It is important to make sure you have correct running form before you start a running routine. Especially for beginners, if you start off with the correct form you will help yourself physically by avoiding injury, plus you will maximize your results so you can get the most out of your running workout. And that is what we want! We want to be healthy, we want to stay injury free, and we want to make sure that we are not cheating ourselves out of our desired results. So if you are thinking of starting a running routine, make sure you know the correct posture to run in.
It all starts with your head, if your head is correct it is easier for your body to fall into position. So make sure you are not looking down. I blame treadmills for the bad habit of looking down, because when people run on a treadmill they always tend to look down at the clock, their distance, or maybe they are looking to see how many calories they have burned. For whatever reason it is, it is teaching bad habits. There are even certain treadmills that have TV’s installed that help people get in the bad habit of looking down. We need to look ahead, face forward, look to the horizon. When you keep your eyes ahead it will align your head with your spine, and you will help your body to last longer during the workout.
Run tall, this particular saying means to keep your torso straight and long. It is important not to slouch when you run, you are not a caveman or a hunchback! Slouching normally happens when we get tired, we start off all high and mighty, but as the run hits its low, so does our torso. When we slouch, it not only hurts our backs but it also prohibits us to breath correctly. So by focusing on keeping our torsos high and tall, we can breathe correctly and run without our backs wanting to die.
An important key to keeping your torso tall, is the shoulders. The shoulders should always feel relaxed and should never be up by your ears. A head that is looking forward and shoulders that are relaxed, should help your torso straighten up. So if you feel like your shoulders are getting tight, try shaking them loose.
The last part of your upper body that is important to have correct form in is the arms. This includes your hands and your elbows. You want to run with a 90-degree angle at your elbows and never have tight fists. Just like your shoulders needing to be relaxed, so do your hands. Tight hands will cause your forearms to stiffen, which will cause upper body tension. Your arms work with your stride and help propel you forward, but you should never run with your arms swinging across your body, your arms should always swing back and forth.
Part 2 will have the correct running form for your lower half. Correct Running Form: Lower Body
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