Sort of leaning back at full speed?

Expert Discussion Biomechanics and Physiology
1

In my last two races I almost seem to be leaning back a little with my upper body. Not really sitting but leaning back a bit. It feels a little strange and I never used to do it. Anyone have any ideas what can cause this technical breakdown?

thanks,
Chris

2

i know exactly what you mean chris.this usually happens around 60m onwards right?

i think whats happens is when you’ve reached top speed you try to hard to maintain you speed and also you try to maintain you’re stride lenght.when this happens you tend to extent to the front more and can cause blocking thus leading to braking/deacceleration.

what you have got to do is tell yourself that you can’t go any fasterr after reaching top speed or at 50m.from then on just relax,run and stay smooth.its a habit which is very common and can be fixed easily

3

i think whats happens is when you’ve reached top speed you try to hard to maintain you speed and also you try to maintain you’re stride lenght.when this happens you tend to extent to the front more and can cause blocking thus leading to braking/deacceleration.

X,
you youched upon it right there… however this is usually an issue of strength mainly core strength. When you start getting fatigued in order to maintain knee lift you start leaning back which causes you leg/foot to land farther in front of your center of mass cause a braking/decleration which makes your hamstrings prone to injury.

4

ahh good stuff guys thanks!!!

You hit it on the head. from about 60 meters on…

I actually have a little tenderness in the upper left hammie since Saturday. I should look at hitting some more core work and focus on staying relaxed.

I was also fatigued from long hills two days before (8x150 @ 90% with walkback recovery)
The meet was a surprise meet for me. I am running again on Saturday July 26th.

thanks,
Chris

5

Are you trying to lift your knees? Or run with “high knees” all the way to the finish?

6

I dont “think” so though I am not sure hehe :slight_smile:

I used to have a very pronounced “C” portion of the movement. Pushoff with good force but a fairly long trailing leg recovery. I was concentrating on good emphasis through the “B” with “stepping over” but maybe I am overemphasizing it subconsciously and forcing myself to lean back a bit?

Should I think about leaning forward at all? (Torso wise)

Here is a vid of the last half of one of my races. (the first one)

http://www.chrispippy.com/vids/chris_12.15_edited.mpg

Please analyze. I’ll also post this in a new post.

thanks!
Chris

7

Im still learning about how to coach form… so i am just going to thorw in my 2 cents and see if i in any sort of right direction… this is good because its liek a case study… the subject will learn and so will others…
anyway…
1)i find a problem with your arm movement… it looks like you elbows are locked and you are just just using your shoulders to move your arms which which may be the reason for you low knee drive. The triple acceleration however does not look bad nor does your stride in general.

2)It also seems like you are landing flat on your feet having to much of your foot making contact with the ground.

Thoughts guys?
Am i correct at all?

8

Thanks man for your comments!

I have since changed my arm movement a fair bit since that race. I am much more relaxed through the arms now.

Do you have any cues for arm action during the race?

The flat footed landing is probably a result of two things:

  1. I am recovering from a fairly severe heel/ankle injury. It is fine to run on now but I really need to work on elastic strength more.
  2. I was pretty heavy during that race (about 205)

I am down to about 195 now and have started incorporating more plyos so hopefully that will help.

thanks again!

Chris

9

As your elbows move you arms foward your your bicep should flex allowing your palm to be up near your cheek.

10

ahhh! I gotcha!

thanks man, I am going to start taping training sessions where I am running at top speed and post them for review. You can then let me know if my arms are acting normally or not. (Might be a result of race pressure or something causing me to have weird arm action)

Cheers,
Chris

11

good luck man! keep us posted.
by the way how are you posting video and what kind of camera do you use to tape?

12

I usually won’t harp in on someones evaluation, but one comment caught me by suprise.

I have never been told to “flex my bicep” so that my “hand is up by my cheek”.

Why would you want to do this? My main concern with this statement is that focusing on flexing your bicep while running would cause your shoulders to rise and tighten, which detrimental to your run, and contrary to what (I think) most people would recommend here.
However, rather than harp on quick too much, I agree with the points stated re: core strenghtening, and avoiding excess knee rise (which leads to prolonged ground contact, overstriding, etc.)

Counter points are welcome, I, like most people, still have much to learn.

D.

13

Druze,
its ok… i knew that comment would offset someone. ok check it. i did my best to explain it but you misunderstood what i am saying and its not your fault. I dont mean flex your bicep i mean flex your elbow as opposed ot extending your elbow. for example if you were pouring someone a drink and you get an itch on your cheek and you go to scratch it. That is kinda what i mean. Clearer now? Elbow flexion which the bicep is responsible for.