Prancing is cool!
Whenever I am asked on how to improve one's running I tell almost everyone they need to prance more! Prance? They ask. Why yes indeed you need to prance when you run. How does one prance? Well you increase your running cadence. Increaseing your cadence forces you to a become a mid foot striker, (long strides = slow cadence) and moves your hips into a proper forward position. Why Prance in the first place? I ain't no bambi! Well first its more energy efficient, second its easier on the knees and third all the fast runners are doing it!! Here is a great article from Altra footwear founder Golden Harper on how to get your cadence up! And maybe I won't be prancing past you at you the next race!
Heel striking boo!!!
Gradually increasing the steps you run in a minute—known as cadence—may be the single most effective way to reduce high impact over-striding and improve running efficiency. Consciously monitoring and improving your cadence can improve your run times and reduce nagging knee pain.
Is changing to a 180 Cadence always correct?
Runner’s World recently published an article on cadence citing research from the 1984 Olympic Marathon. At the 1984 Olympics, famed coach and running researcher Jack Daniels counted the strides of distance runners as they raced. Daniels discovered nearly every runner took at least 180 steps per minute. Citing Daniels’s observation, experts have long suggested that in order to minimize over striding, reduce impact on the legs and maintain forward momentum—runners should always aspire to nail that magic 180 number.
The expert advice for runners to increase their cadence is well founded. However, the mistake comes when runners try to reach the magic 180 steps instantly. Additionally, assuming that everyone has to be at or above 180 is challenging when you consider genetic differences, running surfaces, individual style and other factors. Most runners run with a much lower cadence, and changing too rapidly can be difficult and feel awkward.
After teaching running technique for nearly two decades, I’ve found the best plan is a 3–6 week transition period where runners increase their cadence by about 12-20 steps per minute for every run during this period. After 3–6 weeks of muscle adaption, the runner can increase their cadence by another 12-20 steps if necessary. Although one or two adaptation sessions are sufficient for most runners, you can repeat as many times as necessary to find your sweet spot. For most runners, the sweet spot is somewhere between 170 and 185 steps per minute.
Finding Your Cadence
To improve your cadence you need to know what your actual cadence number is. Of course, you could simply count how many times one foot hits the ground in a minute and then multiply by two, but there are other ways. First off, remember that you will get a more accurate count in the middle or end of a run when running on a flat surface. I like to think that measuring for 20 seconds is a bit easier, especially for those who don’t want to count for a full minute. Simply count how many times one foot hits the ground in 20 seconds, then multiply by six to find your cadence. For example, if you count 25 steps in 20 seconds, your cadence is 150.
Improving Cadence
There are many ways to improve your cadence, here’s a few:
- 20 Second Count: Regardless of how many steps (on one foot) you count in 20 seconds, you just want to attempt to add two or three steps in 20 seconds to improve your cadence by 12-18 steps per minute. This is easy to do and can be done with nothing but a stopwatch in the middle of any run.
- 30/20 rule: The 30/20 rule is popular among those who are at a level where they want to have a 180 cadence. If you are shooting for 180, simply count 30 foot falls on one leg in 20 seconds. If you’re trying to be around 170, simply shoot for 28-29 in 20 seconds.
- Run with a metronome: There’s an app for that! …Unless of course you want to use the one on your piano! Simply set your metronome for your desired target cadence, and run to the beat. You can also use sites like JogTunes to find music with beats that match your desired turnover. A cadence meter for your iPhone is a great tool as well. You can check out the iFit app or iFit efficiency app.
*Remember that if your target cadence still feels strained after a couple of weeks, it is probably too high and you should reduce it by around 5-6 steps per minute.
Get someone to film you as you run.
Here I am about to midfoot strike
and my hips are forward while
running last few miles of the
SurfCity Marathon 2012
It takes along time to build stamina
to keep form the entire race!
Wow Nice Shirt Bob!!
Our internal research at Altra shows that runners who put on an Altra Zero Drop™ shoe improve cadence dramatically when they start running in our shoes. The reason for this is simple: Zero Drop shoes allow a runner’s landing point to shift closer to the body, which reduces the amount of time on the ground and causes a quicker step. Since most running shoes have midsoles that are twice as thick in the heel as they are in the forefoot, and also twice as heavy, they cause the body and foot to engage the ground earlier in the stride cycle than they otherwise would. The thicker, heavier heel slows down your cadence.
Wearing a Zero Drop shoe allows a landing or footfall nearly identical to how a person would run without a shoe on—with the foot more parallel to the ground and closer to the body before engaging the ground. This increases cadence, which has been shown to reduce joint impact and improve running efficiency.
Slightly different muscles will be emphasized or used at first while adapting to a higher cadence, but once adapted, running efficiency will almost surely improve.
It is important to note that while there is a slight change with faster paces, cadence and pace are not highly related. Run in place at 180 beats per minute. How fast are you running? That’s correct, 0 miles per hour. Now consider that in a recent world record setting performance of the mile, the winner had a cadence of only 204. That means that he only took 12 more steps per leg per minute than the standard 180 that is recommended for an average runner in a marathon. That’s not a very big difference considering that he is moving well over twice the speed of the average marathoner.
If you’re a distance runner dealing with nagging knee pain, or if you’re just looking to improve your 10k time, take a look at your cadence. Gradually improving your cadence could just be the thing that improves your efficiency, reduces risk of injury, and allows you to run with Zero Limits.
Once you learn to up your cadence, midfoot strike and push
those hips forward you too will be jumping for joy!
“I believe that the very purpose of our life is to seek happiness. That is clear. Whether one believes in religion or not, whether one believes in this religion or that religion, we all are seeking something better in life. So, I think, the very motion of our life is towards happiness.” ~Dalai Lama in The Art of Happiness
