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Does Your Cadence Really Matter?
The Significance and Practical Insights for Runners
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If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
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The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
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ENGINE
Running into your Mikkos Cals from last week for Erg intervals into Running.
GYMNASTICS
This week we continue to focus on Toes to Bar utilising other skill work/progressions for the movement before we shift our focus to Handstand hold/walk work!
HYROX
Hyrox Specific Strength work into running into a sled and farmers carry workout.
MOBILITY
There is no mobility this week. It will resume on Saturday, 25th of January.
PURE STRENGTH
On Monday in Pure Strength, we are hitting some banded bench presses and progressing the loading on this and the banded row. Wednesday, we have banded back squats followed by some heavy hip thrusts.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in Weightlifting, we are focused on the Hang Snatch, which has some snatch balance, a Heavy Snatch complex, and some Pulls.
.jpg)
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
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Monday
Time: 5:59am and 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Mobility and Tempo
AM Session:
We will start the session with a 20 mins recovery run, then head into out mobility.
We will be doing this session outside, so please dress in warm clothing. We will provide yoga mats, but feel free to bring your own.
PM Session: This evening we will have our Tempo Run, which will be 6 mins at 7/10 and 3 mins recovery.
x4. Aim to keep a 7/10 effort on each block of work.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. The session today will be 2km at 10km pace into 400m repeats at 3km pace.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
If you didn't run track, today we have some speed work for you. The session is 1km repeats, each with a 2 mins rest. Keep the effort about 8/10 on the km runs.
Friday
Brief time: 5:54am
Start Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be holding the tempo pace (7/10) for 5 mins, each with a 1 min rest. Repeat the sequce 7x before coffees at 7am as a community.
Sunday
Time: 06:00
Session: Dirtopia
Location: The Sevens, check WA for exact Location:
From 6am - midday clients and coaches will be running Dirtopia. Come along and support if you are not running.
.jpg)
We start the week with hinge endurance and a spicy partner, AMRAP, with Deadlift ski and wall walks. On Tuesday, we have some gymnastics and interval work. Wednesday, we are working on our overhead strength with the push press and push jerk, followed by a fast workout and the second week of our assault bike work progression. Thursday, we are snatching in the strength piece and then a For Time workout to get after. We finish the week with a double workout for Friday therapy.
Monday:
Strength:
Barbell Good Mornings into Banded Good Mornings
Conditioning:
AMRAP 20 Partner Workout
15/12 cal Ski
8 DL (120/80)
3 wall walks
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Kipping Pull Ups + Ring Rows
B) Wall Balls + Goblet Wall Sit
Conditioning:
In a 3 Minute window
30/24 Cal Row
10 burpee over the rower
AMRAP in the remaining time Box Jump steps down
rest 2 mins
x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Push Press + Push Jerk
Conditioning:
30-20-10
Alt Db Reverse lunge (2 x 50/35)
DB STOH
AB Mat sit-ups
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Complex Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch + OHS
Conditioning:
5 rounds for time
12 Power Snatch (40/30)
12 Push-ups
30 Air squats
Friday:
Some 5-minute intervals to finish off the week. Will you be able to hold the pace? Have your running shoes, your lung,s and your gymnastic game ready!
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
Monday
Time: 5:59am and 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Mobility and Tempo
AM Session:
We will start the session with a 20 mins recovery run, then head into out mobility.
We will be doing this session outside, so please dress in warm clothing. We will provide yoga mats, but feel free to bring your own.
PM Session: This evening we will have our Tempo Run, which will be 6 mins at 7/10 and 3 mins recovery.
x4. Aim to keep a 7/10 effort on each block of work.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. The session today will be 2km at 10km pace into 400m repeats at 3km pace.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
If you didn't run track, today we have some speed work for you. The session is 1km repeats, each with a 2 mins rest. Keep the effort about 8/10 on the km runs.
Friday
Brief time: 5:54am
Start Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be holding the tempo pace (7/10) for 5 mins, each with a 1 min rest. Repeat the sequce 7x before coffees at 7am as a community.
Sunday
Time: 06:00
Session: Dirtopia
Location: The Sevens, check WA for exact Location:
From 6am - midday clients and coaches will be running Dirtopia. Come along and support if you are not running.
We start the week with hinge endurance and a spicy partner, AMRAP, with Deadlift ski and wall walks. On Tuesday, we have some gymnastics and interval work. Wednesday, we are working on our overhead strength with the push press and push jerk, followed by a fast workout and the second week of our assault bike work progression. Thursday, we are snatching in the strength piece and then a For Time workout to get after. We finish the week with a double workout for Friday therapy.
Monday:
Strength:
Barbell Good Mornings into Banded Good Mornings
Conditioning:
AMRAP 20 Partner Workout
15/12 cal Ski
8 DL (120/80)
3 wall walks
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Kipping Pull Ups + Ring Rows
B) Wall Balls + Goblet Wall Sit
Conditioning:
In a 3 Minute window
30/24 Cal Row
10 burpee over the rower
AMRAP in the remaining time Box Jump steps down
rest 2 mins
x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Push Press + Push Jerk
Conditioning:
30-20-10
Alt Db Reverse lunge (2 x 50/35)
DB STOH
AB Mat sit-ups
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Complex Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch + OHS
Conditioning:
5 rounds for time
12 Power Snatch (40/30)
12 Push-ups
30 Air squats
Friday:
Some 5-minute intervals to finish off the week. Will you be able to hold the pace? Have your running shoes, your lung,s and your gymnastic game ready!
ENGINE
Running into your Mikkos Cals from last week for Erg intervals into Running.
GYMNASTICS
This week we continue to focus on Toes to Bar utilising other skill work/progressions for the movement before we shift our focus to Handstand hold/walk work!
HYROX
Hyrox Specific Strength work into running into a sled and farmers carry workout.
MOBILITY
There is no mobility this week. It will resume on Saturday, 25th of January.
PURE STRENGTH
On Monday in Pure Strength, we are hitting some banded bench presses and progressing the loading on this and the banded row. Wednesday, we have banded back squats followed by some heavy hip thrusts.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in Weightlifting, we are focused on the Hang Snatch, which has some snatch balance, a Heavy Snatch complex, and some Pulls.
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
Monday
Time: 5:59am and 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Mobility and Tempo
AM Session:
We will start the session with a 20 mins recovery run, then head into out mobility.
We will be doing this session outside, so please dress in warm clothing. We will provide yoga mats, but feel free to bring your own.
PM Session: This evening we will have our Tempo Run, which will be 6 mins at 7/10 and 3 mins recovery.
x4. Aim to keep a 7/10 effort on each block of work.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Session: Track Tuesday
This is your chance to run fast with the wider IFE community and coaches. The session today will be 2km at 10km pace into 400m repeats at 3km pace.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: LRC Intervals
If you didn't run track, today we have some speed work for you. The session is 1km repeats, each with a 2 mins rest. Keep the effort about 8/10 on the km runs.
Friday
Brief time: 5:54am
Start Time: 5:59am
Location: Common Grounds
Session: The Coffee Run
This week we will be holding the tempo pace (7/10) for 5 mins, each with a 1 min rest. Repeat the sequce 7x before coffees at 7am as a community.
Sunday
Time: 06:00
Session: Dirtopia
Location: The Sevens, check WA for exact Location:
From 6am - midday clients and coaches will be running Dirtopia. Come along and support if you are not running.
We start the week with hinge endurance and a spicy partner, AMRAP, with Deadlift ski and wall walks. On Tuesday, we have some gymnastics and interval work. Wednesday, we are working on our overhead strength with the push press and push jerk, followed by a fast workout and the second week of our assault bike work progression. Thursday, we are snatching in the strength piece and then a For Time workout to get after. We finish the week with a double workout for Friday therapy.
Monday:
Strength:
Barbell Good Mornings into Banded Good Mornings
Conditioning:
AMRAP 20 Partner Workout
15/12 cal Ski
8 DL (120/80)
3 wall walks
Tuesday:
Strength:
A) Kipping Pull Ups + Ring Rows
B) Wall Balls + Goblet Wall Sit
Conditioning:
In a 3 Minute window
30/24 Cal Row
10 burpee over the rower
AMRAP in the remaining time Box Jump steps down
rest 2 mins
x 4
Wednesday:
Strength:
Push Press + Push Jerk
Conditioning:
30-20-10
Alt Db Reverse lunge (2 x 50/35)
DB STOH
AB Mat sit-ups
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Snatch Complex Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch + OHS
Conditioning:
5 rounds for time
12 Power Snatch (40/30)
12 Push-ups
30 Air squats
Friday:
Some 5-minute intervals to finish off the week. Will you be able to hold the pace? Have your running shoes, your lung,s and your gymnastic game ready!
ENGINE
Running into your Mikkos Cals from last week for Erg intervals into Running.
GYMNASTICS
This week we continue to focus on Toes to Bar utilising other skill work/progressions for the movement before we shift our focus to Handstand hold/walk work!
HYROX
Hyrox Specific Strength work into running into a sled and farmers carry workout.
MOBILITY
There is no mobility this week. It will resume on Saturday, 25th of January.
PURE STRENGTH
On Monday in Pure Strength, we are hitting some banded bench presses and progressing the loading on this and the banded row. Wednesday, we have banded back squats followed by some heavy hip thrusts.
WEIGHTLIFTING
This week in Weightlifting, we are focused on the Hang Snatch, which has some snatch balance, a Heavy Snatch complex, and some Pulls.
Track Tuesday
Our weekly on track speed session! For any level of runner looking to build their run speed, threshold and Vo2max fitness and run with the best running community in Dubai.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1.5 hour
Entrance fee: https://isddubai.com/athletics-venuehire/
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/oomJAa31vKy3hQNG6
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
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