It's just running...

We spend a lot of time emphasizing how the combination of external rotation with arm and leg flexion can improve your mechanics. In the snatch, external rotation of the arms puts the shoulders into a stable, solid position, both for pulling the bar (greater power transfer), and for locking it out overhead (greater stability). External rotation of the legs in the bottom position of the back squat gives us access to a greater range of musculature, as the flexed external rotators increase the stretch on the various adductors and the hammies.

We cannot improve our power generation and stability through external rotation in the pushup and overhead squat, but then just say, "oh, it's just running", and then fly out the door with a crappy, internally rotated shoulder position. But this is what will happen if you don't make it a part of your active todo list while running. In the snatch, we're trying to improve the transmission of power from our lower body to our hands, which are connected through the shoulders. In running, our hands aren't really doing any of the work, so why do we care?

Putting the arms in external rotation does a couple beneficial things. First, it encourages putting the thoracic spine into its strong, neutral position (not rounded!). I'm sure we have hammered the importance of the hollow-body position into you enough that you know why this is important. It's the second reason that may be more of an insight: putting your arms in external rotation acts like a shock absorber for your upper body, neck, and head.

When you externally rotate, you take all of the slack out of that system, and everything is connected, supported, and unified. If you just let everything hang loose the way it wants to, every bounce and jolt will hit your shoulders, and neck. If you have ever had tight shoulders or neck pain from running, chances are pretty good that you were following the common advice to relax everything in your upper body. You can really take a beating over a long trail run.

I'm not saying you need to tense everything either-use the good positioning we taught you, and the 20% rule, and you may find that you no longer experience any tightness or pain in these areas, as well as increased overall efficiency.

Progression is the key to this, as to everything else we do. Start small, and keep an eye on it. If you can't maintain the correct arm/neck/shoulder positioning beyond 400 meters, scale things back to 200. Over time, you need to develop the capacity to keep your form for the entire run.

Here are some great ideas for improving your ability to do this:

Comments

[susannah]

I did the homework three times on week 1 and twice on week 2. I'll show up at the track tomorrow if it's not pouring. Thanks for scheduling a track workout. My neighbors think I'm weird with all the beeping.
Here's my take on things so far -
My elbows start to drift out as I tire in the intervals, but I tend to notice pretty quick and bring them back in with external rotation. So far I'm feeling like the energizer bunny with the quick cadence. It is much more tiring than running in my old style. I do like going through the check list as I run. Right now I'm so focused on pulling and not pushing that I am forgetting to lean. The bad hip seems to be doing alright with the drills and intervals. Practice, practice, practice.
Picked up some Brooks Pure Connects today so I'm excited to see how they do.
See ya tomorrow!

[Christi]

I agree, nothing is more important in ANY sport/exercise/activity of daily living than POSTURE! I would estimate that at least 60% of patients that I have worked with have problems related to poor posture, or that forward shoulder (or as the video demonstrated, "internally rotated" shoulder) forward head posture that we oftentimes get stuck with by sitting at a computer all day and having weak posterior (back of your body) postural control. Do you have poor posture? A good test is to have a friend look at you from a side view: is your ear in line with the tip of your shoulder? if not than you most likely have poor posture, and are probably pretty uncomfortable.

Some excellent exercises to share to correct forward shoulder:
* I Y T Ws... this video has the position standing with a forward bend, I prefer to have athletes either flat on the floor or with their bellies supported with a swiss ball - that way you get core activation as well which is also vital to proper posture. Once you get adequate posteior musculature strength/endurance it should keep your shoulder in that nice neutral running position because the scapula is in the proper position for the arms to swing forward and back instead of cross body (I once had a XC coach tell me that a good arm swing is "nip to hip") http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/movements/y-t-w-l-standing-baseball.html

When I do these exercises I start without weight 3x10 each, then gradually add weight (SMALL at first, like 1lb to start). Adding too much causes you to recruit your upper traps and deltoid, which overpower the smaller scapular stabilizers and can cause malpositioning of the shoulder.