conormat
01-28-2009, 02:32 PM
Chi Running by Danny Dreyer
Published by Simon and Schuster
New York
Okay this isn't an RMAX product but it has so many similarities as well as some great stuff that I wanted to share it with the community here. The goal of the Chi Running Technique is to achieve effortless, injury-free running similar to RMAX Powered Running.
The technique can be broken down into four main parts:
Posture
Lean
Arms and Legs
Let's Go Running
Posture basically refers to the same kind of good posture that we talk about here: Crown to Coxyx Alignment, hip snap, leg drive, core activation, etc. etc.
Lean is by far my favorite part of this book. The idea is to lean forward with good posture, and allow gravity to pull you forward. This works because running and walking is basically falling and catching yourself. Coach Wilson talks about this in RMAX Powered Running but this is the first time I've seen it used as a method of propulsion. It reminds me of an engineering professor I had at Cornell who was trying to develop a robot that would walk. It sounds a lot easier than it is. When I graduated he had gotten as far as a robot that would walk downhill only, using gravity to pull it forward, and the legs would catch itself.
Arms and legs now take on a different approach. Rather than use them to push yourself forward, Dreyer advocates kicking them backwards to counteract the forward lean of your body. This way your legs aren't working so hard and the muscles can relax. He actually says that your legs from the knee down should be rubbery - all the power should come from gravity and your lean.
Let's Go Running - basically if you put all of these together you should greatly improve your running form, decrease injuries, and run with less effort. He has a concept he calls Perceived Effort Level (PEL) similar to our RPE.
After reading the book I watched my RMAX Powered Running video in order to compare the two. I'd say they have more in common not. There are a few differences but I don't see them as mutually exclusive - in fact they can probably complement each other. Chi Running doesn't get into the four gates the same way RMAX Running does. That's because there's not as much as a distinction with this technique. If you want to speed up from a trot to a jog, for instance, in Chi Running you would simply lean more, and allow your stride to lengthen. Dreyer describes the lean as being like the gas pedal on your car - if you want to go faster press down more. In this way you can take advantage of incremental progression, similar to choking up on your Clubbell®. At some point, your body would make the other structural and breathing adjustments to arrive at a jog.
I'm incorporating a few of the exercises into my next cycle. I'd like to use these walking/running techniques for some active recovery at some point, but I need to develop the technique first.
If anyone is into the RMAX Running, I would recommend this book. It's a great complement, and definitely in the same spirit.
Peace,
Conor
Published by Simon and Schuster
New York
Okay this isn't an RMAX product but it has so many similarities as well as some great stuff that I wanted to share it with the community here. The goal of the Chi Running Technique is to achieve effortless, injury-free running similar to RMAX Powered Running.
The technique can be broken down into four main parts:
Posture
Lean
Arms and Legs
Let's Go Running
Posture basically refers to the same kind of good posture that we talk about here: Crown to Coxyx Alignment, hip snap, leg drive, core activation, etc. etc.
Lean is by far my favorite part of this book. The idea is to lean forward with good posture, and allow gravity to pull you forward. This works because running and walking is basically falling and catching yourself. Coach Wilson talks about this in RMAX Powered Running but this is the first time I've seen it used as a method of propulsion. It reminds me of an engineering professor I had at Cornell who was trying to develop a robot that would walk. It sounds a lot easier than it is. When I graduated he had gotten as far as a robot that would walk downhill only, using gravity to pull it forward, and the legs would catch itself.
Arms and legs now take on a different approach. Rather than use them to push yourself forward, Dreyer advocates kicking them backwards to counteract the forward lean of your body. This way your legs aren't working so hard and the muscles can relax. He actually says that your legs from the knee down should be rubbery - all the power should come from gravity and your lean.
Let's Go Running - basically if you put all of these together you should greatly improve your running form, decrease injuries, and run with less effort. He has a concept he calls Perceived Effort Level (PEL) similar to our RPE.
After reading the book I watched my RMAX Powered Running video in order to compare the two. I'd say they have more in common not. There are a few differences but I don't see them as mutually exclusive - in fact they can probably complement each other. Chi Running doesn't get into the four gates the same way RMAX Running does. That's because there's not as much as a distinction with this technique. If you want to speed up from a trot to a jog, for instance, in Chi Running you would simply lean more, and allow your stride to lengthen. Dreyer describes the lean as being like the gas pedal on your car - if you want to go faster press down more. In this way you can take advantage of incremental progression, similar to choking up on your Clubbell®. At some point, your body would make the other structural and breathing adjustments to arrive at a jog.
I'm incorporating a few of the exercises into my next cycle. I'd like to use these walking/running techniques for some active recovery at some point, but I need to develop the technique first.
If anyone is into the RMAX Running, I would recommend this book. It's a great complement, and definitely in the same spirit.
Peace,
Conor