Running is known to be the most effective and yet most used form of exercise. Most people choose running because then you do not need any equipment and mainly rely on the use of your own body. Another very important part of running is that you can actually set your own goal and then customize your running pattern to match that goal. You have to start with some simple steps but as you go along you will know how to customize your running pattern. However, experts say that even though running is the first thing that we do, most people do not technically know how to run even after years and years of practice. The main issue is that you have to know when and how you are lifting your feet and how you are moving your body. Apart from this, your pace, speed, distance, and overall time also play a very important role.
With the help of this article, we will explore what exactly the running form is and how you can change it to match your goal. We will further know-how to simply customize your running pattern and we will look at the ways you can make the most out of your limited running time.
How To Lift And Land Your Feet?
Most people have a habit of landing on their heels. This means that instead of using their whole foot they usually keep the weight fixed on the heel. This can cause pain in the heel but this doesn’t impact the speed of the runners. On the contrary, some people use the abounding method. They mainly keep their weight on their toe. The idea is to keep bouncing on the toes, this eventually helps in reducing the contact time of the feet and makes it easy to run. However, in the long run, this can cause pain in the digits of the feet. Finally, the most suitable landing posture is to land in the middle of your foot. Your weight will mainly lie on the middle of the foot and you will not feel any pain. Another very important thing is that it helps with balancing your body. People who land on toes or their heels are trained to learn this technique while running. Most experts say that this technique is only good for reducing the chance of injury but it doesn’t impact the over performance especially the speed of running.
How to Customize Running According To the Goal?
Customizing exercise is very common but for this technique, you need a piece of expert advice. However, if you are using the running customization technique you might not need any expert advice. When you run, there are three main things that you need to keep in mind. Adjusting these three features will help you easily customize your running routine. These three things include the speed of running, time or running, and the distance of running.
When you work on the speed, just increasing or decreasing the speed can impact the overall body. Most people who do not have so much time use the extreme sprint technique where they run for a short interval at full speed. Similarly, for people who have more time the speed is less. Then there is a time frame. Most people have a time frame that they need to run a specific pace in just 2 hours, others can run the same in 1 hour. Finally, you have distance which means you will be required to run for at least 1 km or so.
If you are looking to reduce your fat content then you need to adjust the time and speed. Your pace should be below so that your body can easily burn the fat. However, if your goal is to burn carbs, you then have to rely mostly on high pace running so that you can burn the carbs.
What Are The Things To Keep In Mind While Improving Your Running Form?
Running is a full-body exercise which is the reason you need to look at almost everything that you do as you walk. From using your hands to lifting and landing your feet, you should know everything that can impact the overall running. Some of the main things that you just keep in mind while running include:
- Keep your head straight while running. Most people bend their head or start looking down which impacts the posture and strains their neck to the back.
- Dangling hands are not recommended at all. The best practice is to keep your hands a little up, especially at the waist height.
- While running keep making a fist but do not tighten it up, instead keep your fingers a little loose for easy running posture.
- Keep your spine straight and your shoulders spread at both sides. Do not make a horse show hunch, it can be very damaging for your posture.
- Rather than keeping your arm right in front of you, rotate your arms to the side and create a small distance between your ribs and your arms so they do not touch each other.
Bottom Line
To sum it all up, it all comes down to the way you walk, and then you can work on your running skills. Most people think that you have to perfect your running skills so you can see improvement in your fitness. However, the fact is that you have to start by knowing how you walk before you perfect your walk. Some people have a habit of swinging their arms too much, others think of a simple angle method that can help them move their hands easily. Another very important thing that you will see is that some people land on their heels while others land on their toes. These simple details might not seem too big but they have a big impact on your body. Apart from this you also need to know what pace will suit you better and how you should work on lifting your legs and feet. Most people have a bent gate which means they do not want straight, instead, their feet are turned inside towards the thumb of the other leg. Similarly, others keep their feet bent outside, both these have an impact on your walk and your body posture.