This past weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, I made the trip up to Greenwich, CT, for the Pose Level I Running Certification course taught by the one, the only, Dr. Nicholas Romanov. I've been interested in Pose running for about a year and a half now, ever since I started my search for a pain-free way to run. While barefoot/minimalist running is better than shod running, it is not a panacea, a cure-all for good form. Very few humans are able to run with perfect form (even Usain Bolt could improve his 100m time by .4 seconds with some coaching) so it is unreasonable for them to think they can just shuck off their shoes and run without damaging their bodies.
I learned so much during this two-day intensive course, which consisted of running technique and drills the first day, and then coaching the technique and being able to coherently explain it the second day. Even though we worked an talked from 9am-5pm both days (including during lunch), there is so much more to learn and explore which would take way more than a week of discussion.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Romanov back in June of 2009 at a running clinic at La Palestra, a private gym just off of Central Park. He had a wonderful sense of humor then, and still has that same wit even today. Since the clinic consisted of only eight students, he was able to get comfortable with us and be more candid in our conversations. One thing that cannot be denied is that Dr. Romanov is extremely passionate of Pose running and the Pose Method, and is very frustrated by the running community's stupidity and ignorance when it comes to learning about his theories. He has sound science behind him (as well as proven results) but runners are too entrenched and scared to change their ways. I understand his frustration, and I hope I can enlighten and teach runners to be open-minded and run more efficiently.
On Saturday morning we discussed the basic theories and the how any deviation from the running STANDARD (which is POSE) is an error and will cause slowness and pain over time. Running consists of starting in Pose, falling (from the ankles), and then pulling the FOOT under the hip to move forward. It is physically impossibly to propel the body forward without the use of gravity (I'll prove it easily to you if you'd like) but many runners try to do just this with excessive muscular efforts.
After discussion we headed outside and he videotaped us running so we could later see our form (and our errors.) We practiced drills, ran some more, then practiced more and more drills. It was perfect! The video analysis showed that we all had a fear of following (body language in slow-motion reveals a lot) which caused our general center of mass (our hips) to land behind our foot. This creates a braking motion which slows us down and creates more impact and joint pain and eventually injury.
The rest of the day consisted of more drills, discussions, Dr. Romanov's tangents, and more running. It was an intense day, immersing us into the technique and theory behind Pose. I digested all the information on my trip home in the cab with my three new Japanese friends. Huh? Well, Metro-North wasn't running due to downed powerlines, so I made three friends who were also waiting at the station and we all split a cab back to Manhattan. I miraculously made it home in time for my date with my hot wife (I told the cabbie if we didn't get back soon she'd kill me!) so the trip had a happy ending.
I woke up around 6:30am again Sunday morning to get out to Greenwich by 9am. Sunday focused completely on teaching theory and teaching the Pose concept to clients. We analyzed, poked, prodded, and debated with our fellow classmates until everything sunk in and we were able to tell the error of an incorrect pull or a bad fall (don't stick your butt out!) We learned so much, and were lucky enough to be taught by the discoverer of Pose himself, Dr. Romanov.
There was a final exam after the 8 hours of class on Sunday, and I'm pretty sure that we all passed with flying colors. I always felt confident in my ability to teach Pose and the finer points of barefoot running, but now I have many more tools at my disposal about the method for teaching clients how to move in the most efficient and pain-free way possible.
I'd like to thank Dr. Romanov for a great weekend, and also thank all the other participants in the class for being great models, partners, and participants for the weekend's course. 16 hours is a long time to spend with a small group of people, but we all fed off one another and were able to learn better because of each other's participation.
I learned so much during this two-day intensive course, which consisted of running technique and drills the first day, and then coaching the technique and being able to coherently explain it the second day. Even though we worked an talked from 9am-5pm both days (including during lunch), there is so much more to learn and explore which would take way more than a week of discussion.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Romanov back in June of 2009 at a running clinic at La Palestra, a private gym just off of Central Park. He had a wonderful sense of humor then, and still has that same wit even today. Since the clinic consisted of only eight students, he was able to get comfortable with us and be more candid in our conversations. One thing that cannot be denied is that Dr. Romanov is extremely passionate of Pose running and the Pose Method, and is very frustrated by the running community's stupidity and ignorance when it comes to learning about his theories. He has sound science behind him (as well as proven results) but runners are too entrenched and scared to change their ways. I understand his frustration, and I hope I can enlighten and teach runners to be open-minded and run more efficiently.
On Saturday morning we discussed the basic theories and the how any deviation from the running STANDARD (which is POSE) is an error and will cause slowness and pain over time. Running consists of starting in Pose, falling (from the ankles), and then pulling the FOOT under the hip to move forward. It is physically impossibly to propel the body forward without the use of gravity (I'll prove it easily to you if you'd like) but many runners try to do just this with excessive muscular efforts.
After discussion we headed outside and he videotaped us running so we could later see our form (and our errors.) We practiced drills, ran some more, then practiced more and more drills. It was perfect! The video analysis showed that we all had a fear of following (body language in slow-motion reveals a lot) which caused our general center of mass (our hips) to land behind our foot. This creates a braking motion which slows us down and creates more impact and joint pain and eventually injury.
The rest of the day consisted of more drills, discussions, Dr. Romanov's tangents, and more running. It was an intense day, immersing us into the technique and theory behind Pose. I digested all the information on my trip home in the cab with my three new Japanese friends. Huh? Well, Metro-North wasn't running due to downed powerlines, so I made three friends who were also waiting at the station and we all split a cab back to Manhattan. I miraculously made it home in time for my date with my hot wife (I told the cabbie if we didn't get back soon she'd kill me!) so the trip had a happy ending.
I woke up around 6:30am again Sunday morning to get out to Greenwich by 9am. Sunday focused completely on teaching theory and teaching the Pose concept to clients. We analyzed, poked, prodded, and debated with our fellow classmates until everything sunk in and we were able to tell the error of an incorrect pull or a bad fall (don't stick your butt out!) We learned so much, and were lucky enough to be taught by the discoverer of Pose himself, Dr. Romanov.
There was a final exam after the 8 hours of class on Sunday, and I'm pretty sure that we all passed with flying colors. I always felt confident in my ability to teach Pose and the finer points of barefoot running, but now I have many more tools at my disposal about the method for teaching clients how to move in the most efficient and pain-free way possible.
I'd like to thank Dr. Romanov for a great weekend, and also thank all the other participants in the class for being great models, partners, and participants for the weekend's course. 16 hours is a long time to spend with a small group of people, but we all fed off one another and were able to learn better because of each other's participation.
RSS Feed
