When I get out of my accel phase, coaches tell me RUN STRAIGHT UP, arms, legs, etc.
I notices that when I bent the upper back JUST A BIT, and kinda round the neck my stride length significantly increases and the footstrike feel so much POWERFUL, I can really “FEEL” the speed, if you know what i mean.
When I go straight up i just feel like im fighting the track, like nothing is natural… its just not me
Now, is it a problem, is it a good thing, why does it happen, and should I fix anything!
I felt pretty damn fast at one point and ran like +.8 off my PR.
Another time I felt slow and PR’d.
You should run tall–not leaning back–but tall. Rounding forward could very well give you some hammy issues if it is not your natural posture. There is room for idiosyncrasies (Michael Johnson, Walter Dix, etc.), but sometimes it is those same idiosyncrasies that cause serious injuries throughout a career.
Remember that the faster you go, the less you can feel the foot contacts. Fast runs feel loose, smooth, relaxed, rythmic and flowing. They are easy and effortless.
Just one thing- my natural posture IS kinda forward rounded. i feel most comfortable and natural going like Walter Dix… going straight feels like im forcing it, like im fighting every step…
Should I just not think about it and do whats most comfortable ?
i mean as long as your hips are up and you feel good and are running fast than just dont think about it to much and just let it flow. But also remeber that in practice you work on all the little stuff so that when you race things happen naturally. O and the reason you might feel slow when running upright is that you might actually be leaning back.
When you are kyphotic, being rounded feels better. When i do tissue work and stretch people that are kphyotic, the first thing they do when they get up is stretch forward as much as possible. It drives me crazy, but they are so used to feeling that way that they’ll do anything to re-set that feeling.
Just because something feels good, doesn’t mean it is good for us.
So i’m probably kyphotic… What should I do about it ?
Fix it with chest trap and neck flexibility and upper back work?
If I am kyphotic, does it mean I will run more naturally (and ths fast) with a slight bent in my back ? should I train that way ? or fight the feeling of being straight… i dont think im leaning back, i can hold myself straight.
Wow it never bothered me with anything…
So i’ll just do twice daily stretching to chest and neck, and work daily to tighten the upper back and back neck ?
I don’t know if you are kyphotic, it just sounded like what you described.
Have someone put there hand on your upper back. Tell them to feel the natural C curve it makes. Now raise your arms in front of you and up until they are straight above you. Ask the person cupping your back, “did your C curve straighten out and then curve back the other way slightly?” If it did, you aren’t locked into kyphosis, but if it stayed a forward C, they you are kyphotic.
If that’s the case, you can’t simply stretch it away. Instead you need to mobilize the t-spine, often.
Your best bet is to go to a chiro or PT. If you cannot, then we’ll try to talk you though it, but it’s extremely hard to get anything done on-line, honestly.
I’d go as far as to say it cannot be done. I’ve had some very mild mobility issues related to kyphosis that have effected technique on cleans and all of the self-correction, mobility exercises in the world didn’t do a thing until I got some adjustments done.
At top speed you shouldn;t feel anything only up and down. Long contact times feel powerful because you have time to “feel” it. Just like out of the blocks the front leg feels like it does most of the work because it is in contact longer but the back leg usually produces the highest forces.