Improving running technique: two exercises for your running routine
Improving your personal running technique is not for professionals alone. Amateur runners will also benefit from incorporating a few exercises into their running routine.
Reasons for improving running technique – 3 benefits for joggers
Bad running technique is like having the handbrake on when driving a car: however massive the effort, we simply don't make efficient headway. Amateur runners often don’t think of training their own running technique. But there are distinct advantages:
- jogging equally fast and far with less effort
- jogging faster thanks to more efficient moves
- protection from injuries and strains
Skipping and crossing: 2 effective exercises from the ABC of running
Skipping improves the elasticity of your bounce. It teaches you to stabilise the longitudinal arch of the foot in every running situation.
Posture: The base joint of the big toe must have full contact with the ground. If you manage to activate the foot’s longitudinal arch with every step, you can increase your speed and raise the lead leg higher.
Perform: 30 seconds per side, 2-3 sets with short intermittent breaks, 1-2 times per week.
Tip: Stop the exercise in mid-flow now and again. This allows you to check whether your heel and leg axes are stable, your pelvis is straight and your spine is upright.
Exercise: This exercise trains 3 important basic running principles: The pelvis remains stable, the spine is upright and the thoracic spine is free to move and rotates to the side.
Perform: Cross with the right leg for 30-60 seconds then with the left leg.