hamstrings and glutes used when running

[Syl]

Hi guys,

I have a friend that runs fairly quickly... faster then me... when we run, he told me that I should use my hamstrings and my glutes to help me push ahead.  I tell him that I do not know how to use those muscles when I run... i do not even know how to "contract" them to use their force to my advantage...

It is not necessarily for sprinting... when we ran 21km yesterday, at the 18ish, he told me this to help me continue the momentum going...

so the questions are: Is there a way to learn to use those muscles to run far and fast?
Are there a drill that would help me learn how that feels like?

Also, once my quads where hurting (not from hills)... and i was told that i should not be using those muscles unless on a hill...

So: Is there something wrong with my legs??? lol.. .

thank you for replying
le learning syl

[Jeff Linger]

One thing you can do to practice bringing those muscles into play is imagine that the road is a treadmill that is turned off and you have to pull the tread under your feet, also known as 'pulling the road' according to Brain Training for Runners. Pick up a copy of the book, it will give you other mental drills to work on to improve your running form.

[Joe Furse]

In high school track and XC I used to do a drill called "smerfs."  It's hard to explain, but basically it's like skipping but when you bring your front foot down you snap it down with a pulling motion, like what Jeff was saying.  I think it might also be called a "B-skip."  I don't know if it does much strengthening, but it may help your body get the idea of how to use those muscles. You can also get in the weight room and do leg curls.  Also in the weight room you can get on one of those cable crossover machines with the different attachments and put a cuff around your ankle from the lower pulley and "pull the road," with the weight pulling level from the front.  You won't need much weight to get the workout.  With this one you can also do a lot of other exercises (side to side, pulling the knee forward and up into your chest with the weight pulling down and back, etc).  I think strengthening these muscles...or at least developing the neural pathways to maximize your ability to use these muscle groups can definitely be very helpful.  But, I would also say that the best way to really do that with respect to running is to do a lot of running.  Simply by running a lot your body will learn how to run most efficiently in most cases.  After a time you shouldn't have to think about it much.  The exercises can be beneficial supplements, but they should be the side, not the entree.

[Jeff Linger]

As I was reading Joe's post it reminded me of the benefits of 'hill drills' to help develop strength. Check for info on this from Arthur Lydiard online. Here's one example (http://www.lydiardfoundation.org/training.aspx -- click on the bottom of the page where it says 'Read The Full Article'). Near the end of the article he has drills for hill training to improve strength. The entire article is probably worth the 10 minutes it takes to read.

[Joe Furse]

Just remembered:  a good strong length of surgical tubing tied in a loop wrapped around the leg of a large piece of furniture can do the same thing as the "cable crossover machine" in the exercises I described--and it's a lot cheaper than a gym membership.    Add more loops for more resistance.