Category: (Sports)
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The Ultrafit Multisport Training Series Athletes in every sport except running devote enormous attention to perfecting even minute details of the movements they will be required to produce in competition. Running coaches just tell their athletes to run longer and harder. Runners, and their coaches, have basically ignored technique for years, assuming that their natural stride will give them efficiency and injury resistance. We have found that this simply is not the case. For the past decade, African runners have dominated distance running at its highest levels. Research on what makes these runners faster consistently demonstrates normal VO2 Max and lactate threshold levels for elite runners. Their height, weight, and limb-length ratios all fall into the normal category. Clearly and consistently, what sets the great African runners apart is that they are more efficient than their competitors, running faster without expending more energy. Experts in running economy agree that running barefoot through childhood contributes significantly to the extraordinary economy of these athletes. We're not suggesting that you run barefoot. We are suggesting that you take the time and effort to learn the techniques that may be more natural running barefoot, and implement them into your shoe-running technique.
Excellent Quick&Easy Guide to natural runningReviewed by searle, 2010-02-10
Two of the main guides to natural (including barefoot) style
running are the Evolution DVD and the Pose DVD+Book. I have both,
and like both, but the material is quite different. The actual
recommended running styles are very similar and both stress
avoiding the traditional heel striking style caused by expensive
sports shoes to avoid their associated injuries and to improve
efficiency. I also browsed articles about Chi running but found too
much "eastern philosophy" cluttering up the main running
information, so I settled on just Evolution and Pose as the source
material for my journey.
The Evolution DVD is a very simple but complete explaination of
natural (forefoot/midfoot) style running and has the descriptions
right in the video demonstrations. You can easly grasp the concepts
and start to apply them, and probably become a reasonably good
natural style runner. It also has a nice simple (but seemingly
complete) set of drills. But, almost guaranteed, you will not be
perfect and will have some flaws which need an experienced
instructor/coach to identify and help correct - if perfection is
your goal. If all you want is to become a good amateur/recreational
runner (and minimize injuries) then this is a great choice.
The Pose book has a huge amount more background description,
sometimes quite a bit too much and too wordy so you can easily fall
into skimming and/or become sidetracked. But in the end it is more
detailed, and the Pose method is based on much more detailed
scientific research (not to say there is anything different or
magical about its end conclusions). The DVD by itself is not really
enough, most folks will need the book to go with it. There are
quite a few more drills (you DONT need the separate drill DVD, the
main drills are covered in the book and the main DVD). But
everything seems (to me) to be more complex (maybe more detailed
and better?) and I suspect most folks will need a Pose
Instructor/Coach to really become reasonably fluent with its
specifics. The Pose website lists contact information for Pose
clinics and Pose coaches worldwide, and if that is not for you then
their forum encourages runners to video their running and post that
video for Pose instructor online analysis.
So, what is the summary? I suspect most amateur/recreational
runners will get most of what they need, quickly and easily, from
the Evolution Running DVD. If you are a serious runner who worries
about where you place in local events and/or actually wants to
formally compete, the considerable time and effort put into
mastering Pose is almost certainly the right answer for you.
In both cases, either switch to barefoot running ([...]) or get
minimal shoes (minimal or zero heel/arch/cushioning, flexible sole,
extremely light) and then start SLOWLY to practice and buildup your
new forefoot/midfoot natural style. And in both cases try to get to
one or more clinics with an experienced NATURAL instructor/coach
(and absolutely **NOT** just a typical shoestore or community
center "running" coach).
The cure for my running injuriesReviewed by S. Gatewood, 2010-01-17
After reading the book Born to Run, I bought this DVD. The running
principles are explained thoroughly and understandably, though
putting them into practice is definitely a difficult task for me
because my running form was TERRIBLE and lots of things needed to
change. I'm making incremental changes to my running form, but the
first change I made was foot placement and it's made a world of
difference in the quality of my runs. I don't really care about
speed...all I wanted was to run without pain or injury.
I got plantar fasciitis in one foot in February 2009 while getting
back into running after having a baby. I continued to train for a
fall marathon and ignored the symptoms until it was intolerable. I
went to a sports medicine doctor in July 2009 and was diagnosed
with a huge bone spur and PF in my right foot. After lots of
physical therapy, I wasn't much better so I quit PT, switched to
the half marathon, ran it, was in agony when I finished, and then
went to a new doctor. At that point, my extremely painful foot had
also turned into achilles and calf pain and crampng.
After investigating barefoot running, and with the help of my new
doctor, I've made some drastic changes in how I treat my feet and
my injuries and how I approach running. And with the running
techniques taught in Evolution Running, I've been able to get back
into running PAIN FREE both before and after my runs for the first
time in almost a year. I can't thank the makers of this DVD enough
because without it, I think I'd still be side-lined.
I Wish I Had Found This DVD FirstReviewed by Wakka, 2009-08-31
After reading "Born to Run" and investigating barefoot running
techniques, I learned that I was a serious "heel-striker" and
always have been. Forehead slap!
I set out to change my running form and unfortunately I went to
books first instead of videos. Mistake. I wish I had found this DVD
*first*. I have been investigating barefoot running, chi, and POSE,
and much of it confused me, as authors tend to describe the same
thing 20 different ways. And I'm sorry, a series of 50 still-frames
printed in black-and-white across two pages of a book is NOT THE
SAME as a VIDEO! There is simply no substitute for video when
trying to learn a dynamic motion.
While this is not hollywood-quality production, it is more than
good enough, and it has the information where it counts, mainly the
ability to "see" what people with correct form are doing, compared
to the inefficient stride that most amateurs are using. In this
case a $25 DVD and 45 minutes of your time is worth weeks and weeks
spent with a stack of books.
This DVD leaves little out -- it talks about "barefoot" running but
avoids falling into the "cult of barefoot weirdos". It simply says
barefoot runners are efficient, and that you can apply the same
efficiency techniques while wearing shoes. Perfectly logical to
me.
The DVD also covers using a metronome for cadence (way helpful!),
and is very insightful about the theory of running uphill and
downhill which most books say NOTHING about ... namely that very
little should change in your form whether running flats, up, or
downhill. Also a refreshingly logical perspective.
It also shows SIMPLE drills to help you feel the right way to
spring off your feet. Which also makes complete sense because deep
down running is simple. I shouldn't need a gym full of rubber bands
and fitballs and 5 coaches to teach me how to put one foot in front
of the other. The simple drills and images in this video helped me
instantly "get it" instead of reading complex descriptions like
"the foot should land and rotate at such-and-such position toward
the medial axis of blah" ... or "think about running on ice" or
"think about running on water" ... well, which is it, water, ice,
what? Video is worth 1,000 wasted descriptions.
I might recommend that newcomers get this DVD in conjunction with
*reading* about running technique of whatever method. Deep down
they are all more similar than different -- there is only one way
to run and land on the forefoot, after all.
If I came at this DVD out of the blue, I might not think much of
it. But after reading through 10 books and websites about running
theory and using myself as a guinea-pig, I now recognize that this
DVD hits on ALL the main points of efficient running that I have
been reading about everywhere else. They did a superb job at being
concise and effective. The DVD is deceptively brief, there is A LOT
here.
Even more importantly (bad for me though!) is there is a brief
TROUBLESHOOTING section on the DVD. It lists about 5 or so major
mistakes that people make when trying to change their form.
Unfortunately I made them all, thanks to the books I read.
Like the title of my review says, I wish I would've found this DVD
first. It makes total sense.
As far as negatives go, this DVD spends a bit too much time
explaining the mechanics of why heel-striking is bad. I already
knew that, so I had the "preaching to the choir" type of
experience. I think most people who buy this DVD are already
looking for an alternative to injury-creating running form, so they
didn't have to harp on it so much. It's a small criticism
though.
Another negative is that they didn't really explore the performance
gains, and how to apply the new techniques to running FAST. I know
that the coach is training champion triathletes, and their
testimonials are in the videos, but the specifics on how much
improvement a person can get from changing their technique would
have made the video even that much more compelling. One person says
she went from being a local elite to #3 in the world (impressive!)
but there's no specifics on race times or data. They do say that
you can be 4% or 5% more efficient, and that equates to a couple of
minutes per hour off your PR times... and maybe that's as specific
as they can get legally, or whatever, but it would have been nice
to have more detail about real-world training and
performance.
OutstandingReviewed by running man, 2009-08-05
Great DVD! Very helpful in explaining what to do and why. No more ankle pain when running, not as tired at the end and better time.
Very Good -- Not GreatReviewed by Seabiscuit, 2009-02-21
The DVD explains the perfect running style. However, it's hard to change your running style on your own, by watching a presentation. The DVD does give some running drills (I would have liked more) and some tips. The information presented seems correct, but at times, it seems like an advertisement to hire them to coach you. If you buy the DVD, be sure to watch ALL of it (including the FAQ and problem solving in the extras sections) before you try to change your running style. Most people (including me) try to point their foot too much when they change to a forefoot landing stride. Even now, I'm not sure I'm doing it right. Maybe I should hire them to coach me...
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