Poor Running Habits Among People
When I watch people running along the Han River or in parks, it's honestly heartbreaking. Nine out of ten people are running like deflated soccer balls. Watching them pound the ground with their heels makes me wonder how long they can possibly keep this up.
The biggest problem with this running style is that their feet stay in contact with the ground for way too long. When your foot lingers on the ground, your full body weight gets transferred directly to your joints, putting unnecessary stress on your ankles, knees, and lower back. This is exactly why your joints hurt after running instead of your muscles.
Cadence: The Key Metric in Running
One of the most important concepts in running is "cadence" – the number of times your feet make contact with the ground per minute. Research shows that marathon runners and long-distance athletes maintain a cadence of 170-180 steps per minute when running for extended periods.
Why is this number so crucial? The higher your cadence, the less time your foot spends on the ground, which directly reduces the impact on your joints. Conversely, when your cadence drops below 160, you're not running like a gazelle – you're pounding into the ground like you're trying to dig a hole.
The Science of Foot Strike: Heel Strike vs. Midfoot
Many people get confused about forefoot, midfoot, and heel strike patterns. The key isn't which part of your foot touches the ground first, but where your body weight transfers to.
For example, even if your heel touches down first, if your weight quickly shifts to the middle of your foot, that's still a midfoot strike. The problem occurs when you heel strike and then linger in that position. That's when your joints take the full brunt of the impact.
Proper foot strike should be like stepping on hot sand – quick and light. You should hear a gentle "tap-tap-tap" sound, not a heavy "thud-thud-thud." If you're making heavy sounds, something's definitely wrong.
Muscle Pain vs. Joint Pain: Good Signs and Bad Signs
You can assess your running form by paying attention to where you feel pain after running. If your calves, thighs, or glutes are sore, that's actually a good sign – it means you're using your muscles properly.
However, if your ankle joints, knee joints, or lower back hurt, that's a warning signal. There are two possible causes: either there's a problem with your running form, or you're exercising beyond your current fitness level. Most of the time, it's the former.
Even professional athletes focus on correcting their running form first when they suffer injuries like hamstring pulls. No matter how much you strengthen your muscles, if you run with poor form, injuries will keep recurring.
Proper Running Form
Leg Movement
In long-distance running, you don't need to lift your legs high. Just barely clearing the ground is sufficient. Unnecessarily high knee lifts are for sprinting and will only waste energy in distance running.
Only lift your knees forward when you need to sprint. The key word here is "forward" – not kicking back behind you.
Foot Direction
When viewed from the front, your toes and knees should point straight ahead. Running pigeon-toed or duck-footed is inefficient and increases injury risk.
Upper Body Posture
While you stand vertically when walking, you should lean forward about 10 degrees when running. This posture naturally engages your forefoot and creates forward propulsion.
Arm Movement
Your arms should swing backward, not forward, just like when walking. Keep your hands from crossing over your body's centerline.
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic: Intensity Makes the Difference
Many people think running is aerobic and weightlifting is anaerobic, but this is a misconception. Exercise intensity determines whether it's aerobic or anaerobic, roughly between 60-80% of your maximum capacity, with individual variations.
If you want to build muscle, you need to exercise at high intensity (above 80%). Conversely, if weight loss is your goal, low-intensity exercise (below 60%) is more effective. This 60-80% range is crucial because it determines testosterone production levels.
If you've been lifting weights for three years without gaining muscle, you've probably been exercising below 60% intensity. On the flip side, if you're gaining muscle when you don't want to, you're likely exercising above 80% intensity.
Running and Mental Health
Did you know that running is the number one exercise for preventing depression? There's a reason doctors recommend running over medication for depression. Just getting outside and seeing sunlight improves your mood, and adding running multiplies that effect.
It's not an exaggeration to say that running, not medication, is the cure for depression. This goes beyond simple mood enhancement – it creates actual chemical changes in your brain.
Choosing the Right Running Shoes
For beginners, I recommend regular jogging shoes over specialized running shoes. Soles that are too thin don't absorb impact well, making running uncomfortable. Soles that are too thick do absorb impact but can make the shoe unstable, making it harder for beginners to maintain balance.
When you're starting out, you should focus on the running itself. It's already challenging enough to manage your body weight – you don't need wobbly shoes making it even harder. As you develop your running, you'll gradually figure out what type of shoe works best for you.
Treadmill vs. Outdoor Running
One difference between Korea and countries like the US and Europe is exercise culture. In Korea, most people are glued to treadmills, while abroad, you see far more people running outdoors.
The obsession with treadmills seems to stem from calorie counting. But focusing solely on calorie burn makes you miss what's really important. Building muscle through strength training increases your basal metabolic rate, so you burn calories even during daily activities.
For weight loss, combining strength training with running is far more effective than treadmill running alone. In terms of exercise benefits, outdoor running is vastly superior. On a treadmill, the belt moves for you, so you only need to lift your body vertically. Outdoors, you need to propel yourself both upward and forward.
As a bonus, outdoor running lets you enjoy fresh air, open skies, and nature, which is much better for your mental health. Treadmills should only be a backup option when outdoor running isn't possible.
Body Sculpting: The Limitations of Running
For creating an attractive physique, strength training is much faster and more effective than running. This is where many of us get it wrong. Running alone cannot create muscle tone in your arms.
A middle-aged woman's flabby arms won't be fixed by running. You need push-ups or dumbbell exercises to build muscle. Your body becomes healthiest and most beautiful when you combine cardiovascular exercise with strength training.
Proper Treadmill Running
If you must use a treadmill, here are some tips. First, download a metronome app and try running to a 170-180 BPM beat. It'll feel surprisingly fast at first.
Running to this beat dramatically reduces the time your foot spends on the ground. Your muscles will absorb the impact instead of your joints, but it'll be much more challenging. Initially, you might not be able to run as far or as long as usual, but gradually building up from there will allow you to run safely for longer periods without injury.
Setting the treadmill incline to about 10 degrees mimics the effect of leaning your body forward. If you want to strengthen your calves, you can increase the incline up to 15 degrees.
Speed isn't that important. Treadmill speed essentially determines your stride length. Stride length increases when you're strong and decreases when you're tired. While your stride should change during a long run, your cadence should remain constant.
Pre-Running Warm-up
Before running, I recommend setting the incline to about 10 degrees and walking as if you're climbing a hill, leaning your body forward. This engages your calves, thighs, and glutes – the primary muscles used in running.
Alternatively, the best approach is to strengthen your calves, thighs, and glutes through separate strength training exercises beforehand.
Conclusion
Running may look simple, but it's far from easy. If even professional athletes need form correction, regular people need to be even more careful. Running blindly without proper knowledge makes it difficult to enjoy the sport long-term.
If you want to run healthily for years to come, you need to distinguish between good and bad signs. Welcome muscle soreness but be wary of joint pain. Increase your cadence, reduce ground contact time, and combine running with strength training – that's how you'll truly enjoy the pleasure of running.
Get off that treadmill and start incorporating core work and strength training. That's the most reliable way to build a healthy and beautiful body.
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