Technique: How to Run on Ice or Any Slippery Surface

Ice is a demanding surface and most people feel and move awkward on it. Even athletes that seem to be adept at the most complicated of moves often find themselves struggling to stay on their feet to say nothing of walking or even running on ice.

Ability to run on ice (or any slippery surface) without the help of any ice traction devices has a certain irony to it. It unequivocally extinguishes all debate on running technique and effortlessly removes all thought up forms and variations of technique and leaves Pose Running as the only viable option.

Push off? Paw back? Extended stride length? That and other ideas, all propel themselves not forward but out of the window.

Running on ice leaves zero room for creative interpretation of what running is, or how to run. It doesn’t not allow anyone any false efforts for any reason. You can’t go easy or go too hard, the effort has to be just right. Sounds militaristic? No, it is simply pure, and in that it demands the same from the runner.

A while ago, an editor in chief of a rather big publication said: “If Pose Method works than Romanov should be able to run on ice”. Presenting Dr. Romanov running on ice at a skating rink. Keeping a few key things in mind – you can do it too.

How To Run on Ice

It is a good idea to be familiar with the Pose Method of Running before trying out these tips but you should be able to utilize these regardless. Perception becomes even more important when running on ice. It is a good idea to spend as much time and effort on improving your perception as you can.

  • Land under – precision, precision, precision. Land a bit ahead and you slip, land a bit to the side or a bit back and you slip. Your body and its weight will have to be right on top and aligned with the ball of your foot in the running pose.
  • Keep you running pose – your goal is to maintain your running pose. Focus on nothing else.
  • Move quicker – When you’re moving on ice everything becomes faster, more intense, condensed, if you will, and requires more focus. If you would like to keep on moving without slipping then you will have to operate within a much narrower space-time frame than normal.
  • Pull faster – Pulling your feet up with your hamstrings in a piston-like motion (up-down, up-down) will be even more crucial than when running on any other surface. Runners often think that pulling involves a prolonged effort to bring the foot up as high as possible, but in reality, and especially when running on ice, pulling action is more of a burst and the foot will come up on it’s own as high as your speed dictates, and will follow the effortless predetermined trajectory before dropping down again. All you must do is focus on a quick burst of a pull. This is where your utmost effort will be required, but to avoid injury, focus on the quickness of pulling not the effort.
  • Keep the rhythm – Timing and synchronization will also be essential. On ice you don’t have an opportunity to take long luxurious strides at your leisure. It’s all or nothing. You either get with the program and tap-tap-tap or you’re down.
  • Stay light on your feet – This basically sums it up. To stay light you will need to move across the icy surface according to everything outlined above. You will find just the right amount of muscle tension and will figure out how to stay relaxed over time. The right and slight angle of falling will reveal itself with practice

Chances are, nobody will attempt to run an ultra on ice, not even a mile. It is too intense. But it is possible to run on ice and is satisfying to know that you can do it. And as a tool of improving your running technique – running on ice is priceless. It will reveal all flaws and confirm all strengths and show progress. Have fun experimenting!

 

About the Author

Lana Romanov wears 10 hats and having studied and worked alongside Dr. Nicholas Romanov for a few decades, she also writes short articles and assists with research efforts.

If you have questions, you can find her daily on the Running Forum.

CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR HEALTH + FITNESS PROFESSIONALS

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running is approved for 20 contact hours towards continuing education for Certified CrossFit Trainers, Board Certified Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists.

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running

Technique: Proper Body Alignment in Running

When running, proper body alignment becomes even more important. Considering the level of impact associated with running we must be even more diligent. And also, what body do you think would move faster and more efficiently from point A to point B – the one that moves like a unit, well composed, properly aligned or the one that looks like it’s comprised of multiple independent parts that are misaligned and move out of sync? The answer is obvious.

What is the proper body alignment in running? The answer is the one that’s in harmony with the force of gravity.

Alignment happens from feet to your head. Starting from your feet, your body should be aligned along the vertical line up to the top of your head. Using the foundation of proper body alignment when standing, we take it a step further in running by slightly bending our knees. What does ‘slightly’ mean? Do light jumps in place on both of your feet. That’s your cue. That comfortable slight bend is IT. Your body should be aligned straight yet not rigid.

Regardless of your speed, everything you do when running happens fast. And the faster you run the faster the movements and the sequence of movements. Your ability to maintain proper body alignment should be automatic which means you should apply more efforts in making this happen before you run, when you warm up, when you drill.

In Pose Method there are plenty of drills and strength exercises that will help you achieve that. To maintain proper alignment in running you must, first, know what it is, and, second, your body must be ‘equipped’ to maintain it. Strength training is essential for runners. Your hips are the biomechanical center of your body connecting upper and lower and need to be strong. Your hamstrings are the ‘workhorses’, as Dr. Romanov puts it, they need to be strong. The calves ‘carry’ a fair share of the weight as you change support when you run, they need to be strong and so on. Strength training and proper body alignment go hand in hand.

We use our whole body when we run. Everything must move, look and feel as a single unit. No rigidness, instead – suppleness. Everything is properly aligned so nothing gets damaged, no moves are wasted, no unnecessary effort is spent. Imagine the perfect image of yourself gracefully and swiftly gliding across the land.

Did you know? The key point of the 2004 study “Reduced Eccentric Loading of the Knee with the Pose Running Method” was that the reduced impact on the knees by virtually 50% was produced by a specific technique (Pose Running) that included a specific body alignment. It wasn’t just the type of landing or just the bending of the knees, or just the high cadence. It was the total package, the complete technique.

About the Author

Dr. Nicholas Romanov is the developer of the Pose Method®. A passionate proponent of higher level of education in athletics, Dr. Romanov dedicated his entire career to sports education, scientific research and coaching. An Olympic Coach and a bestselling author, Dr. Romanov has taught on all continents and visited almost every country in the world.
[ Click here to learn more ]

CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR HEALTH + FITNESS PROFESSIONALS

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running is approved for 20 contact hours towards continuing education for Certified CrossFit Trainers, Board Certified Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists.

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running

Training: Improve balance to increase speed

In general, better balance translates into a more coordinated effort and higher precision of movement regardless of sport, so working on balance should be an important part of any good training regimen for any athlete. But how does our balance affect our speed? The answer is – indirectly, but rather significantly and it’s not as complicated as it might seem.

Centuries ago a visionary extraordinaire Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) wrote the following about motion, balance, and foot contact: “The legs, or centre of support, in men and animals, will approach nearer to the centre of gravity, in proportion to the slowness of their motion; and, on the contrary, when the motion is quicker, they will be farther removed from that perpendicular line.”¹

From the Pose Method® point of view, speed is determined by the degree of falling but in order to even start falling you have to be in the position of balance first. As you can see, balance is an essential part of movement. In order for movement to happen there has to be balance first and then it has to be destroyed, then you find balance again and to go anywhere from that point, that newly found balance has to be destroyed again… and voila! you’re moving.

Take a look at this video to help you connect the dots. Gravity – balance – movement – everything is connected. Improve your understanding of this topic, improve your basic skills and you will progress further and faster.

Balance

It is not sport specific. Balance is balance. There is, however, static balance and there is dynamic balance. In sports the dynamic balance is more obvious visually and mentally since this is what we see when the athlete is in motion. Only a fraction of a second is given for the static balance to happen, but it happens nonetheless. It has to occur in order for movement to take place and to continue. And because of such a limited time frame of its occurrence, it becomes much more important to get a better handle on static balance.

The dynamic balance is no less significant and is actually more difficult to perfect, but by working on developing your dynamic balance skill you will strengthen what is commonly the weak link. And we all know the old adage – the system is only as strong as its weakest link. The dynamic balance is interwoven with movement. If you only have a fraction of a moment to execute that chain of events, you better believe that you won’t be able to think about it, focus on it too much, etc… It will just have to happen as part of motion. So the better your balance skill is, the better your movement will be.

Within the Pose Method® framework, improved balance serves as a foundation for a better fall, which in its turn serves to produce better forward movement. Your ability to quickly and smoothly transition between the state of balance and the fall, will help you improve your speed.

Practice Balance

While there are many exercises that can be done to improve balance, here’s the basic drill that you should start with that relates specifically to running technique. And to increase the level of difficulty – do it with your eyes closed. (You have to be a subscriber to view these videos)

Here are another couple of good drills that seems simple and easy but reveal the weak spots.


4-Week Speed Training Program

To help you train and improve your speed, we put together a complete Speed Development Video program that will help you get faster in no time. Take a look at Day 1 training session.

You’re invited to try this entire program free for 7 days and see the results. Click here to sign up.

 

References: 

¹A Treatise on Painting, by Leonardo Da Vinci, Chap. LXVIII.—Of the Centre of Gravity in Men and Animals.

About the Author

Dr. Nicholas Romanov is the developer of the Pose Method®. A passionate proponent of higher level of education in athletics, Dr. Romanov dedicated his entire career to sports education, scientific research and coaching. An Olympic Coach and a bestselling author, Dr. Romanov has taught on all continents and visited almost every country in the world.
[ Click here to learn more ]

CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR HEALTH + FITNESS PROFESSIONALS

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running is approved for 20 contact hours towards continuing education for Certified CrossFit Trainers, Board Certified Athletic Trainers and Physical Therapists.

Pose Method® of Running: A Master Course on Running