Midweek Coffee and Chat

Wednesday, January 13, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning! Grab you cup and pull up a chair for a quick chat with the coach. How is your week going? I have been busy preparing to shoot out of here Thursday as well keeping up with No Finish Line Running stuff. As a running coach based business that provides group and individualized help to all levels of runner, one of the most enjoyable resources we provide is gait analysis. Tuesday morning one of our newest clients came in for an early morning gait analysis and once again a runner learned much about their running. This past year this runner had returned to running after an extended period away from it. Her results were impressive and it was obvious that she is a gifted runner. She came to NFLR with a goal of improving her running times as well as to get some guidance with her overall running. Like many people her guidance came from the World Wide Web or just using her own logic. If you have been around NFLR you most likely know that we are not fans of generic training plans or any other running plan that does not personalize the training. Each one of us are unique from our physical makeup to our personal challenges. Having a plan that is designed totally for you provides the greatest opportunity for success. The internet now has some self-described personal coaches that are promoted by a basic online training program however, the “personalized” part is limited to cookie cutter scripted training. In fact last night a friend played the phone message he received as the result of signing up for a free 10 day trial on a particular training website. The message was obviously scripted and sounded more like a salesman that a personal trainer. No doubt my friend will receive many calls until it becomes obvious that he will not part with any money and then he will just receive constant emails trying to lure him and his money in. T Back to yesterday’s gait analysis. As I said this new client sought us out with the desire to take her running from a decent pace to an above average pace. The first step is to look at her running and determine if her running form is correct and efficient. Correct is certainly relative to each individual but, there are many basic movements that are essential to healthy running. Efficient also lends itself to healthy running but, also is an important part of running strong. We looked at multiple sides of our client to determine areas of weakness, flaws, range of motion, running cadence and whether propulsion is utilized. This woman had a nice running gait, with decent cadence however, like many she had very little propulsion which essentially limits efficient (strong) running. Our gait analysis system was able to show her at each step and give her a clear picture of her form as well as an understanding of what needs corrected. Pulling up other videos and putting it side by side to hers provided a great reference and understanding. Along with the visual we worked on some drills that only ask her to focus on 3 things which keeps it simple enough to actually change. My final instruction is to implement the changes in small dosages such as 3 minute intervals, which keeps the runner from getting overly frustrated. This strategy works in all cases if the runner doesn’t give up. Our latest client was extremely pleased with her gait analysis and gained a much better understanding of her running. Being able to see herself on a professional gait analysis system that provides tremendous detail helped her in measurably to realize where she needed to improve. I never tire of the impression our gait analysis system leaves on all those that we help. Gait analysis or running form analysis is something every runner should consider. Time to move along. Have a great Wednesday! God Bless! Mike