A couple of questions

Wednesday, February 26, 2014 · Mike Davis

Good morning and happy Wednesday! Hope you are in the middle of a good week! This week hasn't been my ideal running week as I have yet to get out and run. Monday I was dressed and ready to run after work but did not feel at all well so that didn't happen and yesterday I honestly couldn't get myself to the point of even getting prepared to run mentally. Not sure if I am hitting some doldrums right now because of the weather or just being lazy? This morning is my functional training day and I am dressed and ready to jump on that after I finish my coffee and maybe later today before I meet with a client I will do an interval workout. A few years ago I suggested in a piece I wrote to a particular running group that if the motivation was lacking on a particular morning that it would be okay to skip a run, but still put on your running shoes. The idea is that just putting on the running shoes may motivate you to run. Most of the time that works for me, but not Monday. The funny thing is I have been running great lately and that usually helps me to get back out there even on the worst of days. What do you do to get yourself out on the road on days when you are less than motivated? Below is a new feature which allows you to leave comments and I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject. Another question I would like to throw out there is in relationship to your running form. Of the many gait analysis we have done over the winter I can safely say that a majority of those we have evaluated have a less than ideal arm swing. Many are very tight almost mechanical, while others have a noticeable difference between one side and the other and some baily swing at all. Most have no idea what their arms do or that their arm swing has any value. The idea that arm swing has no value or effect could not be further from the facts. Arm swing actually can give away a problem with our lower extremities as there are tendons that run from the right shoulder to the left leg and visa versa with the other side. So if you have an issue with one side of your arm swing it may very will indicate that you have something that needs to be dealt with in your lower body. Conversely, a tight arm swing or one less than ideal can have an affect on your lower body. Another problem that comes from a less than ideal arm swing is the tightness it can creat in our shoulders as we get into longer distances. I have worked with many that talk about how their shoulders get painfully sore and typically the culprit is a very tight upper body and a mechanical arm swing. I was (and can) fall into that category so I am well aware that I need to pay attention to my arm swing. What I tell people is to start out letting your hands hang loose down at your sides like a Raggedy Anne doll and start running. After a couple of minutes start to bring them up into a nice 45 degree angle while keeping them fairly close to the body and then maintain a nice even swing that comes out to an invisible line that shoots out from your bellybutton and then swinging back evenly like a pendulum. All the while staying loose and relaxed. Every so often during a run, check in with your arm swing and repeat these steps as needed. This is not as easy as it sounds and most have no idea what they are actually doing so for a while it takes some actual focus. Eventually it should become more natural but if it doesn't there may be a problem that needs to be addressed. Sometimes it helps to get a good sports massage to help loosen up those shoulders. How is your arm swing? Do you even know what you look like? I am quite interested in hearing what people think? This is an area that gets very little attention yet is quite important. Tell me what you think? Coffee is done and time to go work on my functional training. Leave a comment on the subjects I discussed or just chime in to tell us how your week is going? Have a great Wednesday and kill the rest of this week! Mike