Should i lengthen my stride

Now guess the first thing you need to improve your power — Yep, you need running strength. Stronger muscles are like stronger springs. They have greater power potential. The best way to improve your running strength is by performing running specific strength exercises like bench step ups, stride step ups and one leg squats. A long stride depends upon more than pure strength. I said above that to increase air time you need a lot of power. Power is basically being able to generate strength very quickly and with very little loss of energy.

To do that you need to train your muscles to produce energy explosively. Many studies have shown that explosive strength training will improve your race performance and running economy. You can build your explosive strength by performing plyometric drills or exercises such as bounding, hops, jumps and sprints. Dorsi-flexing your ankle puts your foot into a position that is most efficient at producing a powerful and long stride.

Your foot is dorsi-flexed when you raise your toes or pull the front of your foot up towards your lower leg. The opposite action is plantar-flexion when you point your toes towards the ground. Raising your toes pre-stretches your calf muscles and gets them ready to fire quickly as soon as your foot touches the ground. That results in a long, powerful and smooth stride.

This is a small be efficient way to increase your stride length. I must be crazy! If you try to take long steps to increase your stride length you will end up reaching out in front of your center of gravity and landing on your heel. You will be putting the brakes on with every step you take. You will also be increasing the stress on your ankles, knees, hip and back, increasing your risk of injury. Remember, your steps should be shorter and more compact.

You want to increase your air time and distance — not your reach. Your muscles are like rubber bands. They both work on a stretch-reflex principle. When you quickly stretch a rubber band and abruptly let it go it flies a long way without much effort.

That is due to the resiliency of the rubber band. To determine the number of strides it will take you to walk a mile, divide 5, by your stride length. Stride length and step length can be important numbers for a doctor to diagnose a problem with your gait or a condition that could be causing a problem with your gait. These numbers can also be useful for a doctor or physical therapist to evaluate your progress, and thus the effectiveness of treatment prescribed for the condition causing gait irregularities.

This information is also interesting for you to have in evaluating your personal fitness. If you get a new pedometer or fitness tracker — such as a Fitbit, Garmin, Xiaomi, Misfit, or Polar — you may need to enter your step length during the initial set up.

Do you know how many steps you average each day? Thanks in part…. The number of calories you burn while walking depends on different factors, including your weight, pace, terrain, and more. Walking is a great form of physical activity that's free, low risk and easy to do.

Importantly, it can also help you lose weight and belly fat. The company is working on improving the design of the treadmills to make them safer for consumers…. Using air for resistance, see whether one of the AssaultBikes is right for your fitness needs in our expert review. Join Active or Sign In. All rights reserved. Go Premium. Need Help? Learn More Customer Login. By Amanda Casanova.

She is an active runner and regularly competes in races in north Texas. She is currently training for her first half marathon. Share this article. A Goodbye From Cool Running!

Are you sure you want to delete this family member? Find activities close to home. Here are four things you can do to increase your stride length. There are only two ways to run faster in its most simplistic form — increase your stride rate or length.

Stride rate, usually referred to as cadence , is relatively easy to train, and you should put conscious effort into finding and running at an optimal cadence for you. If your cadence is much below spm, then I strongly encourage you to do some focused work to bring this up. If it is much above spm, it might be worth assessing your flexibility and developing your stride length. Stride length, on the other hand, is not something I think you should consciously think about when you run.

Many runners who consciously think about the length of their stride often find themselves in an overstriding pattern which is tiring and will likely lead to injury.

At Coached, we use structured training and various drills and other techniques to help our athletes improve their cadence and stride length.