Using Elite Running Techniques Effectively Helps Slow Runners Like Me
As someone who is far from being a professional athlete, I’ve never really considered elite running techniques or equipment. I’ve always assumed that those were things needed by people with personal trainers and their own facilities and possibly the chance to win an Olympic medal. As someone who runs, albeit slowly, along the sidewalk in my neighborhood, those didn’t seem to be an important consideration for me.
Research About Elite Running Techniques
As it turns out, researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder have found that elite running techniques can benefit many of us. Not just athletes, but anyone who likes to run. The idea behind these methods is to better your “running economy.” That has to do with using the right equipment, diet and exercises to run more efficiently.
The study showed that the faster you are, the harder it is to become faster than that. This helps to explain why elite running techniques are vital for athletes to reach their top performance. That said, the research also showed that those same techniques can benefit slower runners like me. Using them, even I can get faster. This better performance leads to improved results.
What Does Better Performance Mean to the Average Runner?
Even if you’re not in a race and you never plan to be in one, better performance can benefit you. Elite running techniques can mean that you get more out of each run. So if I use these techniques when I head out, I can use the same time and amount of effort and become fitter, burn more fat, and achieve my other fitness goals more efficiently, too.
Runners – even at low levels like me – end up reaching a plateau. Once you reach your maximum speed for your level, every run starts benefitting you less. This is because you top improving and therefore it challenges your muscles and the rest of your body less and less. It becomes less enjoyable and you don’t get as fit, burn as much fat or calories, or just progress in your abilities.
What Are Great Elite Running Techniques?
The study was published in the Frontiers in Physiology journal. It found that runners at any level can improve their running economy with elite running techniques that start with the shoe. The better your shoes, the more you will get out of your run. So if you’ve been running in the same shoes for a year or more, replace them. When you do, keep looking until you find the perfect pair. Don’t settle for “good enough.”
Next, start eating right. Pay attention to your nutrients and macronutrients. It’s easy to get a nutrition tracker on your phone or computer that will help you calculate all that by tracking your food. Finally, consider doing plyometric exercises. These will help to make it easier to boost your speed. You’ll do it naturally with these elite running techniques. It shaves whole minutes off your running time!
