Thank you so much for your guidance. I started running last week of June this year. It took me 1 hour and 30 minutes to finish 5km before, and now my personal record is 32 minutes for 5Km.
LOL I thought too that 32 minutes is 10K. And I'm like "what??? how could anybody managed to do a 32 minutes 10K in only ONE year???". Until I double checked. Just be chill bro. 32m for 5K is good time. Now you are getting started. Just run here and there everyday and you'll soon be running at the speed that you can't even imagine before.
@@nassim6684 Nah, a 90 minute 5k aint even close to running. That's just a slow walk. I think the original commenter was lying because the only way that first scenario would be possible is if he was disabled, but since he's running a 32 minute 5k now, we know that can't be the cause.
I agree. Much more enjoyable than a metronome, but I have played like 10 different 180 bpm playlists on spotify and 90% of the songs were not even close to 180 bpm. Anyone else found the same result?
This is exactly what I've done and always listened too, and I've always thought I had a decent sense of beat, but now looking through my garmin history I can see my best runs average about 160bpm, perhaps time to be more mindful of this
One exercise I've been loving is a calf raise into a toe raise a few days/week. Improving my toe, foot strength has been so beneficial, helped improve my speed quickly and feel lighter. Can't believe I just discovered this after 23 years of running. Also wearing my BP hats - gettingitdone ; ). Great Video - thanks Ben.
I would also add to this informative piece, to read 'The Lost Art of Running' by Shane Benzie and being as 'elastic' as possible: head held high as if you are a puppet on a string and looking into the distance to correct this, arched back, engaging the psoas muscle which helps to clarify the right foot/left arm motion principle. And...utilizing impact to help propel us forward (as opposed fearing it). Shane Benzie's perspective on the tripod landing, I think, is also worth looking at. Initially, of course, concentrating on form employs the use of the most energy draining part of our body - the brain - but the sooner that better form becomes engrained, the less draining it becomes and even a dedicated time period on any given run can help instill this.
Love it - the brain- I tell myself, "okay, I'm gonna focus on my form for 2 minutes and see how it goes." 12 seconds later, I'm thinking about something else and forgot all about it
I lived 6 years in London around Greenwich, woolwich, deptford and blackheath. I love Ben’s videos because I’ve run many times around the park, along the Thames path from woolwich to Greenwich, over to Canada waters. Memories from 1998 til 05.
@@e55at I got off the plane early January in 1998. Slept and next day got up, ate. Had a look at the A to Z, found where the Thames was and ran there. Hit the river. Remember weaving my way along the path. Ran for an hour and a half, and without warning arriving at the cuttysark. Just by instinct ran up the path in the park (where Ben runs his hills) and by luck hit shooters hill rd, thus finding the only road I knew in London. There’s a memory
Thank you SO MUCH for all the helpful content you provide. I started running a couple of years ago and have made a ton of mistakes along the way. Channels like yours have helped me stay encouraged in my training (you always seen to enjoy your running:), and figure out what I need to do to see the improvements I seek. I ran my first half marathon last year (2023). With that first race I found out A LOT about myself, and all the mistakes I made in my training. I have implemented many of your advices in my training. This year (2024) I race my 2nd half marathon and improved from 2:19 to 1:56! The crazy thing is I believe I had more in the tank. I'm turning 50 next year and my goal is to begin training for a marathon...I'm a bit nervous about that. Anyway, thank you Ben for all your help! Oh, and to answer your question at the end of this video, YES!!! the supershoes help a ton...at least for runners like me. I ran my last race in the Nike Vapor fly. TOTAL Game changer!!!
The core reason why there is no reason to wear supershoes during training - beyond break-in period, familiarisation and race sims - is that *it does not matter how fast you go in training* . The purpose of training is to generate a stimulus causing your body to produce adaptations beneficial for your training goal. If your your workout requires an effort of 10 minutes at threshold pace, it does not matter whether you run 4 min/km in your regular shoes or 3' 55" /km in supershoes: it is the same effort and will generate essentially the same stimulus. Conversely, if you are familiar with your pace ranges in regular shoes and then do your workouts at those paces in supershoes, you will be cheating yourself by going easier than you had planned to. For similar reasons, the weight of training shoes is largely a non-issue. Train in shoes that are comfortable and don't slip on the surfaces you run on. If the number on the clock when you finish your races is important to you and you can afford to, buy a pair of supershoes for that.
i agree it doesnt matter, but i disagree that always training slower than your race pace is effective. at some point you need to practice what you want to achieve
@@will.green. I'm not sure how you interpreted my contention that the pace achieved in training doesn't matter to suggest you shouldn't exceed your target race pace. If the effort required for a particular workout takes you past that pace, that's fine. If it doesn't, that's fine too.
If it's a threshold effort, then speed at threshold, or the "running economy" (the speed at the same effort level) matters, right? But if you are on different shoes, how would you quantify it? How would you know that if your running economy (the speed at the same effort level) is improving, deteriorating, or just stays the same? I find myself use different tech/form on different shoes. Threshold training will not necessarily improve your cardio threshold, sometimes it's just the movement pattern that improves. Your statement is like to say "for threshold work it's better to do it on a bike, because it's just training, no need to wear out your knees, you should save your legs for the races, on the race day you'll feel much fresher!". We all know this won't work especially for the speedy work where RE and specificity matters. You can get away with zone 2 stuff possibly but not the fast stuff. BTW super shoes all have a best mileage lifespan, once past that mileage, I found it myself that it might not be as springy like new, but's still very very comfy and far better than the other "squishy" shoes. Actually I would say the difference is marginal. You can only buy super shoes and use the old ones as training/bad weather shoes. If you are a serious runner, those shoes will go past that "best time" quite quick so you'll have at least 1 old super shoes and that "new" super shoes is on it's way to become old quite soon. So basically you'll have a long array of over-best-mileage super shoes for training eventually. So there's basically no reason to buy any non-super shoe at all.
Great info here, I recently did a 3D gate analysis at the Run Lab, and it was amazing to see how much they could tell about me from my foot placement, it turns out I'm an over strider with a wide gate, if id only known that before as that is the root cause of my keen and ankle issues, top tip from them was just think about picking your foot up and moving it towards your bum, gravity will do the rest. A lot of runners try and run like swimming and keep moving their feet Infront of them and pull the road towards them, which is the totally wrong thing to do.
Personally and for me, I think the most important factor, besides training, is reducing weight. Whenever I gain an extra kilo or two, my time drops significantly.
I’ve watched a lot of videos in Portuguese (I’m from Brazil), and yours were the first and only one that has really helped me, thanks for the content! 🏃🏻♀️
Ben, I just want to thank you for making this video and giving ups these tips! 🙏🏻 I watched it a few weeks back and applied some of your tips - especially the ones for cadence. Not only my calves stopped hurting, but I started to run faster with less effort. Heck, I just ran a 10k PB on a race and shaved off 3 minutes and 14 seconds! 🥳
When rehabilitating from bony stress injuries or joint injuries in the Army, often times you're set up with a Return To Run program that has you train normally a pose running hybrid with a 180 metronome cadence. It's helping me recover since I was running on a bazillion little stress fractures. Don't forget to stretch daily. I like to do a morning stretch and a sun salutation type B at night.
I’ve ran in Hoka Challenger 7s for about 4 months and I’ve had an instant relief running with these. And that’s because personally it think they’re comfortable yet responsive.
The biggest benefit of super shoes/trainers for me, is the huge positive effect they have on recovery. Lower heart rate, legs not feeling beat up, are definitely worth it for me.
This is my third year running, and I had no idea cadence helped make runs easier. In my most recent race (5k) my average cadence was 177, but on my normal runs it’s usually around 165. I’ll try quickening it up, thanks for the tip!
Super shoes made a huge difference in my 10k and longer runs in hotter than hell Texas... the return in energy is just enough to keep my heart rate down and keep my pace better and they sort of force the proper form as they tend to make you feel like you're falling forward. For my normal short runs, I'll wear "Regular" running shoes, but long runs I always train in my racing shoe as a surefire way to hate (and hurt) yourself is to use a super shoe only during a race. I chuckled at the screenshot of temps when you said it was important to choose your time of day when running as your high for the day is often my low. (27c or 80f... yes... it's often 80f in our Texas mornings)
6:10 funny you mention the pyramid interval session. Ive just started experimenting with a 5-4-3-2-1-2-3-4-5 pyramid 5mins walk 4 at an easy jog 3 at the 10k pace 2 at a 5k pace and 1 minute absolute flat out as hard as i can for as long as I can. Then back down again. Your lungs and legs are absolutely destroyed afterwards, but it does help you condition better to a faster overall race pace for the 10k+ distances. Will see in Nov how well it improves my next race performance.
Agree with what you say. I have some carbon plated shoes (Hoka Rockets) and just use them in races and for speedwork. I'm not a fast runner so I suspect the advantage comes from the decrease in weight when compared to an average trainer. I can say that you can appreciate them once you step up the pace a bit - they are much more responsive!
Enjoy your videos and enthusiasm, good luck in whatever is your next marathon. I now race in Puma DV8 Nitro Elite 3 shoes and use the Elite 2 shoes as trainers. They are almost impossible to wear out and the 2s are now a year old ( a 1,000 km + in) and still going strong. As an older runner (70+) the carbon plate shoes do less damage to old legs and allow me to run mileage I have never done before (while still riding and swimming for Tri's). I wouldn't dream of trying to use an older technology now. They are what the Nike "waffle iron" was to plimsolls. And you wouldn't dream of training in plimsolls now, would you?
I bought a pair of carbon plate running shoes (size 7) when I weighed ~58 kg. The plate was so stiff that I likened them to clogs. I now weigh ~68 kg and they are OK. I remain skeptical that the spring constant is suitable to allow many runners to benefit significantly from them.
Hello. Everyone talks about how to be faster with proper body position, step speed, speed per kilometer, and the like, which is great and helps, but... No one mentions that you should pay attention to your heart rate. I don't think it's good for someone aged 20 to run 5, 10, 40km and have an average heart rate of 180, 190 or someone aged 50 or 60 to have a heart rate of 160/170. And people run like that!? It's dangerous. Why do they ask for confirmation at marathons that you are healthy or a signature that if something happens to you, it is not their fault. Because of the heart. Because everyone is running for some records, instead of running for pleasure. When you run 5,10 or more km, you should feel pleasure, and not die of pain... That's why, you who are being watched, include in that story so that people pay attention to your heart and say, if you have 20-30 gids, don't that your heart rate exceeds xxx, if you have 40-50 then xxx, if you are over 55,60 then xxx heart rate. Regardless of technique, breathing, and everything else that is important, the most important thing is to protect the heart. When you have a car that can go 250 km/h, only a crazy person always drives it that much. So does the heart. Do not run at maximum. greetings
My interest is in learning how runners *power* through a stride. NO VIDEOS talk about this.!!! If I slo mo the pros, then it looks like they really spring off each step. In full speed, it looks like they're just jogging lol. So I've been focusing on adding a bit of power to each step, even in the slow runs to condition the muscles.
@Jiaweic well, now I put more spring into each step. For one, to propel me a few inches more forward on each step and two, to kick my heels a bit higher behind to more efficiently transition my knee forward for the next step.
The super shoes (in my case Asics Metaspeed Sky Plus) helped me running faster during my first marathon (probably around 5 sec/km, end result: 3:49h), but even more important: Long runs, interval runs, rest day etc. EVERY week for months - so all the things you've explained so well in this video :)
Hi Ben and thanks. What a fantastic bite sized video. I heel strike when running at easy pace (e.g. during a trail ultra) and mid foot when running faster, e.g. for 5k or 10k. Does any of this matter and if so how? Should I try to move more to a midfoot strike for slower and longer runs? Perhaps it only really matters if you are NOT landing under your centre of mass? From Runners World: The majority of distance runners are heel strikers. This is true regardless of elite or recreational status, with at least 70 percent hitting the ground first at the heel. This may be because heel striking has been found to be more energy-efficient at slow to medium speeds. Sprinters tend to land farther forward. I would also add that changing running form too quickly can cause injury. The body may have adjusted somewhat to your running gait. Changing it can create injuries elsewhere. I speak from experience and suffering, as Ben will attest to after his broken ankle some years ago that would have changed his gait and set off a domino effect of further injuries. Even the smallest change to form/gait, plus lots of miles, can take a toll on body parts not used to taking much of a pounding. Finally, I am in my early forties and would not run exclusively on road/hard pavement. Now I stick to trails with a bit of road. A good mix is best.
Pretty common to go to more of a heel strike when you’re running slower. As long as you’re not over-striding as he mentioned in the video and you’re striking the ground underneath your centre of mass, you’ll be ok. Sometimes forcing forefoot strike on slower runs can actually be detrimental and cause injury.
hard to believe an ultra trail runner doesnt know how to run. heel strikes are always bad as they put the force of landing into your knees and back instead of using your arch as it was designed to absorb the impact. maybe you can get away with it if you are wearing super cushy shoes, but those are unstable with poor ground feel so they are pretty dangerous and much more likely to lead to falls, ankle sprains, etc. landing on your heels is also bad on trails because you arent properly balanced and its harder to save yourself if you mis-step on a technical trail
You probably already have your hands on the new Peg Plus, they literally have ‘Pegasus Turbo’ pressed into the outsole, then on the inside of the tongue is printed ‘2018’ ‘2024’. I compared the insole to peg turbo 2 and they are exactly the same. They are a peg turbo for sure 🙂? 🤔. I’ve not run in them yet, but one negative is that the toe box doesn’t seem to have much height to accommodate the big toe (i’m not sure if that’s really a problem, it might not be). I look forward to your review, we know it’s coming soon 🤣. Have i rushed on to the band wagon too soon due to rose tinted spectacles 🤣? We’ll see 🤞.
Great video! Can you also do some kind of video where you show how much you spend/one needs to spend on average to run a marathon under 3h for example? Currently I am struggling what to buy (especially like supplements etc.) and whether I really need them to achieve a set goal. Perhaps I am not the only one. Already watched your vids about your running essentials etc. but since there are tons of supplements on the market that "you need to get" I am completely confused. Nevertheless thanks again for your great vids! Helping me a lot to achieve better results!
First, optimise sleep, nutrition, hormones, stress levels, and frequency and intensity of exercise (what is your optimum volume which allows for enough recovery but also enough exercise to make improvements?). These will cover 95% of your needs. The other 5% is supplemental to these (electrolytes, creatine, protein powder). Supplements aren't a game changer unless you have the other 95% covered i.e. the basics.
Spent my first couple of years running in asics gt-2000 and new balance 1080 for all training and races. This was fine as a beginner and I improved a lot during this period. First time switching to super shoes, Alphafly 1, took a good chunk off my half marathon time (1:24->1:20 back then). Probably a couple of mins fitness, a couple of mins were the shoes. Since improved to 1:18 in Alphafly 3. For the marathon they are very good at keeping you going in the late stages.
The chant that the fish in the fish tank do on finding Nemo gets stuck in my head when i’m focussing on cadence. Puts me at about 185 spm. Ha-hoo-wa-hee-ha-ho-ho-ho!
I know some of your suggestions can be appealing at a common sense level, but (1). gravity is essential to running, but doesn’t do any work for us unless we go downhill (basic physics). A tiny forward lean is essential for gravity to fight wind resistance; we don’t have to think about this, it’s automatic, and we can’t avoid it unless we run in a vacuum. The leaning exercise you demonstrate will help to stop leaning from the hips, so probably good. (2). It turns out that elite runners land about a foot in front of the centre of gravity. That might be because more than an ordinary runner should.
Supershoes are great.. I bought my ones after coming home from the pub after a few too many beers.. consequently I got some bright white ones with gold sparkly glittery accents.. 🤣they make me look like a contender on the start line.. problem is once I start running that soon fades! ..although there's probably something to be said for having a placebo effect.
I find it’s hard to maintain good form when I am running slowly. As an older runner every run is slow but if I drop the pace to do base my form is horrible. Cadence naturally increases with speed.
Hi @Ben Parkes 🙂 I am in the proces of transition from stability / cusion running shoes to bare foot running shoes - Xero HFS II and Mesa Trail II shoes - and my ankel and knee pain in right leg are gone due to much strengthened legs after years og frustration and a lot of money wasted ;-) The benefites are also that I run just as fast now with no pain and I am sure that I will be a happy monster in my Saucony Endorphin Elite when racing. Have you tried such bare foot running shoes and if not maybe try such out and make a video? It It could be interesting and fun to hear your assessment 🙂
Whenever I try to increase my cadence, no matter the stride length, I end up going faster (good?) and also seeing a big increase in heart rate, which I don’t want. How can I increase cadence and keep HR lower?!
Well since you go faster and put more effort your heart rate goes up. The only way to make it go down it training like that consistently and your heart rate will naturally go down once you get used to going that fast with a high cadence
You are going faster because you’re not shortening your steps. Hi cadence should be changing your posture. You are just increasing your foot speed. For a higher cadence to help you you need to be going the same speed as you are currently but with shorter steps.
Certainly should help prevent injury if you are doing exercises that are running specific such as unliteral exercises (Bulg split squat, reverse lunges, single leg deadlift, step ups with weighted vest etc). However, the BIG mistake people make is volume related. They get injured, they start strength training or/and cross training. Injury fixed, they start running again whilst also keeping the same level/frequency/intensity of strength training/cross training....then they get injured again....and the cycle goes on. Find your optimum e.g. for on season, do 4 runs per week, 1 elliptical/assault bike session, 2 strength training days, 1 or 2 full rest days. Then for off season, switch it around with fewer runs and more strength training.
I still rotate between the Endorphin Speed and Pro 2's. I bought them cheap on Amazon and they certainly help me move along faster with less effort. The Speed is my favorite.
Ive been obsessed with cadence for a while and I'm so lost, i run 170 when really thinking about it but i tries over striding the other day abd i dont think i can over stride
Great video as always Ben!!!😊 I doubt that Super shoes will make every runner faster. If you are Heel striking in a bad way, you propably won't be able to use their forward propelling functions. What do you think? Greetings from Germany!✌️
Ben - is there any chance you can do a video on suitable running shoes for runners that have to use Orthotics….its a nightmare. I cannot find a plate shoe that will fit an orthotic into it, if any of your subscribers have any feedback, please share any info please - Thanks
You won't need orthotics. If your gait analysis states overpronation ascis gt2100 series are very good. If wide fit they do wide models. I binned orthotics and changed to Gt2100 20 years ago and this last year Kayanos which are touch heavier but much better cushioning.
Does higher cadence only work with faster paces? I’m going like 11 or 12 minute miles and it feels so unnatural to increase cadence. I’m also 6ft tall and pushing a jogging stroller
Does your ideal cadence depend on what pace you’re going at? For my easy runs my cadence is around 170 but for my half/full it’s more like 180 and for my 5k pace it’s 190.
Oh, so i'm REALLY bad at this then... I like decreasing my cadence so it's less, but more strong, steps. Basically going farther per step, and slowing my step rate to compensate.
This cadence thing is worrying me.. at really low speed, say 8min/km, maintaining high cadence ie anything over 170 spm is really really tiring, and doesnt feel efficient at all, the only timei get anything over 170spm is running up trails with really steep hills, where stride length is tiny, if i maintain a reasonable stride length with a higher cadence i go faster but HR soars... should we not be looking for greater efficiency, particularly over longer distances..
I have been trying to get back into running after an 8 year hiatus have been struggling with pain, injury and getting under a 12 min mile just watched this video implemented the advise and ran a 9.56 min mile or 6.10 km/hr Without pain! Thank you very much for making this video!
@pvj6993 You're saying that after watching this video - which came out yesterday - you were able to eliminate your pain and decrease your mile time by 2 mins? Lol please elaborate.
@@TwiinStar1224 I have been trying to focus so much on form and weather or not I have been landing right, which he says in the video doesn't mater, posture, and gait. I have been running already for months do martial arts and have pretty good base core already. So after watching this video i set a metronome up and just ran paying more attention to getting my feet up. It was only for 2 miles but it worked. I don't really care if you believe me or not.
Been running for 3 weeks, my left knee is in agony despite running on a soft terrain with proper shoes and technique (booked a running coach for a session). Dont know what to do hinwstly
The reason of your knee pain is Your hamstrings and muscles , glutes are weak, U need to exercise these places to strengthen them first , then the pain will be gone! It works for me!
Listen to your body and don’t overdo it. I always look at strength training as my way of earning the miles. Meaning you have strength train in order to be tough enough to be able to run a lot.
@@hungxipo My quads are well developed from doing squats, but i have been neglecting hamstrings since forever to be completly honest. I do some rdls here and there, but will have to incorporate them and stick to it. Which hamstring excercises helped you to get rid of the knee pain? @hungxipo
I now only use them for speed work and races. I found that my feet and Achilles got weak after using them for everyday training. Took me months to get back the strength I lost.
Super shoes have made no difference for me… because I refuse to spend $300 on shoes that will possibly make me a little faster. I’m just a 42 year old guy racing against my own PBs - it’s not worth the money when I’m not out trying to win races.
@@aliasgharkhoyee9501 those don’t seem to be available here in Canada. Not as many runners here, or people in general (less than 40 million in a place the size of Europe, including the Russian part). We have a lot of dedicated runners, but a lot fewer, especially when it’s -30 during the winter!
@@gaphood4211 This. I was confused, started running early this year with the most basic shoe, then as my knee started bothering me I got the Nimbus 25 on a good deal. They are super soft/comfortable but have almost no bounce/energy return. U feel like they protect you but at the cost of efficiency. In July I've tried the new Superblast 2 and my god it changed the training for me, got my first 20 min / 5 km last week on a hot day... I feel like I'm gliding in these with less effort :)
It's so weird, the comment says NO difference, yet people chime in to say it could help with this or that. 🤪 If you don't notice any difference then no, it's not worth the price. Get some good light trainers and forget expensive "speed" models
hey! im kinda young and in my school we gotta run a mile today. i will use this advice to run and try and beat my 11:02 record . i know im explosive but i have pretty low stamina
Not so, if you land under your centre of mass you will fall flat on your face. All runners have to land in front of it, that's both sprinters and long distance.
