So many people inc Runners spend a lot of time sat down, at work, on a computer, driving or even watching TV. The end result is muscle imbalance and LORDOSIS of the back. Tight hip flexors and weak butt muscles are the main problem. This bad posture leads not only to injury but makes running fast almost impossible! Arthur lydiard called this ' sitting in a bucket,' butt hanging out back and leaning from the waist. The cure is simple; Lunge stretches and butt strengthening exercises. SEE ARTICLE HERE Also Aurthur's advice to run tall will help a lot, he said to imagine you are two inch taller than normal, you will now glide over the road instead of collapsing into it and waisting energy along the way!
I found this video of great interest, for a long time I've had sciatic and lower back problems, but I didn't realize that the position of my head could effect the rest of my posture. I have a bad habit of looking down when I run, looking in a full length mirror, straight away I could see that by lifting my head into a neutral position my whole posture improved, now my head, shoulders, hips, knees and ankles were in alignment! I set off today on a long steady run over the big sand dunes then through the pinewoods, returning along the white post route back over the sandhills. I kept my head up and felt a big difference, before I was running with my head looking down and my butt was back [ like sitting in a bucket] now with everything in alignment I felt smoother and faster, I was landing more under my centre of gravity and I seemed to be almost floating over the soft sand instead of sinking into it, this was good! after an hour and fifty minutes i came off the sandhills and headed for home, as I got to Selworthy rd I found the road blocked off by the police, after a shooting and hand grenade attack earlier this year it seems there was another attack with a bomb last night! READ REPORT KING KENNY WILL NOT BE HAPPY! I took a longer route home but still finished 10 minutes faster then when i did this route a couple of weeks ago!
TRAINING FOR THE WEEK sun 15th easy run with Tess on the sandhill 6, felt light on my feet and really enjoyed myself = 1.12 Sat 14th Long steady run over the sand dunes and pinewoods = 2.06 Fri 13th Had to take my bike for an MOT, so only had time to run back from the garage, then later run back to pick my bike up [ it passed, hurray!] = 14 mins Thur 12th Long easy run, big sandhills with Tess, enjoyed the run = 1.45 Wed 11th Two runs today, afternoon ran over the velvet trail inc Peter Magill's running drills = 45 mins Evening, club run from Dunes fitness centre, 8 x 600m at 5.10-5.15 pace = 53 mins Tue 10th Two runs, 54 mins easy sandhills plus evening run on the rd 34 mins Mon 9th Club session 10 x hill sprints plus run down and back = 1.37 Total = 9 hours 55 mins running For an elite runner this 'time on feet' would add up to almost 100 miles per week, next year I might increase up to 12 hours or so as I build for London. Following Pete Magill's plan of 1 hard, 1 less hard session plus a long run, the rest of my training is at a easy aerobic pace. Feeling much better and enjoying my running again.
Good posture is very important if you want to run your best; ARTHUR LYDIARD says, " Picture how the ballet dancer stands tall, flexible, powerful and seeming barely to touch the ground at all as he or she moves. America's greatest sprint coach, Bud Winter,emphasised running tall, the Australian middle and long distance coach, Percy Cerutty, called it "lifting yourself out of your pelvis". You should feel as if you are centimetres taller than you are. Far too many runners do not get that feeling or attitude. They sit in a bucket as they run, if you can picture that alongside the ballet exponent".
