Over the last year or so in my quest to become a better
runner, I’ve done a lot of reading on various topics, ranging from running form
to training regimens. One of the buzzwords I’ve come across a few times that is
even more rampant in the Parkour community is proprioception; that is, the awareness of one’s own body, how it
moves, and its position in space as determined by the stimuli within the body
(ie sensory receptors activated by muscle activity or movement). I suppose one
could say that it’s like using the Force to stretch out with your feelings and
know exactly where each part of your body is in relation to the other and in
relation to the ground, or sky, or objects around you. Barefoot running touts
better proprioception as a huge benefit, as you become more aware of how you
connect with the ground, and because the muscles, nerves, and tendons in your
feet are awakened as if from a deep sleep - a deep sleep caused from having 20mm
of EVA foam underneath them to numb your awareness and put your feet into a
sensory deprivation tank that are known as shoes…or “foot coffins” to some
hardcore barefooters.
In applying this concept to running in general, it didn’t
seem too important to me initially, compared with something like gymnastics or
Parkour, where if you hurdle yourself through the air without being aware of
your exact trajectory, you’re gonna seriously wreck yourself. After more
contemplation, however, it made perfect sense, especially when thinking about
trail running, ultrarunning, and biomechanics. Having an awareness of where
your body is and how it moves will give you a tool to make you more efficient,
help you to overcome deficiencies in form, and when used as a focus in
training, can make you stronger. One way to achieve this is through specific
balance training.
There are plenty of products out there to help improve your
balance, like the Bongo or Indo Board, bosu balls,
and the like, but you don’t need to buy anything to improve your balance and
proprioception. You just need…well, you. Throughout my ten years as a Nordic
skiing coach, I’ve realized that the top culprit of bad technique comes
primarily from poor balance and a lack of trust in one’s ability to bear their
entire bodyweight on one leg, while also careening down the trail. Luckily for
runners, this isn’t quite as challenging, but careening down mountain trails
will require just as much agility and surefootedness. In any case, spending
more time on one ski when paired with direct technique instruction helped my
skiers improve, but it wasn’t enough. I wanted them to have better balance
before even getting on skis, so I developed this simple balance drill.
It may not seem like much, but try it and you’ll see that
it’s harder than it looks, especially if you’re focusing on doing it right. If
you spend at least 10 seconds in each position, you’re standing on one leg for
more than two minutes. The beauty of this drill is that it can be modified in
many ways and can be done virtually anywhere. I even do the simpler positions while
brushing my teeth. Additionally, if you’re paying attention, you can start to
feel where your body and center of gravity are. By shifting your weight forward
onto the ball of the foot, or backward onto the heel, for example, you’ll feel
what works better for balance, or what may challenge various muscle groups
more. The same goes for leaning from side to side. By engaging the hips and
pelvis and attempting to “lift” your body upwards as much as possible and
keeping your legs straight without locking your knees, you’re working on
balance and good posture, all the while
taxing and strengthening the little muscles in your feet and calves. This can
also be a good way to figure out where you might have imbalances in various
muscle groups.
As you can see, I also included some extra drills for adding
strength into the mix. These are more advanced, and I would recommend doing
them on flat ground and/or wider surfaces first before moving on to rounded
rails and such. Having good squat and pistol form on stable ground, in my opinion, trumps doing them poorly on a railing (like I did in the video). Other ways you can switch up your
balance training include:
- try doing as much of the original drill with your heel
raised. It’s friggin' hard!
- roll your center of balance around the edges of your foot,
almost as if doing ankle rolls while
standing on that foot
- Add a slosh tube for additional instability. If you can do the flying camel with a slosh tube,
you’ll officially be my hero (vid or it didn’t happen).
- Find a way to measure how high you can raise your leg and
strive to raise it higher
- try hopping in place in any of the various positions
- find some wobbly surfaces – or “wiggle rocks” as my niece
refers to them - to use as your
platform
Above all, when doing these drills, RELAX THE FOOT!
Ultimately you should be doing these barefoot or in minimal shoes, so that your
foot can relax and expand, thereby activating and strengthening the various muscles and tendons. Your feet will get stronger and will
thank you for it. Good luck, and add a comment below with any questions or
additional ideas. I’m always looking for ways to improve this drill.
