How To Instantly Learn To Run With Perfect Form!

Even with the simple act of running, there are numerous technique attributes to master in order to exhibit correct form. Watch Brad Kearns’ Running Technique Instruction video on the Peluva YouTube channel for a detailed breakdown. In this video, Brad shares a simple trick that will prompt you to naturally implement excellent running technique right away: Take off your shoes and run several strides barefoot on a stretch of pavement or indoor surface. Don’t worry, you won’t get injured with this experiment! Instead, you will notice that you instinctively land lightly and gracefully on the midfoot, with a balanced center of gravity, and a harnessing of rotational kinetic energy for an explosive takeoff.

When running barefoot on a hard surface, you will exhibit important technique attributes like toe splay (widening of the toes and midfoot upon impact to absorb shock and achieve balance), a lengthening and tightening of the arch (pronation), the Achilles stretching fully to gently touch the ground and coil for takeoff, the big toe dorsiflexing to initiate kinetic chain for takeoff propulsion, and more. 

Widely-cited research from Dr. Daniel Lieberman at Harvard University reveals that impact trauma when running barefoot is similar whether the surface is hard or soft! Your magnificent feet and joints instinctively absorb impact in alignment with the hardness of the surface through mechanisms called pre-activation and muscle tuning. For example, the knee and ankle will flex more, and the muscles will tense more before impact, to adjust to a harder surface or lack of cushioned shoes. When you perform this demo running barefoot down a sidewalk or on a hard gymnasium floor, realize that modern shoes greatly compromise most of this natural functionality.

This is not to suggest that you ditch your cushioned shoes and take off running down the sidewalk in bare feet. Your feet and joints have atrophied after years and decades in cushioned shoes, so striding barefoot on pavement is intended to be a short demo to experience what it’s like to exhibit correct running form. 

It’s important to get your feet back in the game by spending lots of time walking around in Peluvas and going barefoot in your home and other safe locations. This will help strengthen your feet, improve range of motion, and improve overall kinetic chain activity and athletic performance. Over time, as you establish an excellent base of walking in Peluvas and spend as much time as possible barefoot, you will adapt to be able to do more and more complex activities in Peluvas. You will also be better able to wear specialized footwear for certain activities without risk of injury.

Trust your feet, strengthen your feet, and they will do an incredible job absorbing impact and generating propulsion - even on hard surfaces! To help you gradually and safely transition to a more barefoot-inspired lifestyle, please download our free eBook, The Definitive Guide To A Barefoot And Minimalist Shoe Lifestyle.