skip to Main Content

5 Exercises to Improve Your Child’s Running Form

By the age of 2, most children have begun some form of running, whether it looks more like a fast walk or an uncoordinated shuffle forward. As they get older, their running pattern matures so that by the age of 6, your child should be running with proper form.

You can help your child to develop good running form and run faster with 5 simple exercises that can be performed at home.

1. Exercises to Improve Hip and Ankle Mobility

Improving flexibility in the ankles and hips is essential for proper running form and also helps to protect from injury. Below are two exercises that can be performed by your child to improve their hip and ankle mobility.

  • High knee walks: Have your child take a step forward with their left leg then flex their right hip and bring their right knee to their chest, grabbing their shin to pull their knee close to their chest. They should hold this position for a few seconds then relax and release their leg. Repeat the motion on the opposite leg as they take another step forward. They should do this for several steps to perform multiple repetitions on each leg.
  • Standing calf stretch: Have your child stand with their hands on a wall or countertop. Instruct them to perform a lunge so that their back leg is straight, with toes pointed forward and heel on the ground. Bend their front knee so that they feel a stretch in their back leg. They should hold this position for 30 seconds. Perform twice on each leg.

2. Supine Bridges

The glute muscles are important for running as they generate the force needed to run. One easy exercise that your child can do to develop these muscles is a supine bridge. Have your child lay on their back with their knees bent. Instruct them to lift up their hips, keeping their feet and shoulders on the ground, so that their body is straight from their shoulders to their knees. Hold this position for 5 seconds, then slowly lower to the ground. Repeat for 10 repetitions, and do 2 sets. Performing this exercise 3-5x/week will help increase the strength of their glute musculature.

3. Jumping Exercises

Jumping helps to develop the lower extremity muscles needed to be a strong runner. Have your child do a set of 10 jumping jacks, jump rope or skip forward. These can be part of a warm-up prior to running or performed several times throughout the week.

4. Play Red Light/Green Light

Playing running games with your child can help make running fun! Red Light/Green Light is a great way to work on agility and practice running with sudden starts and stops. Make sure you have plenty of space for your child to run. When you say “Green Light,” your child should start running forward. When you say “Red Light,” they should stop as fast as they can. You can also add “Yellow Light” which indicates they should walk slowly. Mix up the order and timing of when you say Red Light, Green Light or Yellow Light to keep your child guessing. Games such as tag and relay races are also helpful to work on sprinting.

5. Running in Place

One way to help improve your child’s running form is to check their form while they are running in place. Ask your child to run in place for 5 seconds as hard as they can. Watch their form and check for any weaknesses. You can also run in place together with them to model proper technique.

Good running form includes the following: 

  • Lean slightly forward so that the feet are behind the hips.
  • Keep the torso vertical
  • Hold the head still with gaze directly in front of you and ears in line with shoulders
  • Bend the elbows at right angles
  • Keep the arms close to the sides as they pump up and down (fists move from chin to hip)
  • Lift the front knee while straightening the back leg

-Julie Butt, PT, DPT

Back To Top

Patient Reviews

LLA Therapy

Patient Reviews

Crystal Scheibe

Facebook
Great place, glad we found them. Been going to Medina over 2 months now and he loves Lauryn and Kyler. Wish they had more ABA therapy places available... live in Wooster and long drive everyday.

Karrie Swan LaRock

Facebook
My 11 year old son has dyslexia and has made noticeable gains in working At LLA THERAPY. Katie is strong in her approach toward him and also keeps him comfortable enough to perform well. We will continue visiting both the Fairlawn and Hudson offices and recommend them highly.

Ron Monroe

Facebook
My 9 year old just completed about 9 months of weekly speech sessions (due to his stuttering) with Matt Hagge at LLA and we are thrilled with the experience and results. What I thought might be a negative (what kid really wants to go to speech class?) was made very positive by Matt, and my son never hesitated or complained when we talked about class. He really enjoyed it and really took what Matt taught him to heart. His speech has been greatly improved and we definitely recommend LLA. Thank you so much!

Heather Dougherty-Pantoja

Facebook
My son’s Occupational Therapist, Jess, is an amazing OT! She gives practical tips on working with my son at home and school!

Terri Apgar

Facebook
I cannot say enough good things about LLA Therapy. My daughter was a client of Teal Simmons’ for approximately 2 years and was just released from speech therapy! She was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2015 and worked with Teal twice a week. Through Teal’s application of PROMPT therapy, my daughter had age-appropriate speech after one year. All of the staff we interacted with at LLA were absolutely wonderful. They really care about what they do and making sure your child achieves their goals.

Kelli Geisler Davisson

Facebook
LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for my son as well as my family! My son always asks, "When can I go see Ms. Jeannine again, is it Monday??" He has also made huge gains in only 5 months! I would highly recommend LLA and have already shared my experience with friends looking for services!

Victoria Hansford-Price

Facebook
We are so grateful for our Speech Therapist Ms.Teal. We have seen a great improvement with our sons confidence and communication abilities since we have started "Prompt" therapy. What we love the most about LLA and Ms. Teal is that Kohl feels comfortable and relaxed which has played a critical role in his progress. Thank you Ms. Teal for all you have done.

Laura Lee Hogsett

Facebook
They have helped in numerous ways. Speech, OT and behavioral. I've had numerous compliments on my son's progress thanks in very large part to LLA. I would recommend LLA before I recommend our local children's hospitals, though they are good, they don't have the staff that LLA does.

Amy Furukawa

Facebook
We had a great experience with Matt Hagge at LLA! Our Middle School age son was becoming very conscious of his voice, which is nasal due to a cleft palate. Matt helped him to better form his sounds and project his voice in a way that makes the unavoidable nasality less noticeable.Our son is more confident and outgoing & even took on a speaking role in the church play. Matt has the perfect personality to relate with our son, and we would recommend him to anyone needing speech therapy services!

Jessica Havalotti

Facebook
LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for our daughter. I would highly recommend LLA. Miss Grace was so amazing and I can't believe how quickly our daughter showed improvement. Thank you!
Read More