Poor positioning of the feet, tightness, lack of power… These faults come up regularly with beginner runners. But rest assured, once identified, they are easy to correct. Explanations
1 / Running with duck feet
Due to a lack of muscle tone in the arch of the foot but also of technique, the beginner has the annoying habit of running more or less accentuated with duck feet, which leads to a helix race. The runner sags on the inside (pronation), the knees also coming inward. As a result, the supporting leg is offset. It is rarer to see poses of the feet outwards but it does exist
2 / Tension of the upper body
One in two beginner runners is hypertensive in their upper limbs (especially the shoulders). In question, the positioning of the hands. Indeed, in running as in many sports, the placement of the hand determines that of the whole arm, causing or not the relaxation of the upper body. Sprint coaches have a habit of quickly correcting this flaw, but not always the bottom trainers. The hands should be in line with the forearms and not broken inwards, resulting in wide elbows and stiff shoulders. They should also be relaxed, with the fingers a little apart and half-flexed and not clenched.
3 / Bust tilted forward
Many beginner runners tend to run by looking at their shoes. However, running with the head down causes technical problems in the movement of the race, such as a torso tilted forward, with an alteration of the alignment between the lower and upper body (cause of various ailments: neck, back, etc. ) and a loss of efficiency during the support installation. The runner is said to “load the downforce” because the position of the body leaning forward adds weight during the cushioning phase. The projection of the center of gravity is then found in front of the support, which increases the stresses on the supporting limb and creates an imbalance which the whole body will have to oppose if it does not want to fall.
4 / Running with flat feet
A very bad habit physically, biomechanically, and technically. Is your support pose noisy and painful when you run? Do you feel like your foot is hitting the ground and taking your full body weight rather than cushioning it? It’s simple, you run flat feet! The foot must serve as a spring during the stance phase in the race (damping, support, push). When you run flat with your feet, this spring principle is slowed down. The race then becomes jerky and traumatic for the body.
5 / Small stride
This is not a fault in itself but can pose a problem for the runner’s progress. Do not take the wrong trick of always running in short strides regardless of the speed or distance of the race. The cause is a lack of muscle power in the lower limbs.
The pure technique, physique, and knowing your body pattern are the three areas to work on to correct these flaws. When you start running, the lack of muscle tone very often has repercussions on technique and attitude. This is why it is important to combine technical exercises, muscle strengthening, and physical work. The work will be mainly focused on the dynamism of the lower limbs, the relaxation of the upper body, and the tonicity of the abdominal belt.
