With Coach Tim, Online Running Coach for We Run and the We Run Virtual Running Club
Keeping your torso and head balanced, strong and stable provides a very strong foundation for your arms and legs to work hard when you are running. The stronger this base the less rotational or sideways movement creeps in to your running and the less energy you’ll “leak”.
Your Foundations; Your Torso
The one key thing I look for in the torso when someone runs is that not much should be happening with it! Very little movement side to side and in terms of rotation means that it’s acting like a really strong foundation for the legs and arms to work really hard. What does that mean in practice?
- Only a small amount of counter rotation between hips and pelvis
- Shoulders and hips pointing forwards
- No dipping of the pelvis or shoulders to the side
- No leaning to the side as you run
All this adds up to less injury risk too as any twisting or sideways movement in the torso moves elsewhere in the body which means your legs can often end up compensating or moving in a way they are not quite happy with.
Looking Forwards
I also take a look at head position. These days with desk jobs, driving and phone use taking up more of our time I’m finding many runners have their head forwards of their body. This puts great strain on the neck and upper back. For a runner it also means that the body is not in it’s optimal position when running so forces are travelling to parts of the body that aren’t designed to deal with them.
Simple tricks like looking forwards and ahead, tucking the chin slightly backwards or imagining a helium balloon coming out of the top of your head and lifting it up slightly can really help here.
Summary Tips
- Your torso is the foundation of your body and should be relatively still when running, letting your arms and legs do all the work of moving you forwards
- Your head should be balanced on top of your neck, not in front, so your body is working optimally
- Working on your torso strength and head position whenever you can is great, as it’s likely that it’s not just whilst running that your body adopts this position!
