It is like a slap in the face when we get feedback about some technical error in our running. "Are you kidding me? I can't even run or walk properly?" It's not a shame: due to our way of life, walking must also be improved. Neglecting these basic movements is one of the main reasons for many musculoskeletal injuries.
Walking properly would be so easy if we lived in a more natural way. The children would crawl and run all day. We would instinctively learn to walk properly. But at the most critical age, they sit in front of the TV, later sit in the school, study in the afternoon by the desk, or play on the phone or tablet. Our bodies miss many hours of running and walking a day. Without practice, we don't burnish unnoticed our steps to perfection. As adults, we strain our bodies with our half-finished, imperfect movements. It is not surprising that locomotor system issues are so common. It is an unpleasant confrontation that we have to make up as adults for what we missed as children if we do not want our options to be restricted in retirement. It is easier to improve the movement quality if we know how the body works while walking or running.
Running and walking are different movements, but their essential functions are partially similar. Running is based on routines acquired while walking..
We used images of an intense #sprint as an illustration because they show what is happening more clearly. If an everyday person wants to run healthy, their movements should also have these characteristics, with a lower intensity.
Gait Cycles
Usually, a gait cycle consists of two phases:
The stance phase is when the foot is on the ground
The swing phase is when the foot leaves the ground and prepares for the following support phas
When running, only one foot is in contact with the ground at a time (or none of them - there is a "flying" period without ground contact), while when walking, there are times when both feet are in contact with the ground.
The stance phase
Power transmission happens in the stance phase, and this is also where the foot receives the heavy loads.
While walking, this load is approximately the same as the body weight but may be slightly higher (1-1.2 times the body weight). During running, the foot has to sustain significantly higher peak loads; it can be 1.5-2.5 times the body weight. For example, the leg of a 70 kg adult can be hit by a momentary impact of 150-200 kg. In extreme cases, 100 m sprinters can accelerate with three times their own weight.
Since initial contact, power transmission, and spring (kick-off or toe-off) occur in the support phase, we can find the most information about this: Should the initial contact be on the heel or middle foot, or with the toes, with extended or bent knees? How long should the stance phase be? What should the springing be like?
In fact, it is better to focus on the swing leg because this phase prepares the leg for the stance phase. The stance phase is based on the movements of the swing phase; without a proper swing phase, it can not be a perfect stance phase.
The swing phase
At the beginning of the swing phase, the foot leaves the ground, continues the movement, starts moving forward (the real swing), and finally prepares for the initial contact, how to grip the ground. The swing phase is more important than the stance phase. The initial contact (ground grip) will be a consequence of the preparatory movements performed here, and the lower limb will move in the movement structure in the stance phase that was prepared by the swing phase.
Another function of the swing leg is stabilizing the body through the pelvis.
1. Terminal stance (heel-off, toe-off) - initial swing
The first part of the swing phase is more like the end of the stance phase—but it continues in the air. It starts when the foot can no longer exert any force on the ground during springing movement.
The femur and knee no longer move backward, but the foot and the lower leg swing up explosively. The spring-like pretensioned muscles explode and shoot the leg freed from the resistance of the ground like a bullet.
You don't have to pull up your heel actively. Instead, it pops up from the momentum.
It will spring up as much as the rear kinetic chain was pre-stretched during the step. In the case of walking, there is almost no pop-up. As the intensity increases, the pop-up also increases. In the case of sprinting, it even reaches maximum knee flexion.
2. The swing
After that, the hip flexors play the primary role: guided by the knee, the femur moves forward. The pulled-up lower leg helps to swing (with an extended leg, more force would be needed to accelerate the whole lower extremity).
A common mistake is that the foot leads the swing. This is a typical issue for everyday runners and joggers, and it is often referred to as "no swing."
That's when experts usually suggest "Raise your knees!" as a correction.
When the knee approaches its highest point, the lower leg gets involved in the swing.
When swinging the lower leg, we can observe that the foot's movement becomes more controlled.
After kick-off, the foot is apparently loose, but in a good swing, it does not turn outward (laterally) but is held straight.
No later than in the second half of the swing phase, the foot begins to flex dorsally in the ankle joint. This is partly because the anterior tibia muscles help the foot swing forward and partly because it is already a preparation for active ground grip. There is a good point in the track-and-field running school exercises: a person standing in front of you should be able to see the soles of your shoes while swinging.
Start the swing with your knees! If the foot (toes) is also pulled up, preparing the active ground grip with the lower leg will be easier.
Preparation of active ground grip (initial contact)
The initial contact is the most risky stage regarding our body's health. The foot landing on the ground can hit with a force greater than the body's weight. The joints must be prepared for this impact. This preparation begins in the air - that's why we consider swinging and aerial activity to be the most important part of running.
An improper ground grip preparation in the air can lead to a harmful hit on the body—thousands of times in the case of a daily run—and not just the legs since this impact reaches the whole body through the spinal column, all the way to the head. 
In the last stage of the swing, the foot no longer moves forward; it begins to move back, i.e., the stance phase essentially begins in the air.
The foot does not collide frontally with the ground, but it already picks up the direction and speed of movement. The muscles already anticipate the joints for this load.
Before contacting the ground, the swinging leg no longer moves forward and contacts the ground with a flexed and pulled-back foot.
The foot must pick up the speed of progress. Thus, the most dynamic back movement will be during sprints, and it will be more moderate in medium and long distances. When walking, only muscle tension builds up without significant displacement.
The initial contact (active ground grip)
One of the most discussed topics in running is whether to contact the ground with the heel, midfoot, or toe. Although we can influence the ground grip according to our intention, the intensity, speed, and characteristics of the gait largely determine what the first contact will be like.
Changing only the type of the initial contact grip (e.g., from heel to midfoot or toe pads) can cause incorrect running technique. To change the contact area, the entire gait has to be transformed.
The foot's position at the initial contact is determined by:
The location of the contact according to the body.
The angle of the lower leg relative to the ground.
The amount of ankle flexion (ankle flexion vs pointed toes)
The location of the contact
The heel will touch the ground first if the contact point is much before the body's center. The closer the contact point is to the body, the more the front of the foot will contact the ground.
In the case of an active ground grip, the foot moves already backward before the ground grip, so the contact point is closer to the body. We can contact the ground with the middle sole.
At lower speeds, ground contact with a heel is more likely.
As the speed increases, the place of contact point gets more forward on the foot.
Another factor is the angle between the lower leg and the ground. With extended knees, the lower leg makes an acute angle with the ground, while with a slightly bent knee, it is closer to a right angle. This means that with extended knees, the heels will contact the ground.
An active ground grip is mainly created by the knee flexors, so in the case of an extended knee, the ground grip is probably passive. The foot will hit the ground from the front with a higher impact. (This is the worst grip ever.)
The ankle can still compensate for a poorly formed position of the swing leg (the foot leads the swing but not the knee; the foot hangs; there is no active grip on the ground by pulling backward the foot).
This recovery solution places an unnecessarily high load on the ankle joint and the calf since the calf muscles must hold 1.2-2 times the body's weight upon impact. This can easily lead to strains and Achilles injuries.
In this case, there is a greater chance that ground contact will occur in the form of a collision against the direction of travel.
If we want to contact the ground with the middle foot instead of the heel, the ground contact should not be far in front of the body. Let's abbreviate this step first for shorter ones.
The stance phase - pulling stage
The primary purpose of the stance phase is to ensure progress. It starts slightly in front of the body - more precisely, the muscle work begins already in the swing phase when the foot starts moving backward. The foot gripping the ground moves the body forward with the energy of an already-started movement.
In this stage, the glutes and hamstrings provide the energy for forward movement as they pull the leg back, so we don't push but pull ourselves forward. Pushing would make sense once the foot is behind the body.
This active pulling movement can be practiced while walking.
The stance phase - jumping/kicking stage
When the center of gravity is already in the right place to the support, the leg continues accelerating the body by kicking off. The knee is already relatively extended, so the quadriceps cannot intervene effectively. To a greater extent, the calf extends the foot (plantar flexion).
A too-long kick-off can be bad for the pelvis. The movement of the femur should stop in the plane of the torso because the hip joint can extend up to 180°, after which the pelvis will tilt forward, which can harm the lumbar spine.
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