The Car

Your body is akin to a car. With this in mind envision the muscles on the front of the body as the body of your car. It can look fast and impressive but if you only have 4 cylinders you are going nowhere fast. This is a common mistake athletes make in preparation.

Now the backside of your body is your engine. Your lats, glutes, and hamstrings power locomotion. Extension is the mother of movement. These muscle groups need to be strong and powerful.

Your “core” or midsection is the frame of your car. You need a sturdy frame so that the power generated my the engine gets to where it needs to go. If you are soft in the middle the energy the engine creates leaks out of the body and doesn’t transfer into the ground.

Finally you need stiff ankles, not inflexible. Strong stiff ankles are like having a new set of tires. If your ankles are not stiff you are driving on a set of flat tires. The force of the hips, or your engine, is worthless because your tires are flat. When you sprint on stiff ankles you see very little heel drop. Athletes will run on their toes and their heels never touch the ground.

Videotape yourself running. When you toe off does your body look like it’s in a straight line or are you bent at the hip? If you are bent at the hip you need more glute and hamstring work. Does your torso stay steady or does your back flex, extend, and rotate? If there is a lot of movement you may benefit from more core work. Finally do you stay on your toes? If not you may need to fill your tires and stiffen your ankles.

Does your car need a tune up?