I developed the CrossFit Endurance system with two things in mind:
1. Increase the sport longevity of the endurance athlete.
2. Improve performance while improving mechanics.
After a lot of personal
experimentation and with the help of world-class coaches and athletes, I
developed a system that allowed me to achieve these goals. It was
simple. To improve strength and mobility, I incorporated a strength and
conditioning program that utilizes full-range functional movements
(squat, dead lift, overhead press, etc.). It’s important to realize that
endurance activities force athletes to work within limited ranges of
motion. The result: muscles get tight and weak, performance suffers, and
then injuries follow as a result of a poor positioning.
To reduce training
time, accelerate recovery, and improve performance, I replaced the long,
and steady state efforts with high intensity sport specific intervals
focus on skill. Note: I didn’t hack stamina efforts out of the program.
This is a common misconception. Rather,
I encouraged athletes to infuse high intensity training in the form of
CrossFit and sport specific interval and stamina efforts to increase
their anaerobic and aerobic capacity. This allowed me to reduce training
time by more than 80-percent without affecting an athlete’s ability to
go long distances. This does not mean the athlete will not eventually progress to more mileage. It means to change we will need to back the athlete off a bit, and actually spend more time working on weaknesses.
Above all, I
prioritized skill training. Focusing on the skill of movement is the
tree trunk of the CrossFit Endurance system and the primary focus of my
book, Power, Speed, Endurance.
What’s interesting is
endurance athletes spend very little time working on drills aimed at
improving technique, especially when it comes to running or cycling.
Think back to sports played in groups, like water polo (as it was
something I did). We rarely got to actually scrimmage. In fact, we typically only played the game when we actually had a game. We drilled, drilled, drilled at practice, and it would either start or end with some conditioning. Yet, in endurance sports we see "conditioning" as the only means to the end.
Running As A Skill
Running is a skill. This is a mantra that people have been chanting for a long, long time. Yet,
it is not something that is formally taught to most athletes. It’s odd
that the skill of running, a movement that is interwoven into most
sports and physical activities, is not given more serious consideration. To
this end, I’ve developed a system for running using the concepts
gleamed from my mentor Dr. Nicholas Romanov—creator of the POSE Method
of Running™.
If you run for fitness the steps that I outline below will help you run faster while decreasing your susceptibility to injury. If
you’re an endurance athlete or someone that does a lot of running,
learning proper mechanics is the difference between injury and
performance sustainability.
To shorten your learning curve, I’ve broken down running into a series of defined positions (or phases):
1. Running Stance
2. Arm Swing
3. Forward Motion (Fall)
4. Foot Pull
5. Shift Supports & Land
1) Running Stance:
The key to running efficiently is to setup in a strong position before you put your body into motion. Put
another way, if you don’t stabilize your spine in a neutral position
(back flat, head straight), you compromise the efficiency of your
movement:
Running
is merely your ability to fall forward under a stable body while
shifting supports, or falling from one position to the next. If your
midline is not stabilized when you fall forward and shift your weight
from one foot to the other, the shock wave that is
sent up your body will make your spine compress and flex. This
compromise in posture places additional leverage on your extremities,
which causes you to overload or misuse the muscles and joints that are
in action. The result: You move slower, fatigue sooner, and invite
injury.
To setup in a running
stance, position your feet underneath your hips—keeping your feet
straight—and squeeze your glutes. This sets your pelvis into a neutral
position. Next, brace your abs and align your ribcage over your pelvis. Keep your head neutral, positioned directly over your shoulders and centered over your midline. This is your running stance.
2) Arm Swing:
Once you’re set in a good stance, the next step is to master the arm swing:e your arms will move only slightly to keep up
with the faster cadence.
Regardless
of the running intensity, your arms should be held close to your
body—no flaring elbows. If you bow your elbows out or flail your arms
from side to side as you run, not only is energy dissipated, but
additional torque is also applied to your spine, which compromises the
structural integrity of your posture. Another common fault related to
arm positioning is an alternating forward and backward movement of the
shoulder
The
key is to stay as relaxed as possible. Your arms are not there to work,
but to provide balance and stability as your run. For example, if you
lift your right foot off the ground, your left arm moves forward to
compensate for the weight shift—contralateral motion. The distance the
arms move depends on the rate at which you’re traveling: if you’re
sprinting a short distance, your arms need to move more to generate
momentum and compensate for the higher foot pull than if you’re running a
marathon, in which cas
s. Ideally, the shoulders should remain square and fixed.
3) Forward Motion (Fall):
The key to running efficiently is to harness the power of gravity by falling forward. To accomplish this, shift your general center of mass (GCM), over your base of support (ankles). The moment your hips pass your ankles, gravity will start pulling you forward. The idea is to use this energy to your advantage and maintain forward momentum by alternating your feet underneath your GCM.
Above: Assume your running stance. To initiate forward motion, fall forward from your ankles and maneuver your hips over your feet. Don’t bend forward from your hips or lead with your chest. From
here, you will initiate the foot pull and start altering your feet
underneath your GCM to maintain forward momentum—otherwise referred to
as shifting supports.
4) Foot Pull:
As you fall forward over your base of support, you will transition into the next phase, which is the foot pull. To properly execute this step, pull your heel toward your butt using the strength of your hamstrings. This not only conserves energy, but also makes it easier to land under your GCM as you alternate your feet:
Below
you’ll notice that my foot is directly in line with the opposite leg
and centered directly under my hips (GCM). Tendencies to avoid are
dorsiflexion of the foot (Figure B), lifting the knee up (Figure C), and
extending your leg behind your body (Figure D). Flexing your foot
creates tension through the support system as well as impedes your
ability to land on the ball of your foot. Pulling your knee toward your
chest engages the hip flexor and quadriceps and shuts off the glutes and
hamstrings, which can not only irritate the knee and hip, but can also
cause your foot to end up out in front of your GCM. And swinging your
leg out from behind your body indicates a push, which makes it difficult
to pull your leg back under your GCM. All of these faults cause you to
exert more energy than necessary and dramatically increase your
susceptibility to injury.
5) Shift Supports and Land:
In order to create and maintain forward motion, you have to shift supports as you fall. The idea is to maintain the same foot pull pattern with both feet. Put another way, your feet should cross paths and your legs should remain underneath your GCM as you alternate your feet. The next step is to land:
To
maximize the muscle, tendon, and ligament elasticity in your foot, you
want to land on the pad of your foot on the ground—otherwise referred to
as a ball-of-the-foot landing—so that your arch can absorb the shock of
your body hitting the ground. However, just because you land on the
ball of your foot, it doesn’t mean that you take the rest of your foot
out of the equation. Athletes implementing proper running mechanics will
often make the mistake of keeping their heel off the ground with a
rigid ankle as they run, regardless of speed. If you’re running a mile
or longer, this can literally destroy your calves, ankles, and feet.
Staying on the balls of your feet is necessary only when sprinting a
short distance or running up a steep hill. In all other circumstances,
your foot should be relaxed and your heel should touch the ground for a
fraction of a second before you transition back on to the ball of your
foot to shift supports. This “heel kiss” reduces the eccentric load
placed on your calf muscles, Achilles tendons, and ankles during the
striking phase of the run, which minimizes the injuries associated with a
ball-of-the-foot landing. If you have faulty mechanics or your body is
not strong enough to handle the new technique, you’re asking for
trouble. So give your feet time to get stronger, and give your body time
to adapt to the new movement patterns before you enter them in a race.
The bottom line is most
athletes don’t spend enough time working on the skill of running (or
swimming, cycling, or lifting for that matter). Although it is an innate
movement, it’s something you have to learn and practice. Don’t wait
until body starts falling apart to do something about. Master how to run.
