4 Drills To Improve Your Stride So You Can Run Pretty
Do you ever look at your running partner and wonder why they look so graceful while you look more like Phoebe Buffay (not a FRIENDS fan? We’ll save you the YouTube search… it just ain’t pretty). Chances are your running partner has been working on perfecting their stride. Now, we can’t have you looking anything less than graceful when you run, so here are four drills to help you perfect your stride.
Skipping is a quick and easy way to improve your stride while also toning your entire body and burning off those unwanted calories. When it comes to running, skipping will not only help improve your coordination but will also help you increase your push-off power.
Butt Kicks: Your poor running form may be a result of tight quadriceps, which could be limiting the back half of your stride. Joining a pilates class would be the ideal solution as we know that the more flexible you are the more you will increase your overall performance and stride. However for a simpler approach, implement butt kicks to your daily exercise routine. To maximize the impact of your butt kicks, focus on bringing your heel to your butt with each stride as opposed to focusing on speed.
Deep Lunges: Lunges are an excellent way to help promote longer and more powerful strides. To carry out the exercise correctly, lunge out to a comfortable distance without adding too much discomfort to the knee, lower until your knee touches the ground and drive yourself back up to your starting position. Your butt should be doing the majority of the work as opposed to your knees. This will not only help create that desired bum, but will add power to your stride.
Bounding: It’s time to put some fun back into your fitness routine. Ever walked through your local park and watched the runners warm up looking a little like kids during Christmas morning. Well, turns out there is method to their madness. Bounding involves over exaggerating the long stride while forcing a powerful push off.
Cover photo courtesy of Chanel.com.