Don't shorten your stride!
- Thread starter Barefoot Gentile
- Start date
Ha! Possibly also the need to make money out of nothing . . .
Are you thinking there are to many barefoot books and coaches out there making things more confusing and cheating people out of their money???
I don't know, certainly Ken Bob has earned the right to throw in his two cents' worth, as has Jason, but I don't know about the whole coaching thing. If Jason says he's helping people I'm willing to take him at his word. But there do seem to be more and more people jumping in with dubious qualifications and authority. I can't imagine listening to a local guy who'd only been boxing a couple of years lecturing me about, say, proper footwork.
Still, I don't want to dismiss technique out of hand, because I've seen it work in other areas. Possibly also running may not come as easily to some as to others. I've been pretty active most of my life, but if someone has sat for a long period of time, or never did any sports in school, then perhaps the coaching is necessary for them. And I wouldn't want to write it off completely for me either, but as so many have said here and in other threads, sometimes you should just trust the way your body feels, provided you are already in tune with it.
I guess I always return to the question: what do the pros do? There's a lot of money at stake, and every second or millisecond counts. Dr. Mark is the only public barefooter I know of that runs like a pro, so for the time being I'm going to try to emulate him.
Zetti,
If that is running like a pro I am afraid my wife will never allow me to become a pro..LOL
If that is running like a pro I am afraid my wife will never allow me to become a pro..LOL
I know next to nothing about professional running, but the guy is only about 20-30 minutes off the pace of elite marathoners. That to me suggests that he's doing it right. Plus he's a doctor, so he understands the bio-mechanics and physiology involved at a pretty high level of sophistication. I haven't gotten into any of that yet, but it does lend a greater deal of authority to what he says than Barefoot So-and-so's synthesis of what he's read on the 'net. Heck, these days even reading Amazon customer reviews qualifies as 'research.' I don't really have anyone in mind, and I haven't really looked into things too much, partly because so many people on this forum offer good advice and often reinforce my own 'trust your body' approach.
But in a similar vein, if you want to be strong and fast, I would look into how a NFL linebacker trains in the off-season. If he does Cross-fit, do that, if he does MovNat, do that, if he just does weights and wind sprints, do that.
If pose runners are winning races, do that.
... and so on.
In short, I think pro training regimens are a good bottom line against which to judge the ideas of self-proclaimed fitness or running gurus, but I realize less genetically gifted or seasoned athletes like us, with more humble fitness goals, may need to make adjustments.
Increasing my cadence forces me into better form, as it really prevents pushing off, since it forces me to lift my knees faster. I have ran my fastest mile (under 9 minutes) following a 180+ cadence (and I am 5'3") -that is because people forget to take into account that as your muscles get stronger, your stride will increase, even when your cadence remains the same. The other reason I like following a 180+ cadence, is because it noticeably increases core muscle strength, which makes sense since you are pulling your body more upward, then forward. And I monitor my cadence very carefully during races in order to keep myself from over-exerting myself due to the adrenaline increase, from the excitement of the race. I also increase my cadence as the race progresses, as it helps me keep my energy stable throughout the race. The last race I ran (8k) I started at a 170 cadence and finished at a 190 cadence, and as a result my energy and level of exertion remained the same throughout the race.
Could you expand on why you think this way and what you think should be done to avoid this problem?
It's talking in absolutes that I think is dangerous. As in, "Don't Shorten Your Stride !". It's an absolute that is certainly not helpful to someone who's overstriding. I do agree that there is conflicting information out there, but that goes with just about any sport or activity. For every person that says "Don't do x", there's someone else out there saying "Do x".
Listen to it all, and then find something that works for you.....but understand it likely won't work for everyone. I absolutely agree with the listening to your body comments, and have always been an advocate for the KISS principle for just about everything. Running barefoot seems a bit like perfecting your golf swing. Every golf pro teaches you a different way to fix something that they think is broken. At the end of the day you still have to figure out what's gonna work for you.
Listen to it all, and then find something that works for you.....but understand it likely won't work for everyone. I absolutely agree with the listening to your body comments, and have always been an advocate for the KISS principle for just about everything. Running barefoot seems a bit like perfecting your golf swing. Every golf pro teaches you a different way to fix something that they think is broken. At the end of the day you still have to figure out what's gonna work for you.
I have to disagree with you Mr. Hawkbilly, and that's why I find this topic so ironic. If you throw a punch, or hit a tennis/golf/base- ball, the mechanics are pretty much the same (bend your knees, develop torque through your hips, follow through the zone of impact, etc.). I've only played golf once, hungover at a bachelor's party, and yet I had a pretty good drive (my mid-game stunk though), because it's the same basic thing as hitting a baseball or throwing a punch, two things I've spent time practicing. Yet as far as barefoot running goes, which should be the most natural of all athletic endeavors, there's a strangely diverse range of opinion on what is proper technique. So I'm inclined to listen most to veteran barefooters who have no stake in the whole barefoot business, like Mr. Gentile and others on this forum, and they mostly seem to be saying KISS or listen to your own body, which is what I've mostly been doing anyway, both now, and on previous occasions when I've run with some consistency, whether shod (2000-2003) or bare (1988-1990). This thread is really clearing this issue up for me I think . . . hopefully ... at least until this weekend when I have a look at Ken Bob's book ...
I like this line from the article.
"But I believe that running is reflex, not learned, and, like breathing, you can mess with it, but you can’t really improve on it. "
"But I believe that running is reflex, not learned, and, like breathing, you can mess with it, but you can’t really improve on it. "
Lawrence Smith
Barefooters
You are absolutely right, Hawkbilly. I changed the needlessly confrontational title of the post to "Should you shorten your stride?" I must have had one too many when I posted the original title, because there is nothing that absolutist in the post. I think I state throughout my new blog that there are many possible ways of running. Anyway, thanks for the correction.
Lawrence
I am going to have to disagree with that statement. I feel very confident that I have changed my running form over the yrs for the better.
Has anybody looked into optimum or preferred stride length as related to leg length? I would guess that shorter legged people have an easier time with shorter strides and faster cadence. Longer legged people may feel more comfortable with longer strides. I would guess that total body weight and overall conditioning have something to do with it as well.
Also, in this thread anyway, it's all been subjective. Nobody's put down out any actual measurements.
Also, in this thread anyway, it's all been subjective. Nobody's put down out any actual measurements.
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