How do I get a runner to lift up their legs more (if that's a good thing) and not "shuffle" so much?

dont we all lift our legs more as the pace gets faster?

i dont see a problem here, especially if its only happening for the jogging pace

traditionally, you do lots of hill sprints to get a little more bounce and knee action. But really, some people shuffle and are still fast. ex: Salazar, KGoucher

Baddeley shuffles as well, but has run 334 for 1500m. I'd say just strengthen the hips.

Their hip flexors are probably weak. Perhaps their motivation too. Pay them and the legs will come up. People are more apt to lift their legs for $$$$$$.

I know an All-American who shuffled during our training runs... kinda shuffled during races too. Seems efficient to/for me.

Electric shock?

I used to have this problem. When you tell them to lift their knees, it's a vague prompt & they don't really know what you mean.

Try this:

Tell them when aerobic running, they should lift their feet AS HIGH AS THEIR ANKLES.

Tell them when tempo running, they should lift their feet AS HIGH AS THEIR CALVES.

Tell them when speed running, they should lift their feet NEARLY AS HIGH AS THEIR KNEES.

I also show them by standing still & moving one leg through all three positions & tell them to note how my leg swings backwards (6-9 o'clock position) with each run.

Hope this helps!

question...... wrote:

I have a runner who, at paces over 8:30 min/mile (or even 8) barely lifts their legs. It is only for faster paces that they start to lift their legs more, but it just looks strange when they barely lift their legs for easy runs and almost a shuffle or something. Is this "efficient", or is it better if they lift their legs more etc. (and this looks better/better form)?

Teach the other runners to run like this one.

That too Radiostar. $$$$$$$ can also lead to a longer stride. Either forward or sideways.

You did not mention the athletes age. We all tend to shuffle as we grow older.

Lunges. Lots of lunges.

Lifting your knees higher won't make you go faster. However lifting your knees higher is required when you run fast.

I submit as an example that you can run in place lifting your knees very high and go no where.

It is the push off that makes you go faster. It is not until you push off that you will transition from running in place to moving forward.

And as you push off harder you are required to lift your knee higher to get your foot out in front of your center of mass.

A good fire-walking clinic will get those feet up.

Yes SMJO, that's how we trained in the golden age of running. I speak of the twenties, of course. The very method you speak of is where the expression "Hot to trot" came from. You obviously are a student of archaic training methodology.

Kneeliftin wrote:

It is the push off that makes you go faster. It is not until you push off that you will transition from running in place to moving forward.

Pushing off harder doesn't make you go faster. For example, put one foot in front of the other, push off as hard as you can with both feet, and you won't go anywhere. Push off hard with the back foot while the other is in front and you won't go anywhere either.

The key is to simply place the foot on the ground behind the center of gravity. The faster you can do this, and the farther behind the center of gravity, the faster you will run.

Thanks to Jack Nirenstein for pointing this out. He has a few videos on youtube.

jr26run wrote:

The key is to simply place the foot on the ground behind the center of gravity. The faster you can do this, and the farther behind the center of gravity, the faster you will run.

I think I know where you're trying to go with this, but:

as a matter of physics, at a steady speed your feet *have* to land in front of your center of gravity, or you'll fall down. The point is to try to minimize that front-side distance, and especially to try to have the feet moving backward as they land, to reduce the braking moment that you encounter on each step.

Leading with the knee, rather than with the foot, makes it easier to have the foot moving backward as it contacts the running surface--just another benefit of getting the knees up (at faster speeds).

Sometimes treating the symptoms doesn't solve the problem.

As an experienced shuffler, when people tell me to lift my knees it doesn't help me one bit.

Eventually I learned on my own that a habit of overstriding caused me to "shuffle" with my knees not coming up. When I practice taking shorter faster steps, in addition to running at a sufficiently fast pace, I feel like I naturally step over the calf.

jr26run wrote:

Pushing off harder doesn't make you go faster. For example, put one foot in front of the other, push off as hard as you can with both feet, and you won't go anywhere. Push off hard with the back foot while the other is in front and you won't go anywhere either.

The key is to simply place the foot on the ground behind the center of gravity. The faster you can do this, and the farther behind the center of gravity, the faster you will run.

Thanks to Jack Nirenstein for pointing this out. He has a few videos on youtube.

i see your point, but surely pushing off harder DOES make you go faster. However, the push must be behind your center of gravity.