SPM in Running: Understanding Cadence, Importance, and Improvement

What Does SPM Mean in Running?

SPM in running stands for Steps Per Minute, also known as cadence. It is a crucial metric that quantifies the total number of times your feet make contact with the ground within a 60-second period, encompassing both left and right foot strikes.

Understanding SPM: The Basics

Steps Per Minute (SPM), or running cadence, is a fundamental biomechanical metric for runners. It measures the frequency of your foot strikes, providing insight into your running form and efficiency. A higher SPM indicates shorter, quicker steps, while a lower SPM suggests longer, slower strides. Understanding and optimizing your SPM is paramount for improving running economy, reducing injury risk, and enhancing overall performance.

Why is SPM Important?

Optimizing your SPM offers several significant benefits for runners:

• Improved Running Economy: A higher cadence, often associated with shorter strides, can lead to more efficient running. Shorter steps typically mean less time spent airborne and less vertical oscillation (bouncing), which conserves energy. This allows you to maintain a given pace with less effort, making you a more economical runner.
• Reduced Impact Forces and Injury Risk: A lower SPM often correlates with a longer stride length, where the foot tends to land further in front of the body (overstriding). This leads to a greater braking force upon impact and higher peak loads on joints like the knees, hips, and ankles. Increasing SPM encourages a midfoot or forefoot strike directly under the body's center of mass, reducing these harmful impact forces and lowering the risk of common running injuries such as patellofemoral pain syndrome, IT band syndrome, and shin splints.
• Enhanced Speed and Performance: While stride length also plays a role in speed, an optimal cadence allows for a quicker turnover of steps. This can contribute to increased speed, particularly when combined with an appropriate stride length. Elite runners often exhibit very high cadences, allowing them to maintain high speeds with efficient ground contact.

What's an "Ideal" SPM?

The concept of an "ideal" SPM is often debated, with the 180 steps per minute benchmark frequently cited. This number gained prominence from coaching observations, notably by legendary coach Jack Daniels, who noted that most elite distance runners exhibited a cadence of 180 SPM or higher.

However, it's crucial to understand that 180 SPM is not a universal magic number. An individual's optimal SPM can vary significantly based on several factors:

• Running Speed: As speed increases, cadence naturally increases. A runner's SPM at an easy jog will be lower than their SPM during a sprint.
• Height and Leg Length: Taller individuals with longer legs may naturally have a slightly lower cadence at a given pace compared to shorter runners, as their stride length will be inherently longer.
• Terrain: Running uphill or downhill, or on uneven trails, can influence cadence.
• Fatigue: As a runner fatigues, their cadence may drop as their stride lengthens and efficiency decreases.
• Experience Level: Beginner runners often have a lower cadence and tend to overstride.

The goal isn't necessarily to hit 180 SPM but rather to find a cadence that feels natural, efficient, and minimizes impact for your body and your running style. For many recreational runners, gradually increasing their current SPM by 5-10% can be a good starting point for improvement.

How to Measure Your SPM

Measuring your SPM is straightforward with modern technology:

• Wearable Technology: Most GPS running watches (Garmin, Apple Watch, Coros, etc.) and dedicated foot pods automatically track and display your real-time SPM during a run and provide average SPM data post-run.
• Smartphone Apps: Many running apps can also use your phone's accelerometer to estimate cadence.
• Manual Counting: For a low-tech approach, count the number of times one foot strikes the ground in 15 seconds, then multiply by four to get steps per minute for that foot. Double this number to get your total SPM (assuming a symmetrical stride).

Strategies to Improve Your SPM

If your current SPM is significantly lower than average (e.g., consistently below 160 SPM at an easy pace) and you experience frequent running-related injuries or feel inefficient, consider these strategies to gradually increase your cadence:

• Focus on Shorter, Quicker Steps: Consciously try to take more steps per minute without increasing your speed. Imagine your feet are lightly tapping the ground.
• Metronome Training: Use a running metronome app or a watch with a metronome feature. Set it to a target SPM (e.g., 5-10% higher than your current average) and try to match your foot strikes to the beat.
• Running Drills: Incorporate drills into your warm-up or easy runs that emphasize quick foot turnover:
  • High Knees: Focus on quick, light steps with knees driven upwards.
  • Butt Kicks: Emphasize bringing your heels quickly towards your glutes.
  • Quick Feet/Ladder Drills: Rapid, short steps.
• Strength Training: Stronger glutes, hamstrings, and calves can help you generate power for quicker push-offs and maintain form, facilitating a higher cadence.
• Plyometrics: Exercises like skipping, bounding, and box jumps can improve reactive strength and elasticity, enabling a faster ground contact time.
• Hill Training: Running uphill naturally encourages a higher cadence and shorter stride, making it an excellent way to practice increased turnover.

Considerations and Cautions

• Gradual Changes: Do not attempt to drastically increase your SPM overnight. Small, incremental increases (e.g., 5-10 steps per minute over several weeks) are more effective and reduce injury risk.
• Listen to Your Body: A higher cadence should feel lighter and more efficient, not strained. If forcing a higher SPM causes discomfort or feels unnatural, reassess.
• Not a Standalone Metric: While important, SPM is just one piece of the running form puzzle. Stride length, vertical oscillation, ground contact time, and overall posture also play critical roles.
• Form Over Number: The ultimate goal is to achieve an efficient, injury-free running form. Forcing a specific SPM without considering other biomechanical factors may be counterproductive. Focus on a light, quick, and controlled foot strike that lands underneath your body.

By understanding SPM and thoughtfully integrating strategies to optimize it, runners can unlock greater efficiency, reduce injury risk, and enhance their overall performance on the road or trail.