Off season 2012

[El Gordo]

I'm no expert, and anyway, even the experts disagree vehemently on these matters.

But I would just say that Chi Running is geared towards not using the legs much at all. A weird statement re running, I know, but the idea is that the legs are there to support the body rather than to power the body forward. When you lean forward, the body creates its own momentum that the legs follow. So i suspect they would downplay the point about increased leg muscle usage. With longer strides, the natural tendency is to land on your heels, so short strides are preferred as you naturally fall mid- or front-foot.

I don't really know what is natural cadence and natural gait. My natural gait SEEMS to be the heel striking and over-pronation that has caused me problems, though of course we all read that our bodies are not designed to do that at all. (Obviously footwear is a factor.)

Must dash to work....