Bare Form Running Technique

We found a great video that introduces bare form running technique. Most of us run common form – here is a succinct description of how to transition to bare form running in a safe way.

Common form vs Bare form Running

Common form runners demonstrate a heel strike first land on a straight knee landing with the foot well in front of the hips, a position we often refer to as a check mark. It demonstrates a slow cadence of turnover with their feet, something in order of 140 to 160 steps per minute and they also typically demonstrate very little in the way of lean.

Bare form runners typically demonstrate a mid foot strike landing on a bent knee with the foot closer to being underneath the hips. They demonstrate a higher cadence of turnover in order of 180 steps per minute or faster, at all running speeds and typically demonstrate a slight lean forward from the angle.

Posture Reset

Therefore, bare form running is quite different from common form running – most of us have been trained to run common form; how do we transition to bare form running? We begin bare form running by doing a posture reset. Here are the steps recommended by Merrell’s health experts:

  1. Interlock your fingers and raise your arms directly overhead, maintaing a tall posture.
  2. Lower your arms to your side, bend your elbows halfway then halfway again.
  3. Place your elbow slightly behind your body and swing your arms in a small compact motion.
  4. Move to the mid foot and jog in place.
  5. Make a conscious effort to land with the ball of the foot just slightly ahead of the heel.
  6. Set your metronome or other cadence device at 180 beats per minute, and match the cadence of 180 as close as you can.
  7. The lean from the ankles drill begins with the posture reset, with the elbows held flexed and slightly behind the body and running position, shift your weight backwards from the heels, bring your body back to center, shift your weight forward and then return to center.

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