But for the biggest speed gains, you should also look beyond your cardiovascular fitness and work your...posture? "People often think of running as a lower-body sport, but running is everything going on between your ears and everywhere below," says Anh Bui, DPT, CSCS, a former collegiate runner, physical therapist, and biomechanics specialist in Oakland, California.
While you probably can't (and shouldn't) transform your running form into the stride of, say, Olympians on the podium, you can incorporate tweaks to make your mechanics more ideal for you. And that can help you improve performance and lower your risk of getting hurt. "There's high variability between everyone's biomechanics based on how you're structurally and genetically built," says Bui. "The key is to optimize movement, not force idealism, and to run efficiently to maximize speed and minimize injury risk."
Each part of your biomechanics, from head to toe, contributes to your speed. Incorporate these form tips into your runs and start doing a handful of drills, and soon you'll be picking up the pace.
4 BIOMECHANICS-BASED FORM TIPS FOR FASTER RUNNING
Posture / It's easier to maintain good posture on a short jog versus a long training run, but focusing on staying tall and keeping your shoulders from slumping is an important part of efficient running form-not to mention it makes breathing easier.
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