Well+ Good discusses if it is possible to improve your running form according to experts including Kate Baird, MA, ACSM-CEP, CSCS, exercise physiologist at HSS.

“It’s different than standing in front of the mirror and doing squats and being like, I’m going to perfect these eight reps of squats,” said Baird. “Because running is repetitive, it’s environmental, it’s interactive, you’re usually doing other things when you’re running. And it’s an intrinsic human motion we learn when we’re really young. So for all those reasons, it’s really hard to change your running form, especially in real time.”

Even if you are able to maintain a form cue over the course of a run, your body might not be able to handle multiple miles with a new technique. “If you go from a heel strike to a mid-foot strike in the moment, chances are your body’s not developed in a way to tolerate this change in the repetitive loading,” explained Baird. “You’ll end up stressing a different area that you’re not used to stressing. We are a linked chain of movement, so you can’t just change one link and expect the other links to stay the same.”

For Baird, the answer is helping runners develop not the best running form, but their best running form, based on their goals and their body. “Good running form is unique to the person,” she said. “Each person is a unique kinetic chain with unique tightness, weakness, strength, stability issues, loading issues, so all of these things have to be considered.”

Read the full article at wellandgood.com.