Do you tell runners to “push” or “pull” themselves forward when cueing about form and drive?

Question

Brad Hudson · Answer

Okay, one of the most important things as a coach is not force your athlete into your system to survive, but work your system around the athlete. With that said, I do not advocate pushing or pulling, and I'll tell you why. First of all, there's no exact way to run. Heel striking, midfoot striking, pushing, pulling, there are so many different ways, and people have been successful in all of these. I care more about where their foot lands, whether it lands under them or just slightly ahead of them. But normally beginners are over striding or heel striking, they're reaching out, and sometimes midfoot strikers, their body's ahead of their foot. But with that said, be really careful whether you change strides and do not do things drastically. You want to work on things like stability work, your whole body, that will help with your running form. Drills, I favor DanPath sprint drills, it will help both pushing and pulling. Ancillary work, hill sprints, power off the foot, all that kind of stuff. But be really careful changing your stride, and I do think there's a difference between changing an elite stride and changing a novice's stride, because elites have run for a long time and their body gets into a pattern of movement, whereas novices, they haven't gotten there yet. And so pay attention, why are you changing your form? If you're healthy and running well, why are you changing your form? Yes, to get faster. But test this on a treadmill with your oxygen consumption and running economy, and make sure it's not BS.

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"Do you tell runners to “push” or “pull” themselves forward when cueing about form and drive?"