Matthew Boyd Physio

Helping Runners Overcome Injuries and Smash PRs

/

Top 4 Running Form Tips based on Evidence | with Tom Goom, Physiotherapist

Subscribe to The Adaptive Zone Podcast…

There is certainly no shortage of “advice” out there about running form. If your social media habits are anything like mine, you can’t scroll down your feed more than two or three times without seeing some video or image depicting “bad running form” or “good running form” or some sort of transition between the two. Heck, I’ve put up quite a number of these posts myself!

BUT! What does the evidence say? What aspects of running form have been shown to influence running performance? What about injury rates?

These are very important factors to consider before you start messing around with your running technique. Today we are joined by the one and only Tom Goom, aka The Running Physio. Many of you will be familiar with Tom, over the last decade he has gained quite a reputation for his ability to translate running injury research into easy-to-digest messages. Tom teaches clinicians all over the world through his Running Repairs Courses and has written for Running Fitness, Men’s Running UK, the British Journal of Sports Medicine and the Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. His website, Running-Physio.com is the go-to resource for clinicians and runners who want to know what the science actually says about running injury management.

To put it simply, there is no one better positioned to give us a “thousand-foot view” on running form research. You will leave this episode with some very clear takeaways about what is important (and not important) when it comes to running technique.

Top 4 Running Form Tips

Discussed in this episode

  • Biomechanical factors  that influence running form in terms of performance:
    • Overstriding
    • Hip Adduction
    • Forward Trunk Lean
    • Cadence (step rate)
  • How Tom approaches running form analysis
  • How Tom approaches running form modification

Follow Tom

Cool stuff mentioned in the show

Chapters

  • 00:00 Who is Tom Goom?
  • 04:00 Tip #1 | Avoid leaning forward
  • 12:15 Tip #2 | Avoid knock knee running
  • 19:40 Tip #3 | Avoid overstriding
  • 24:55 Is “pick your legs up” a good cue?
  • 28:43 What about arm swing?
  • 32:51 Tip #4 | Increase your running cadence
  • 37:10 How to increase your step rate (cadence)
  • 41:26 Can we reduce injuries through technique?
  • 46:00 Why we should ignore most social media influencers
  • 50:00 Follow Tom Goom

Follow Me

Follow Me