Ways to Improve Your Running Technique

Proper Running Technique

Running might feel like a constant struggle, and the movements can be strenuous and painful for many beginner runners. These obstacles can be overcome with proper form and technique, and over time you can achieve the grace and smoothness of an experienced runner. A solid running foundation has to be built with disciplined practice and sticking to good form and techniques.

Improve Your Strength

It is widespread to find runners getting injured due to muscular imbalances. Our daily activities often make one body part weaker than the others. Running in such a condition puts added load on your body, making running both difficult and dangerous. Sitting for a long time can weaken your glute medius, leading to injuries and inefficient running form. To prevent this, train compound exercises like lunges and squats and focus on training weaker muscles.

Work on your Form

Our sedentary lifestyles can lead to bad posture, with a hunched back and protruding chin. Unless you pay attention, you would be running in that same posture. Running with a poor posture will tire you faster and affect your strength and stamina levels. To counter bad posture, remember to stand straight and stabilize your core muscles while running. It is also important to keep your shoulder blades tight and have a slight forward lean. A good posture will add balance to your running form, and you will waste less energy on wrong movements. You can add mobility exercises to your workouts to further strengthen your muscles that assist in good posture. 

Incorporate Plyometrics in Your Workouts

Plyometric workouts focus on rapid and repeated stretching and contracting of your muscles. Movements like single-leg jump, power skips and leg bounding can improve your muscle strength and elasticity. Strong and flexible muscles prevent injuries and make running faster and longer easier for your joints. 

Increase Your Stride Rate

A stride rate is defined as the number of steps you take in one minute. Double the number of strides you take in one minute in one foot, and you get your stride rate. A decent stride rate would be around 180. A much lesser stride rate would mean a lot of wasted energy. You can improve your stride rate by running to music with fixed beats per minute. It is essential not to make any drastic leap in your stride rate, instead work on it with time and patience with gradual increments.