Short episode summary In this episode, Coach Caroline and Coach Valerie discuss the importance of learning and anticipating movement. They’ll also talk about the connection of squatting to improve your running capabilities.   Timestamps of big takeaways Article About Movement and Pain [00:35] In an article we recently read, the author used squatting as an example. Let's say you’re squatting to a box and have a weight on your back. When you squat to the box, you get the feedback from your glutes, touching the box, indicating a touchdown, so then you know you feel the box and stand back up.    However, what if there's no box on the way down? The author emphasized that you can do one of two things: You can change your perception about the location of the box, or you could change your actions. One way or the other, the goal is to reduce errors in movement. The important thing is you have a correct way to do the movement.    Landing Your Foot [04:14] You don't realize that you are hesitant to leave the ground because the focus in so many people's runs is one of the top questions we get - “Where do I land my foot?”   Landing is like setting yourself up to squat the rest of your life on a box. You need to be careful if you’re thinking about landing because then your whole run is about the ground.    Getting Rid of The Box [05:52] Coach Caroline explains that you can use a box to reset your body, but she understands that the box has to go away at some point. The idea is you need your body to begin to know what the movement is without the box.    [06:27] Why do we take the action of leaving the ground? It's the same as squatting. But the idea is that you should learn the movement of the squat. Then you progress to a level you can handle. It’s the same with running - learn the movement and then you can do it without thinking.   Why You Need a Coach in Running [08:11] Coach Valerie’s point is that it's okay to need the box in learning how to do your squat. It's okay to need the shoe in the running to a degree because you want your feet to be protected. But when you first learn how to do running and how to start changing your relationship with what running is - You start learning how to hold your body in the right spot and how it feels for the movement to be correct. Then, you eventually will get to a point where you don’t need the help to run pain-free because it will come more naturally.   How Do You Sit? [09:17] Recently, Coach Valerie had her students do an activity - she told everyone to simply sit and then stand up. Then, she asked them how they would squat without a chair or couch and you could see tension and stress in people’s bodies.   Like in learning how to do a squat without a chair as your backup, you have to learn how to pop up and pull moving correctly in your run. As soon as you feel the ground, you pop up and pull. But first, you have to let go of wanting to look for the ground.   It’s Getting Up, Not Coming Down [11:17] The work in a squat is when you get up, not when you come down. Gravity is right there to bring your body down. If you miss the box, you're going down. If you're going down too far, use your legs and upper body to unwire yourself and bring yourself back up. That's the best part of learning movement. You’ve got to learn what the proper movement is.    Squat Challenge [12:06] Go ahead and give the squat challenge a try. Try to squat and turn around and see if you're anticipating it. Look at the movement and see if you can translate that into your run. The results might surprise you.   Rate, Review & Subscribe Reminder Don’t forget to like and subscribe to our show. You can also rate and review our show on iTunes! We’re on Spotify as well, or you can listen to our show directly on Libsyn here.    Links to check out -- https://www.runrx.fit/ -- FREE 30-day reboot on YouTube by RunRX https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDPcF8ZrDdILC8bYyn2zR-4xvqKRzp2re -- Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/run