The Coach Amy and Coach Liz Show
Promoting a healthy and positive experience for endurance athletes.
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The Coach Amy and Coach Liz Show

Created with endurance athletes in mind

Created with endurance athletes in mind. Coaches Amy and Liz have a combined thirty years of coaching and seven decades of competing in endurance sports. They cover topics relevant to athletes at various levels of participation: those training for a personal challenge to those competing for an age group placement or race qualification.

 

Did you know Eyes Play an Important Role in Running Efficiency?

What is this episode about?

INTRO 0-4:47

Amy & Liz share some wardrobe snafus!  eik!

Eyes and their Role in Running Efficiency

Some runners run with their eyes gazing down - or - inadvertently do this as they get tired.  This isn't an efficient way to run. Where your eyes go, your head goes and the rest of your body follows.  This means when we look down, our shoulders round forward and our rib cage collapses a bit which impacts our breathing.  On the flip side, when we look forward, we help activate our posterior chain (the muscles on the backside of our body) which supports efficient running form. This activation is not a replacement for posterior muscle strength or function but, rather, an assist to their proper function. This is especially helpful when we are running tired.

Coach Amy recommends looking roughly 20 feet ahead when you run.  If you're worried about tripping, remember if you're constantly looking ahead, you've already surveyed the upcoming road.  Trail running is different, of course, so this is for road running.  

The main take away today is that looking about 20 feet ahead is a fairly 'simple' way to improve run efficiency. 

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