Photograph by Pamela Merriam
(Art)
“In a profound way the circuit is the movement: it dictates the precise strength and timing of each muscle contraction, the shape and content of each thought.
A sluggish, unreliable circuit means a sluggish, unreliable movement; on the other hand, a fast, synchronous circuit means a fast, synchronous movement.
When a coach uses the phrase “muscle memory”, he is actually talking about circuits, by themselves. Our muscles are as useful as a puppet without strings.” – Excerpt from THE TALENT CODE by Daniel Coyle
The strings that Coyle is referring to are the nerves (circuits!) that innervate the muscles.
Your circuits have to be transmitting *all* of the neurological input to the muscles in order to have efficient motion throughout the human chain.
Your brain does not recognize individual muscles. It only senses joint motion(s).
(Proprioception)
A muscle is only tight because it is working much harder to protect. The tight muscle then, is over compensating for a muscle that is neurologically inhibited (weak).
It will tighten up again (and again!) to protect the joint(s).
Let’s pretend that you have never heard this:
Static stretching decreases performance by neurologically inhibiting (weakening) muscles. There is a dampening of the input through the circuits and stretching is the culprit.
A runner who lands on their forefoot naturally has more spring than a runner who lands on their heel.
I have noticed one thing that is consistent with runners who load the forefoot first: They all have taut hamstrings.
The more taut (stiff) their hamstrings are, the more they naturally utilize their built-in spring mechanism.
Taut hamstrings equals more spring.
(Boing)
In a previous post I briefly touched on good running technique *and* a natural pre-stretch that forefoot runners get with every step.
When you land with your forefoot first, you are naturally priming *and* preparing the neuromuscular (fascial) system on every step.
*Every* time you lift your thigh and exaggerate the amount of flexion of the lower leg at the knee joint; you are lengthening (a pre-stretch) your quadriceps at the knee and the muscles that extend the the thigh at the hip (hamstrings).
When you exaggerate the amount of bend (flexion) in your knee, you automatically point your foot which lengthens the muscles throughout the lower leg and the top of your foot.
Essentially, you are preparing the entire chain by lengthening the fascia or to be more specific; the superficial front line
Those same motions are lengthening the superficial back line from the knee to your forehead.
Your thigh (femur) is driving motion throughout the entire chain on every step.
When the muscles are receiving the neurological input to pull you into the position(s) that I described above, you lengthen the fascia even more which lends itself to a smoother *and* softer landing.
“The fastest finishers had a higher thigh drive, for one thing; at its apex, their femur bone was almost parallel to the ground, like the front legs of a deer. They also slapped the ground so quickly with their forefoot that the contact seemed almost incidental. According to Walker, the short slap transfers force more efficiently, shooting it from the ground forward into the pelvis, rather than allowing it to dissipate to the flex of the foot. The effect, Walker says, is like “a pogo stick with a stiff spring.” –Excerpt from The Perfect Stride by Jennifer Kahn
(Boing)
