Any input on the Pose method of running? I'm interested in personal experience or viewed of the advocated mechanics. I'm transitioning from heel striking to midfoot striking, but have not gone so far as to adopt specifically the Pose method. I'm a little skeptical about the lack of push off and back kick.
Read relevant parts of Gordon Pirie's book (free download from http://www.gordonpirie.com) – you should find it very useful. I think if the pose method was any good, you'd see top runners doing it. It seems to me that leaning forward (as in the pose) is obviously gonna reduce your stride length.
Just out of interest, has anybody else managed to successfully make the transition between heel striking and ball striking? Does it work, how long did it take and how did you acheive it?
Last fall, I ran a 2:38 at Chicago. Because of my schedule and then a back problem, I had to back off my mileage. While I was coming back, I tried various things to see how my back felt. (I suspect that I had a piriformus or similarly located problem that pressed my sciatic nerve, which set off other problems.) These things included running barefoot on the grass and running in flats without my orthotics. During these activities, I naturally landed midfoot, rather than heel. It felt more natural although a little more fatiguing, but within a week I never went back to heel striking, and heel striking feels awkward now. I have no idea how this will affect my training and race performance because I haven't been able to press things in the last few months. I hate to give you a simplistic answer, but the bottom line is that I just did it, and it took about 2 days to change, and I'm still working on the form.
I've also converted my form a bit. From heel-striking to mid-foot/forefoot striking since July 1 and making good progress.
Read the RW article about POSE and you'll see that it is quite popular among triathletes.
Try to contact Gary Rommesser (sp?)in Indianapolis. The guy is 53 or 54 years old and still runs a sub 1:13 half. He was average in college, noticed that the top runners were toe runners, and converted himself. This was long before there officially was a pose method. His times came tumbling down, and he has never looked back. A great example of the difference between a toe versus heel runner.
Is is sort of bouncing? Hard on the knees at all?
strategery wrote:
Is is sort of bouncing? Hard on the knees at all?
My understanding is posing is a fancy way of saying lead with the hips/pelvis, get good knee lift, and rapid turnover while keeping your weight/hips over your knees, not out in front. This forces a forefoot strike versus the heel striking overstride. Haile Geb. is the name usually brought up when describing a poser.
My understanding is posing is a fancy way of saying lead with the hips/pelvis, get good knee lift, and rapid turnover while keeping your weight/hips over your knees, not out in front. This forces a forefoot strike versus the heel striking overstride.
Like the moment of deepest penetration.
Not Bill Bowerman wrote:
Like the moment of deepest penetration.
I've never used the heel strike in your example, but I am not certified to teach it either.
I believe that you are not supposed to bring your knees up. You are supposed to raise your ankles quickly to your butt.
You are correct. The Pose method does not use knee lift, which is a function of the hip flexors. Rather, it stresses keeping the knees low, using only hamstring force to quickly lift the feet toward the buttocks. If you think of butt kick drills with a forward lean, you are getting the correct picture (just not as exaggerated a range of motion as in butt kicks).
apprentice poser wrote:
You are correct. The Pose method does not use knee lift, which is a function of the hip flexors. Rather, it stresses keeping the knees low, using only hamstring force to quickly lift the feet toward the buttocks. If you think of butt kick drills with a forward lean, you are getting the correct picture (just not as exaggerated a range of motion as in butt kicks).
Yes! I am trying to incorporate the positives of the pose method to other elements common of elites, so a 'pose hybrid' so to speak. I notice most elites that lift the feet quickly also incorporate a knee lift which apparently keeps them from overstriding. Pose doesn't advocate a forward lean does it?
Very slight forward lean. Only enough to let gravity do its job. Not sure at this point how to execute that. I know the feeling when I lean forward just enought so it feels like the wheels are just spinning, but I can't keep that going very long, probably because of weak core strength.
I've made the heel to mid-foot transistion. It was a side effect of trying to increase my cadence. To increase cadence without increasing pace, I needed to decrease stride length. I felt a little choppy at first. Also had the sensation that I needed to "upshift," like needing to change from 3rd gear to 4th on the highway in a standard transmission car. With the increased stride rate and shorter stride length, I was landing mid-foot, instead of overstriding.
It took about 10 days to two weeks before it felt comfortable. Now, I have to concentrate to heel strike, and it feels unnatural.