How To Improve Running Form

How to improve running form?  We all need to ask ourselves, as a runner, this question.  The better our running form is, the easier it is to run, and we should also suffer from fewer injuries.  So, as runners, we should all invest time in looking at our running form and see what we can do to improve it.

We will examine the importance of good running form, improving running form, exercises to improve running form, and ideal footstrike.  We can correct how we run with a bit of practice, as we all have picked up bad habits over the years.  A strong core is also essential for runners.

Why Is Good Running Form Important

Good running form is essential for all runners.  Developing good running techniques generally encourages better motor patterning and muscle activation.  This, in turn, results in greater running efficiency, increased speed, and reduced fatigue, reducing injuries from overuse, especially for runners who run regularly and long-distance.

How To Improve Running Form

Running form is improved by looking at a few different things

Relax your shoulders

As we spend all day sitting at a computer, commuting here and there, our shoulders have become rounded.  It is essential to learn to relax our shoulders.  If we run with rounded shoulders, we are cutting off our oxygen.  The best way is to take a deep breath in and sigh.  We will naturally feel our shoulders drop when we do this.  We should do this continuously while we run.

Try and stand up tall.

If we stand tall as we run, we will get more oxygen into our lungs which we help us feel less tired.  We keep our head in line with our spine, shoulders relaxed, and core tightened as we stand tall.  Keep your chest out and lean slightly from the ankles.

Correct arm movements

Your arms should naturally swing as you run, keep hands in a light fist with palms facing the side of the body, keep your elbows bent at 90deg and let your arms swing naturally forward and back as you run.

Have a slight lean

Lean from your ankles, but the rest of your body remains straight, as this is one of the hardest things for runners to learn to do.

Cadence

The average cadence for runners’ is 180, so all runners should aim for a cadence of 180.