5 Elements of Chi Running | ACTIVE

ChiRunning focuses on posture, leg swing, the position of the pelvis and a forward lean. It's not a fluffy, hippie theory--it's based on the ... 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EventOrganizers ACTIVEWORKS® Frommarketingexposuretoactionabledata insights,ACTIVEWorks®istheracemanagement softwareformanaging&marketingyourevents. LearnMore CustomerLogin Home Fitness Articles 5ElementsofChiRunning 5ElementsofChiRunning AstoldtoKristinHarrison UpdatedOnSeptember09,2013 Mostofusarenevertaughthowtorun;wejustdoit.Sowhyisrunningtechniqueimportant?Thebiggestreasonwhyyoushouldpayattentiontorunningformandtechniqueisasimpleone:soyoucanbearunnerformanymoreyears.I'vebeenarunneror35yearsandhavecompleted40ultramarathons.Focusingonmyrunningtechniqueiswhathasallowedmetokeepgoingforsomanyyears.Ifyouruninawaythathurtsyourbody,youwon'tbeabletokeeprunningverylong.Focusingonformandtechniquecanhelpyoustayinjury-free.Also,improvingyourformcanhelpyoubecomeamoreefficientrunner,whichallowsyoutogofartherandfasterwithlesseffort.SowhatisChiRunningandhowdoesitimproverunningefficiency? Inultrarunning,efficiencyisthenameofthegame.Iexperimentedwithmyformforyearstotryandfindthemostefficientwaytoruntobecomemorecompetitive.AlightbulbwentoffwhenItookataichiclassin1997,andIlearnedtomovefrommybody'scoreandletmyarmsandlegsfollow.Taichiisallaboutlearningtorelaxyourbody'smovingpartstobeefficient.WhenIappliedtheseconceptstoarun,Iwascompletelyblownawaybythedifference.In2004,IwroteabookaboutwhatI'ddiscoveredanditexplainsthetechniqueIuse.ChiRunningisdesignedtoaddressthetwovitalreasonsforfocusingonform:injurypreventionandenergyefficiency.Itworksbecauseitreducestheimpactonyourjointsandallowsyourlegmusclestoworklesswhenyourun.TheBasicsofChiRunningChiRunningfocusesonposture,legswing,thepositionofthepelvisandaforwardlean.It'snotafluffy,hippietheory--it'sbasedonthephysicsofbodymechanics.Herearethebasics:RunTall.Thinkaboutthis:Whenyou'restandingstraight,yourjointsareinalignmentandyourskeletonissupportingyourweight.Whenyourun,youwanttokeepthisalignmentsoyourskeletoncontinuestobeinvolved.It'scommon,however,forrunnerstoslumptheshouldersorbendatthewaist,whichthenrequiresthelegmusclestosupportmostofthebodyweight,insteadofthestrongerskeleton.Bymaintaininggoodposture,youlessentheamountofworkyourlegshavetodoandmovemoreefficiently.LeanForward.Oneofthebiggestforceswehavetofighteverydayisgravity.Whynotmakeitworkforusinsteadofagainstus?Byaddingaslightforwardleanwhenyourun,yourbodyfallsforwardandyouusegravityforyourpropulsioninsteadofyourlegs.Thisleanalsohelpskeepyourbodyinalignment,withyourfootlandingunderyou.Todothis,leanfromyourankles,notyourwaist,andkeepyourspinestraight.Theleanissubtle;don'tleansofarforwardyouareoutofcontroloractuallyfalling.LandontheMid-Foot.Tokeepyourpostureinalignment--whichhelpsreduceinjuries--whileyou'releaningforward,landwithamid-footstrikewhenyourun.Youwantyourfoottolandunderneathorslightlybehindyou,inlinewithyourhipsandshoulders.RunfromYourCore.ManywomenIworkwithsufferfromhipproblemswhilerunning.Oftenthisiscausedbyweakcoremuscles,whicharen'tstrongenoughtokeepthehipsandpelvisaligned.Toreduceinjuries,it'svitaltokeepyourpelvislevel.Youdothisbyengagingyourcoremuscleswhileyourun.Tolevelyourpelvis,trythissimpleexercise:Standagainstthewallandtrytopressyourlowerbackintothewall.Watchwhathappenstoyourpelvis.Youhavetoengageyourlowerabdominalmusclesinaverticalcrunchmovement.Rememberthatfeelinginyourbodyandtrytomaintainitasyourun.Relax,Relax,Relax.It'scommonforrunnerstotightenuptheirshouldersorothermusclesastheygettired.Butallthatstiffnessandtensionwastesenergyandmakesyoulessefficient.Whenyoufeelyourtechniqueslipping,askyourself:WhereamItense,andwhatcanIdoaboutit?Senseandrespondwiththecorrectadjustments,whichmightbeassimpleasstraighteningyourarmsandshakingthemoutorremindingyourselftoloweryourshoulders.Inmybook,Irecommendaseriesofpre-runbodylooseners--suchasshakingoutyourarmsandlegs,anklerollsandhipandpelviscircles--tohelpyourmuscleslearntostayrelaxedwhenyouarerunningandthroughouttheday.Howhardisittochangeyourrunningtechnique?Somecoachessayyoucan'tchangeyourrunningform,butIdon'tbelievethatforasecond.Butitdoestaketimetobreakinefficienthabits.So,you'llneedtoslowdownyourpaceatfirsttofocusonthebasics.Practicemakesperfect.Themoreyoupractice,thequickeryou'lllearnit.Fortheaverageperson,ittakesonetothreemonthsforhisorhermusclestolearnsomethingnew.Devoteatleastonerunaweektotechnique.Don'tlistentomusicortalktoafriend;instead,thinkaboutyourbodypositionandalignmentandmakeadjustmentsthroughoutyourruntostayrelaxedandmoveefficiently.LearningChiRunningislikelearningtorideabike--onceyougetit,yourmusclesrememberthemovement,anditbecomesintuitive.You'llfeeladifferenceinyourbodyonceyougetit.Manywomenhavetoldmetheysufferlesship,backandkneepainoncetheyswitchtothistechnique,inadditiontoincreasingtheirenduranceandspeed.Hopefully,you'llbeabletorunforyearstocome.DannyDreyerisarunningcoachandauthorofChiRunning:ARevolutionaryApproachtoEffortless,Injury-FreeRunning.ForascheduleofChiRunningworkshopsormoreinfo,visitchirunning.com. 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