#42 - Slow Jogging: The Fastest Way to Fix Your Running Form

Slow Jogging: The Fastest Way for Runners Over 50 to Get Faster

In episode 42 of the Forever Runner Podcast, host Herb explains that for runners over 50, running getting harder is often due to poor form—especially overstriding and heel striking—not aging, and that low heart rate training feels frustrating because many people haven’t learned how to truly run slow. After a heart attack and struggling to stay under his Maffetone heart rate, Reeves discovered slow jogging (Nico Nico), an upright style with short, quick steps landing under the center of gravity. He outlines five benefits of slow jogging: improved aerobic capacity, increased fat burning, reduced injury risk, better recovery, and faster running later, sharing his own improvement of about one minute per mile in 90 days. He gives three steps to start slow jogging(run in place, target ~90 steps/min per leg, lean forward at the ankles) and describes what progress feels like over 12 weeks.

00:00 Running Over 50 Struggles
00:28 Heart Attack Wake Up Call
01:10 Overstriding Slows You Down
02:35 What Is Slow Jogging
03:44 Five Key Benefits of slow jogging
05:48 Why It Feels Wrong
06:40 Three Steps To Start slow jogging
08:02 What Progress Feels Like
09:23 Try It And Join Club

P.S. If you are passionate about running, and you don't want to lose that passion, then joining the free Forever Running Club is the right move. Click this link to join: https://www.skool.com/forever-running-club/about.

Runners over 50: Pain free running without injury with slow running!

Transcript

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Hey runners, how's it going? If you're over 50 and running keeps getting harder, you're not broken. You've just been taught to run the wrong way. You think you're on the right track by starting low heart rate training, but it's frustrating. You keep trying to run slower, but your heart rate blows up anyway. You might feel like you're doing something wrong, but you're not. You just haven't learned how to run slow yet. I found out about 10 years ago after my heart attack, when I tried to slow down for low heart rate training, I'd hit my MAF heart rate within a few minutes and either I had to walk or blow past it. I just didn't know how to run slow. Well, stay tuned and I'll show you how slow jogging might be the fastest way for you to get back your speed, energy, and confidence so you can enjoy effortless, injury-free running as you age. Welcome to episode 42 of the Forever Runner Podcast. I'm your host, Herb Reeves. Let's make your running smarter so you live longer. So about 10 years ago, I I found out I was running the wrong way, you know, when I was doing when I was starting my maphetone training. I could feel each step vibrate up my leg, my stride was choppy. It felt like I kept putting uh on the brakes. Then I looked at the bottom of my shoes and they they were worn on the heels. I was a heel striker. I could run fast, but I was over striding while I ran, which actually made it harder for me to run. Over striding is a silent stress multiplier. When your foot lands way out in front of you, it acts like a break with every single step. It hammers your knees and hips, burns more energy, and gets worse as we age because our hips tighten up and we start reaching forward instead of pushing back. The harder you try to run, the worse it gets. This is very common for us older runners, and why we think running is getting harder as we age. But it's but it's not age slowing you down, it's your running form. And I found that slow jogging is the fastest way to fix it. So what is slow jogging? Well, 10 years ago, after my over striding discovery, I searched on YouTube on how to run more efficiently, and there were several videos that introduced me to slow jogging, so I decided to give it a try. So slow jogging is an upright running style where you take shorter, quicker steps with your foot landing under your center of gravity. In Japan, they actually call it Niko Niko, your smiling pace. That tells you everything you need to know about the intensity level. It feels almost too easy, often slower than your ego wants. It was embarrassing to me when I found myself plodding along on our popular running path. You know, every walker, every jogger, every person with a dog was blowing past me. My ego took a beating. But it turns out that humbling shuffle was exactly what my body needed. So there's a few benefits for taking up slow jogging. Let me share five benefits of taking up slow jogging. Number one, it builds your aerobic engine. By slowing down and running more efficiently, this allows you to spend more of your run at your optimum aerobic heart rate, effortlessly building your aerobic capacity. This was the foundation I was missing after years of running too hard. Number two, slow jogging burns more body fat. I was surprised that low-intensity running trains your body to use fat as fuel. I lost that last stubborn ten pounds without even trying. So number three, uh it reduces injury risk. So efficient form means less pounding on your joints and tendons. Most running injuries aren't bad luck. They're the result of all that accumulated stress from running with poor form. Number four, it improves recovery. You finish your runs feeling refreshed instead of wrecked, you know, allowing you to run more often without breaking down. And the best one is number five, it leads to faster running later. This is the part most people miss. Running slow now equals running faster later. So if you want to run faster at 60, you need to slow down at 55. If this is so good, why aren't more runners doing it? Well, you know, most of us were taught that you only get better by running harder, you know, that the no pain, no gain. So slow jogging feels wrong. It's it's too easy, like you're losing fitness, you know, like you're giving up. I know from personal experience, I went from running eight and a half minute miles to ten and a half minute miles overnight. I was shuffling along our local running path, getting passed by everybody. You know, my ego was screaming at me to speed up, but I had to remind myself daily, you know, I'm not losing fitness. I'm building the foundation to run forever. You know, trust the process, the results will surprise you. So here's all you need to get started. You don't really need special gear, a track, or a coach. Just find a flat stretch and follow these three steps. Number one, start by running in place. You want to stand tall, your shoulders relax, eyes forward, chin up, and lift your feet with quick light steps. This is your foundation. You want to get comfortable here before you start to move forward. Number two, up your cadence. Aim for one leg cadence of about 90 steps per minute. You can either use a Metromode app or you can check it manually by timing yourself for 20 seconds to see if your right foot hits the ground 30 times. And then step number three, lean forward at your ankles and just start running. Let that lean carry you forward. Keep your chin up, stay tall, take those short, quick steps. One thing to watch is avoid landing on your forefoot. Aim for a light midfoot strike where your heel just kisses the ground. Your calves will thank you in the long term. And then here's what you should expect. You know, to be honest, for for the first few weeks, it's just gonna feel wrong before it feels right. In the first couple weeks, it feels slow and awkward. You know, you're getting past, your ego's taking a beating, but you know, this is normal. Just stay with the plan. In the third to six weeks, something will start to shift. Your pace will improve at the same effort, and running will start feeling easier. In weeks six to twelve, you should actually now feel it. You you should feel stronger, lighter, more consistent, and this is your aerobic engine uh kicking on, coming online. For me, I started with short, choppy steps at like a 10 and a half minute pace. Within just a few weeks, my running got smoother, my pace increased without jacking up my heart rate, and within 90 days I was comfortably running at a 9-minute mile pace without exceeding my max aerobic heart rate. So progress shows up as ease before it shows up as speed. So give slow jogging a try this week, even just 20 minutes. See how it feels. Have you ever tried running slower to get faster? Just drop a comment below. I'd love to hear where you are in your running right now. And if you're a runner over 50 and you'd like some help with this, I'd like to invite you to join our free forever running club on the school app. You'll see the link in the description below. So if you want to run pain free and actually improve as you age, this is where it all starts. See you next week.