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More efficient running style

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Canute Apr 2013 10:08pm, 7 Apr 2013 583 posts	Quote Pin Canute Garfield Skipping will certainly help. From time to time, and especially during the taper period for key races, I do skipping drills to sharpen up my neuromuscular coordination in order to maximise ability to capture elastic energy. However, I think that to achieve ones best possible performance, additional strengthening is required. Lydiard recommended bounding up hills, illustrated very nicely in that beautiful film ‘On the Run’ at around 6:03-6:35. nzonscreen.com I find that this type of powerful bounding is a bit too much for my aged joints, so instead I focus on heavy lifting. El Bee, It sounds like cycling in Lanzarote was good, despite the hire car drivers. I think we are largely in agreement about strengthening. I am aware of several Pose coaches who do quite a lot of strength work. However I consider that the theory of Pose seriously underplays this and sometimes the theory has too much influence on practice.
jonp Apr 2013 10:20pm, 7 Apr 2013 4,473 posts	Quote Pin jonp Canute, I disagree. Like I said above, there are a large amount of exercises that have been developed as a part of Pose Method specifically for strength development of running. Here are Nicholas' views: "In running, when the objective is to move the body forward through space and time, every fiber of your being has a role to play and must be prepared to contribute to the overall successful functioning of the integrated system. The old saying "the chain is only as strong as it's weakest link" is a perfect way to describe the inadequately developed muscle system of a runner that will eventually and undoubtedly become the cause of injuries. This simple truth was forgotten when running became perceived as an escape, a getaway, a stress-free zone during America's running boom back in the 70-ies. Virtually no one paid attention to strength training or it's importance to running. The result of this mistake is more than just one generation of injured people that have a "love and hate" relationship with running. Specific strength conditioning is very important in training for running, it gives you the physical capacity to run and do it well. You need to be able to take disparate muscle systems of your body and fuse them into one system ready to run. If your body is not prepared, i.e. it lacks sufficient strength, it will show immediately in a form of all classical signs of poor running form - clumsy movement, elongated stride, general slowness and facial evidence of discomfort. Whereas a well prepared runner will move with quickness and grace with a serene and focused face. Strength conditioning is not a luxury that you don't have time for, it is your ticket to better results, better performance and a "better feeling" you! Article by Dr. Nicholas Romanov Composed by L. Romanov "
Canute Apr 2013 11:48pm, 7 Apr 2013 584 posts	Quote Pin Canute Jonp I do not deny that Dr Romanov advocated strengthening. Indeed I consider that he recommended some very helpful drills and exercises. My concern is that Pose undervalues specific aspect of strengthening that are required. Dr Romanov undervalues the push and indeed explicitly advises against it in rule 9 p309 of the 2002 edition of Pose Method, and in numerous other articles.
Canute Apr 2013 12:15am, 8 Apr 2013 585 posts	Quote Pin Canute Jonp As I have frequently stated, I consider Pose has some good features, especially for recreational runners. But I do find that some of Pose theory, and the implications for practice, are contrary to elementary principles of biomechanics. In many instances in ‘Pose Method’ and elsewhere Dr Romanov refers to using the free energy provided by gravity. In fact his description as to what this means is vague. His use of the term ‘fall’ is very misleading. There is no fall after mid-stance. The COM actually rises from mid-stance to lift-off when running on a level surface at constant pace. On P65 of Pose method Dr Romanov states: ‘the lifting of the body is not a bounce, it is merely the use of muscular elasticity to draw the body in an almost imperceptible way away from the ground.’ This is simply not true as elasticity provides only a fraction of the energy required for getting airborne. I consider it creates a very misleading impression.
Jhuff Apr 2013 2:19am, 8 Apr 2013 3,721 posts	Quote Pin Jhuff Canute, Having followed a training protocol directly from Dr. Romonav I can assure you he doesn't undervalue the strength element for running. As for the push off present in running. I think he does differ to you as to what emphasis from verbal or practical application is placed for the athlete.
jonp Apr 2013 7:30am, 8 Apr 2013 4,474 posts	Quote Pin jonp Canute, I'm well aware of your other opinions on Pose Method, but that wasn't what we were talking about. So back on topic, as a number of Pose Coaches have said first hand on here, Pose Method places a very important emphasis on strength development; I'm not sure if you're trying to find an argument where that actually isn't one! Regarding push-off, Pose Method recognises a push exists but the psychological emphasis is on pulling the foot when running (as you know). The muscular system is coordinated around this specific point in time and space and is largely reactive in nature, hence there is no need to put a conscious emphasis on a push. Strength development in running is important nonetheless, and that is why there are many exercises recommended in the Method such as elevated lunges an the like.
Canute Apr 2013 9:30am, 8 Apr 2013 586 posts	Quote Pin Canute Jonp I do not wish to over emphasize the disagreement, because we agree about many things, including the fact that Dr Romanov emphasizes the importance of strength development. However, the particular issue of whether or not a push is required to get airborne is not only of theoretical importance in understanding how to run efficiently, but is also of practical importance. I think we do disagree on the implications of the need to push. Therefore I consider it is a valid issue for debate. I note that you acknowledge that the push does occur. Furthermore we agree that it is not necessary to focus consciously on pushing, at least for recreational distance runners. The world’s fastest sprinters do consciously focus on the push. However, to me it seems rather odd to advise strengthening without specifically addressing the nature of the greatest forces that are exerted. It is even more misleading to provide descriptions of the mechanism of running such as that provided in Pose Method that are actually false. A failure to recognise the magnitude of the forces involved in running creates a risk of failing to develop the relevant strength and also creates risk of injury. In the early days on Posetech threads, and even on this thread, there was a strong tendency to deny that Pose predisposed to any injuries. The novice was blamed for the injury. Fortunately, there has been a shift in emphasis of Pose teaching and the worst of those problems have diminished. I will continue to repeat that I consider that Pose has good features. However, all running styles, even those with good features, do bring with them some risks, and a failure by coaches of any style to acknowledge clealry the limitations and risks associated with what they teach creates a danger that their pupils will fail to reach their full potential and might even suffer an injury that could have been avoided.
jonp Apr 2013 9:59am, 8 Apr 2013 4,475 posts	Quote Pin jonp Canute, I think you place too much emphasis on a requirement for conscious muscular participation. Most of what happens is at an unconscious level. In my opinion it is more important to develop a coordinate movement pattern than to isolate individual parts. For example if you skip rope you don't need to think about pushing into the ground to go airborne; if you do you lose the timing. This is because the muscular effort has to be coordinate with the elastic recoil and the timing of that is largely not under our conscious control. At the heart of Pose Method are body positions and reproducing those as perfectly as we can. The strength element is to support being able to reproduce these body position(s) in sequence. For running we call that changing support from one Pose (body position) to the next. So our emphasis is getting this correct first, then developing the strength to support it for speed and/or distance. Injuries can come in many forms, ultimately it some part of the body that is overloaded over time. Strength is undoubtedly a very important part of this (as mentioned above), but often it is your body being out of alignment in the first place that causes the overload.
Canute Apr 2013 12:00pm, 8 Apr 2013 587 posts	Quote Pin Canute Jonp, We are in agreement that for most recreational distance runners, there is a risk that conscious attention on the push might be counter-productive. I myself do not consciously push. Even when sprinting, I focus my conscious attention on the goal of getting off stance quickly rather than on the leg muscle actions required to achieve this goal. However I think it is an interesting topic for discussion, in part because examining this issue has helped me understand why Lydiard explicitly placed great emphasis on bounding uphill, and why elite runner such as Paula Radcliffe, Mo Farah and Galen Rupp include lifts such as squats in their training program. Wherever possible I have adapted these approaches in my own training, and hope it will prove beneficial. I also think that it is of interest to understand the mental ‘self-talk’ employed by sprinters such as Usain Bolt, even though I myself sprint only very occasionally, and I am well aware that my muscles are not as well honed as his. It is noteworthy that in some internet discussion of Bolt’s style in the past year or two (including on this thread), Pose enthusiasts have argued that Bolt doesn’t understand what he himself is doing, despite the fact that what he describes is in good agreement with biomechanical principles.
richh Apr 2013 4:18pm, 8 Apr 2013 627 posts	Quote Pin richh IMO Romanov jumps around among psychology, physiology and physics in a way that is entertaining but often confusing. I really like his psychology, I'm OK with his physiology, but I don't care for his physics. I have found him enormously helpful in my running, and in fact probably would not be running today were it not for his "POSE Method of Running" book.