Run Faster | Running Speed | Running Technique

How To Run Faster By Using Less Energy

Run faster, try harder? What do you do? The common response involves using the wrong kind of effort with the result that we can end up working against ourselves – effectively applying the brake. What do I mean by wrong kind of effort? This doesn’t just apply to movement.

Without moving, observe how much effort you are using to sit at your PC and use your mouse. Is your hand gripping the mouse? Is there tension in the shoulders that you could release? Are your legs or lower back muscles tight? If we can answer “yes” to any of these questions we have been placing unnecessary strain on our joints and internal organs. Can you release this tension without slumping? To release the tension by collapsing places the strain elsewhere.

Want To Run Faster? Run smarter!

The body has a number of control mechanisms to monitor activity in muscle and make modifications if necessary, one of these components is the feedback loop. Feedback about any activity is vitally important for the quality of movement, messages from the brain that activate muscle have their actions monitored in order to reduce errors. Basically, an outgoing signal ‘pings’ back a reply about the outcome.

When we try to run faster, the conscious decision to put in more effort causes the motor cortex (part of the brain that controls muscle) to send additional signals to recruit more fibres of the required muscle. The increase in signals sent from the cortex adds to the traffic in the feedback loop, thus increasing our sense of effort.

What we cannot be sure of is whether that extra effort has resulted in an efficient movement. We may feel we are working harder but will not know whether we are necessarily working smarter.

The misapplication of effort can be seen at most athletic meetings. On the last lap the leader may look over their shoulder and see the second placed runner closing the gap. The leader will then do what they think is necessary to run faster and apply more effort. The feedback they receive will convince them they are moving faster because of the feel of it.

Invariably, the additional effort has applied the handbrake and is preventing them from running faster because they have stiffened up, pulled the head back and now require more effort just to maintain current speed. The second runner is in a better position to judge the required speed and moves more freely. As the runners draw level the original leader applies more effort and appears to run on the spot in comparison with the eventual winner. It is no coincidence that commentators may describe the winner of a race as ‘relaxed’ or ‘making it look so easy’.

Next time you attempt to run faster, observe what actions you make in anticipation and decide whether you think they help or hinder the activity. Are they necessary or do you do them because that is how you always prepare?

Checklist:-
If you answer NO to any of these questions you are wasting effort.

"Do my shoulders stay relaxed when I swing my arms faster?"

"Am I letting my legs swing from the hip joints?"

"Am I using the floor, or am I collapsing?"

"Am I letting myself breathe?"

"Are my lower legs swinging freely?"

If you continue to apply effort where it is not needed, you become less sensitive to the stresses and strains it places on your body. Attempts to improve performance are, in many cases, actions that just serve to consolidate our present condition by using the same existing habits to achieve our goals.

How sports scientists recommend you run faster
As strange as it seems, a study conducted at Harvard University shows you should not try to swing your legs faster to increase your running speed!

Want to ask a question?
My view of what fitness means and how it can be attained is different to the conventional approach. If there is anything on this page that you would like to follow up please feel free to contact me