Kinesiology 1
Kyle Davis
Louis Barousse
Prof. Evrenoglou
11/28/12
Muscle
Analysis:
Running
(Endurance)
Kinesiology 2
In order for one to perform the action of running, it is important to
understand the Running Process and the muscles involved in each phase of
the running process. The process of running includes:
1. The Push Phase
2. The Swing Phase
3. The Return Or Pull Phase
The three phases constitute the basic pattern to a successful run.
Throughout the act of running there are a variety of different muscles/
muscle groups that are activated. All pertaining to the movement of the legs
in a forward motion. These muscles can be seen and described in Table A.
Table A. Push
Knee Extensors/ Leg Extensors/
Quadriceps
Rectus Femoris-Extension of the
knee, flexion of hip
Vastus Medialis-extension of the
knee
Vastus Lateralis-extension of the
knee
Vastus Intermedialis-extension
of the knee
Thigh Hip Extensor-extend the
femor, pulles the knee down and
Swing
Thigh
Flexors/Quadriceps/Hamstrings
Psoas-flexion of the hip, anterior
pelvic rotation
Return
Thigh Extensor
gluteus maximus-extension of
the hip, posterior pelvic rotation,
external rotation of the hip
Iliacus-flexion of the hip, anterior Semimembranosus-- flexion of
pelvic rotation
the knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation, internal
rotation of the hip, internal
rotation of the knee
Sartorius-flexion of the hip,
Semitendinosus-- flexion of the
flexion of the knee, anterior
knee, extension of the hip,
pelvic rotation, internal rotation posterior pelvic rotation, internal
of the knee, abduction of the
rotation of the hip, internal
knee
rotation of the knee
Vastus Rectus-extension of the
Biceps femoris- flexion of the
knee
knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation,
external rotation of the hip,
external rotation of the knee
Pectineus-flexion of the hip,
adduction of the hip, external
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backward
Gluteus Maximus-extension of
the hip, posterior pelvic rotation,
external rotation of hip
Semitendinous- flexion of the
knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation, internal
rotation of the hip, internal
rotation of the knee
Semimembranous-flexion of the
knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation, internal
rotation of the hip, internal
rotation of the knee
Long Head Biceps Femorisflexion of the knee, extension of
the hip, posterior pelvic rotation,
external rotation of the hip,
external rotation of the knee
Gastrocnemius-plantar flexes
foot, flexes leg at the knee
rotation of the hip
Adductor Longus-adduction of
the hip, assists in flexion of the
hip
Adductor Brevis-adduction of the
hip, external rotation of the hip,
flexion of the hip
Vastus Medialis- extension of the
knee
Vastus Lateralis- extension of the
knee
Vastus Intermedialis- extension
of the knee
Semitendinous-- flexion of the
knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation, internal
rotation of the hip, internal
rotation of the knee
Biceps Femoris- flexion of the
knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation,
external rotation of the hip,
external rotation of the knee
Semimembranous-- flexion of
the knee, extension of the hip,
posterior pelvic rotation, internal
rotation of the hip, internal
rotation of the knee
These three phases constitute a complete leg sequence for each leg during
the entire time a person is running. Many people associate the push phase
with the first steps at the start of a running exercise, where your body is
Kinesiology 4
lowest to the ground and where this phase is most dominant over the rest.
However, the push phase occurs throughout the entire running process even
while your body is upright, at which point it shares in importance with the
other two phases. Your body is upright for most of the time and distance you
spend running, each phase of the running process happens while your body
is in this upright position which is obviously the most correct form to follow
through with running endurance exercises.
Running’s general motion is characterized by the translation of the
body’s center of gravity due to rotary motion accuring in the lower and
upper extremdies. These forces which control walking and running are
weight, normal reaction, friction, air resistance and internal muscular
force. An interaction of all these forces determines the walking and running
gait. This leads to the force of the body acting through the foot, which is the
backward thrust of leg and foot on the ground. This is counteracted by the
vertical force (reactive force) of the ground. The latter action results in
forward movement. (Law of action and reaction, Newtons 3rd Law).
A body at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by a force
(Newtons First Law of Linear Motion). In running, the ground reaction force
produced by extension of the lower extremities results in horizontal
explosive reactions and therefore movement. The momentum gained by the
lower extremities is transferred to the upper body (the trunk). The force
required to change momentum is greatest at takeoff and least after
Kinesiology 5
acceleration has ceased. Inertia is also great during the low points on the
velocity time curve of the center gravity. This basically means that you need
to change a certain amount of inertia to accelerate the body forward. From
this running with the feet should strike close to the line of gravity. If one of
the feet strikes far in front of the line of gravity, you will tend to have a
backward thrust and therefore slow down in a sense. The latter is inefficient
movement and would result in energy expenditure to maintain the same
velocity of movement. When it comes to the speed of running it can be
manipulated by increasing either the stride length or the stride rate, or both.
Runners tend to naturally select an optimum stride length and rate
depending on their actual energy expenditure of running. The complete
horizontal force is directed straight backward, making it greater to its
contribution to forward motion. To be efficient while running involves
eliminating any unnecessary forces. You should make sure to warm up by
going for a light jog and stretch afterwards to eliminate tightness of tendons
and ligaments. The resistive force of a wind can be altered by shifting the
center of gravity forward. In other words, a forward lean will work to
counteract a head wind.
When it comes to an athlete running, the primary direction of force
application is down into the ground and in the backwards direction. If you
look at the runner who looks like they are “bouncy” they most likely are
applying too much force down into the ground which results in them
Kinesiology 6
becoming more of a vertical projectile. However, if you look at the runner
who has no vertical deviation of their center of gravity, they are applying
force primary in the backwards direction. A runner’s direction of force is
directly backwards (in the sagittal plane) and as a result of this, the runners
arms should move primarily in the forwards/backwards direction in order to
improve the rhythm of the runner and increase the force which can be
applied to the ground.
The following muscles belong to the functional muscle group that
develops force towards running can be described in Table B:
Table B. Muscles pertaining to Force
Knee Extensors
Neutralizers
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus,
biceps femoris, adductor magnus, Gluteus medis
Leg extensors
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus,
biceps femoris, adductor magnus, Gluteus medis
Quadriceps
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus
biceps femoris, adductor magnus, Gluteus medis
Rectus Femoris
Biceps femoris, adductor magnus, Gluteus medius
Vastus Medialis
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus
Vastus Lateralis
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus
Vastus InterMedias
Semimembranosus, popliteus, semitendinosus
Gluteus Maximus
Psoas, illacus
Gastrocnenius
Tibialis anterior
Soleus
Tibialis anterior
Kinesiology 7
Plantaris muscles
Gluetus minimus, gluteus medias,
Semetendinous, adductor magnus
Psoas
Glutues maximus, Illacus
Illacus
Gluteus maximus
Sartorius
Bicep femoris, semeimembranosus, adductor
magnus
Vastus Rectus
Biceps femoris, adductor magnus, Gluteus medis
Biceps Femoris (long and short head)
Rectus femoris, tensor fascie latae
Semitendinosus
Rectus femoris, bicep femoris
Semimembranosus
Rectus femoris, bicep femoris
Pectineus
Gracilis, gluteus minimus, semetendinous
Adductor brevis
Gluetus minimus, gluteus medias
Adductor longus
Gluetus minimus, gluteus medias
Beginning with the Push Phase it occurs throughout the entire running
process even while your body is straight and upright. Since your body is
upright for most of the time and distance you spend running, the push phase
will be used while your body is in this upright position. The push phase
begins when the thigh of the foot touching the ground is perpendicular to the
ground. It ends when the toes of this foot have just left the ground behind
you while you are moving forward.
The Swing Phase begins where the toes of the foot that is behind you
have just left the ground and ends where the same foot strikes the ground in
front of you. Since one leg is always off the ground and moving forward,
there is always one leg that is in the Swing Phase while the other leg may be
Kinesiology 8
in the Return or the Push Phase depending how far along the runner is. The
distance covered by the swing phase while running is what many people call
your stride.
While leg extension is important during this phase, the relative
strength of the quadriceps is not fully used here since leg extension during
this motion takes place with the leg off the ground, or in a non weight
bearing position. Moving onto the quadriceps, they contribute more during
the Push Phase when the foot is on the ground, than they do during the
Swing Phase when the foot is in the air. However the hamstrings play a very
limited role in the swing phase. Their only function during this phase is leg
flexion (or knee flexion).
Moving back into the phases of running, finally the return phase begins
when the foot strikes the ground in front of you and ends when the knee and
thigh of the same foot are perpendicular to the ground directly beneath
you. This is the shortest of all the phases and is often overlooked. This is
because training for this phase will give you a slight advantage over
someone who actually trains for specifically this phase. When going through
extension, the thigh (since it is in front of you) helps to pull your body
forward. That is why the return phase is sometimes referred to as the pull
phase (beginning of the three phases) because of the pulling effect the
hamstrings have on the thigh. This is also where the phrase “pulled a
Kinesiology 9
hamstring” comes from, since it is during this motion or during the other
phases as well, the hamstrings are often injured.
When it comes to stabilization in running there is not much that is
associated with the legs in stabilization. The majority of the stabilization is
done and occurs in the trunk and upper body while running. The muscles
used in the stabilization process of running can be referred to in Table 3
below.
Table 3. Stabilizers
Actions
Rectus abdominis
lumbar flexion, Posterior pelvic rotation
Transverse Abdominis
forced expiration by pulling the abdominal wall
inward
Tendinous Inscriptions
lumbar flexion, Posterior pelvic rotation
External Abdominal oblique
lumbar flexion, Posterior pelvic rotation, lumbar
lateral flexion to right, rotation to left, & lateral
pelvic rotation to left
Internal Abdominal Oblique
lumbar flexion, Posterior pelvic rotation, lumbar
lateral flexion to right, rotation to left, & lateral
pelvic rotation to left
Biceps Brachii
Flexion of elbow, Supination of
Brachialis
Forearm, Weak flexion of
shoulder joint
True flexion of elbow
Brachioradalis
Flexion of elbow, Pronation from supinated
Kinesiology 10
position to neutral
When it comes to the trunk there is a slight forward lean of the trunk
during the push phase which helps keep the forward momentum going. The
pelvis also tilts slightly downward to help with the absorption of forces. The
muscles of the trunk (abs and back mostly) work with the glutes and
hamstrings to control the trunk and pelvis during the absorption process.
The arms and shoulders move in sync with the legs as well on opposite sides
of the body, pertaining to left arm swings forward as the right leg is moving
forward and vice versa. This counter movement of the opposing arm and leg
creates balance. During the phases, the forward swing of the opposite arm
produces forward momentum. Also, during the forward swing phase of the
leg the backward swing of the opposing arm creates stabilizing forces in the
body to control movement. While the legs and arms move in unison, the
abdominal and back muscles of the trunk need to stabilize the rotational
forces that are made by this movement. They help direct this energy into
forward motion. Basically if you over rotate or over extend the trunk too
much energy is wasted so you fatigue quicker or you run slower.
As we conclude with the running process that each phase of the
running process uses a distinct set of muscles to propel the body forward. By
focusing on each phase individually, you can learn which muscles are
involved in sprinting and how to properly train them to gain the maximum
Kinesiology 11
speed possible from each set of muscles. All muscles while running work as
a group. There is not one single muscle that does its job alone without the
support of another muscle. Thus making running one of the most intricate
exercise processes.
Works Cited
http://www.makingstridz.com/node/74
http://www.nyrrf.org/ycr/ars/activity/middle/form/m27.asp
http://athleticquickness.com/speedtraininglessons.asp
http://www.corerunning.com/running_gait.html