That’s when it really hit me: we can’t really apply the notion of “we were Born to Run” to the modern urban situation. Our ancestors may have run barefoot, but they didn’t do it on concrete. Natural ground, whether it is grass or dirt, has built in cushioning. It provides a dampening effect for every step, reducing the force that is transferred to our body when we run.
Should you hire a personal trainer?
I estimate that take home programs were effective for probably 20% of the clients who got them. For everyone else, it ranged from a waste of their money to being done with such poor form that it was dangerous.
These days most of my clients workout with me, yielding much better results for them. I do provide take home programs on occasion, but now I screen clients for them. I need to be confident that a client meets three criteria before I will create a take home program for them:
1. Highly self-motivated
2. Have great body awareness
3. Have access to decent equipment
If you work out on your own, or are thinking of buying a book to start a home workout, or going to seek a trainer to put together a home workout plan for you, consider whether it is actually your best option.
Would you pass my test?
My barefoot running journey: the training plan
I had no choice but to agree to run it. And so I am now training for a running race for the first time in about a decade. It’s a 5-mile (8km) race, which I think is more than I should do without building a base. Which brings me to the second reason I have flip-flopped on not having a training plan. Over the past couple of weeks, my “no training” plan seems to have evolved into a “no-running” plan.
Top 11 internet fitness articles of all time
I recently noticed that I tend to refer to the same articles over and over again, in articles, emails, and on forum posts. Clearly these are the ones that I deem outstanding. Each time I go to refer to them, I have to dig a bit to find it. If only there was some way to mark websites of interest, like in a book…It then occurred to me that others might like to have easy access to these outstanding articles, and so I decided to create my all time top 10 list of great blog articles. But why do a top 10 when you can do a top 11?
My barefoot running journey: Testing the shoes
For some reason I put them on one more time. This time, they didn’t hurt. At all. I wore them for a good 2 and a half hours while training clients and then during my own lifting session. No problems. Needless to say, I’m pretty happy that I didn’t just return them. I mean, did you see how awesome they look?
This afternoon marks an exciting moment for both me and my saucy new shoes: the first outdoor run!
So begins my barefoot running journey
But as I looked at how I was standing in my running shoes with the orthotics in them, having just been listening to Born to Run, I started to second guess. And I decided it was time to give this barefoot running concept a try. Well, more specifically, the minimalist shoe concept. I don’t want to actually go barefoot, but there are now many shoes out there that have little to no support. If you believe the message from Born to Run (and I do), then you will be of the opinion that most running shoes are actually bad for us, and that when it comes to running shoes, less is more.
Programming adjustment for single limb training
The primary reason that I love unilateral training is that it helps to identify strength and flexibility differences from side to side. I see these across all types of people, but especially among those who play a sport that uses one side more than the other. If you think about it, this is almost every sport with the exception of running, swimming and cycling (If I missed one please let me know in the comments below). Even those sports will tend to have a unilateral element to it:
Should personal trainers work out?
I’ve given it some more thought, and have come to a slightly different conclusion. I maintain that our goals should direct our training and if our goals differ from those of our clients; so should our workouts…
What should you eat? Your body will tell you
Let’s face it, the field of nutrition has become more religion than science, with each sect being led by some assortment of post-hole diggers. Which PhD is right and which ones are wrong? What if they’re all right and they’re all wrong? In other words, what if there’s no such thing as THE ONE TRUE DIET?
My personal training studio in Ottawa is finally open!
Let’s see, there’s the awesome training with great people (semi-private training is way more fun). That should be enough right there. But if you’re still wondering about the equipment:
Dual power rack means 2 people can be either squatting or bench pressing at once
2 chin up bars with superbands for assisted pullups
2 TRX suspension trainers
a 10 foot slideboard for lateral conditioning (hello skiers, hockey, tennis and ultimate players!)
a Freemotion functional trainer for all your cable needs
a multitude of bands and floor anchor for anti-rotation training
medicine balls and a cinder block wall to throw them against
stability balls and a wobble board