Train hard, win easy!!

Why Natural running? Why NOT heel strike?

I'm about to give a whole bunch of reasons WHY you should transition to natural running(forefoot landing below center of mass, light fast cadence, etc.). I've yet to hear a good argument for heel striking, but I'm looking forward to someone trying because, let's face it, I like to debate!! But until that day, here are some reasons that demonstrate why its worthwhile for every runner at every level to take a step back and analyze what they're doing!

Natural Running is a descriptive term used to describe a group of body mechanics that are associated with the way humans run on natural surfaces without shoes and/or clothes for that matter, if you are so inclined to take it that far. The idea isn't actually to always run barefoot, considering that most of our running is done on an un-natural surface such as concrete or asphalt, but to learn the body mechanics that naturally take place when we remove our shoes. With a little youtube research you can easily see for yourself how much smoother and lighter runners look once this is achieved. And the proof is in the pudding, once you get the hang of it, the feeling of running is absolutely unreal!!!

Critics of this re-evolution will say that the impact forces are simply redistributed to other areas of the body. This was proved incorrect in Dr. Daniel Lieberman's 2010 Harvard study where runners impact forces were measured on a strike plate, both with and without shoes. The specific data can be found online but essentially he proved that the human foot and leg is designed to work like a spring, loading energy on touch down and returning the energy back through the toe off. We call this elastic recoil and it can be very easily demonstrated by jumping rope or simply jumping up and down lightly in place. This is the natural action of the lower body and how it can return energy. Lieberman's study showed that landing on the heel while running had similar impact forces as hitting yourself on the heel with a hammer over and over, while the runners landing on the forefoot, essentially, had no impact transient, which means the foot and leg somehow dissipate the energy before it is transferred, and lost, into the ground.

The reason the foot landing is important in running is because of the relation to the center of mass. Each different action we do throughout the day requires different relationships between the bodies working parts to one another to maintain balance and carry out the function efficiently. In walking, because the action is slow and no inertia is being created, the movement is initiated with the reaching of the leg. Because the body stays upright, the heel comes down first. With running we are adding speed and using gravity to help propel us forward. This is demonstrated clearly in sprinters who use the forward lean to achieve their max velocity as fast as possible. Falling forward and harnessing that energy is the ticket to actually running, as opposed to the common jog which is nothing more than a quick glorified walking movement. So when the body falls forward from standing, one leg has to lift in order to place the foot back under the center of mass to prevent a face plant. The lift is generated from the hip flexor and core working to bring the knee up. When the foot lands, the forefoot, or metartarsal arch, lands first, slowly lowers the heel to touch, then pushes back off through the forefoot. Energy is dissipated, loaded and returned to relaunch the leg for another go!

Good stuff and, when you get it going, it feels great! The ticket is more that the foot wont cause breaking forces as it does with the heal striking gait because the leg isn't making contact in front of the body. This breaking force is the main cause, because of the impact transferring up the kinetic chain, of most running associated injuries. Illiotibial Band Syndrome, plantar fasciitis and shin splints are any easy cure once you get off the heel.

The transition takes months and the achilles tendon and calf muscle group need time to adjust to the extra travel and movement that will be required of them. Some people feel calf soreness or push too hard and cause an achilles injury and quit. Let me assure you, as someone who pushed a bit too fast and gave myself achilles tendonitis, if you make the transition it will make you a better runner. Take it slow, reduce your mileage and trust that you'll get there, just like in the marathon! It's the best thing I have ever done for my running, and I wasn't even looking for a change!

Run Strong workout- Designed by Richard Diaz of diazhumanperformance.com performed by Blue Benadum

2011 Boston Marathon makes history!!!

Wow!! What an incredible race!! From Ryan Hall and his infectious positive attitude and aggressive race strategy, to USA runner Desiree Davlila's stunning second place finish, just 4 seconds behind the leader, this was a marathon to watch! Exciting from start to finish, the conditions were perfect for record worthy times.

In the men's race Ryan Hall set the pace early, faster than world record pace, and continued to run out front for much of the race. Though eventually passed by three runners for a final fourth place finish, two of which were nearly a minute faster than the current world record. This was the best USA marathon performance in history! When challenged on the wisdom of his strategy, Ryan just smiles and says he uses the excitement and runs better that way. None can argue, he ran a 2:04:58, the fastest marathon ever run in any conditions my an American!! The incredible thing for Ryan is the importance of this performance for him because of the scrutinization of the running world for his self coaching in the last year and a sub par half marathon race recently. Way to go Ryan!!!!!!

The women's race was equally exciting with American runner Desiree Davila jockeying back in forth between 1st and 3rd for much of the second half of the race. Even in the last straight away, Davila pulled ahead for a moment and ultimately finished in epic style in 2nd place!! The highest U.S. ranking in a Boston marathon in decades! Kara Goucher came in 5th with an incredible personal best of 2:24:52, just months after giving birth to her son last September! Amazing!

Congratulations to all the finishers of this historic race! A special shout out to good friends Chuck Engle, Molly Paterno, Gina DiCello, Beth Lowen'thon and Ian Sharman for their Boston finishes!! You guys rock!! I'll join you next year!

Newton Running Co-Founder and "Natural Running" author, Danny Abshire, giving some great techniques

Changing the world, starting in Boston...

The goal: to empower at least one person in every lululemon community with a Natural Running Form coaching certification so that every run club will help its members run better, injury free and have more fun doing it!

The beginning: The first lulu store/community I am targeting is Boston in May or June. Myself, along with the creators of Newton Running, will certify a handful of coaches picked by the Boston Lulus on a Friday, let the coaches try out there new skills by leading a run clinic for the cancer survivor kids of Christopher's Haven on Saturday and change the world by Sunday!! And onwards to the next community from there.

Christopher's Haven is a Charity that works with Boston's Mass General Hospital to house kids undergoing treatment for terminal brain cancer. The Natural Running Form Clinic with Christopher's Kids will be filmed for a televised release promoting the power of inspiration and learning to live again after cancer.

Lululemon Athletica's sneak peak video!! Shot and edited by the beautiful and talented Madeline Ell!!

Basic Form- Head to toe...

There are different descriptions and metaphors I use to describe Natural Running Form on a daily basis, pulling from my teachers along the way, this is one set of descriptions....

We're going to start from the ground up with five check in points to self regulate as you are running. It is always good to check in with yourself periodically and measure yourself up to one of these five standards to keep from falling back into old habits.

1. Foot landing- If you stand in place, lift your leg and set it back down, you will notice that your foot lands directly below your center of mass. You will also notice that the last part of the foot to leave the ground on lift-off, is also the first to touch the ground on touch-down. This is the metatarsal arch, or forefoot. March in place and feel the natural balance of the movement. Now turn that into a run in place... same mechanics, eh? Now all you have to do is lean forward, and ta-da!! You're running!!

2. Lift through the knees- You will notice in the drill from part 1 that while marching and running in place, you simply lift the knee to initiate the movement. Lifting through the hip-flexors and core, bringing the knees up is the simplest and easiest motion to associate with while running. Forget all the foot angle, foot strike, knee angle science, it gets to be too much information and a waste of energy. We want running to feel light, effortless, easy and natural!

3. Posture- Balance and body positioning are key in performing any movement efficiently. In running we want to maintain a tall erect posture with a neutral spine. Think of a rope pulling you up from the crown of your head and forward from the center of your chest. If you bend at the waist, to far forward or backward, you lose efficiency. The body should remain tall and straight and lean slightly forward depending on the angle of the road and speed you wish to travel.

4. Arm Swing- The biggest mistake here is crossing the center line by twisting the torso and swinging the shoulders, arms and chest side to side. We want all energy to be directed in the direction of travel. The mistake is common in people with large shoulders and/or chests who use their weight to create inertia. We want the shoulders to stay square, without swinging, and let the arms swing straight and back with a 90 degree bend at the elbow and the thumbs pointed up on a loosely gripped hand. It should feel like you are marching again and pushing back through the elbow to initiate the movement. Your fingernails should lightly buff along your waistline each time. The pivot point for the arm swing is at the shoulder so rotating the shoulder would make it impossible to swing the arms correctly without a noticeable waste of energy.

5. Head Position- Having a neutrally balanced head is important because, at ten pounds, it has the ability to throw your posture completely out of whack. You want to look directly ahead with your gaze either at the horizon or approximately 30 yards ahead. If you must gaze down while on the trail, lower your eyes not your head. Lowering the head causes you to bend at the waist(refer to #3). The other biggest problem is looking up to much. Many runners on the treadmill at the gym will develop this habit when looking up at the television. This action hyper-extends the lower back and disengages the core muscles which you need to bring the knee up(refer to #2). Remember to keep the chin level with the ground and feel a pull up through the crown, not forehead.

Wash, Rinse, Repeat.... ;)

“A simple explanation of metabolic conditioning and fueling the body” -By Blue Benadum

There is a huge lack of understanding amongst the majority of people on exactly what is going on with their bodies. Between nutrition and workouts, the media is flooded with the dos and donts of fitness. The problem is, without an understanding of why we are doing something, it is impossible to properly apply the techniques as needed. In my opinion, a large part of the disconnect between the knowledge of science and lack of understanding in the masses, is due to the lack of a simple, applicable explanation. The following is meant to simplify the process of metabolic conditioning and fueling the body for optimal health, energy and performance.

First of all, the body has two sources of fuel. Fat and Sugar, that’s it! Protein is not a viable source of energy, it is important to rebuild damaged cells, and thats about it. Sugars and fats come in different forms and some metabolize faster than others, no need to go deeper into that at this point.

The second most important detail is how and why the body metabolizes fats and sugars. When the body goes into an increased level of activity, energy is needed to maintain the work. As long as the body is able to get oxygen, the body can metabolize fats and turn them into usable energy. This is called an aerobic state of exercise, which means, in the presence of oxygen. After prolonged activity, the body reaches a point where it can no longer rid the waste fast enough from the lungs. This is considered an anaerobic state, or without oxygen. When the body becomes starved of oxygen, fats can no longer be converted into energy and the body turns to sugar, or glycogen, to use for fuel. At this point, the countdown has begun because the average man can only store between 2,000 to 2,500 calories as sugar in the body. Interestingly, the same average build man would have about 55,000 calories in the form of fats stored throughout the body. Quite obviously, the longer one could maintain an aerobic state and burn fats as the primary fuel source, the longer a given activity could be performed before failure. So to recap, the body goes from rest, to work, into an aerobic state, followed by an anaerobic state, followed by exhaustion or failure to continue.

Now that we have the first two parts of the education we need to put them together. The third most important detail everyone should know is that the body can be, and WILL be, conditioned to be either more aerobic or more anaerobic. If you train 80% of the time aerobically, your body will be a fat burning machine with incredible endurance! If you train above your anaerobic threshold 80% of the time, you will have an explosive and fast body that melts through sugars. This is the ongoing process known as the metabolic adaptation to exercise.

Before we finish up with an example of proper application of this education, I want to give you the single greatest tool modern technology has come up with, in regards to attaining an accurate level of physical output from the body, or biofeedback. This is the heart rate monitor along with a heart rate test. By getting a HR test, you will be able to extract a specific HR number associated with your aerobic state and your anaerobic threshold. Knowing this information and training with a HR monitor, allows you to know when and how you are training in a given energy source and therefore allows you to know how you are conditioning the body to perform.

Last off, the application of the education. This is where you need to think. Depending on your goals, the challenge of properly conditioning your body to its needs becomes important. For instance; are you training for a marathon or to be an Olympic weight lifter, are you trying to tone up and lose excess body fat or trying to put on lean muscle weight.

Because 9 out of 10 of you would like to be more “ripped”, or toned, and struggle to get that result, I’ll give an explanation of the most common scenario.

Most “cardio”, what many consider their aerobic training, is now done in a class setting (ie- spinning, cardio boxing, cardio dance). Because the teacher wants to give everyone a “killer” work out, the intensity is too high and the class goes instantly into an anaerobic state and starts tapping into the sugars from the start of the workout. For the next hour, the class is essentially held at an anaerobic level. This isn’t necessarily bad because it makes you fit, but fat is not being utilized. Furthermore, the body is being taught to prefer sugar as the predominant fuel source.

To tone and improve endurance, or strip those last impossible pounds; low intensity aerobic work. Supplement strength routines into 20% of the total weekly hours of training. As you adapt to the work you can periodize these percentages and experiment with the amount of time you spend in each energy zone. Like a month of “polishing” where you do 60% of aerobic base training and supplement 40% strength, or anaerobic, training, for example.

An example of training with a HR monitor to achieve endurance: If you know that your body becomes aerobic at 130 beats per minute and crosses the anaerobic threshold at 157 bpm, you would know that by wearing a HR monitor and maintaining an intensity somewhere around 145-155 bpm for up to an hour, and even longer as endurance improves, you are burning body fat and conditioning the body to achieve better endurance while recognizing fats as the preferred source of energy. Besides improved endurance, the result would be a lower body fat percentage and would therefore require a higher fat intake in the diet of a leaner athlete in order to maintain high energy levels.

If the intention is to build a body capable of short explosive bursts, where endurance is not needed and fat burning is not a concern. You would do most of the weekly hours per week in an anaerobic state. The biggest mistake in athletes trying to achieve this type of conditioning is improper fueling, typically taking in too much protein, not enough sugar, or carbohydrates. Remember, this type of training is fueled almost completely from glycogen (sugar from carbohydrates or simple sugars). Many strength trainers wonder why they have low energy and can’t get the most out of workouts. A carbohydrate rich meal for pre workout and high protein meal for post workout is the key to optimizing performance and making consistent athletic gains.