Dr. Yessis Sports Training Blog

Most coaches use hills for strengthening the muscles and/or to develop greater anaerobic capabilities. However, according to Tom McGlynn, who trains Jim Sorensen, masters world record holder for the 1500m, “Hills are aerobically intense without too much strain on the muscles and joints”.

This statement seems to contradict what seems to be common knowledge in the running community. Running up moderately steep inclined hills at a faster and faster pace as recommended is definitely anaerobic — not aerobic — although the aerobic system will come into play during recovery. Read more… »

I’ve run across articles recently dealing with the topic of efficient running. In each the key was to run relaxed. However the definition of what constituted relaxed running was quite different.

For example in one article the running form guru maintained that relaxed running is “quickly lifting your foot off the ground instead of pushing off with excessive force.” Also, …” adding the awareness to just touch the ground and lift on every stride.” Read more… »

Many more runners now running the marathon. For most runners this run is very difficult and takes a lot out of the body. Many runners have difficulty even completing a marathon! Finishing one not only exhausts the body but often creates additional problems that they did not previously have.

As a result, it requires weeks of recovery. Because of this many runners are now asking how can they recover faster after completing a marathon.
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In an article reported in the FITNESS and SPORTS REVIEW INTERNATIONAL, Russian researchers found that the maximum speed reproducible in a specific exercise depends upon many factors. Two of the most important are: 1) The athlete’s level of physical development and 2) The degree of his technical mastery

When an athlete is given an assignment to execute a movement at maximum speed, the movement should have the same biomechanical structure as in the competitive event. This is related to exercise specificity, also known as dynamic correspondence exercises. Read more… »

If you are a runner or have participated on a track team, I am sure you have done many different running drills. Many of the running drills were probably duplicates of some of the key actions that runners perform.

However running drills and doing drills religiously before each practice as many runners do, does not ensure that you are running will be improved or that you will have better technique for the session. There are two or more major reasons for this. Read more… »

Many recommendations for improving your run relate to improving your posture. In this regard we hear coaches tell a runner to be more upright. But how does one get more upright?

You are often told to straighten up and to maintain your head and shoulders in alignment. This typically means that the head should be directly above the shoulders which should be directly above the hips. However, this alignment is only seen momentarily in certain phases of the running stride. Read more… »

In the off-season it is typically recommended that you work on your sports weaknesses. This is a great suggestion but how it is implemented often leaves much to be desired.

For example some experts have stated that working on weaknesses are much tougher on you than when you work on your strengths. Because of this they recommend working on weaknesses in small doses with several days rest in between. Read more… »

In a recent article an elite 1500m runner stated that she does a lot of core body and flexibility work in the gym. She does this with yoga.

When you look at her running form you can see almost 70 to 80° of shoulder rotation. This is excessive and slows her down greatly. She could be a much better runner by simply improving her ability to hold her shoulders basically in place during the running stride. Read more… »

It is common knowledge in the running community that the more economical your run, the further you can go because you are using less energy. In spite of this, we see very little work done on improving running economy.

One of the latest recommendations is to do plyometrics to improve running economy. This is effective but it is essentially jump exercises. If you do more true plyometrics (shock training) you would also get even more economy – but this aplies more to the elite runner. Read more… »

If you read the many reviews of running shoes and what each shoe supposedly does, it makes you wonder why we don’t have more outstanding runners. But then it may be due to some of the information about shoes presented on a lack of understanding of what occurs in running.

For example, according to an article in Runners World, “…a shoes flexibility is … important in helping the body generate maximum propulsion …” This flexibility is needed since “runners spend 70 to 80% of their time on the balls of their feet as they transition from footstrike to toe-off”.
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Following are some comments that I wrote in a discussion about the best marathon training programs: All training should be individualized. This is something that the running world has not addressed nor is it for the most part practiced.

Each runner should have a general overall plan worked out which includes some specific goals. The weekly program should be adjusted every two weeks (sometimes one) depending upon what he or she experienced and how well he or she did in the prior week(s). Read more… »

I’ve seen several articles dealing with not getting hurt while running in which the authors make some far-reaching comments regarding the pelvic girdle. For example, they state that “almost all common overuse injuries are related to a lack of pelvic stability”.

This conclusion, however, may be based on false assumptions. For example, it was stated that when you have a weak, wobbly pelvis, “As you stride, one side rotates forward as the other side drops down, forcing your back to overarch and your striding foot to rotate in”. Read more… »

Runners often substitute cycling to maintain leg strength and sometimes to help improve running speed. Cycling is a good substitute when you are not able to run as it does involve the same muscles but not to the same degree.

For example, cycling relies mainly on the quadriceps in leg extension. It is a dynamic move that powers the cyclists forward. For runners, the quadriceps are used mainly for preventing excessive lowering of the body after touchdown and to create the vertical forces when pushing off in runners with poor technique who push off with a body above the foot. Read more… »

I keep talking to runners and athletes in different sports that require running, who maintain that they have tight hamstrings. However, upon questioning them in regard to how they know that their hamstrings are tight, I never get a straight answer. Most often it is, ” I just feel it” or “I just know it.”

It is almost as though they are supposed to have tight hamstrings. If they didn’t, something would be wrong with them. Is it a figment of their imagination or do most runners and running athletes truly have tight hamstrings? Read more… »

Although they do not specifically state this, most articles in running or other magazines that deal with running, are intended for beginners and novices. Howeve, they are typically written in a manner that indicates that they apply to all levels of runners. This is misleading.

As a result of this many runners incorporate recommendations in the belief that it will improve their performance when in reality, it can produce the opposite result. With sorrow, we still do not have a system that can identify different levels of performance so that each runner will know where he stands in relation to other runners. Read more… »