Relaxing muscles while running

S

sorridere

0
When I run my shoulders and traps are very tense. I am able to relax the rest of my body except for that area. How to I get them to relax?

I never thought much about it until I read a magazine article about a marathon runner who kept her butt muscles tense while running. Once she figured out how to relax them, her speed increased.

Anyone else have problems like this?
 
Do you do any resistance training?
 
Probably due to keeping your arms all pumped up.

Try relaxing your hands. Keep it natural. Not balled up.

Also, the doggy shake helps me sometimes. Basically, put your arms down and wiggle them like you're shaking. It helps sometimes and release the tension build up. Also, be sure to keep your back straight and leaning forward.
 
I lift weights 3 times a week, but even when I wasn't lifting in high school I always ran like that. I run with my back perfectly straight, when I bend forward I feel like I'm going to fall.

Thanks for the hand tip Dallen, I usually run with my cell phone or a water bottle in my hands, I'll try running with out anything tonight.

In hs we were taught to run with arms always bent 90* at the elbow, and bring your hand back like you have a gun in a holster and are trying to grab it then bring your arm forward so your forearm is parallel with the ground. Is this right? Could it be part of my problem?
 
That would pick up speed, probably, I guess. I'm thinking it's the cell phone issue. A good idea is to get a camelbak while running. It comes with a straw for water and pouch to hold items in. It's pretty cool and you might want to get one if you're planning to run distances.

As for the arm pumping, that's great for speed in short distances. I mean if you're running a 40 and want to get the max, it's a good idea to lean forward and pump your arms to gain maximum speed. But for distance running, you want to steady pace it and not attempt to sprint it. Relax everything and you should be fine. I'm thinking it's the cellphone, really.
 
Just concentrate on letting your shoulders drop. This is real common in runners by the way. Do the doggy shake like dallen said!
 
I had this problem bad..... to the point of having terrible posture, and dealing with constant pain in my shoulders, until I developed a lil pinch in between my shoulders......

my solution was:

long slow stretching of my lats (yes my lats- the lat muscle gets tight, and I was using my shoulders to pull up, and didn't even realize it.

shrugs
power cleans
and rows

It took about a month of steady focus on those lifts and stretches to get MUCH better. The great news was my running pace improved ALOT, with my improved posture, and when I relaxed. I went from 9's to high 7 race pace.

that's what fixed it for me

FF
 
Thanks for all the advice! Just thought I'd let you know I ran without anything in my hands last night and that helped. I don't have access to a bar for Power Cleans but I will do the Shrugs and Rows.
 
I carry a lot of muscle in my back and because I used to do more tread training than road training I got in a bad habit of shrugging my shoulders up and running with my hands up near my chest due to the tread bar in front of me! I never realized how much it was exhausting me because I was used to having constant tension in my back from workouts.

Now that I'm back on the road more my speed and endurance increased consideraby since learning to relax those shoulders and arms down to my HIPS. My lower body now does all the work and I definitely don't tire as easily as when my upper body was all tensed up. Its amazing how much of a difference that makes (relaxing the upper body) but it takes a lot of energy out of ya without really realizing it! Especially if you go the distance.

I also used to control my gait too much to have "proper form". I think that a strong core helps you be able to relax everything else while keeping form. Settling into your hips and letting them "free flow" while relaxing your upper body is essential for longevity in the sport.
 
sorridere said:
Thanks for all the advice! Just thought I'd let you know I ran without anything in my hands last night and that helped. I don't have access to a bar for Power Cleans but I will do the Shrugs and Rows.
Click to expand...

Cool. Yeah it seems like a good idea to be carrying a cell phone since it's light and all. But you can be quite surprise by how heavy and cumbersome it gets after running for miles.

Good luck!
 
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