Cadence: Who has the best rhythm?
Tyler Kameh, M.Ed. Exercise Physiology, ACSM certified clinical exercise physiologist, PA student
Original thinking about cadence:
The number that has been propagated for decades is 180 steps per minute, which for most runners is higher than usual. This number comes from observing all the medal-winning runners at the 1984 Olympic Games (conducted by the legendary running coach/exercise physiologist Jack Daniels). The general idea is that there are 3 ways to run faster: lengthen your stride, increase your cadence or both. Lengthening your stride, especially at slower speeds, increases the forces that are transmitted through your joints/muscles and potentially increasing the risk of injury. So, it makes sense to encourage runners to increase their cadence especially at slower speeds to decrease the forces transmitted through your joints with each step. As you increase the pace, keeping cadence constant around 180 steps per minute but gradually increasing stride length helps to decrease the forces on the joints and muscles even at faster paces. There are even specific Spotify playlists with all songs being around 180 bpm to help you maintain the “gold standard” cadence rate.
Current thinking about cadence:
Every runner is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all running form. Once again, the number of 180 steps per minute was based on observations from 1984 medal-winning long-distance runners. Unless any of us are clicking under 4-5 minute pace, the study probably does not specifically apply to us. Forcing new and multiple changes into our form is a surefire way to get injured, especially when these observations are based on elite runners. Over years of running our bodies develop running form patterns specific to our biomechanical individualities, but there are tweaks that can always be made to be more efficient, especially when things get tough on a hot day or at the end of a race. There are certainly some good takeaways from thinking about cadence during a run, including trying to be light on the feet and not overreaching with your strides, especially at chiller paces. Reducing this overreaching will reduce the force transmitted through your joints and muscles and potentially reduce injuries. You always want to feel that you are propelling yourself forward rather than pulling yourself forward. An easy trick to do this is by focusing on pushing off with your big toe. If you feel like you have long, loping stride than maybe it makes sense to try one of the Spotify playlists with a high bpm to get lighter on the feet, but just remember it may not feel natural at first and that’s OK!