Tips For Your Running Form!
Happy Friday everyone! It’s been somewhat of a busy week for me and I am definitely glad for a weekend which will be filled with naps! BUT, before all those glorious naps, I wanted to pop in today and share a few tips for working on your running form. As I have been doing a lot of group runs, I’ve learned that everyone runs different. While there’s no one “perfect” form, there are a few things you should look at to dial in your running form. When I first started running, I think I suffered from all of these. While they didn’t necessary caused any injuries, they didn’t make me an efficient runner. Just a few small tweaks and running doesn’t beat up my body as much as it used to!
Running Tip #1: Don’t Wear Your Shoulders As Earrings
That’s a fancy was of saying relax your shoulders! You are doing yourself a disservice by tensing up your neck and shoulders while you’re running. You will be super sore after long runs and it’s just pain uncomfortable. It’s easy to be tense as you pick up the speed but just remind yourself every few miles to relax. Repeat after me: shoulders are not earrings!
Running Tip #2: A Little Less Work Horse, A Little More Show Pony
So I totally stole that phrase from Peloton instructor Dennis Morton but it translates well to running. Whether you naturally slouch when you’re not running or you find yourself slouching as the miles tick by, you want to make sure your shoulders are back and your chest is forward. By standing tall, rolling your shoulders back, and opening that chest, you may already be fixing other small form issues.
Running Tip #3: Keep Your Hands Loose
This is another tip that has to deal with tension. Most people don’t realize it but they tend to ball up their fist. By tensing up your arms, you’re diverting energy from parts of your body (i.e. legs) and really need it. Think of holding a potato chip in each hand and you don’t want to crush them. Keep those hands loose and RELAX.
Running Tip #4: Watch Your Arm Swing
You may need some help on this one but you want to make sure your arms are at your side. You definitely want to swing your arms, especially when you’re going up hills. However, your arms should not cross your body. T-Rex arms are also not a cute look. The goal is that your arms are close enough to your body that your wrists graze your waist or hip area. If your arms are swinging in front of you, you’re expending extra energy and your gait may or may not be impacted by an unnatural arm swing. Have a runner friend take a look at you or record yourself to see if you need to make any adjustments.
There you go my friends! These are some of the common issues with running form. The next time you’re out on a run, do some self inventory and see if you need to tweak a few of these!
Have you ever had any of these issues before?
