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MyFitnessPal Community

Chi Running?

Robbnva

anyone heard of this and taken one of their courses? I just heard of it recently and was looking for feedback

Replies

MrKbailey

I read book. It makes sense. I am using the techniques.

Robbnva

Guy claims he can improve my pace by a full minute off my current pace by the end of the year, withoutextra effort by his techniques.

I'm a newer runner so I'm sure my techniques could use improvement

brandiuntz

I've made mild adjustments to my form, which include some of the same ideas with Chi Running. I'm not convinced form adjustments make a recreational runner much more efficient. Seems the basic of "more miles" is all you really need. As a newish runner, your pace is going to dramatically improve just by running more. As you run more and get in better shape, your pace will improve without any extra work.

I consider form a little more important for injury prevention and helping with pace when I'm fatigued (and form wants to go to hell).

jchite84

When I first started running and I was trying to make sure I had good form I watched a couple of videos, but I didn't read too far into the full philosophy aside from forefoot strike, relax when you run, etc. As @brandiuntz said, your pace will improve by running more, regardless of which technique you use. But, ChiRunning seemed solid for injury prevention.

teacton11

brandiuntz wrote: »

I'm not convinced form adjustments make a recreational runner much more efficient. Seems the basic of "more miles" is all you really need. As a newish runner, your pace is going to dramatically improve just by running more. As you run more and get in better shape, your pace will improve without any extra work.

Well, it is kind of two fold there with more miles. The more miles you run the better shape you get into BUT also, the more you do an activity the more efficient your body becomes at that specific activity thus your form will start to improve and become more efficient.

Form adjustment is a huge deal for someone new and can easily lead to a 1+ improvement without extra efforts.

Think about when you pass someone out there on the road and you see their body swings 1/3 side to side as much as it does forward. They are holding their arms high, pumping wildly like you would if you were going up a steep hill. Their hands gripped hard. Their shoulders, arms, neck are tense and flexed. On top of that their arms take a side to side swing going across their body. THEN notice their feet placement when they hit. Front foot extended so far out and hitting so much on the heel acting like a front shock absorber. Their is no transition in their foot as they stride, just inefficient plodding that jars the body and impedes a transition forward. I could go on and on BUT main thing to take away is that a full minute improvement just through form on someone new is a very VERY real thing. Inefficient form can really rob your body of energy.

dan323

Keep a good form. Time is irrelevant. The more you run your pace will increase. Unless your after a major goal you'll be fine. I think this is just a new fad. I have tried this and I see some potential with it,but if you loose your proper form you can injure yourself. Run how you feel, wear good running shoes and keep a proper form. Since your a new runner don't get pulled into doing something to radical. Good luck with your running.

brandiuntz

teacton11 wrote: »

brandiuntz wrote: »

I'm not convinced form adjustments make a recreational runner much more efficient. Seems the basic of "more miles" is all you really need. As a newish runner, your pace is going to dramatically improve just by running more. As you run more and get in better shape, your pace will improve without any extra work.

Well, it is kind of two fold there with more miles. The more miles you run the better shape you get into BUT also, the more you do an activity the more efficient your body becomes at that specific activity thus your form will start to improve and become more efficient.

Form adjustment is a huge deal for someone new and can easily lead to a 1+ improvement without extra efforts.

Think about when you pass someone out there on the road and you see their body swings 1/3 side to side as much as it does forward. They are holding their arms high, pumping wildly like you would if you were going up a steep hill. Their hands gripped hard. Their shoulders, arms, neck are tense and flexed. On top of that their arms take a side to side swing going across their body. THEN notice their feet placement when they hit. Front foot extended so far out and hitting so much on the heel acting like a front shock absorber. Their is no transition in their foot as they stride, just inefficient plodding that jars the body and impedes a transition forward. I could go on and on BUT main thing to take away is that a full minute improvement just through form on someone new is a very VERY real thing. Inefficient form can really rob your body of energy.

I agree inefficient form can rob someone of pace/energy. For 1+ improvement, though, the question is...how bad is their form to start with? Plenty of new runners have decent form, natural form. I believe people should understand what good form is and become aware of their own form, especially if they have injury issues. I've made small adjustments in mine over time (egads, my arm swing).

This is a good read from Runner's World:

http://www.runnersworld.com/running-tips/does-form-matter?page=single

MountainMaggie

I really liked Chi Running, an think the most important thing about it is focusing on your form. But you have to get past the pretentiousness of the author, as you do with almost every running method book, and not assume it's the ultimate authority on running. I am no spectacular runner but I am pretty injury free, and have drastically improved my abilities over time, and I think that means something. I personally think form is extremely important, just as important as mileage. My advice is to read multiple things, but to me, the form, along with breathing, in the Chi method is pretty solid.

MountainMaggie

dan323 wrote: »

Keep a good form. Time is irrelevant. The more you run your pace will increase. Unless your after a major goal you'll be fine. I think this is just a new fad. I have tried this and I see some potential with it,but if you loose your proper form you can injure yourself. Run how you feel, wear good running shoes and keep a proper form. Since your a new runner don't get pulled into doing something to radical. Good luck with your running.

I also think it's a fad, but I do think it reinforces a lot of good form techniques, so it doesn't really hurt unless you make it your religion. As a comparison, I think Galloway has some good points, but some of them seem asinine to me. It's about research and what works for you. It's trial and error, but good form is imperative, and I think Chi helps with that.

CarsonRuns

Robbnva wrote: »

Guy claims he can improve my pace by a full minute off my current pace by the end of the year, withoutextra effort by his techniques.

I'm a newer runner so I'm sure my techniques could use improvement

You can take a full minute off your current pace in a year by running consistently and increasing your mileage to ~40 miles per week. There is no magic in Chi Running. Good form and consistent running will give you all the progress you want.

Robbnva

Good point.

So 40 miles a week, divided between how many days? I'm running 4 now and wasn't getting 40 even when training for the half

CarsonRuns

Robbnva wrote: »

Good point.

So 40 miles a week, divided between how many days? I'm running 4 now and wasn't getting 40 even when training for the half

CarsonRuns

5 to 6.

Harpin_Maddog

cadense + stride length = speed. Chi Running emphasises a cadense of 180 steps per minute. You increase speed by increasing your stride length while maintaing cadense. I was a member of a running club that emphasised Chi Running a few years ago. There are definately some interesting tips that I gained from it, but there are plenty of youtube videos on form that are helpful too. For me, I really benefited from the emphasis on mid-foot strike and the slight lean forward to utilize gravity for a more efficient and less energy expenditure run. My mileage increased dramatically in a short period of time. It really helped to have someone watching and critiquing my form. Hard to get from a book or video. So it was worth it for me. But I agree, the author Danny is like a cult figure for people really into the Chi running thing. That sort of creeped me out.

Robbnva

CarsonRuns wrote: »

5 to 6.

Oh boy, let my foot heal and I'll slowly get to that. Going to aim for 30 a week first and hopefully I can get my pace up. My first goal is to do 6 miles in under an hour

CarsonRuns

Robbnva wrote: »

CarsonRuns wrote: »

5 to 6.

Oh boy, let my foot heal and I'll slowly get to that. Going to aim for 30 a week first and hopefully I can get my pace up. My first goal is to do 6 miles in under an hour

Don't force pace in training. Run easy runs easy. They take as long as they take. My easy run pace varies by 2:00 per mile depending on how I feel that day.