Help- I think my stride is shrinking as I get older

It's called "slowing down". You can either sacrifice cadence or stride length. Usually it's stride length. If you don't like then take up bike riding.

Wejo, it sucks, but as we get older of course we get less flexible but, moreover, we lose muscle power. It is the degradation of power that is mostly responsible for shortening your stride, not the inflexibility.

You just cannot displace your body both horizontally and vertically (while keeping the same frequency) as you once did -- hence the stride length reduction.

GlobalView1 wrote:

Wejo, it sucks, but as we get older of course we get less flexible but, moreover, we lose muscle power. It is the degradation of power that is mostly responsible for shortening your stride, not the inflexibility.

You just cannot displace your body both horizontally and vertically (while keeping the same frequency) as you once did -- hence the stride length reduction.

agreed, my stride has significantly shortened, especially after 40, I am sure I look like Centro Sr. did when you saw him.

It's just a fact of life, strides shorten, we get slower, it's no fun, but be thankful you can still run, that's what I tell myself!

wejo wrote:

I think my STRIDE is shrinking as I get older

you misspelled "BRAIN"

You also get shorter as you age.

I agree with everything you wrote here.

AM vs PM is a big difference.

Mon 01.23 7:30PM out 30:38 back 29:37

Mon 02.06 5:00AM out 32:23 back 29:04

Both easy runs, same route, except on 01.23 I went further by about 250m.

.

http://running.competitor.com/2014/09/training/fast-40-master-stride_113559

http://ridersite.org/Coach/Articles_pdf/AboutStrideAging.pdf

observer_of_things wrote:

wejo wrote:

I think my STRIDE is shrinking as I get older

you misspelled "BRAIN"

I'm not sure I understand.

See page 8http://www.furman.edu/sites/first/Documents/4_FIRST_RunningAgingandPerforman.pdf

Aging and Flexibility

Connective tissues between muscles and bones become more rigid with aging.

The restriction in the range of movement at major joints used in running will diminish running speed by reducing stride length.

Poor flexibility increases the risk for injury.

Injury leads to a decrease in training frequency, duration, and intensity.

wejo wrote:

Is there any research that strides shorten as you get older? More importantly what can be done to combat this?

Yes. I can't cite a source offhand, but I have read published research that shows that stride length decreases faster than cadence with age.

There are two limiting factors with stride length as we age, in my opinion: power and range of motion. I think for everyone except marathoners, power is the primary limiting factor.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that weightlifting and dynamic power movements like plyometrics help. For example, one of my age 55+ friends, a 400m specialist, does jump squats with two 45 lb dumbbells. He's world ranked. On average, I do 100 air squats per day. Subjectively, I think it helps, although I have to cut out the squats for a few days if I want to race.

Recreational marathon training, in my opinion, reduces range of motion when the runner tries to sprint because the muscles get tight from moving in a restricted range of motion. So if you want to stay fast in the mile over 50, you really shouldn't be messing around with the marathon.

wejo wrote:

Is there any research that strides shorten as you get older? More importantly what can be done to combat this?

.

if only there was a way to look this up on the internet, or heck, even search this forum...

lack of flexibility and range of motion in the hip

Pretty simple to fix or at least improve with stretching.

Use it or lose it applies. We maintain for a considerable period despite lack of use at younger ages but the body will eventually just give up if you don't practice lengthy powerful strides.

Sadly the turnover and POSE type fads will kill this for a lot of people who are steered away from power and stride length from the beginning.

At 47 I make a point of practicing sub 30 200s with a somewhat exaggerated stride length to preserve that.

I believe you and I are roughly the same age (I'm soon to turn 43).

I've noted this, and found three things that really help me fight it:

1) stretching the front of my hips - quads and hipflexors. I do this everyday, and try to hold the stretch for several minutes. It is ridiculous how much faster I can run for the same effort after opening up the front of my hips. For the same effort pushing off, I cover more ground if my hips don't restrict me.

My sense is that everyone's hips get tight from sitting - but if you're younger they open up quickly to your full stride length When you're older, they don't loosen up without some effort.

I stretch the front of my hips before every run. And try to also do it again before I go to bed (after doing some foamrolling to prep for the stretch).

2) Stride length is also a function of how forcefully you push off, so we need to invest time at the gym in promoting that power. I've become a real fan of heavy barbell split squats at the gym (I do them at about 85% of my bodyweight currently - building up to 100%+). I do them by lunging forward or backwards. In the 6 weeks or so I've been doing these, I've experienced notable improvements in my top end speed, which has translated to better running everywhere.

3) I also do weighted step-ups onto a bench at the gym - bench height is a bit higher than my knee, and I hold weights in each hand. Seems to help for reasons similar to #2.

Are you having fun???

Karma can be a real bummer.

The humans with the least knowledge always think that they know more than everyone else.

Just a reminder:

By the way…it is Dr. rjm33. (retarded, autistic, fat, idiot, moron, arrogant, childish, as*hole, sh*thead, dic*head, psychotic with messianic themes, lunatic, sock puppet, fred?, conspiracy nutcase, liar, full of useless bullsh*t….and hater…are some of the names that I have been called at LetsRun.com in the last year.)

Have a nice day.

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7672207&page=1#ixzz4Y2CxgkZh

From LetsRun.com:

Damn! rjm33 detective skills rival those of the dark knight. Well done!

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=7311604&page=2#ixzz4Y29Z8Sda

What do you think about my detective skills now?

Yeah, my form is horrible now. I can look at my own shadow when I run and see how bad I look, then the race pictures just confirm it.

I think this spring I'm going to run counter to my natural abilities and try to run very short stuff in hopes of getting myself back together. Form, stride, weight, power etc...

no one has a clue of what you are talking about.

active release helps a lot

Do some strides. Do some plyos. I read an article that said older runners lose strength in their ankles and calves, so I did some exercises and I swear I felt quicker. Slow running makes you good at slow running only. You have to do some running/exercises at close to max to preserve them or you lose them.