Lean from the ankles, not the waist.

Many runners either run bolt upright or fold at the waist. A waist fold collapses the hips, kills hip extension behind you, and forces your quads to do all the work. Leaning back is worse — it puts the brakes on every step. The fix is a slight whole-body lean sourced at the ankles, with a tall crown and ribs down.

What good looks like

Slight ankle-sourced lean, tall through the crown, ribs down — never a waist fold or back-lean.

Evidence: Coaching consensus: postural lean should come from the ankles with a neutral spine; waist flexion shortens stride behind the body.

Fix it: 2 cues + 1 drill

1 · Cue

Lean from ankles, not waist

2 · Cue

Tall through crown, ribs down

3 · Drill

5x20m fall-forward wall leans

See your own zones scored from one photo.

Analyze my run → or see a sample report

Fix the next zone

Stop Overstriding

Read the fix →

Increase Running Cadence

Read the fix →

Head Position for Runners

Read the fix →

Relaxed Shoulders While Running

Read the fix →

Hip Drop When Running

Read the fix →