Final Surge Podcast Episode 75: Jay Dicharry

Welcome to Episode 75 of the Final Surge Podcast where we welcome back Dr. Jay Dicharry. Jay is the author of a must-have book for any coach, Anatomy for Runners. Jay has a follow-up book he has just released called Running Rewired. We have all heard of the book Born to Run, but are we born to run or is it something that we adapt to over time? Jay discusses that as well as how deliberate practice can make you more efficient. Make sure you check out Jay’s book Running Rewired which you can find on his website An Athlete’s Body. Now, on to the show.

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We had you on Episode 49 of the Final Surge podcast so welcome back. On Episode 49 we talked a lot about your must-own book Anatomy For Runners. You have a new book out called Running Rewired. I am more of a wi-fi guy so what do you mean about runners getting rewired?

Get past running requires amazing flexibility or strength
How your nervous system impacts how you move

If someone read your book Anatomy for Runners, why should they read this too, what would they get from Running Rewired?

Anatomy for Runners fits into a space with more scientific background
Was for intelligent and in the know runners and coaches
Was good for clinicians
Rewired more for everyday runner
Rewired from ground zero to increase capacity

Are we naturally wired to run, like if I took a 4-year-old and said run, are they wired correctly or do we need to learn it?

Young kids learn to play and are more dynamic
Problem not sitting, but that we do one thing all the time then expect to move differently when we put on our shoes
We are not born to run, we adapt to run
Takes cultivating of how we move

You talk about deliberate practice in the book. How do we know if we need to work on getting rewired and if we do how do we know we are doing the right things to get there?

Not about volume of practice
Practice has two types specific and deliberate
Specific putting on shoes and doing more of it
Deliberate says these are the skills you need, let’s refine them with a plan
Not about running more, but running with quality
Everyone I have ever seen needs more deliberate practice

You mentioned everyone needs to get better, so how do we know what we need to work on?

Roadblocks in books that test you
Some motions will be less skilled at

In Episode 49 we dug into your clinic and your clients. In your clinic, you don’t have just elite runners, but you have many average age group runners coming in. So you see a wide variety of situations. With seeing so many people over the years are there certain things you see usually see that you can quickly narrow it down to what the issues are without even seeing the athlete. So like if a runner came in and said I have shin splints or i have pain on the outside of my knee probably from IT band, could you give them 1-2 things to work on or is it too specific to each person?

I have a lot of lab data that identifies what causes overuse injuries, usually a few paths

If I took 5 mid pack runners and 5 elite runners and did a video on them, could you tell just by their gate which were the elites? And if so what about the gate is different?

Elites are blessed with great genes from their parents
As far as form can be both
Yes form matters, but capacity important too

One thing you talk about in the book was core exercise. If I do a lot of planks, L-ups, V-ups and those type of core exercise can you explain why they may not be the best?

Running is dynamic and not static
Holding the body stable like a plank does not help much
Get people moving in positions that challenge without putting stress on joints
Spend more time doing more dynamic movements for core
Coaches your core routines are killing your runners
Building skills as body twists while running

What does training core with rotation look like?

Lay on back with knees and legs up like sitting in chair, grab med ball and hold up
Rotation is important while running, twisting forces

If a runner or coach said this was all great information, but I have 15-20 minutes to spend with my team before they start running, what should we focus on, how would you guide them on the biggest bang for the buck?

Skills and performance workouts in book
Skills building muscle memory, lots of bang for buck to rewire central nervous system
Identify roadblocks with tests then fix the ones that need working on

One of the things you talked about in the book was pelvis tilt and correcting it by using the stomach muscles to pull up on the front of the pelvis, this is how I was taught so can you talk about why this is wrong and what people should be doing for pelvis tilt?