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How's Your Running Body? These self-tests can help determine if your body is holding you back.
http://www.runnersworld.com/injury-treatment/hows-your-running-body
Phil Wharton December 20, 2011
Good running form plays a large role in remaining injury-free, and remaining injury-free plays a large
role in being able to run farther and faster. Let's start by looking at five basic elements of good running
form. Then we'll get into some tests to see if your body has the structural integrity to maintain those
elements of good form.
THE PARTS OF THE WHOLE
1) POSTURAL ALIGNMENT: Any deviation from optimal alignment will reduce efficiency and lead to
musculoskeletal injuries.
2) RANGE OF MOTION: Flexibility is crucial to ensuring complete mobility throughout the running
motion. Limited range of motion inhibits the body's ability to complete the full running gait cycle,
thereby displacing forces and causing imbalances.
3) JOINT INTEGRITY STRENGTH: Your body must mobilize the forces of landing with 2.5–5 times body
weight on every step; multiply that by the number of steps per mile, the number of miles run per year
and the number of years you've been running, and you can begin to grasp the impact that your runner's
body endures. To assist the body in properly handling these forces, strength is required, particularly at
the joint intersections and tendinous attachments, which serve as the body's hinges or fulcrums.
4) MUSCLE ACTIVATION: The nervous and muscular systems work in concert; to move efficiently in
forward motion, activation of your posterior muscles (gluteals, hamstrings, lower back) is required. The
muscles must first be strong and functioning well before they can adequately "fire." Active-isolated
flexibility and strengthening, dynamic range-of-motion exercises and form drills will begin this process of
muscle activation and reinforce or "cue" these proper movement patterns in the body.
5) BIOMECHANICS: The integration of correct postural alignment into the running movement requires
attention and thought. Some basic concepts are: run tall, making sure that your neck and shoulders are
in alignment slightly behind you; land on your forefoot to midfoot with your foot landing directly under
your center of gravity; stay light on your feet; stay low to the ground, without shuffling, yet don't
bounce or "prance." This optimal positioning will keep your power to the ground and propel you
forward in an efficient manner.
TESTING, TESTING... 1, 2, 3
Now let's look at a few simple tests you can do at home to see how your running body rates in key areas
that contribute to good running form.
SELF-TEST #1: Postural Alignment
One of the simplest ways to see if you're maintaining optimum postural alignment is to stand against a
wall with your heels, pelvis, back, shoulders and head touching the surface of the wall. Take a moment
to observe how your body feels in this position; this is close to ideal postural alignment. Now take two
or three steps away and allow yourself to adjust back to your normal daily posture.
Does your daily posture feel different from the optimal postural alignment against the wall? Most likely
it will, as most of us have become comfortable living a life in a mostly forward orientation; the medical
community calls this anterior or forward flexion "going to ground." The combination of gravitational
forces and the overuse of flexor muscles makes it hard to stay optimally upright. Armed with this new
awareness, you can perform check-ins throughout the day to reinforce good postural habits.
SELF-TEST #2: Range of Motion
The following tests cover a few important areas of the body and provide a snapshot of your body's
flexibility.
A) CHEST/PECTORALIS MAJOR
Stand with your feet slightly apart. Straighten your arms and lock your elbows. Put your fingertips
together in front of you and then swing both arms back behind you. Take note of your end range of
motion.
DEGREES LEFT POSITION ON CLOCK
RIGHT POSITION ON CLOCK
RANGE OF MOTION
(12:00 straight in front of you)
0–75°
12:00–9:30
12:00 – 2:30
Too Tight
75–105°
9:30-8:30
2:30 – 3:30
Normal
105–135°
8:30–7:30
3:30–4:30
Optima
135–180°
6:00–7:30
4:30–6:00
Hypermobile
B. HAMSTRING
Begin lying on your back with your non-exercising knee bent and with that foot flat on the floor. Take a
rope and hold the ends together so that it forms a loop. Place the foot of the leg you're exercising into
the loop. Lock that knee so that your leg is extended straight out. From your hip and using your
quadriceps, lift your leg as far as comfortably possible without using the rope to pull you farther back;
your muscles should be doing the work. Take note of your end range of motion
DEGREES
POSITION ON CLOCK (12:00 straight up)
RANGE OF MOTION
0-75
9:00 – 11:30
Too Tight
75-90
11:30 – 12:30
Normal
90-120
12:00 – 1:00
Optimal
120-150
1:00-2:00
Hypermobile
C. HIP ADDUCTORS
Lie on your back with both legs extended straight out. Take a rope and hold the ends together so that it
forms a loop. Place the foot of the leg you're exercising into the loop and wrap the rope around the
inside of the ankle so that the ends of the rope are on the outside. Lock that knee. Rotate your nonexercising leg inward slightly. From your hip and using your abductors (outer thigh), extend your
exercising leg out from the side of your body, leading with your heel. Go as far as is comfortable. Take
note of your end range.
DEGREES
Left POSITION ON CLOCK
Right Position On Clock
RANGE OF MOTION
0-45
6:00-4:30
6:00-7:00
Too Tight
45-75
4:30-7:30
7:30-8:30
Normal
75-105
3:30-2:30
8:30-9:30
Optimal
105-180
2:30-12:00
9:30-12:00
Hypermobile
SELF-TEST #3: Joint-Integrity Strength
All muscles work in pairs; the following assessments will help evaluate a few muscle groups that are
vital to the running stride. In each, you'll separately test the strength of one muscle, then its opposing
member. Then you'll compare the ratio of one to the other, and see how that compares to the ideal
strength ratio for that muscle pair. To best perform these tests, use ankle weights, as described below. If
you don't have access to ankle weights, it's possible to glean some information by completing these
tests without weights and assessing the relative ease with which you can do the exercises.
A. HIP ABDUCTOR (OUTER THIGH) TO HIP ADDUCTOR (INNER THIGH) STRENGTH-RATIO TEST
ABDUCTOR TEST
Lie on your side on a flat surface with both legs extended and your body straight. Fasten weights on
both ankles, but work only one leg at a time. Bend the knee of your bottom (non-exercising) leg 90
degrees toward your chest to take the pressure off your back and keep you from rolling. Keep the knee
of your top (exercising) leg straight.
Lift your foot straight up toward the ceiling, leading with the heel. This keeps the leg internally rotated.
When you have gone as far as you can go, pause, lower your leg, and return slowly to the starting
position in preparation for the next rep. Be careful not to slam your toes to the floor. Find the weight at
which you can do 10 reps comfortably.
ADDUCTOR TEST
Fasten the ankle weights around both ankles. Lie on your side on a flat surface with both knees straight
and legs extended straight out. Correct alignment is critical in this assessment; be certain that you stack
up in a straight line shoulder to hip to heel. The bottom leg is the one you're testing the strength of.
Lift your top leg and rest your foot or ankle on a low stable surface such as a chair. Your top leg should
be at approximately a 45-degree angle to the floor. Contract your abdominals to keep from rolling and
to stabilize your torso. Contract your inner thigh muscles to bring your exercising leg up to meet your
top leg. Keep your knee locked. Pause, lower your leg and return slowly to the starting position. Find the
weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.
B. QUADRICEPS TO HAMSTRING STRENGTH-RATIO TEST
QUADRICEPS TEST
Fasten an ankle weight around each of your ankles. Sit on a chair with your back straight and your feet
flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles to stabilize your torso.
Flex your toes up. Extend your leg straight out. Lock your knee. Contract the medial side of the head of
the vastus medialis--the insertion of the small muscle at the top of the kneecap on the inside of your
thigh. Pause and return slowly to the starting position in preparation for the next rep. Find the weight at
which you can do 10 reps comfortably.
HAMSTRING TEST
Lie on your stomach on a flat surface. Flex your knee by contracting your hamstrings, bringing your foot
toward your buttocks. Keep your hips flat on the surface and your foot straight; be careful not to engage
other muscles such as those in the back or the gluteals, in order to isolate the muscles in the middle of
the rear thigh. Pause and return slowly to the starting position in preparation for the next rep. Find the
weight at which you can do 10 reps comfortably.