For this post, I asked my weekly running partner and a qualified physiotherapist, Ame Harris, to contribute to the blog content. Ame specializes in gaining a holistic view of her patients’ circumstances and assisting them with pain management. No matter if the pain originated from a running injury or sitting behind a desk all day, she will be able to get you back on the road. She is focused on improving the working habits of office workers to become more health conscious and adopt a sustainable way of working. Plus she is my fabulous running partner.
She decided to share some valuable insights about the link between running efficiency and deep breathing techniques for this post. After reading it I could not wait to share this with you.
Running efficiency has always been an intriguing topic for runners. There are so many considerations with regards to running form. Which part of my foot should strike the ground first? What position is best for my knee? Short stride-length or larger? Unfortunately, I won’t be able to give you a straight-forward answer to these questions in only one blog post. I would however like to shed light on an aspect of running efficiency which is often overlooked due to its complex nature. The good news is that despite the complexity, the correct technique is something that is incredibly easy to incorporate into your running.
When we run, our body is placed under strain or load. This is not only the physical load from our body mass and gravity, but also stressors in the environment such as slight unevenness in the road and weather conditions. These factors come together and demand energy consumption from the body. The amount of energy your body uses to manage these factors determines your running efficiency. Besides focusing on the more traditional phases of the running technique, why not consider an element often overlooked: balance. Running is in essence a mild type of jumping exercise, which requires immense amounts of balance while moving.
What does the body do to maintain balance when running? We have many different systems to help us keep our balance, but today we’re focusing on our proprioceptive system. This system helps connect our brain to all the tissues and provides feedback on where the structures are in space. For example, without looking, we know when the knee is completely bent and when it is straight. This feedback not only helps the brain to determine positioning and load experienced by the structures, but also how that load should be evenly distributed throughout the body. This prevents certain structures from becoming overworked and also improves the efficiency with which we perform a movement under load.
Let’s tie this information back to running. The largest load that we have to manage is our head, arms and trunk. It accounts for two-thirds of our bodyweight! To manage the strain while moving, we need adequate capacity. The load needs to be distributed as evenly as possible throughout all structures and this is where deep breathing becomes a key component for running efficiency.
Breath is the essence of life and provides oxygen to our cells to keep us going for miles and miles. Another vital function is that it provides proprioceptive feedback from our trunk and spine to the brain. When tensing up and ‘bracing our core’ while running, it leads to smaller movement and load distribution over a smaller area. Pain in the neck and lower back could result from this. Deep breathing is the answer to ensuring the brain receives sufficient information to evenly distribute the load through the trunk and limbs. This enables a more energy efficient running technique that is not only organic but also comfortable.
The next question is how to implement this into your running routine. My first piece of advice would be to relax during running. Tensing your upper body or restricting movement leads to smaller breaths. Get in touch with the way in which you breathe, feel the movement of the ribs and the air filling the lungs. This can be difficult to do at first while running, so try it out while in rest before attempting this on your run. Place your hands on the sides of your ribcage and feel the air moving your trunk. Strive for an inhale of at least 4 seconds and an exhalation of 6 seconds. Lastly, don’t force your breathing, it can be a powerful tool for rhythm and relaxation, it is also built up over time.
Breath in! Breath out! Enjoy being grounded by an activity as old as time itself; the freedom of the open road and the fresh air in your lungs from these deep breaths.
If you want to know more about running efficiency, injury management or how to set up the best home-office, Ame recently started her own business called Healthy Office. I attended her webinar on ergonomics (Ergo101) and can highly recommend this to anyone who spends time in front of a computer screen. View the website for more information on her webinars and follow Ame’s Instagram page to take the right step toward your healthy working (and running) journey.
Use the following platforms to get in contact with Ame: Website: yourhealthyoffice.nl ; Instagram: @sit_stand and LinkedIn: Healthy Office