At toe-off, your pelvis is rotated as far to that side as it’s going to go. Then in the float phase (both feet off the ground) the pelvis already starts rotating back towards the other side. By the time the foot strikes the ground, you can ride that rotation, so to speak, which reduces the negative impact of the ground reaction forces* on the body and helps store the energy for an effective toe-off. *read that last bit as ground reaction forces are good, we can use them to help move forward IF we rotate efficiently*

Efficient forward motion in running requires rotation!

The running rotation happens at the pelvis and the torso in opposite directions to balance the momentum. 

(I wrote a little bit more about how the torso and ribs fit into the equation HERE. Today I want to focus on the hips/pelvis!)

At the pelvis, you need to be able to internally rotate to stay strong/stable through midstance (this means LENGTH in the backside) and you need external rotation and extension to propel you forward. All too often we drive external rotation (clamshells, lateral band walks, etc.) and forget about internal rotation. You can’t effectively use external rotation if you can’t internally rotate too. In other words, you can’t effectively propel without loading. AND if you can’t load it makes it harder for your body to handle ground reactive forces overall.

You can train it specifically with some of these examples here and through being purposeful about the types of squats, splits squat, hinges, etc. that you integrate into your training (the latter is something we do a lot of in my Women’s Running Academy).

These first two isolate the rotation at the hip:

These next two bring what's happening at the foot in gait into the movement:

Last two finish the movement with external rotation and hip extension for that full contraction after lengthening:

The hardest part to really get for most women is that loading through length. Partly because of the natural shape of our pelvis and partly because of years of doing work with only contracting/squeezing/extending (clamshells, band walks, hip thrusts). 

Don’t forget, you can’t effectively use external rotation if you can’t internally rotate too.

In other words, you can’t effectively propel without loading. AND if you can’t load it makes it harder for your body to handle ground reactive forces overall.

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend checking out my FREE Glute Accelerator Crash Course to help you with just that!

Your Coach
Alison