work" of toes in the so called push off is the most crucial element of running with its own name: toe off phase. In the old understanding of this element of running, it is the stage where the most powerful thrust, forward propulsion is taking place and toes, especially... [Continue reading...]

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... [Continue reading...]

HOW TO GET RID OF THE FEET PROBLEMS IN RUNNING?
Obviously we have to understand that our feet are the part of our body that is responsible for our contact with the ground. Therefore their strength, perception and skill determine the body's interaction with the ground. Our feet do not have their own separate function, they are only providing service for the body's movement over support. The problems start when our feet's activity goes beyond their main "job". This activity may be manifesting itself in many different ways, such as: landing with more tension then is necessary; landing (putting the body weight and keeping it long) on the part of... [Continue reading...]

ARM MOVEMENT IN RUNNING
A question of arms' movement comes up very often. What should I do with my arms? How should they move? Should I pump them hard? Should they be held at the level of my chest? Should I move them back and forth to help myself move forward and run faster? Should I put my hands in fists? And on and on. The answer to this is very simple and people familiar with the Rules of Good Running Technique already know it. Arms performance is a natural balance for legs movement. Don’t drive with your arms You’re not carrying a football... [Continue reading...]