 |
 |
|
|
 |
Cadence |  |
|---|
See the Index for more topics, information, hints and tips.
Cadence is a measure of how frequently your feet touch the ground. It is key for having good running form. The elite runners have a cadence of about 180 foot strikes per minute or 90 with each foot. That’s 15 per 10 seconds. You can measure yours by counting the number of steps you take with one foot in a minute.
Several running watches have an optional foot fob that will count your strides for you. These are handy because it's a little hard counting that fast!
This may seem fast, because most beginning runners have a slower cadence. A faster cadence is more efficient and makes running easier, more efficient.
Having a fast cadence is THE most important aspect of proper running form. Many other aspects of good running form will come naturally when you have proper cadence.
You can lift a small weight a lot of times without getting tired, but you can only lift a heavy weight a few times.
Using a cadence of about 180 steps per minute also is more mechanically efficient as your body can actually absorb and use some of the energy from each stride. With a slower cadence you can't recover that energy and it is lost. Leap quickly in place to feel the elastic recoil for fast cadence. Then do the same thing very slowly and see how much harder it is.
You are working towards a quick turnover of your feet. The less time your feet spend on the ground means less effort you have to exert. Your foot strikes should be very quiet like you are trying to sneak up on someone.
Remember to take short fast steps. The motion is similar to peddling a bicycle.
To increase your cadence you can use a metronome or a phone app or music with a beat of 180. At first this may seem very fast for you. But start out just by lifting your feet in time to the beat. Don’t worry about moving, you can do it in place, just get your feet moving at that rate. All you are doing at this point is basically lifting your feet up and putting them down.
If you have trouble getting that fast, move your arms forward and back faster (use a shorter swing). Your arms will help drive your feet faster. Be sure to move your arms straight up and back and not across your body. I find this especially helpful when I am getting tired.
Another thing to try to get a faster cadance is to lift your knees just a little higher. I'm not sure why this works, but it did for me.
Use this 180 foot strikes per minute no matter what your speed. The only difference between slow and fast is your stride length. You can also try running fast (which naturally gives you a high cadence) and as you slow down strive to keep the same cadence.
Another thing that might help is to take the change in increments. That is, speed up your cadence by 5-10 steps per minute. When that feels comfortable, increase it by another 5-10 steps per minute until you get to about 90.
Yet another trick is to try to mimic someone who has a good cadence. Try to match them step for step like a dance.
Pretend you are running barefoot on hot coals and keep your feet on the ground for as short a time as possible.
You should always move your feet at this fast 180 strides per minute rate no matter if you are going slow or fast, uphill or downhill. To go faster, lean a little bit forward from your ankles. This will increase your stride length. As you get faster you will notice that rather than just lifting your foot and putting it down that you are starting to push off with your foot more thus pushing your body forward.
Once you practice this for a while it will become more and more natural to you, but it doesn’t hurt to occasionally check yourself to make sure you are still using a high, 180 steps per minute cadence.
While your attention is focused on your feet, listen to your foot strike. Are your feet hitting the ground louder than those around you? If they are then try to make them as quiet or soft as possible.
