Proprioception is the body’s ability to sense its position, movement and action. It involves the coordination of sensory feedback from nerves within the muscles, tendons, and joints, as well as from the inner ear’s balance systems.

This system allows us to move without having to consciously think about our environment or the movements we are making.

However, when we give greater attention to our body’s signals, it informs our training for making real-time adjustments … and that reduces injuries and enhances running performance.

Try this the next time you are running into a strong headwind. Our impulse is to fight the wind, which is only going to make it push back even harder. Instead, listen to your body’s signals and adjust. Use the techique of deliberate play to train this skill in a challenging and fun way.

Hidden Potential: The Science Of Achieving Greater Things, by Adam Grant

Run Like A Pro: Elite Tools And Tips For Running At Every Level, by Matt Fitzgerald and Ben Rosario

If you’d like to get more tips like this, please subscribe to Running Longevity on iTunes or Spotify. Better yet, go to runninglongevitylab.com to get the newsletter for additional insights and advice. 

If you are a lifelong runner, you may remember the days when you were young and nimble, and warming up wasn’t necessary. However, as we get older, warming up becomes vitally important for preventing injuries and maximizing performance. These are your goals when warming up:   #1. Warm up the entire body. Growing up you learned jumping jacks in school. That’s one example of a low-impact, full body movement to warm up the body. #2. Activate running muscles and soft tissues by simulating running movements. We’ll talk about that in detail. #3. Load joints to redistribute synovial fluid to them for lubrication and shock absorption.

When you warm the body, activate muscles, and load the joints, you are putting the “use it or lose it” theory to work. The more you do this, the better your body works. 

Ultimately, you are working up to some version of a squat. Why? Well, it is often said that running is a series of single-legged squats. For this reason, your routine should include single leg movements, but at a minimum, everyone’s routine should include one universal exercise, the ATG squat. 

With practice, just “sitting” in the squat position with your butt on the floor can be both restful and restorative.  I like to do these squats several times daily and for several minutes at a time. Frequency keeps the fluids activated, doing their job to minimize stiffness and inflammation.

 If you’d like to get more tips like this, please subscribe to Running Longevity on iTunes or Spotify. Better yet, go to runninglongevitylab.com to get the newsletter for additional insights and advice. 

Enjoy your next run!

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Video example of full depth squats and reverse table stretch/bridge  See video side notes for additional details. 

My goal with this podcast is simple: Help you achieve your running goals, regardless of your age, experience, or level of skill. So, let’s get into this week’s expert tip.

One of the toughest lessons for runners is learning to slow down when training so that our bodies can adjust to its demand.  

Experts agree you want to run at least 30% of your miles SLOW. Here are the top three reasons why. 

1.  Running slow proves your body’s capacity for using oxygen efficiently 

2.   It teaches your body to prioritize burning fats before glycogen, which are more metabolically efficient.

3.   Running slow dramatically reduces injuries. 

If you’d like to get more tips like this, please subscribe to Running Longevity on iTunes or Spotify. Better yet, go to runninglongevitylab.com to get the newsletter for additional insights and advice. 

Enjoy your next run!

Running Longevity with Jeff Korhan is a podcast for people who want to experience the joys and benefits of running in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. Expect inspiring stories and science-based practices from like-minded runners and longevity experts. Join us to enhance your running journey and discover the remarkable aliveness and longevity this sport promises.

We’ll go in depth with the following topics: 

1.    Training methods and practices, such as heart-rate training and how to avoid overtraining.

2. Nutrition tips for health, longevity, and running efficiency, and how to properly fuel for races.

3.    Injury prevention and rehabilitation, cross-training for strength, stretching, how to increase mobility, and more.

4.    Running gear, such as how to choose and use running shoes that are right for you.

5.    Sleep, rest, and recovery, and lesser-known strategies such as relative rest

6.    How to stay motivated, the running mindset, and why it is so important. 

7.    Longevity and healthspan, how running can add decades to your lifespan, and more importantly, how it will add more life to those years, better known as healthspan.

Whenever possible, I’ll back everything up with scientific research so that you can investigate further if that’s how you are wired, as I am. 

You’ll discover that it’s possible to get faster or go farther and enjoy running in your 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond. 

It’s truly a remarkable feeling and it doesn’t matter if you’ve been a runner your whole life or are just getting started.

If you’d like to get more tips like this, please subscribe to Running Longevity on iTunes or Spotify. Better yet, go to runninglongevitylab.com to get the newsletter for additional insights and advice. 

Enjoy your next run!