What muscles should I strengthen if I kick outwards when I run?

Do you think Haile did a lot of strength training to "correct" his crooked left hand?

lr's own biomechanic wrote:

Do you think Haile did a lot of strength training to "correct" his crooked left hand?

Haile was obviously an incredibly good runner so I agree with you that it doesn't make sense to criticize his form just by looking at it. It seems to have worked for him. The same could be said for Priscah Jeptoo and her weird kick thingy (which is similar to my thing but I don't think it's the same).

I, however, am not on the same elite platform as they. I know there must be several things that other runners are better than me at and so, in training, I try to close the gap on or leapfrog the runners who are currently faster than I.

'ppreciate it,

Greg

If I understand correctly, you have the same problem as me - i.e. your knees sort of point inward and so your legs swing outward. Is that right? I wonder whether my constant calf problems are related to that. I would also like to see someone answer the OP.

LikeBekeleButSlow wrote:

If I understand correctly, you have the same problem as me - i.e. your knees sort of point inward and so your legs swing outward. Is that right? I wonder whether my constant calf problems are related to that. I would also like to see someone answer the OP.

I had never thought to notice whether or not my knees point in but that would make sense. I shall try to remember to notice tomorrow and post back. I have had a tibia stress fracture but no major calf problems.

'ppreciate it,

Greg

It's your bone structure. Nothing to do with strength.

Do you sit or stand more throughout the day?

Live not on eviL wrote:

I'm not a biomechanist....

All that matters is what happens when your foot is in contact with the ground. Don't worry about it.

That doesn't matter either.

sdfsdfs wrote:

Live not on eviL wrote:

I'm not a biomechanist....

All that matters is what happens when your foot is in contact with the ground. Don't worry about it.

biom, I definitely sit more. I basically try to sit as much as possible when I'm not training.

sdfsdfs, that's an interesting thought. Is that only for lower body? Because the other part of my form I'm trying to fix right now is my arm carriage, which is horrible both when I'm on the ground and in the air.

'ppreciate it,

Greg

SMJO wrote:

That doesn't matter either.

Your posts read like a troll but I'm not sure if you are serious. The comment about the bone structure could be true (I have no idea!) but are you saying form doesn't matter at all?

'ppreciate it,

Greg

SMJO wrote:

It's your bone structure. Nothing to do with strength.

How the hell would you know?

Live not on eviL wrote:

biom, I definitely sit more. I basically try to sit as much as possible when I'm not training.

do the opposite of this

Live not on eviL wrote:

biom, I definitely sit more. I basically try to sit as much as possible when I'm not training.

sdfsdfs, that's an interesting thought. Is that only for lower body? Because the other part of my form I'm trying to fix right now is my arm carriage, which is horrible both when I'm on the ground and in the air.

'ppreciate it,

Greg

You might look into some glute medius/minimus & abductor strengthening exercises. If you find them challenging, it might be a contributing factor.

I sit a lot during the day as well, and I've learned that it can wreak havoc on your posture, hip strength & positioning, which can wreak havoc on your running form & injury susceptibility.

This cound tie into the earlier idea that your knees might be collapsing inward and your feet thus kick outward.

I am not trolling. People who run with odd wobbles and flailing of the legs or collapsing feet on landing always run like that.

Running itself is a great strengthening exercise for the limbs but your biomechanics are set.

The angles of the bones and joint surfaces and the relative tightness of ligaments cause all those discrepancies and strengthening muscles doesn't change that.

Often those wobbles are in areas that aren't even supported by muscles to any degree.

Live not on eviL wrote:

I'm not a biomechanist....

Go see an orthopedic that specializes in hips. That is most likely the reason for the awkward gait and ***possible*** genu valgum/tibial torsion. It doesn't mean it's going to be a dramatic problem. But if you can get a more formal idea of what your hips/knees are doing, then your MD can help you find a PT that can work on injury prevention and lower extremity maintenance for running. Your focus should not be on completely changing your gait, but addressing any type of functional weakness and making sure you are looking symmetrical on both sides. If you do see a PT I would also ask about the condition of your arches. If they are somewhat flat/weak or in the process of collapsing then that's definitely something you will want to strengthen. Also might ask about your ankles... if you are inverting more than normal it can change the ground force reaction at your tibia (along with any of those alignment issues above). Peroneal strengthening may be something they suggest.

Priscah Jeptoo seems to get on fine with kicking outwards whilst running.

That's exactly what's causing the knees to collapse inward - weak hip stabilizers. Do these 3x a week: clamshells, side leg raise, monster walk, side plank, hip hikes.

biom wrote:

You might look into some glute medius/minimus & abductor strengthening exercises. If you find them challenging, it might be a contributing factor.

I sit a lot during the day as well, and I've learned that it can wreak havoc on your posture, hip strength & positioning, which can wreak havoc on your running form & injury susceptibility.

This cound tie into the earlier idea that your knees might be collapsing inward and your feet thus kick outward.

timruns wrote:

That's exactly what's causing the knees to collapse inward - weak hip stabilizers.

So Mutai and Jeptoo have week hip stabilizers. Yeah right...

This infatuation with "correcting" running form with strength training is nothing but ridiculous.

Run striders, learn to sprint and run on trails. That will give you strength and let your body find its most efficient way of running.

If the body really was collapsing inwards due to weakness you would think repeating that action a million times would be enough stimulus to develop muscle to prevent that from happening.

It never does though.

People who run like that, run like that forever. Look at Deek for example.