Fitness Tip of the Month: Form Matters

Published on:January 01, 0001

"Does Form Matter?"

is one of the most frequent questions runners ask!. The answer to this is, yes,form does matter.

Practicing good form helps improve performance, avoid injury and even helps save energy. Good form can allow you to run longer or faster depending on what you are trying to accomplish!

"When we go out and run we have a pattern of form that follows our skeleton and is dictated by our muscles and range of motion," says veteran coach Roy Benson, who has worked with high schoolers, Olympians, beginners and everyone in between (runnersworld.com).

What is good form?

According to McDougall and others from runnersworld.com, running with good form means the following:

Land on the middle of the foot

Maintain an aligned, straight posture

Avoid landing on the heel with a straight knee

Avoid excessive lateral motion like rotating the upper body

Check out Tips to Train Your Lungs once you have your form down!