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Weekly Cadence by Geeks on Feet

The stage is set, to witness unity and exuberance of the human spirit. Olympics - the melting pot, for the best to compete, cheer and bring home the glory is finally here. Millions like me are praying for their favorites to shine. It is a place where patience and consistency will come to play.

The Olympics is a platform which provides new sports to show their skills. This year we will witness 6 new sports including baseball, softball, surfing, skateboarding, karate, and sport climbing.

In the words of Pierre de Coubertin - Citius - Altius - Fortius.

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Workout of the week - Heisman

Heisman is a dynamic workout to improve hip flexion and the ability to drive the knee up powerfully. Heisman also improves glute mobility and hip rotation.

How How does it improve running?

Better hip flexion helps the ability to raise the knee during the drive/propulsion phase of running. Better knee drive means a more powerful stride. Improving glute mobility and hip rotation further betters your running stride.

How to do it?

  • Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and arms at your sides with elbows bent to less than 90 degrees.

  • Start by kicking off your left knee up while trying to reach the elbow on the right side.

  • Once you hit the elbow, bring the left knee down. While bringing the left knee down, immediately kick off the right leg to drive the knee up to reach the elbow on the left.

  • Keep repeating.

Keep your torso straight through the movement, and ensure you are raising the knee up driving as opposed to bending down at the hip.

Learning the Heisman movement can take a bit of time, as it involves building neuromuscular coordination. But once you mastered the basic movement of Heisman, you can make it more challenging by doing it faster and adding a plyo component to it.

Here is a video that demonstrates the Heisman (courtesy: livestrong.com).

When to do it?

Include 3 sets of 20-30s of Heisman as part of your dynamic warm-up just before your run.

The World of Running

No marathon runners from India at the Tokyo Olympics — What went wrong?

India's history at the marathon dates back to 1920 when Phadeppa Dareppa Chaugule became India's first Olympic marathon runner. He represented India in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, Belgium, and finished 19th with a timing of 2 hours 50 minutes 45.2 seconds. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, India had fielded 5 marathon runners, presumably, the biggest contingent so far.

However, there will be no one to race in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. One can certainly blame the pandemic for a lot of contributing factors. The qualifying standard is 2:11:30 for men and 2:29:30 for women, while the qualifying period was originally from 1 January 2019 to 31 May 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the period was suspended from 6 April 2020 to 30 November 2020, with the end date extended to 31 May 2021. The world rankings period start date was also changed from 1 January 2019 to 1 December 2018 with a cap of 80 athletes and a country not exceeding a maximum of 3 athletes in each gender. In the men's marathon, 110 athletes from the world already achieved the qualifying standard, while among women, 96 athletes have achieved the qualifying standard. Both the first wave and second wave of Covid-19 in India were responsible for the cancellation of qualifying marathon events in India making it difficult for the hopefuls to qualify.

Running Tip : Running in the Rain

Monsoon rains are at peak and running in rain is inevitable for us most. Here are a few tips to make running in the rain comfortable.

  • Cotton socks absorb water and get heavier, making it extremely uncomfortable to run. Wet socks can cause blisters. We suggest wearing technical socks such as those made of dry-fit material.

  • Not using cotton, applies to t-shirts and shorts as well for the same reason stated above.

  • Shoes with the right grip are important to avoid slips and ensure your safety. Check the outer sole to ensure it has good rubber grip with clear grooves. Avoid worn-out shoes.

  • Water getting over eyes can reduce the visibility on roads, especially for those wearing spectacles. Use a cap with brim (such as a baseball cap) can help.

Quiz

Phadeppa Dareppa Chaugule was the first marathoner from India, having competed at the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.

However, he was not the first marathoner from Independent India.

Can you guess who was the first marathoner from Independent India to compete at the Olympics?

The answer to the Previous Quiz is approximately 40 KMs (25 miles). Though the 1908 Olympics marked the introduction of the marathon distance as we know, 42.195 KMs, the distance was standardised only in 1921.

Congratulations to @nileshvyas(Twitter), @munanayeem, @atifumarsyed, @arun_yelamali , @spatel71, @sanghostar (Instagram) for the correct answer.

Compiled by Team GeeksOnFeet - Karthik, Aravind and Aditi

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