Barefoot running and training tips

New studies are being published on barefoot running. If you have decided to give it a try, proceed with a lot of caution and keep this tips in mind from Daniel E. Lieberman and his team.

At Discover Movement we believe that barefoot training is very beneficial. However, we are hesitant to recommend "long-distance" barefoot running to our athletes due to potential risks involved. Read for yourself what the very latest studies suggest. 

http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

Forefoot striking barefoot or in minimal footwear requires you to use muscles in your feet (mostly in the arch) that are probably very weak. Running this way also requires much more strength in your calf muscles than heel striking because these muscles must contract eccentrically (while lengthening) to ease the heel onto the ground following the landing. Novice forefoot and midfoot strikers typically experience tired feet, and very stiff, sore calf muscles. In addition, the Achilles tendon often gets very stiff. This is normal and eventually goes away, but you can do several things to make the transition successfully:

                                              

• Build up slowly! If you vigorously work out any weak muscles in your body, they will be sore and stiff. Your foot and calf muscles will be no exception. So please, don’t overdo it because you will probably injure yourself if you do too much too soon. 
• Start by walking around barefoot frequently.
• First week: no more than a quarter mile to one mile every other day.
• Increase your distance by no more than 10% per week. This is not a hard and fast rule, but a general guide. If your muscles remain sore, do not increase your training. Take an extra day off or maintain your distance for another week.
• Stop and let your body heal if you experience pain. Sore, tired muscles are normal, but bone, joint, or soft-tissue pain is a signal of injury.
• Be patient and build gradually. It takes months to make the transition.

• If you are currently running a lot, you don’t need to drastically reduce your mileage. Instead, supplement forefoot or midfoot striking with running the way that you normally ran before beginning the transition. Over the course of several months, gradually increase the proportion of forefoot or midfoot striking and reduce the proportion of running in your old style. Use the same 10% per week guideline in increasing the amount of running you do forefoot striking.
• It is essential to stretch your calves and hamstrings carefully and regularly as you make the transition. Massage your calf muscles and arches frequently to break down scar tissue. This will help your muscles to heal and get stronger.
• Listen to your feet. Stop if your arches are hurting, if the top of your foot is hurting, or if anything else hurts! Sometimes arch and foot pain occurs from landing with your feet too far forward relative to your hips and having to point your toes too much. It can also occur from landing with too rigid a foot and not letting your heel drop gently.
• Many people who run very slowly find that forefoot striking actually makes them run a little faster.

Source: http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/index.html

Change equals growth 2010!

Discover Movement Exercise & Performance Systems 2010

Getting consistent results is hard! Enhancing your sport performance or even losing weight is not as easy as the commercial media suggests.

Sure, purchasing a new piece of exercise equipment can give you an instant gratification or a kick-start to the right direction. But as in many other things in life, the true transformation requires time, effort and commitment as well as a great plan of how to get to the goal.

Our bodies are extremely smart! They will adapt to new stimulation faster than we think. Often a great start-up exercise program can turn into ‘a waste of time” or of little benefit already within weeks from the beginning of program.

Change equals growth!

“Change” is what our bodies (and often minds too) want to avoid. “Change” means additional energy consumption and effort from our musculoskeletal, cardiovascular as well as well from our metabolic systems. At the same time, “change” is what truly stimulates new inspiration, new adaptations and thus, new results.

Exercise System = Structured change management

One of our main tasks at Discover Movement is to research and develop systems that will facilitate change within the exercise program in order to gain optimal results.

We aim at providing exercise programs that are not dependent on fancy equipment or the latest fads. The hidden secret of Discover Movement programs is built-in consistent and progressive change that inevitably brings results.

2010 Tools of change

1. If you are a snow-enthusiast or more specifically a skier, we recommend you to take a look at the Ski Exercise Training System that provides months of systematized Ski Conditioning, all no-equipment body-weight programs. www.skiexercisetrainingsystem.com

2. Also 2010 the snowboarders should get serious about improving their ability to learn new skills faster and get more air on jumps. Go to www.snowboardingskool.com and sign up for more information.

3. If your exercise program is pretty much set already, but would like to boost your results with new total body, most-bang-for-you-buck exercises, check out www.1plus3kettlebellmoves.com  for the most important moves you can perform with a kettlebell. This will not break the bank as it goes for under $20 in the beginning of this victorious year.

4. Warming up is one of the most under appreciated and misunderstood moments of working out. What you do to prepare yourself for exercise or sports is potentially the most important 10 minutes of your exercise program. Discover Movement has launched a Weekly Warm-up video blog series that will give ideas of how to make your warm-up more active, dynamic and effective.

5. Finally, in just a few weeks Discover Movement will be introducing a program: Movement Skill development for young athletes. Stay tuned for that!

The New Year will bring many fascinating additions to our services. We hope they will benefit you on your journey into better health, function and performance.

Remember, make yourself accountable to someone who cares about you and your health.

Enjoy the New Year and Thank you very much for 2009!!

Alex & Tommi from Discover Movement 

PS: Steve Macioci, who is the instructor on the Kettlebell moves -video, thinks that exercise can be fun. The man is out of his mind!

Merry Christmas friends!!