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What is an improved running economy?
🏃♂️ Reducing the structural & functional cost of (running-induced) impact.
🏃♂️ Making work more manageable, structurally.
🏃♂️ Significantly lowering the risk of injury, which allows for improved performance.
🏃♂️ Reducing the cost and force of contact, reducing the ground contact (stabilising) time & energy , and minimising the push-off (and up) phase.
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The three key features.
1) Optimum (running) posture.
🏃 Running tall, well-balanced, with the head sitting lightly on the shoulders with minimal stress.
2) Momentum is your friend.
🏃 Allow body position & limb movement to buy free distance with gravity.
3) Running to the right tempo.
🏃 Maintaining rhythmic and optimum strides per minute.
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Running to cadence - strides per minute.
✅ Data shows ideal cadence is critical for the best running economy.
✅ Cadence 176 - 182 allows for; support weight under the centre of mass, the optimal time on support, and prime posture.
Measuring your cadence;
♪ Sport smartwatches (most garmin running watches) -
♪ Music clip-on metronome
♪ Free Apps - "metrotimer" being my favourite
♪ Youtube drum beat, e.g, 87 beats per minute -
♪ Free music programs like Audacity allow you to change the tempo of any song to 87bpm.
♪ Vibrating music watches ⌚
The likely experience with cadence practice (at a higher rate).
🫤 A higher heart rate at the same pace - the more robust cardiovascular system relative to the musculoskeletal system will adapt quickly - usually 3-5 weeks.
🫤 Feel the hip flexors post-run - this is caused by the additional lifting of the stabilising foot off the surface and will strengthen and settle in 3-4 weeks.
🫤 Frustration when policing DTi and cadence - yes, hill running is a challenge, but will also sync in 3-5 weeks.
📹 Please check out Pampy's Post #330 (MAR25b) - CLICK HERE
I show via video why I run at 176 strides per minute.
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Key points
Typically, the following is better!
🏃 Shortening the stride,
🏃 Keeping the feet lower to the ground,
🏃 Making lighter & quieter contact,
🏃 Running with a tall, upright posture,
🏃 Leading forward momentum with the hips,
🏃 Allowing the shoulders to fall back & down,
🏃 Pull the loaded foot off support - opposed to pushing 'off'',
🏃 Visualise running with barefeet on hot bitumen,
🏃 Holding a cadence between 176 -182 spm,