4:10 higher cadence for short quick steps - do not overstride, do not lift knees 4:30 body position, do not lean forward nor back -> stay as upright as possible 4:50 arms bent at 90 degrees as usual BUT if very steep, you can keep them slightly back and wider away from the body 6:20 you can land on your heels for breaking; in any case do NOT lock your knees, keep them bent
Why are you heel striking so severely in the thumbnail? Doesn’t this brake you and reduce the natural shock absorption and send more force up to your knees?
This video was quite helpful. I live in a very hilly area, and I get cautious when running downhill in fear of injuring myself. Will definitely implement this on my next run!
I disagree, concentrating on form makes people more relaxed if it’s the right form. Robotic is when the form is wrong. Flow and ease is part of form, you cannot feel stiff. If it feels stiff, you’re doing wrong and whoever is giving you advice needs to be replaced. As for foot landing, forefoot is where you want to land, flat foot is where you want to load and big toes is where you want to exit. These 3 maximise recoil.
Amazing video! Clear and easy to understand explenation. That’s how tutorials should be made. Thank you as i am in my final week of training for a short and fast trail race in Italy
Loved this, much needed as ive spent years working on up-hills (with very little impact) and only just realising its the downhills that are destroying me, Many thanks 👌
It would be nice to quantify the degree of grade encountered and how it affects technique. A 2% or 3% grade can be a free lunch, flying much faster with zero breaking. Whereas a 15% grade is the worst of all worlds, and simply to be avoided!!
Yeah, if it's that steep its usually off-road, then the technique is very different. Really short steps, and absolutely heel first - never ever put your weight on your toes or forefoot descending a steep, loose slope, your feet will slide out in front of you.
With all due respect, if gravity is an absolute then you are not fighting gravity pulling you backwards or forwards when running hills. Gravity (supposedly) pulls to the centre of the earth, meaning from your feet, straight down, not backwards or forwards…makes sense, doesn’t it. Look at the grass and wild flowers in the background of the vid, they are not leaning downhill, they are straight. See? So that leaves the question about gravity as an absolute. It can’t exist, it is a theory. Objects rise and fall simply because of density or in this running case, the angle of a slope. Objects sink or float because of buoyancy, if not then fish should all be sucked to the bottom of the ocean. The same thing goes for babies crawling, if there was such a thing as gravity then they would not be able to support their own spines, let alone lift their underdeveloped muscles in their arms and legs. Gravity is simply a theory and a silly one if you really think about it, I mean really think about it. How can a little butterfly just gently flutter or float around if there is such a scary thing that can pull and hold the oceans down, but butterflies can float around or helium balloons can float away? Smoke floats everywhere, it does not get pulled down with a force that can keep oceans pinned to a spinning ball. Thanks for the vid thoughz
Well, as a physicist I can tell you yes, ot pulls towards the centre of the earth, but the earth is ion the way. That's why gravity does not pull a rolling ball to the centre of the earth (even though it tries) , the ball rolls down the slope, ie at an angle to the centre of the earth. Effectively, the force that acts on the ball is a vector, and its the sum of the gravity pulling down, and the earth "pushing" back. The resultant force vector is down the slope. That's the force you are resisting when trying not to fly downhill out of control.
I struggle with one of my knees after an snowboarding accident and this was so helpful and informative, I want to run a full marathon and I need all the tips I can get to help my knees handle it. Thank you!
I've definitely found this to be true! I read Born to Run and got myself a pair of minimalist shoes but quickly got myself shin splints because I was taking WAY too much impact from the concrete and from the mileage.
After watching this I planned a route with several good hills. After 10 years running, your advice made a huge difference - the tip about using your feet to "claw your way up the hill" was a light-bulb moment when I tried it. Thank you!
Thank you, i recently got iliotibial band syndrome from running downhill and i see i did everything to deserve it. What you said makes alot of sense and i will use it to avoid injury.
Thank you. I do regular fitness runs and really have challenges doing hills. You explained it so well in this video. I will work on it and give you feedback soon.
