One would think that proper running form is proper running form. To a certain extent I believe that there are fundamental components to running that apply whether one is running on a treadmill, grass, a track, or the sidewalk. However, I’m keenly aware that I run different on the treadmill than I do on my outdoor routes. For starters, I use an ipod on the treadmill as I think it’s the only way to survive the boredom of running in place. I know that running with music outside distracts me from focusing on my form and breathing so there’s a good chance that the same things happens on the treadmill but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make in order to get in those runs.

To get an idea of proper treadmill form, I paid close attention to my own form and position on the treadmill on my recent gym trip. Let’s just start with the ipod. I set it on the cup holder platform on the machine and the wires to the headphones seem to cross in front of my body in the exact area where my arm should also be moving. To compensate, I tend to swing my arms either a little lower or a little higher (depends on the day) to avoid the wires. The simple solution is to get an arm band that fits so that I don’t have to worry about the wires. However, even when I’ve run without the ipod, the angle of my arms always seems to be inconvenient. I have banged my knuckles many a time on the dashboard part of the machine. Continue reading →