The Easiest Correction
John Hudak
Clients who are runners always ask me what kind of corrections they can easily make to improve their running form, and I tell them the number one and best correction you can make is to strive towards good posture. I was standing in line at the supermarket this morning, and all the men in front of me looked like their necks were almost 90 degrees forward…like their heads were in front of their bodies. It is like wearing an albatross around your neck all the time (bending your neck forward with the weight). That is exactly what happens when your head is not in line with your body.
These days, with people spending more and more time sitting at computer terminals hunched over forward (and head bent down looking at "smart" phones), more and more people are developing intermittent or chronic lower back, neck, or shoulder pain. When the body stays in one position for long periods of time, the muscles start to feel comfortable in that position, and that position becomes the norm: the head forward of the body, the shoulders forward; and for people who sit all the time, from the lower back to the thighs, you have (depending on how you are sitting) a 90 degree angle, and then from the thighs to the lower leg, another (usually less than) 90 degree angle. This is the position the body gets accustomed to being in.
Ideal posture and alignment minimizes the amount of muscle and skeletal (joint) pain one has in life. Even the slightest amount off from neutral alignment, and the joints start to get worn unevenly, like a car tire out of alignment wears unevenly. Now if you add a repetitive motion like running to this misalignment, like the tire, the bones begin to wear at the joints unevenly. Runners who are trying to avoid over striding usually aim to run at a cadence close to 180 foot falls per minute (the same as bpm, beats per minute in music). An average jogging pace would be around 12 minutes per mile: 2,162 footfalls per minute. Over time, this wears on the joints and stresses the muscles if they aren't aligned correctly.
To correct misalignment, you need to begin a regular routine of strengthening the muscles of the lower body (including the feet and ankles); the middle of the body (the core); and the upper body ending at the crown of your head. Throughout life, you favor certain muscles, and neglect others, causing misalignment. To correct this imbalance, you need to begin a regular routine in which you, loosen the tight muscles, and strengthen the weak muscles, especially those of the lower body (including the feet and ankles); the middle of the body (the core); and the upper body ending at the crown of your head.
As a personal trainer, I can create a daily routine tailored to your specific weaknesses and misalignments that I find in the posture screening I give every client, be they interested in just improving their posture or muscle strengthening specific to running. Most of the common problems we see in the neck, back, hips, knees, ankles and feet, can be improved with persistence and perseverance in conditioning and exercise. The hardest part is making exercise an integral part of your life, as important as eating food and drinking water. You can easily begin doing push ups, squats, and side facing leg lifts. The burpee is one of the best overall exercises. See how many you can do, but not if you already have lower back problems or weak shoulders and arms. If that is the case, you have to start with much easier exercises like push ups against the wall and step ups.
Contact me for a free fitness assessment (including a detailed posture screening); make an appointment for a training session; or join one of my running classes on Saturday's at 9:30am (beginners), and Sunday's at 9:30am (beginners to intermediate). I enjoy working with runners, because I am a runner myself. I had gone through years of chronic lower back pain, being told that it was postural, but not thinking about strengthening the muscles related to posture. One can always "stand up straight," but you can't just think yourself to better posture. It hard to change bad habits...but a training plan is a great start.
Best,
John
