WFR #9: Hips | Wed 11th Feb, 7:30pm | Prospect Park Weekly Form Run
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This week's focus: Hips (injury prevention, speed, efficiency - week 9).
TL;DR: Hip Hip, Hooray!
“The emphasis on foot strike missed the mark by putting the attention on the end of the chain, rather than the beginning. We need to shift our focus upward to our hips and glutes, where the stride begins.” There is an argument to be made that this person is also being too reductionist, and the key word is likely "chain". However, the hips are indeed a key link in the kinetic chain (though they are a couple of feet away :-) ).
The muscle in that image is the gluteus medius (exercises here), and if you have ever injured it, you understand how much it contributes to your running. That being said, imbalances in the hips can create all manner of compensation injuries.
One way to think about keeping your hips even is to picture them as a bowl of water that you are trying not to spill in any direction while running. One of the ways to adjust your hips angle is to sink into your bended knee from your foot strike to the mid point of your stride, straightening your bent knee as your foot in contact with the ground progresses behind you.
The other perspective is from the runner’s side, with a focus on hip extension and drive, which can be seen in the video clip here. Thinking about hip extension and drive flows into several other topics including stride and posture. It fits right in with the idea that any stride extension should be to the back, not the front. With the right stride extension, you engage some of the largest muscles in the core and hips to propel you forward.
In addition to being mindful of what your hips are doing during a run, there are also many exercises that that can help strengthen your hips and get better balance.
https://www.active.com/running/articles/runners-and-weak-hips-5-hip-strengthening-exercises
https://www.self.com/gallery/hip-exercises-all-runners-need-to-do
https://vivaphysiotherapy.com/gluteus-medius-running/
There may be some sex-specific differences to consider when thinking about hip structure/function and running:
https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/running-women
https://www.runnersworld.com/women/a20795180/the-owners-manual-for-the-female-runner/
https://www.stack.com/a/why-hip-strengthening-is-essential-for-female-athletes
Finally, getting back to where we started, your hips are integrated with the rest of your body and do not function in isolation, so while the focus this week is hips, make sure to take a moment to step back and think about the whole kinetic chain.
Bended Knee #2 (bubbles), Short Strides #3 (bubbles), Arm Swing #4 (bubbles), Quiet Feet #6 (bubbles), Passive Stride Recovery #12 (bubbles), Run Tall #14 (bubbles), Kneesles #15 (bubbles).
📢 ANNOUNCEMENTS 📢
📱Join Heylo before Feb 1 ✅
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Our Monday Morning crew is looking for a run leader to pace 8:30min/mile. The run is typically 3-4miles and starts at 6:45AM from McCarren Park. If you’re interested, please reach out to the run coordinators at (email) training at northbrookylnrunners.org!