The swing drill

The purpose of the swing drill is to learn the sequence of actions executed by the swinging leg. The role of this sequence in efficient running action is described in the page entitled ‘The Mechanics of Efficient Running’. The drill entails practice of the three segments of the swing phase: ankle lift; leg swing; and foot fall, while the body is stationary, supported by the opposite leg. (Note that this drill is still exprimental; this version was produced on 8th January 2008)

Starting position
Stand with the foot that will become active about 12-15 inches behind the other foot, with the ankle in a neutral position and knees slightly flexed; with weight carried forward but heel the of the stationary foot remaining on the ground. The arm on the side which will become active is held with elbow bent and the fingers loosely curled in an open fist, beside the waist.

Ankle lift
Lift the ankle towards the hip. (A hand placed on the hamstring should detect the contraction of the muscle body; there should be very little activity in the hip flexors.) Think of the direction of lift rather than which muscles are engaged. At the end of the lift, the ankle is a little behind the knee of the supporting leg, and the raised knee is a little forward of mid-thigh of the supporting leg. As the ankle moves up, the arm on the same side moves smartly backwards about 6 inches.

Leg swing
While the raised thigh remains stationary, allow a passive swing of the lower leg forwards with the knee as pivot. The swing stops when the knee still retains about 10 degrees of flexion. (When first learning, allow the lower leg to swing back and forth several times to get the feel of a passive swing.) As the lower leg swings forward, the arm begins to move forwards passively under the pull of gravity, but not loosely.

Foot fall
Allow the entire leg to swing back passively from the hip. The knee remains slightly flexed and the ankle is neutral or very slightly plantar (downwards) flexed. (When first learning, allow the leg to swing back and forth several times to get the feel of passive fall). The foot should strike the ground lightly beside the foot of the supporting leg. The arm continues to swing forwards passively but not loosely as the leg falls.

After foot fall, slide the foot lightly back to the starting a position about 12-15 inches behind the other foot. If you create a feeling of stroking the ground lightly with the foot as it returns to the starting position, this will facilitate the required backwards motion of the foot relative to the COG at foot-strike

At the beginning of each session, perform these three actions as separate, distinct movements, and once you have the correct feel for each action, perform them as a continuous smooth loop.

This drill has some similarities to the tapping drill in Pose, but it is designed to encourage a somewhat longer stride than is typical in Pose, while avoiding over-reaching. In addition, the emphasis on simultaneous arm movement is intended to establish a link in the brain between a compact arm movement and an associated compact leg movement. Because proprioceptive signals from the upper limb are more strongly represented in the brain than signals from the leg, the creation a strong link between leg and arm movement should facilitate monitoring of the swing action while running.