Pose Method of Running

From reading other reviews of this book, there seems to be some confusion. I'm not normally moved to write a book review but this time I can't let it lie. For me the key is the second word in the title of the book: "method". It is a big step forward from knowing how we should be running to how we can *learn* to run more efficiently and therefore more injury free (and hopefully faster). This is the innovation. Otherwise we could just watch a video of Haile Gebrselassie over and over again... I have tried several times unsuccessfully to run on the balls of my feet, already being convinced that this should be more efficient. It is certainly true that, if you were to run barefoot, you wouldn't consider landing on your heels (ouch). For me, the first barrier has always been that it is initially even more tiring (evidenced by the fact that my pulse rate would increase running at the same speed). This is not surprising: different muscles are being used differently, something which the body takes time to adjust to. The point is that you really need understand and believe the new technique to perservere with it. It is true that the book is a little repetitive, saying essentially the same handful of principles in different ways, but this is the best way to reinforce the understanding, just as running is itself a repetitive motion. The second barrier has been that in previous attempts my calf muscles have ended up tightening so much that I have barely been able to walk, let alone run. The method makes a huge deal of the need to precondition the body in terms of strength, coordination and flexibility. In fact, you are not recommended to go out and run until half way through the book! Not only that, but there is a very helpful appendix which diagnoses your mistakes in technique by the particular pain you are experiencing. The upshot is that you should not have any pain if you are doing it right. Seems logical. The method is somewhat contraversial because it goes against conventional running wisdom in that you are encouraged to run in "flats" - that is to say, shoes with very little cushioning. In my gym I was getting told off for running in lightweight shoes to the point where I had to show them the website on Pose running (www.posetech.com)! I have a torn meniscus from before and I really notice that the impact on my knee is greatly reduced. Instead of thud, thud, thud, I can hear tap, tap, tap. I got into running again fairly recently and was surprised how little there was written on technique: it is assumed that we have all got a God given technique, something that is clearly not the case just watching how most people run. I have also read the book on Chi running which I found to be much less scientific and to be very weak on how to learn the tecnique. Nevertheless, it is good on the importance of having a strong trunk - but perhaps it could have been explained with physics instead of eastern mysticism. I have yet to compete using this tecnique, but

This book is the real thing. After reading and doing some of the exercises in this book, I can run a mile more than a full minute faster at the same level of effort as I did before applying the Pose Method. And I have not even started to do more mileage or interval training, which I had given up years ago because it always led to more injuries. Another benefit from my using the Pose Method is that my knees no longer hurt after several miles, and the burning I used to get in my quadriceps muscles (front thighs) after long runs is gone. This is directly related to Dr. Romanov's points about landing on one's toes. I also notice that my hamstrings(muscles at back of thighs) are getting stronger and larger,without incurring injury. I have always wondered why most of the elite distance runners, especially the Africans, have such large thighs, especially their hamstrings. Now I know, they naturally and unconsciously run according to most or all of the principles of the Pose Method! If you don't believe me, videotape or Tivo an elite running race, and watch the runners in slow motion. And notice how well developed their hamstrings are compared to those of the average recreational runner. Reading this book, watching myself run, and remembering how I used to run thirty years ago, it occurs to me that many young people instinctively run with the pose method, and that age, injuries (running and non-running related), a sedentary lifestyle, and age-related atrophy of abdominal, back, and hip muscles all combine to turn our running form into the worst type of ground-pounding jogging. Many people who give up running or jogging say they do so because their joints cannot take the pounding anymore. They assume that the pounding has always accompanied their running, and it is just that their bodies cannot take the same amount of stress as when they were younger. Well, there have been recent studies that suggest young runners actually place less mechanical "pounding" stress on their bodies than older runners running at the same or slower speeds. Dr. Romanov's book makes many points addressing the reduction or elimination of inefficient and harmful pounding mechanical stresses during running. In a very real sense, this book can be a fountain of youth for runners. It will give you back your younger running speeds and times, prevent recurrence of injuries, making you the runner you were when you were younger, or even better. The Pose Method was initially counter-intuitive to this runner, whose running form had gradually deteriorated through the years. But it does work and it works wonders. You have nothing to lose but your injuries and frustrations of not running faster and farther. Dr. Romanov is doing the running community a great service. He truly does want everyone to be the best runner possible, and injury-free at that. Also, get the video or DVD to see exactly what Dr. Romanov means in the exercise drills.

If someone was going to take up swimming, golf or tennis it is common to take lessons or read a book to learn the correct and most effective technique. When people take up running, this almost never happens. Usually, beginning runners jump right in using whatever running technique they used when they first ran for the school bus. When runners do buy a book it is usually about how much running they should do, how fast they should go and what do do about the injuries that inevitably follow an inefficient stride. The Pose method of Running goes back to the beginning and breaks down the actual motions of running and describes the ideal form. It is published in multiple relatively short chapters. This helped me understand the points that were made and made it more readable. It is author's philosophy that running technique can be a learned skill that it is the most easily changeable variable that leads to far less injuries and a faster pace. The text explains that the Pose method is the unlike the conventional running stride where you land on your heel and roll to push off. Just the opposite, the book details the method where you land on the ball of your foot, and actually pull your foot off the ground. The book contains the right amount of description and motivated me to give the method a try. It seemed impossible at first because it was difficult to maintain this form for even a quarter mile. The concept of landing and pulling off the pavement takes time to get used to. It is an unusual sensation to run like this in the beginning, you almost feel like a carton character. After three or four sessions it became easier and more coordinated. In a few weeks I was comfortable with it and found it actually easier than trying to stride out and land on your heels like I had done for years.This book shatters convention in the field of running, it is not training book like so many others. The in depth information covered serves as a basis to implement this new technique into your own running. As I read, and later as I learned the technique, this 49 year old began to wonder what my race times would have been like in my 20's or 30's if I would have read it back then. For all the time, effort and enthusiasm that the millions of runners from recreational to professional levels put into the sport, I would highly recommend this book and the Pose method of running in general. This is the first really new thing in running since the concept of cross training, it is sure worth a try.

When I first read the Pose Method book, I was a bit skeptical, as it recommended such an incredibly different approach to running. However, after years of intermittent layoffs due to injuries, I was willing to try *anything* to be able to run again.After reading the entire book and practising running in Pose for a few months, the theories have gelled in my mind, and I can understand exactly where Dr. Romanov is coming from. Now it all seems so clear, I don't see how people can run any other way, and I know why injuries are so terribly common in the running population.Dr. Romanov provides good theoretical background for the Pose Method, explained in layman's terms, with a nice, chatty tone. In fact, the tone of the entire book is helpful, friendly, and supportive. It is neither dry nor didactic, even when reviewing the grounding in physics needed to understand the action of gravity in assisting ones running. One can tell by reading this work that Dr. Romanov's goal is to help people run -- nothing more, nothing less. He has discovered perhaps the greatest key ever found to running with fewer injuries and less effort and is sharing that discovery with the running world.The book contains many drills, exercises and stretches, which are extremely good to have on hand for future reference long after the reader has absorbed the text. Illustrations are good, probably about an 8 on a scale of 1-10. Sometimes it's hard to track exactly what movement is being requested, or what the difference in execution or benefit is between one and another. However, doing a few, or doing all over time, can only be helpful.Dr. Romanov wraps up this book with ways to review ones progress, and to identify and correct errors in form. This helps the self-taught student avoid stumbling into common pitfalls, and instead optimize results without necessarily having the benefit of personal coaching.Any runner who is tired of being injured, or who has reached a plateau in speed and is willing to revolutionize his or her form in order to reach a higher level of performance would benefit from and enjoy this book. A great read, and a great value.