What is vertical oscillation in running?
Vertical oscillation is how far your torso rises and falls on each stride, and less bounce at the same pace usually means less wasted energy, though the number a watch pod reports matters less than whether your head visibly bounces on video.
What vertical oscillation means
Every stride you leave the ground and come back down. Your centre of mass rises and falls. Vertical oscillation is the size of that rise and fall. A runner who bounces high uses energy going up that does not move them forward.
Watches with a chest strap or a foot pod report it as a number in centimetres. Some also report a ratio of bounce to stride length. Those numbers come from an accelerometer, not from a camera.
What is a good number?
Watch makers typically show ranges and colour bands rather than one right number. Lower at the same pace is generally better. But the number depends on the device, where it is worn and your height, so two watches on the same runner can disagree.
That is why the number on its own is hard to act on. The question a runner can answer is simpler. Do I bounce more than I need to at my normal pace?
What bounce looks like on video
Film from the side and watch the head. On a smooth runner the head moves in a shallow wave. On a bouncy runner it rises and dips a lot, and you can often see the gap between the frames at toe-off and at midstance.
Bounce usually comes with one or more of these:
- a long push-off with the toes, driving up instead of forward,
- a low cadence with a long airborne stride,
- an upright or leaning back torso.
How to reduce it
Two things help most runners. Raise cadence by about 5 percent so each stride is shorter and lower. And lean a few degrees from the ankles so the push goes forward rather than up. See should you lean forward when running.
The cue:
Run quiet. Feet land softly, head stays level, push back, not up.
Read how to stop bouncing when running for a 4 or 8 week plan.
What Caden shows, and what it does not
Caden does not report a vertical oscillation number in centimetres. It measures from a 2D video, not from a body worn sensor, and it does not pretend to. What it shows is the head position on the breakpoint frames, so you can see how much the head rises between midstance and toe-off, and the Upper body lean dial, which grades the torso lean that often drives bounce. That is enough to see whether you bounce and whether a change worked.
How to check it with Caden
- Tap Run a new analysis and set up a side-on shot. Keep the phone still at hip height so head height is comparable across frames.
- Open Breakpoints. Compare head height in the Midstance frame and the Toe-off frame. A big change is bounce.
- Open the Upper body lean dial. An upright or backward lean often goes with a high bounce.
- Check the cadence chip. A low cadence with visible bounce means cadence is the first lever. Re-film after three to four weeks and compare in Before and after.
FAQ
What is a good vertical oscillation number?
Watch makers show bands rather than one number, and the value varies by device and by height. Lower at the same pace is better. Video tells you whether you visibly bounce, which is the part you can act on.
Does Caden measure vertical oscillation?
Not as a centimetre number. It shows head height across the breakpoint frames and grades torso lean on the upper body lean dial, which together show whether you bounce.
Does a higher cadence reduce bounce?
Usually. Shorter, quicker steps mean less time in the air and less height per stride.