Ken mierke evolution running drills

Most runners use knee extension or knee flexion as primary propulsion producers. Ken believes that knee extension produces mostly vertical displacement, with the amount of horizontal propulsion generated not worth the quadriceps fatigue or the time wasted moving up and down. He has found that knee flexion produces efficient horizontal propulsion, but places most of the workload on a relatively small muscle group which fatigues relatively quickly.

Evolution Running teaches that hip extension, rotating the leg backward around the hip, provides horizontal propulsion with minimal vertical displacement and uses larger muscle groups the gluteus maximus along with the hamstring muscles to accomplish it. This hip extension keeps the energy cost of generating propulsion lower and spreads the work among greater muscle mass, improving energy efficiency and reducing peripheral fatigue.

Efficient runners begin the propulsive movements before foot-strike, pulling the leg and foot backward before they are weight bearing. This minimizes braking and pre-stretches the elastic tissues to generate propulsion in a forward, rather than just in an upward direction. Pose and Chi runners wait for gravity to pull them down to the ground; Evolution runners proactively pull the foot and leg backward into the ground.

By overlapping the follow through of the lower leg with recovery of the upper leg, the hamstring muscles can relax, increasing their endurance and reducing fatigue. Evolution Running teaches that the hamstring muscles are propulsive, so runners should relax them during leg recovery, using the hip flexor muscles instead, to initiate leg recovery and relying on momentum to swing the heel up.

Maintain turnover up hills, using extremely short strides. When running uphill, runners will extend the knee, using this movement for the necessary vertical displacement and hip extension for forward propulsion. He also teaches runners to lean exaggeratedly downhill, coasting and allowing gravity to propel. More information is available at www.

Through the entire propulsion phase, the knee angle should be slightly bent and constant. This technique accomplishes a number of goals of efficient, fast, sustained running. First, the foot-drag movement creates almost perfectly horizontal propulsion.

Ken mierke evolution running drills

Vertical displacement, and all the problems associated with it, can be minimized. The foot-drag movement accomplishes this goal. The foot-drag movement also takes advantage of the attachment points of the muscles on the posterior aspect of the hips and thighs and spreads the work of propulsion among a much larger muscle mass than other methods of propulsion.

Using greater muscle mass to accomplish a certain amount of work decreases the relative intensity of the work for each muscle. If more muscles are doing the same amount of work, each muscle is working more easily. The hamstring muscles are unusual in that they cross two major joints. The hamstrings attach above the hip, cross both the hip and the knee joints, and attach below the knee.

Due to this unique attachment, they serve two major functions: extending the hip joint and flexing the knee joint. The gluteus maximus muscles, on the other hand, cross only one major joint, the hip. The pull-through method of propulsion creates nearly horizontal propulsion, but it fails to engage the largest and strongest muscle in the body, the glutes.

Which do you think would be stronger, your hamstring muscles, or your hamstring muscles and your glutes working together? That answer is obvious. Practice will be the key for sure as it does take some getting used to and coordinating it all so that you aren't too bouncy or too overly concentrated on landing on the forefoot. I have to say my running is something I have been working very hard with Ken Mierke this year, and am really seeing results now.

I just wanted to pass on that I am still in base period and have done almost no fast training, and yet ran a 10K PR. It was obvious to me that the form worked as I was around people who had to labor a lot more to keep the pace. Eventually all of them dropped off, and I nearly caught the second place overall finisher. Thanks Ken for the great advice!

Last night in run training with the University of Toronto Tri club, we were doing m intervals. With my higher cadence and forefoot running, I was able to consistently outpace a pal who had always been faster than me. The efficiency I've learned from your book is my "secret weapon" that helps me enjoy racing more, and achieve better results to boot!

I saw a write-up of your video in the latest Inside Triathlon magazine. I'll put it on my Father's day wish list! It was just what I was looking for to help me get back into running, as well as explain the reasons for what I was teaching to my high school track and cross country athletes. One of my athletes really took to the Evolution Running concepts so well, that he finished his first season injury free!!!

This runner has been so stubborn about changing his stride that he would not listen to us. Once he saw your DVD, it all made sense to him about what we had been asking him to do. My only disappointment is that the runner has now graduated and I cannot improve upon what he had done this year. So, I would like to thank you for what you presented in your DVD and to let you know that I am going to show it to all my incoming freshman and use it for a review for the rest of the team each season I've started using the techniques and doing the drills and can't believe the improvements it has allowed me to do in my PT test running times.

After the required two miles, my thighs don't even feel like they ran. Diligently applying your thoughts from reading your book and Evolution Running DVD 12 months ago , my times have been reduced -somewhat ridiculously. Running a fresh marathon last month a 3. Best of all, no knee pain after the run, and 1 day recuperation after a half ironman.

I recommend your book and DVD to anybody I know who had a knee injury. It has worked wonders for me. Thank you so much!!!! Then, I ran a timed-test 1. The results? From previously to Every training run since then has generally included notable improvements on benchmarks. I also later ran a tested time-trial one-mile run. My improvement?

From to As can be seen, I am not a very good runner. It appears that, at least in my case, improving running style like that in Evolution Running has the potential to dramatically improve run performance for poor runners. There are lots of runners faster than you, but there are also plenty of slower runners. Go out to the local 5K and you definitely wouldn't be last.

It all depends on who you compare yourself to. Remember that you are in the something percentile just for being able to run 1. Evolution Running Clinics and Other Seminars. Evolution of Evolution Running For the past decade, African runners have dominated distance running at its highest levels. Research on what makes these runners faster consistently demonstrates normal VO2 Max and lactate threshold levels for elite runners.

Their height, weight, and limb-length ratios all fall into the normal category. Clearly and consistently, what sets the great African runners apart is that they are more efficient than their competitors, running faster without expending more energy.