Running Drills: Top 5 Technique Tips

Running drills are a key aspect to making your running faster and more efficient! Please see below for 5 tips to keep in mind when performing running drills.

  1. Tall hips: Keep trunk straight from hip to shoulder (minimise forward lean & seated posture). Stay tall by imagining a piece of string is pulling you upright. This activates your core and makes it easier for initial contact of foot to be made in a better position.
  2. High cadence: Aim to get as many foot contacts as possible during the drills. Jack Daniels is the guru of cadence research and says 180 spm + when running is the secret to less “braking” forces and smoother, more efficient and economical running.
  3. Arm drive comes from elbow: Drive the elbows back and keep them tucked close to body, allowing the hands to move back & forth and not across the body. At Threshold or below, the arms mainly counterbalance. Once you increase speed they play an increasing role in improving power and range of motion in the lower limb so it is essential to integrate upper and lower body movements efficienctly and consistently.
  4. Foot contact under body: Aiming for contact on the ball of the foot to reduce ground contact time. Quality of feet movement- focus on strong and powerful feet that are soft on landing and powerful on propulsion. The more time your foot spends behind you, the faster and more efficient your are running. Similarly, the more time your ankle is in front of your hip the less efficient your running
  5. Scapula retraction: Pull the shoulders blades together to keep arm drive straight and the chest forward, minimising any “hunch” at the shoulders. Chest strong and tall also helps allow diaphragmatic breathing allowing stronger and controlled breathing mechanics.

Please find some example drills in our Front Runner warm up video’s below

Book a gait assessment and technique session with our expert team HERE

 

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