How To Run Faster And Longer Without Getting Tired Or Injured


7 Steps To Better Running Form


I will email you daily with information that helps you achieve your running goals, which may include offers to buy programs or services that I have created for you. You are always free to unsubscribe or change your personal information, which includes your email address. I'm not collecting any other personal information.


Runners: Avoid Injuries with a Technique You Probably Haven’t Seen

If you’re making this mistake, you could be placing yourself at an increased risk for injury and all the lame-ass things that come along with it:

  • loss of running/training time
  • getting slower
  • losing endurance
  • losing strength
  • losing your mind!

I first discovered this method back when I was out on a run and started feeling that old familiar IT band pain. That pain had been gone for a long time, but now it was back. “Shit!”

I had let up on my program of tissue self care which included myofascial release and yoga practice. I tried to run through it, but a week later it was worse and starting to keep me from simple lifestyle activities such as going down stairs. I was frustrated!

Then I took a few slow breaths to relax and decided to recommit to my program of tissue maintenance.

But I had an epiphany when I took my breathing break to cool off. The breathing! Through yoga and the heightened breathing awareness that comes with it, I had realized that I was always stepping on my right foot whenever I exhaled.

And I knew from my experience in strength, conditioning, and fitness that we apply greater force during our exhalations. I was always pushed harder on my right leg whenever I was running because my out breath always coincided with my right foot step.

That means higher ground impact force on my right side.

So I started a program to fix my muscle imbalances and shifted my breathing to a different pattern where I would alternate which foot touched the ground on the exhalation.

The breathing part was easier than I though it would be. All I had to do was ensure that I took an odd number of steps on each breath.  could inhale for 5 steps, exhale for 4.

I could inhale for 4 steps and exhale for 3, or inhale for 3, and exhale for 2. Or if my oxygen demand was really high with a faster, higher intensity run I could inhale for 2 and exhale for 1.

Recently I discovered this technique is actually a thing called “rhythmic breathing”.  Budd Coates wrote a book about it. In Running on Air, he describes how to use this method. It is a great book with awesome descriptions and instructions.

I implement the technique in a different way than he suggests. I emphasize breathing through my nose and therefore my breathing rate is slower.  For example, on a slow run I will take 9 steps per breath or about 20 breaths per minute at a 180 steps/minute cadence.

Coates suggests starting at 5 steps per breath at your slowest speed which is 36 breaths per minute at a step rate of 180 per minute.

How You Can Do This

1.  Start by walking.

2. Pick an odd number of steps and begin to walk.

3. Divide the number of steps as evenly as your can. For example 9, would be 4 and 5; 7 would be 4 and 3.

4. Take the highest number of steps on the inhalation, and the lower number on the exhalation.

5. Walk for 5 minutes to get accustomed to this pattern.

6. Begin to run using the same pattern.

7. If you get out of breath and can’t maintain this pace. Then start over at  step 1 and choose a lower number of steps per breath.

You will have to experiment to find what works for you.
Author:
Nick Ortego is a health coach specializing in biohacking for runners. He integrates modern methods with the ancient wisdom of yoga to help runners get the most out of every aspect of life. He is the owner of N 2 Action, a wellness studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, offering personal training, health coaching, yoga, and fascial stretch therapy.

Get the Breathe Better Now Program! FREE

* indicates required

Run Better Now Coaching

Do you want to love running again?


So there I was after my first marathon.


I was hurting and I could barely walk. I could walk but I looked 50 years older than my 29 years.


I had fallen in love with running about 8 months earlier when I was on a family vacation. I ran every day near the beaches in Florida. Not Florida in July, but Florida in April.


The warm sun.


The cool breeze.


They combined with the steady rhythm of my feet hitting the ground and the wavelike motion of my breathing. It hypnotized me into a state of euphoria.


I went home from that vacation and immediately signed up for my first ever marathon.


But here I was now 8 months later and I couldn't bear the thought of running. I resigned to the idea that running just wasn't for me, or my body. It was like an abusive lover. It just beat me up too much.


I stopped running and just focused on other exercises.


Then one day a I was walking my little wiener dog at a local park wearing some five fingers. Those are the barefoot toe shoes that were trendy back then.


I looked at my little dog and he seemed to want to run. I decided to do a little sprint.


And it felt phenomenal. I loved running again. Everything was flowing, my form felt effortless. A eureka moment happened.


You see, when I was training for the marathon, I had tried to implement better running technique principles to no avail. My form would just go back to my default setting once I got even a little tired.


I knew what good running form looked like. I have a degree in the science of human movement. I did most of my biomechanics projects on running when I was in college. I read all the books about better running form. I tried to use the principles that I knew.


But I had been unable to put it into practice.


Now something had changed.


When I was not attached to running a certain distance or speed, I ran much better. I started treating running as a skill I was developing, rather than a mode of cardiovascular conditioning I was using to condition my body.


It worked. I enjoyed running again. I took another deep dive into studying the biomechanics of running. I was able to practice the principles of better running.


Since then, I've run several marathons faster than that first one that left me feeling crippled.


I've run a 50k and 100 mile ultra-marathons without feeling beat up.


That's a lie. I felt pretty demolished after the hundred miler. But that's to be expected.


I love running again.


But it hasn't been all rainbows and unicorns. I've made mistakes and learned. I got over-zealous with the little barefoot toe shoes and had to fix my plantar fasciitis again. (I'm prone to it apparently.)


Prevention beats treatment is one of the most valuable lessons I learned, by the way. I haven't had the plantar fasciitis issues in over 8 years now though.


As a trainer, I started using what I knew about corrective exercise and motor learning to help people run better.


And now, with the current state of internet technology, I can offer coaching online. I created a 3-month coaching program called Run Better Now Coaching.


With the Run Better Now coaching program you get all this.




  • You will improve all of your movement patterns so that you can run with optimized mechanical efficiency. This means a smoother, easier experience each time you run.

  • You will learn how to improve other lifestyle factors that can make or break your running performance. This includes nutrition, stress, sleep, and recovery.

  • No guesswork. You get a specifically detailed program specifically designed for your body and your schedule delivered on my online platform with instructional videos and unlimited feedback.

  • Constant guidance. Each week we meet remotely to adjust your program based on how it's going for you.

  • Unlimited consulting.  I answer all your questions by email or through my online training platform.


Click here to sign up for the 3-month program,  or read more if you're curious.


How Online Coaching Works


Here is what your get:




  • Movement Evaluation: An initial evaluation of your movement patterns and running form through video.

  • Program Design: An exercise and running program designed specifically for your needs, goals, and time constraints.

  • Unlimited Q & A: My online coaching platform allows you to send me messages and videos. I answer your questions and give you feedback for improving your technique.

  • Weekly Coaching Sessions: We meet online each week throughout the 3 month program for accountability and encouragement as well as program troubleshooting.

  • Integrated Health Coaching: I coach you on the other aspects of a healthy lifestyle that can make or break your running. This includes better sleep, nutrition, recovery, and stress management. 


Sign up for the Run Better Now (3-month) coaching program.


Movement Evaluation


I send you the instruction video and then you video yourself performing a set of movements and running. It's easy with your smart phone or other device.


I evaluate how you move and design a movement optimization program based on your movement patterns. I post your program and you log in to your account to view it. It comes with video demonstrations and instructions.



Customized Exercise Program


In addition to the movement optimization program, I design a running technique and strength training program just for you. I design it around your schedule and based on your abilities.


We periodize your program based on your races or events. We design the program and shift the variables so that your performance peaks at the specific time when you want to be your best.



Unlimited Consulting


You get unlimited questions answered by email or over the online coaching platform. The online platform allows you to attach videos to messages.


If you have any questions about your technique, just shoot a quick video of yourself with your smart phone or other device. Attach it to a message and send it to me.



Weekly Sessions


We meet up to 4 times a month throughout the 3-month program for accountability or encouragement. During this session, we can also troubleshoot your program and game plan for any upcoming events.


You get access to my personal calendar to set your coaching sessions up at your convenience. No back and forth messaging about available times necessary.



Integrated Health Coaching


So many things outside of running can affect your running. I coach you on those things as well. I can teach you how to get better quality sleep, recover better, beat stress, improve your mindset, eat better, and optimize your cognitive performance.


With the Run Better Now coaching program, you CAN run faster and longer with greater ease and without pain.


Get Started Now on the Run Better Now 3-Month Coaching Program
Nick Ortego
 

Nick Ortego has been a fitness professional since 1998. He holds a BS in kinesiology and is certified by the American Council on Exercise as an advanced health and fitness specialist, health coach and group fitness instructor. Ortego is also a registered yoga teacher (RYT-200) with Yoga Alliance, a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Corrective Exercise Specialist, and a Certified Kettlebell Teacher with the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below 0 comments