Run 1600 meters
Rest 3 minutes
Run 1200 meters
Rest 2 minutes
Run 800 meters
Rest 1 minute
Run 400 meters
Post time to comments.
Can you pick out the Pose Runners?
"Go into partnership with nature, she does more than half the work and asks none of the fee.”- Martin H. Fisher
Pose Running Technique – By Vince (Living My Life to the Fullest/blogspot)
Pose Running
The Pose Method is a method of teaching efficient and effective movement as a series of poses that are stable against gravity. The Pose Method was developed by Dr. Nicholas Romanov. The theories and concepts are based on harnessing natural forces through natural movement.
Human movement is built on an infinite number of positions in space and time. Most of these are transitional movements between poses which are stable against gravity.
Romanov proposes one universal running technique for all runners, regardless of speed or distance: a 100m sprinter runs with the same underlying running technique as a 10km long-distance runner. The pose running technique is designed to prevent undue strain on the joints and requires a great deal of muscular endurance and resilience. According to Romanov, the Ethiopian distance champion Haile Gebrselassie and the US sprint legend Michael Johnson are both examples of runners with a natural pose style – ‘born with perfect technique’.
The distinguishing characteristic of the pose running technique is that the athlete lands on the midfoot, with the supporting joints flexed at impact, and then uses the hamstring muscles to withdraw the foot from the ground, relying on gravity to propel the runner forward. This style is in clear contrast to the heelstrike method that most runners deploy and which is advocated by some health care professionals (see Fig 1 below).
The concept is simple enough, but the practice is extremely hard to master. It is only with expert tuition and dedicated training that the athlete can perfect the pose running technique. Running in pose is physically demanding, so runners must undertake strengthening drills before starting. Maybe it is this added proprioceptive training that allows the athlete to remain injury free? As yet there is no body of research to help answer this question.
Principles:
Running should be easy, effortless, smooth and flowing. We have all seen and heard the heavy runner who pounds away on a gym treadmill. Romanov says the runner is only as good as his change of support and that the runner should have a very high cadence – not a long, extended stride length. In pose running, the key is to maximise your effort in removing your support foot from the ground; good training is essential to ensure that you don’t over-stride or create excessive vertical oscillation.
The runner should fall forwards, changing support from one leg to the other by pulling the foot from the ground, allowing minimum effort and producing minimum braking to this body movement. The idea is to maximise the use of gravity to pull the runner forward.
The pose running technique is centered on the idea that a runner maintains a single pose or position, moving continually forwards in this position. Romanov uses two models to explain the rationale behind pose:
•The mechanical model – the centre of gravity, which is around the hip position, should move in a horizontal line, without vertical up and down displacement
•The biological model – the rear leg maintains an ‘S-like’ form, and never straightens. This notion comes from animals such as the cheetah which do not land on their heels but run on the midfoot and deploy a pulling through action using their hamstrings rather than pushing the foot into the ground (see Fig 2 below).
Perhaps the most useful imagery to help with this technique is to imagine a vertical line coming from the runner’s head straight down to the ground. The raised front leg should never breach this line, but remain firmly behind it. This focuses the effort firmly on pulling the ankle up vertically under your hip rather than extending forward with your quads and hip flexors.
Pose running technique principles in summary
1.Raise your ankle straight up under your hip, using the hamstrings
2.Keep your support time short
3.Your support is always on the balls of your feet
4.Do not touch the ground with your heels
5.Avoid shifting weight over your toes: raise your ankle when the weight is on the ball of your foot
6.Keep your ankle fixed at the same angle
7.Keep knees bent at all times
8.Feet remain behind the vertical line going through your knees
9.Keep stride length short
10.Keep knees and thighs down, close together, and relaxed
11.Always focus on pulling the foot from the ground, not on landing
12.Do not point or land on the toes (see Fig 3: Toe running)
13.Gravity, not muscle action, controls the landing of the legs
14.Keep shoulder, hip and ankle in vertical alignment
15.Arm movement is for balance, not for force production
One tip: when you start training this technique, do it without music. You need your attention on the technique.
