In this episode, we speak to performance experts Human Powered Health, a US company that uses leading sport science tools and technology to provide actionable data and insights for athletes.
Tom talks to Head Performance Physiologist Alyssa Younker to learn about gait analysis and how it can improve running for anyone from beginners to elites.
To find out more about Human Powered Health and the work they do, click here:
Big thanks to Fear of Tigers for the killer intro music. You can listen to more of his stuff over at
[Applause] [Music] Hey Tommy from the rers in this episode Of the podcast I'm going to be speaking To human powered Health a company in the US that run assessments for athletes to Look at various points of data and Understand how they can use that Information to improve their performance Specifically in this episode we're going To be looking at gate analysis so if You're interested in finding out more About how your gate can impact your Running listen [Music] On hi welcome Alicia to the podcast Thank you so much Tom thanks for having Me uh now we we met a while back Actually in Boston when I was I think it Was the day before I did Boston Boston Marathon and and you guys invited me Over to do uh some tests just to see Find out a bit more about my running and Probably nothing that I could use the Day before the marathon not no but it Was great great data to get yeah yeah Really interesting and uh well let's Let's start by just talking a bit about Human powered health so you you work for Human powered Health what what do you do And what is the aim of the the company Yeah of course so I'm the head Performance physiologist for human Powered Health Boston so we have two
Labs in Boston uh I oversee you know the Lab operations for its test um we also Have a lab in Minnesota that was our First lab and so human powerered he is a Fair new company and just like in the Name we really want to empower people to Take advantage of the tools that they Have to make their health better it Sounds cliche but we know some people Don't take advantage of data as they Should or metrics and things like that To to really improve their health and There are so many small changes we can Help people make that have huge impact On their health and so we give access to Everyday People anybody can come into These tests to you know V toax testing Lactate Tes Ing we have a dexa scan um We do gate analysis obviously and some Nutritional components like a sweat Analysis or resting metabolic rate and Our our true passion is explaining these Results to the people and giving them Some actionable I call it homework some Actionable recommendations that they can Then go home Implement these Recommendations and then we can see how Their numbers improve so they they Understand their data where they're at We help them to take the next steps to To improve those numbers their overal Health and you guys do loads of Different things at empowered Health When you were talking me through some of
The the tests that you do and some of The data you get back today we're just Going to be talking about gate analysis Because we realized when we were Chatting about this podcast that there Was way too much to cover if we were Going to try and do loads of other Things as well and uh gate analysis is Is a really interesting one because I Think a lot of Runners and we're going To talk specifically about running Runners in this I know you do cycling And other sports as well but I think Thing about gate analysis is it Runners Generally have heard of it and they Often get told they need it but in the UK especially because I've not really Worked with many sport uh performance uh Companies that really go into too much Depth with that over here we sort of get It done in shoe running shoe shops and Things like that and people think that's That's what it is it's just sort of buy Shoes so what exactly is gate analysis And and and why what do people need to Know about it over and above you need to Get gate analysis yeah so gate analysis Gate like you said it can be related to Walking or running so in this instance We'll talk about running and it's really Just a method of looking at different Metrics kinetic kinematic metrics that You exemplify throughout your your Locomotion and so there's different ways
To do this right like you said you can Go to a running store there's apps on Your phone we have a software in our Treadmill and all those different Methods can give you different metrics To look at and so first and foremost With gate we never want to try to Completely change anybody's form um we Never want to you know completely change Up the way they're running but we want To try to identify a couple small pieces That we see could have some room for Improvement that could be easily changed And so with gate analysis I think it's Important for anybody who spends a lot Of time running and it doesn't even need To be a a runner you know it could be a Team sport athlete that's a soccer Player running up and down the field for 90 minutes anybody who's had long-term Overuse injuries because that could be Due to their form or some imbalance in Their gate and so you know we can try to Identify like I said areas for Improvement on how their foot is hitting The ground their arm movement the force They're producing stuff that we can We'll talk about years later and so I Think it's important for anybody to Spends time running it's such an over Overuse prone activity you're doing the Same movement repetitive over and over And over again at one small asymmetry or In effective metric can cause some
Pretty profound injuries and so if we Can help to just identify a couple of Things and make some small changes it Can really help improve comfort and Performance okay great so Gates analysis What does it actually cover because is It everything to every bit of movement That your your legs and feet are doing During the during the exercise yeah and So it depends on what software what Technique you're you're looking at so We're fortunate our software we do look At mostly the lower body um and so as a Physiologist subjectively we look at Your upper body because that has a lot To do with your gate but it's typically Lower bod so hips all the way down to Toes and how as a system or as like I Like to think of your lower body as Linked chains so how they're working Together to produce Force to make sure You don't have too much ground contact Time how they're swinging in space um so We like to think of it as like Gravitational forces how your limbs are Moving there's ideal ranges for flexion Extension of the hip knee and Ankle There's ideal ranges for how far you're Swinging for where you want to hit the Ground so our our system here is really Great because we can get all those Metrics so you know other systems they They tend to use joint angles which is Great like if you have a an iPhone and
You can do it at at your local track and You can watch it'll create the segments I'm sure most people have seen on there Um ours we can look at the actual amount Of for you're putting into the ground Which is awesome as well so it's a Combination of kinetics so Force you're Putting into the ground how you're Reacting to that force and then Kinematics is you know your limb Movement and where you are at sounds Like there's a lot to it there Is good job we've got a whole pocast on This um so in for most people for most Beginners we get a lot of questions on The channel when we're reviewing shoes Uh with people asking about gate and and Getting your gate checked in in running Shoe stores what for for those people That really don't haven't had it done Before what is the major difference Between what you guys do and what you Would get from say just going to The Running Store and and going on a Treadmill yeah um so at a running store I love that they do this you know they Will typically watch you run you know up And down a couple times within the store Or outside what they're usually looking At is the amount of superation or Pronation that they see in your feet and Ankles and maybe how you land and things Like that so they're looking at kind of The movement of your feet and ankles
With the goal in mind being what shoe is Going to help support this movement best Pretty much which is great I still go And get that done I get in the proper Shoe awesome what we do is you know we Look at where are some improvements that Could be made with the whole system so Ground contact Time ground reaction Force forward Lean Like I said those Joint movements and then we give Recommended running drills strength Exercise things like that to improve so The Running Store is usually focused on The shoe which is perfect you need that You need that good shoe that's going to Support your ankle and foot movements a Gate analysis is focused on the whole Picture of how your entire lower lifts Are are moving pretty Much okay all right so if we look at uh Running shoe stores as doing something a Little bit different than what you're Doing when people come into you to speak To you guys what is it what the what is They they're really looking for what They trying to to to solve yeah most People they just have no idea if they Have good running form you know usually If you go into the gym and use strength Train you can watch yourself in the Mirror make sure your form looks good And things like that unless you've had Somebody record you running they have no Idea what they look like or if their
Form is good um because they have Nothing to compare it to and things like That and so what they're looking for is That validation of oh you're you Actually are running in a great manner Here's a couple things we can R um so so One they're looking like do I have good Form or not you know because they They've if they've never never had a Coach or anybody tell them otherwise They're kind of looking for that and Then the other thing is like I said just A couple of key tips on on where to Improve everybody can always improve um In some places and so they're usually Just looking for a couple of of key Metrics that they could improve I think It's probably safe to say that most of The people I know probably wouldn't ever Look at getting any sort of analysis or Anything unless they were maybe at the Point where they were becoming a bit More competitive and they were trying to Get PBS and you know they might be doing Boston Marathon or something and they Really want to hit that sub three and They'll take anything they can get They'll try and fix anything in their Body is that the main sort of person you Get doing it or do you get all sorts of People coming to we get all sorts of People like you said we get that Elite Athlete that's looking for just that 1% Advantage or Improvement and then we get
The person who's just starting off Running and they want to make sure they Have good mechanics and good form so That they don't get injured or have Overuse centuries and then we might get The person in between who has been Running for a while and they just keep Feeling this pain in their knee and They're not sure and so that can also be Almost used as a a diagnostic tool or Problem solving tool to figure out why They've been having certain pain or Aches and things like that so we we here At our lab we get everybody on the Spectrum which is great because every Conversation is different every person Is different and the recommendations are Going to be different as well ask that Lead you on to my next question so if is There an average gate analysis so if Somebody came in would they all get the Same thing or do you review what they Need and then modify it based on what What their sort of um strength and Weaknesses are already yeah yeah so our Overall goal at human powerered health Is to treat everybody you know make sure Their experience is customized and so I Think I believe when you came in you Know we we typically ask them for three Different speeds that they would like to Test out you know let's talk about your Long slow run what speed is that let's Do you know your workout upbeat Tempo
Pace and then let's do your ideal race Pace and so we like to customize it to Those speeds because that's what you're Actually going to be running at so we Should probably look at that for those Speeds that you're spending that time at And so those are going to be custom for For every person and then the metrics That we look at are all the same but Then the recommendations are going to be Different too so if I get that Elite Athlete who's trying to get that 1% Improvement I'm going to give them Probably a little bit more advanced Drills or strength exercises whereas if I get that beginner or novice I'm going To give them a little bit more basic Drills and exercises to to make those [Music] Improvements okay so after you work with Is it do would you normally work with an Athlete over a period of time or would They so you you'd basically have Somebody come in and say I want to have A look at these things and you would Monitor them based on the exercises that You give them or the changes in their How they're train training goes over Time yeah great question and so you know We um like to think of ourselves as a Testing center so we don't want to Replace your coach or your trainer or Anybody um so you they usually come in We perform the assessment we go over the
Results we give them some recommended Exercises and drills to implement into Their routine but we don't necessarily Program for three months or tell them What to do each day we don't want to Replace their coach and so with our data And our recommendations we always tell Them you know share this with your coach So they can share their results with Their coach with their physical Therapist with their doctor and then we Do recommend them coming back in you Know four to six months to test again And see to make sure we're going in the Right direction you know gate isn't Going to change overnight and so it does Take some time to see some some Differences okay so when we when you're Doing tests and uh I think you might Have my data there from from the test That we had okay that's going to be fun To through that I we didn't have a lot Of time to go through it when uh when I Was over there um so when you're doing With the testing uh what what sort of Things are you are you really looking Out for is there sort of levels where You're going right first of all we're Going to look at these things and then We're going to see and then delve into Areas further if we think there's an Area that's more spe more more relevant Yeah so kind of there's kind of two or Three main categories that we look at um
So overall running economy that's Basically how much energy you're burning When you run how much energy you're Using so we want it to be low right we Don't want to have to use a lot of Energy at different speeds and then we Also look at elastic energy return and So that's your ability to put Force into The ground and then use that Force to Propel yourself forward um so those are Kind of two main categories along with The limb movement so my joint you know By range of motion hit the flexion and Extension and things those are all Calculated by several metrics you saw Your profile there there's a lot of data We could dive into and so the more Popular and common ones we look at are Like ground cont time forward lean Cadence over stride um which are all Really easy for the runners to Understand to conceptualize on you know Why they might need to improve that and They're also good good metrics to help Try to improve with some really basic in Drills so those are the main categories That we look at okay cool and when you Seeing people running is there is there A common more common things than other Things that you you spot straight away And say yeah we know we know what's Happening here and you can make some big Improvements very easily yeah definitely Um with it you know with our lab we see
Obviously a lot of Runners and endurance Athletes and so that elastic energy Return is usually pretty low they're not As as poppy uh you know quick on the Ground quick off the ground kind of Thing and so you know our recommendation Is usually strength training I cannot Say that enough for endurance athletes You know unfortunately not everybody Does it and I know it takes some time Out of your day but that strength Training Plyometrics box jumps more Power and explosive movements really Help that elastic energy return and so We're seeing that and that also goes Into ground contact time so people are Leaving their foot on the ground a Little bit too long not popping it off The ground like they should those are Those are the two most common ones that We see okay and uh if you were to help People to not do that so much what would What would their plan look like and and What sort of things can they expect to Be doing to actually improve let's look At the sort of elasticity um side of it It would depend on the level of athlete Too right um so it can be simple drills A skips B skips you know High skips Things like that just incorporating that Into your warm-up those are a great part Of a warmup if somebody already does That and they're more on the elite side I would give them some bounding
Exercises some Petrics ankle hops box jumps and things Like that to increase your efficiency at Length standing on the ground and then Quickly coming back off the ground so Like you're running on hot coals kind of Uh and then in the weight room just General explosive movements as well Those High those box jumps um and then Also powerlifting uh exercises if there At that Elite level too quite a lot to Do to add to add to my list scale it's All a scale right so I would never you Know somebody comes in we never throw 20 Exercises at them we we give them like I Said two or three haing in on you know Just a couple of things it's not so Overwhelming okay and what would you say Is I'm a coach and I do have to look at People's running form and things like That but they I always have sort of a a Level of it where some things I'll look At and go that really needs to be fixed That's that that's a fundamental problem That either is you know it might cause An injury further down the line or it Might just be making their running Really hard to do and then some things Where you look at it and you go it that That might help a bit that's going to be A marginal gain but it's not Concern how do you sort of what are the Things that crop up that you see where They sort of fit into those two areas
Yeah choose your battles right uh I Think now you know I'd call this like a Red flag right so in our system we can See asymmetries between the left and the Right side if we see really large Asymmetries like greater than 10% we Know based off of research that can lead To injury and decreased performance so a Major one we look at is are you having Large differences between your left and Your right side and we know especially For running that over and over you know Repetitive movement over time some of Those asymmetries could lead to injury So that would be something that would Determine whether we you know pick on That one to help improve as well and Then just based off of talking with a Person you know their injury history if They've always had an injury on one side Or in one certain joint then maybe Seeing what that joint is doing during During the gate analysis and seeing if There's room for improvement right well I'm sure we'll spot some of those things In a minute when we look at my data um Let's um so so we we do a lot of running Shoe reviews we test a lot of running Shoes over at the Run testers how and I Know from speaking to you that you you You don't do the same thing that running Shops do where you where you they might Suggest a shoe based on on how your gate Is but how does how do running shoes
Play into what you do do do you do you Learn things about maybe the shoe isn't Right or that might be what's causing it Can you see those things in the analysis Yeah so typically if somebody's Interested in a couple a pair of shoes They can bring them in and we can Compare the shoes as well so they can do The same speed with two different shoes And it'll tell us the differences Between their economy their efficiency Their contact time the shoe absorbency So we can directly compare the two shoes And see which one is you know more Economical for them as well but you know We're not shoe experts so that's why I Think it's still great you know to Combine these two different types of Gate analyses with The Running Store as Well um because I have I don't have the Knowledge about all the different shoes That are out there and more biomechanics Related and so if somebody brings in two Pairs of shoes I can tell them the Metrics you know that we see behind them Um but then I think it's still great to Have a relationship with The Running Store send them back there and here we Send them with their gate analysis to The running to of a great relationship With some and they can look at that and Then also watch themselves and then do Do a shoe analysis and see what shoe is Best for the person um but yeah for our
Software we can directly compare two Different shoes if if you know the Athlete wants to see which one they're Moving more efficiently in and how if if You've looked at an athlete running in Different shoes how how different can it Be the the two shoes yeah it could be Pretty different as you can imagine Right if you're using kind of like a Trainer versus a racing flat there's Differences there um but we've seen some People bring in maybe version one of a Shoe versus version two and you know There's always slight changes that they Make and so the person wants to know Like is it okay for me to transition Into version two right now and so Sometimes we'll see well actually you Know you might want to look at a Different shoe because your this version Two is causing you to have some Different changes and you know the way You land your ground contact time and Things like that so we've seen some some Pretty pretty interesting changes Between actual same brand shoe just like The next version and I won't name any But yeah it's it's been actually Interesting doing shoe comparisons it's Really interesting I'd love to love to Test that out I'd love to spend a whole Week at the lab just going through my Pile of shoes and seeing what I should And shouldn't be
[Music] Wearing all right so um let's have a Look so when when I came over to to Visit you guys over in Boston I did I Did the test I did the K analysis test And you pushed me quite hard to uh to Get some um to get some data back so I Thought it would be useful if we just Have a look at that and see what it Tells I know you gave me a bit of an Overview when we when we when we spoke But it be great to have a look at the Data you get got for me and to see what That actually means and if I'm getting It completely wrong in terms of how how I run yeah would love to and I I've got It pulled up on my screen right here so We had you do three different speeds 12 14 and 16 kilometers per hour um and so Yours it in our software it gives you a Runner's profile and so your Runner Profile is an EOS Sprinter which is Fantastic that's the best overall that You want to be so Congrats and that is basically that's Going to be based on um all the Different metrics that it gives us Different demographics and things like That and so the ecos Sprinter is the Best combination of performance and Injury prevention so a couple of other Profiles that are out there typically Are like a quick stepper a constant Glider um things like that and so most
Of them either lean really heavily Towards good injury prevention but not Great performance or the other way Around really good performance but you Know more PR injuries so that the EOS Spreader is the best the best overall so So nice I'll take I'll take that yeah The other guys would be annoyed about That yeah um and then you're running Economy overall so the amount of energy You're you're burning while you're Running was very low which is good so it Gave you you know an A+ grade for all Three of your speeds which was awesome And then you know some of the metrics That you and I talked about that could Be improved upon um were your forward Leane and so for you you're kind of Upright a little bit too much and so When we're running we want a little bit Of a like two to five% forward lean that Just helps with momentum it helps that When you do put your foot down into the Ground it's at angle to P yourself Forward and so just just straight up and So you know some recommendations we Would give you are some almost some Sprinting drills um so leaning up Against a wall to do high knees to do Butt kicks um to do fast feet things Like that to get you in that more angled Forward position your ground contact Time was fantastic your Cadence was Great um I think let's see one more one
More thing I had for you here we look at Foot strike as well so where on your Foot you're striking the ground um so For these trials you were more in Between the midot and the heel and so You know we don't need to be running our Toes necessarily but we definitely don't Want to be heel striking and so we want To make sure we don't go all the way Back to that heel so some drills that we Would give you would be simple a skips B Skips ankle hops things like that to Push you forward on the on the forefoot Of your of your foot interesting well Let um so the be talked about there with The the leading forward so I know There's a thing with ring clubs where They they they talk about lifting Yourself up so that you're sort of pull Pulling your body up straight is that is That as as a general rule just is it Like just a little bit of a lean just so Yeah if you think two to five% it's it's Very minimal and what I always when I Recommend to people is it's not leaning At the shoulders right we don't want to Round our shoulders it's a slight hinge Of the hip basically and if you think About it the ideal place that you strike The ground is you know slightly under Your hip and so if you are completely Straight up and you strike the ground Under your hip that force is going to Put you vertical whereas if you have a
Little bit of forward lead and you're Striking the ground this way that force Is going to have more more of a Horizontal nature to it so more Horizontal propulsion which is what you Want to propel yourself forward not just Just going yeah do you do you get the Opposite of quite a lot as well where People are really leaning too far Forward when they're not as much Actually so most of the time we see People are nice and not a board but They're they're usually more straight up Than than the forward Lane okay okay Interesting um and then the the bit with The Striking now I found that quite Interesting because I've always thought Of myself as a midfoot striker and Fairly recently I've started to see the The back of my shoes wear down a bit More in the um it's not on the outside Of of the shoes and uh it's really Annoying because a lot of the new Super Shoes that you get the the carbon plate Ones have really little bits of rubber On the outside and I keep destroying Them very very quickly um because I seem To be it's almost like I'm hitting the Mid midell then I'm sort scuffing it With my heel when I come up and I I Don't think I used to do that it seems To be a new thing that I developed as i' As I've got older so how would if that If that was well it is what I do how
Would you help me not not solve that Problem over time yeah and so you know Our bodies change over time so we have To adapt our training over time like you Know was any aerobic and cardiovascular Training same thing with biomechanics And neuromuscular function we have to Continue to to train our body to you Know move the way we want it to move um So incorporating you know more of those Explosive drills where you have to be on The balls of your feet just tiptoe Walking and tiptoe uh jumps as well Would help and then with a lot of these Too with cadence with arm swing with Heel striking if you just dedicate a Couple of minutes during your run to Really focus on those things that helps As well you know it's hard to focus on The entire 12 mile run but if you say Okay the next 5 minutes I'm really going To focus on my armswing you know or I'm Really going to focus on my my foot Strike things like that and then take 10 Minutes mentally off to relax and then Okay now I'm going to focus on it again So you know also implementing those Changes throughout your run too Dedicating you know time to think about It and focus on those as well help so uh Aside from is anything else that you you Noticed in my uh data to that Interesting to to know I know there's About three pages of stuff that you sent
Across to me there's a lot of data right Um you know going back to the whole like Superation and pration 2 with with the Running store and things like that That's something that we don't Necessarily try to change in somebody Everybody either States or pronat S is You know neutral and so what we do is we Just make them aware of it and say you Know hey it looks like you're a Superator make sure you know that when You buy your next shoe and you want a Shoe that supports that and supports Your foot in that motion with your Let's See we had some um some larger degrees Of Step separation so that meant and I Think it was especially when we got in The faster speeds so as you were running Where you were planting your foot got a Little bit farther and farther away from Your midline that's that step separation And we see that especially in the faster Speeds too um and so that could be an Indication of tight abductors kind of Pulling your your legs out it could just Just be basic mechanic Of running at those faster speeds so Some recommendations we would give would Be doing strides or 100 met sprits and Things like that after your longer runs Just to get that form down and keep your Feet kind of towards more the midline And not have them land outside as much But yours was really good right I'll
Take I'll take that yeah you were great Yeah you were on par with an elite level Marathoner for the majority of your B Tricks these are I'm gonna use I'm going To use that as a quote on pleas still me On all right so um if if you're so there There's a lot of things that you could You can do with with the data that you Get and there's obviously a lot of Changes you can modify over time but is Is there a risk people should people Worry about all these things at the Start of their running or or is it Something I often um I was talking to a Friend the other day who's fairly new to Running and he was he was asking about All these different things about form And how we should be using his arms and Everything and my view on it is always Your body does adapt over time if you're Completely new to it it's it's like an Alien thing to do isn't it running and You're you're not going to get your form Right but the body does sort of learn Quite well how to do things I suppose That's the same thing with like sort of Leaning forward a bit your body will Adapt alongside it and and and and learn How to run um effectively but um how do You if somebody comes in and and is Completely neutral running do you have To be very careful with them say well Actually the these are things you you Don't really need to worry too much at
The moment until you get to the point Where you know you are being running a Bit more competitively and running Longer distances and it might become More of a a problem yes of course like You said the body is really good at Figuring things out so if you go out for A run several times a week it's going to Figure out the best way to move if Somebody was new it coming in it can be Extremely overwhelming all these metrics And so like with anybody we only choose Two to three to talk about and it's Going to be a two to three that are for Somebody knew in pouring for injury Prevention and so you know the large Asymmetries between left and right if we See any big differences we know that That is a big indicator of risk for Injury we're not going to be too Concerned with the forward lean probably Because there's you know not a lot of Risk that that's mostly for performance Um we're not going to be too concerned About maybe ground contact time at the Beginning because we just want them you Know to continue to go and we're just Going to give them some really basic Drills and simple exercises to implement And and then have them come back in 6 Months and then see what metrics still Need to be improved upon and then we can Start to dive in a little bit more but At the beginning we pick two to three
That are really going to help prevent Injuries basically and not focus too Much on the performance quite yet Another question I had is just around Follows on from that so get a question a Lot around um people who train to get Faster and having misunderstanding or Not quite understanding how Cadence Works and if you should you if you if if You're trying to get faster and you're You're uping your mileage should you try And increase your Cadence or should you Try and improve increase your stride Length it's all dependent on the person Which is so funny every L everybody is Different anatomically I think that it Depends on their the other things They're doing for training because Increasing Cadence is going to be a Little bit easier than increasing stride Length efficient we can in increase Stride length but we can do it Inefficiently by heel striking right or We can get stronger and increased stride Like that way by being able to push Ourselves farther per for each stride um So I get really wory about people trying To increase their stride length I want To make sure they're doing it Efficiently and that they're strong Enough to be doing it and that they're Not just flailing their leg out there to Reach as far they can and hitting their Heel first and pushing all of that
Momentum into their knee and causing Injuries and so I think you know you can Increase stride stride length by Increasing your strength and be able to Push yourself farther per per stride um But you know increasing Cadence is also It's probably going to be the easier way And the the safest way to to not cause Any any injuries all right so we've Talked about all of the benefits and the What you can get from the data and how You use that data but are there any Limitations to gate analysis is there is This are there blind spots I suppose Where you know people have questions That you you can't quite answer you need Other things to to learn definitely and You know I'll be straight up right I Work here obviously but I'm not you know Not blind to the the disadvantages of What we do and you know the first and Foremost here we do it on a treadmill Not everybody loves treadmills I hate Treadmills you know not everybody's gate Is going to be exactly the same on a Treadmill either but the workaround and Behind that is maybe this isn't exactly How you're moving out out on the track But we can use this as a starting point And then come back in 6 months and see How you've improved um so you're still Getting really good useful data whereas You know if we did just a video analysis On the track that's still great but we
Wouldn't be able to get Force ground Contact time and things like that um so So that's the first one is just the Nature of being on a trug mill everybody Knows it's it's a little bit different And the other part is we are getting People up in 30 second snapshots where They're fairly rested you know we had You do probably a 5 to 10 minute warmup And then we just do 30 seconds so you Know it's not an indication of how You're going to feel at the end of the Marathon you know your gate is probably Going to be very different the end of The marathon versus the beginning but Just logistically and practical right we Can't have you run a marathon in here on The treadmill so those are the two but It's still an extremely useful test and Extremely useful data points that you Can get from it at least from tracking Over time and if you're you know if we See weaknesses in this 30 second Snapshot when you're relatively fresh I Can guarantee you we're going to see Those weaknesses at the end of your Marathon when you know you've gone 25 Miles already um so it besides those too They're like you said just cautioning People to not take every single metric And try to change every single thing Overnight as well we we try to do a Really good job of giving them two to Three things to focus on a couple of
Drills and strike of exercises to Implement and then and then go from There and and how do you see that Progression over time so how one of your Longest um people you athletes that you Work with how long how long have you Worked with them and and and what's that Sort of um process look like because I Could see it being a lot of people Looking at going oh I'm going to nip in There they're going to tell me what I Need to do that's me done I never hear From them again and I just have a list Of things that I need to work on but That's not how you guys work is it not Typically no we like them to come back In four to six months we have only been Open since November um so here in Boston We haven't had any returners yet I think I had my first returner coming a couple Of weeks so it be exciting to see that The lab in Minnesota they've been open For about a year and they've had several People return um and the most typical Thing that they see is you know that Elastic energy has improved um because Of those skipping drills the pom metrics And things like that so yeah I am Excited to start getting returning Athletes too to see uh how their gate Has has improved I bet yeah no it'd be Really interesting to just just if you Had been following it's the same thing With with anything like phys and stuff
Like that where you know if you do Follow the thing you want to see the the Impact of of those things but quite Often it doesn't doesn't happen over Long long long term okay that's that's Really interesting um I think I've got Quite a lot of information to work on Now to uh to try to try and make to make Some improvements so thank you so much For for talking us through all of that Um I know we're going to at some point Talk through some of the other areas That you cover and there are loads of Different things that you do analysis of For for athletes so um I'm we're looking Forward to diving into to some of those As well and I think yeah it was a smart Move to do get analysis in one podcast CU I definitely could have asked all These questions along with the other Things as well yeah I would have fallen Into rabbit holes with lot of things so We'll we'll dedicate each episode to the Topic brilliant well thank you so much And uh we'll speak to you again soon Yeah we'll do thank You this episode the podcast was Presented by Tom Wheatley and his guest Was Alisa junker the podcast was Produced by Tom weatley To find out more about human empowered Health click the link in the podcast Notes [Music]
