Ticking Time Bomb, How Children's Shoes Cause Problem Later in Life

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Ticking Time Bomb, How Children's Shoes Cause Problem Later in Life

What's wrong with this photo? Plenty! The young boy's shoes will screw up his gait and cause muscle imbalance. And he's stretching!

by Dr. Phil Maffetone

Twenty years ago, a review of shoes and gait in the journal Pediatrics outlined some key factors that affect children’s feet. Pediatric orthopedist Lynn Staheli, M.D., from the Children's Hospital and Medical Center, Seattle, Washington, listed these important points:

1.) Optimum foot development occurs in the barefoot environment.

2.) Stiff and compressive footwear may cause deformity, weakness, and loss of mobility.

3.) The term "corrective shoes" is a misnomer.

4.) Shoe selection for children should be based on the barefoot model.

5.) Physicians should avoid and discourage the commercialization and "media" obsession with faddish footwear.

6.) Merchandising of the "corrective shoe" is harmful to the child, expensive for the family, and a discredit to the medical profession.

The Nike V Infant toddler shoe.

Perhaps the most offensive aspect of the footwear industry is the harm it deliberately inflicts upon unsuspecting children by encouraging them to wear bad shoes. Between the twin forces of television and parental encouragement, little Johnny or Jill are defenseless. In particular, there's the potential damage to the young developing body and brain. And, this could be a primary cause of physical imbalances, injury and disability and later as adults.

It was evident from Dr. Staheli’s article that shoe companies in 1991 were already heavily marketing unhealthy children’s shoes, playing on the parent’s emotions and those of older children. Today, shoe companies continue to use clever million-dollar advertising campaigns to encourage kids to ask for, and parents to buy, harmful shoes. And it’s obviously successful. The U.S. children’s footwear industry, which includes shoes for kids up to 16 years of age, generates over $5 billion annually, where products are made for cuteness and style rather than function.

What’s the best shoe for your child? None—barefoot is best and nothing comes close. Children should be barefoot, most, if not all the time. This provides the optimal stimulation of the foot by the ground, which helps train the brain for proper gait and other natural movements that children require from the start.

When a shoe becomes absolutely necessary, Dr. Staheli says it should be lightweight, flexible, shaped more or less quadrangularly, and should not have arch supports and stiff sides. She says that pediatric orthopedists strongly oppose "corrective" or "orthopedic" shoes for straightening foot and leg deformities like flat feet, pigeon toes, knock-knees, or bowlegs, claiming there’s no evidence that these so-called therapeutic shoes are effective. Instead most of the supposed deformities in children naturally correct themselves. How you might ask?

Being barefoot is the best way for that to happen. Most healthcare professionals who properly understand a child’s body mechanics know this. (Yet there are many “experts” who recommend the regular use of shoes for young children, but they are usually aligned with the shoe industry or companies making orthotics and other corrective devices.)

Any shoe has the potential to seriously disturb the gait of a young child. His or her sensitive feet sense footwear much more than the adult foot. Even relatively minor pressure on a child’s foot from a shoe can begin deforming it, leading to a permanent problem.

During the first year following the acquisition of independent walking, most of the child’s gait activity, in particular, the neurological memories—the communication between brain and body—becomes well established.

Barefoot is best for children.

During this time, if the feet are not allowed to develop well, gait and balance disorders begin to occur. In many children, these irregularities are often subtle (the “clumsy kid”) while others more serious such as increased vulnerability to physical injury and various neurological imbalances anywhere in the body, including those associated with eye movement.

The full development of a child’s balance and compensatory mechanisms, and overall gait mechanics, takes years to mature. While the first five years of life are most delicate, neuromuscular interference from footwear can occur at any and every stage along the way into early adulthood. This can lead to more serious and chronic physical imbalances later in life, such as a running injury or back pain, and even amplify the stress caused by imperfect shoes.

Earlier this year, Caleb Wegener, Ph.D., and colleagues from the University of Sydney, Australia, reviewed the problems associated with a variety of different shoes worn by children for walking and running. Their study, published in the Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, states that, “Shoes affect the gait of children. With shoes, children walk faster by taking longer steps with greater ankle and knee motion and increased tibialis anterior activity. Shoes reduce foot motion and increase the support phases of the gait cycle. During running, shoes reduce swing phase leg speed, attenuate some shock and encourage a rearfoot strike pattern.” In short, these are some of the specific items that are a recipe for physical and neurological disaster, and the start of a process of chronic injury and disability that could last a lifetime.

These researchers noted Dr. Staheli’s 20-year old suggestion that shoe design should be based on the barefoot model. But some of the shoes they tested were designed on these principles and still caused gait irregularities in children. 

The researchers also state that, “Further attention could also be paid to reducing the weight of shoes which may be responsible for some of the [abnormal] changes found in children’s walking and running gait.” (It’s interested that this type of “free” information is available to shoe manufacturers but may never be utilized—instead, they test their shoes on machines, not real people.)

Among the untold problems that wearing shoes can impose in the developing child is the impact on the brain. From a baby’s very first delicate steps, each walking and running gait pattern significantly influences brain development. These actions affect lifelong patterns in the nervous system, even beyond the gait and balance mechanisms—they include postural habits, the ability to compensate to physical stresses, and the growth of muscles, bones, ligaments, tendons and other tissues. Normally, with each muscle contraction and relaxation, and every joint movement, important neurological patterns are created by the brain, just like with any memory. Shoes distort this process, and instead, the brain learns and designs irregular patterns of movement throughout the body.

Most childen's shoes are health hazards. It's like handing them "smokes"-- which is what candy companies did for many years.

In addition, other areas of the brain can be impaired. Normally, during early development in children, all the important neurological input from body movements trigger increased blood flow throughout the brain. This brings in oxygen and many other necessary nutrients to promote growth and development in areas that include learning, speech, and memory. Without the natural muscle contraction in the feet, for example, especially in the very small immature muscles that move the toes, impairment from wearing thick, oversupported modern shoes can reduce the brain maturing process.

In children plagued with posture- and gait-related problems, avoiding wearing shoes is even more important. This can help stimulate the above-mentioned neurological functions, which can, in itself, be very therapeutic. Rather than attempting the use of “corrective” shoes and related devices, such as inserts or braces, finding and correcting the causes, including  neuromuscular imbalance, is important.

Many physical ailments in adults could begin at this young age. Think about all the physical problems you’ve had in your life—it’s possible that many began during development of the important brain-body mechanisms due to significant interference by shoes.

It seems silly to even be discussing the issue of children’s shoes. Most people don’t question the fact that eating junk food is bad for kids, or smoking cigarettes. The level of brain and body stress from wearing bad shoes can be just as damaging. The most logical, effective, and healthiest way for children to develop their whole body is by being barefoot.

This essay originally appeared on Dr. Phil Maffetone's website. For more information on the do's and don'ts of children's shoes, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella has a lot more on the kids page on hisTwo Rivers Tread website. 

A Quick Guide to the Paleo Diet for Athletes

© 2005 Loren Cordain, PhD and Joe Friel, MS  (update due this year, patiently waiting) 

The Paleo Diet for Athletes was released in October, 2005 from Rodale Press. Written by Loren Cordain, Ph.D., author of The Paleo Diet, and Joe Friel, M.S., author of numerous bestselling books on training for endurance athletes, the book applies the concept of eating as our Stone Age ancestors ate to the extraordinary demands of training for serious endurance sports. Although it is now the 21 st century, athletes still have Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) bodies. There has been no significant change in the human genome in the past 10,000 years. Physiologically speaking, we are still Paleolithic athletes.

The Paleo Diet

The basic premise of Dr. Cordain’s research on paleolithic nutrition is that certain foods are optimal for humans and others are nonoptimal. The optimal foods are those that we have been eating for most of our time on Earth—more than 4 million years. Only in the last 10,000 years, a mere blink of the eye relative to our species’ existence, have we been eating nonoptimal foods. Unfortunately, these foods comprise the bulk of what western society eats today and include such foods as grains, dairy and legumes. Given that our bodies have not changed, we are simply not welladapted to these nonoptimal foods and they moderate health and peak performance.

On the other hand, we have been eating optimal foods – vegetables, fruits, and lean animal protein – for hundreds of thousands of years and we are fully adapted to them. Science tells us that these foods also best meet our nutritional needs. Eat these and you will thrive. Avoid or strictly limit them and your health and performance will be compromised.

Paleo for Athletes

Serious athletes, however, when it comes to immediately before, during, and directly after workouts, need to bend the rules of the Paleo Diet a bit since we're placing demands on the body that were not normal for our Stone Age ancestors. Hour after hour of sustained high energy output and the need for quick recovery are the serious athlete’s unique demands. This requires some latitude to use nonoptimal foods on a limited basis. The exceptions may best be described by explaining the athlete’s 5 stages of daily eating relative to exercise.

Stage I: Eating Before Exercise

In brief, we recommend that athletes eat low to moderate glycemic index carbohydrates at least two hours prior to a hard or long workout or race. There may also be some fat and protein in this meal. All foods should be low in fiber. Take in 200 to 300 calories for every hour remaining until exercise begins. If eating two hours prior is not possible, then take in 200 or so calories 10 minutes before the workout or race begins.

Stage II: Eating During Exercise

During long or hard workouts and races you will need to take in high glycemic index carbohydrates mostly in the form of fluids. Sports drinks are fine for this. Find one that you like the taste of and will drink willingly. Realize that events lasting less than about an hour (including warmup) don’t require any carbohydrate. Water will suffice for these. A starting point for deciding how much to take in is 200 to 400 calories per hour modified according to body size, experience and the nature of the exercise (longer events require more calories than short).

Stage III: Eating Immediately After

In the first 30 minutes postworkout (but only after long and/or highly intense exercise) and postrace use a recovery drink that contains both carbohydrate and protein in a 4-5:1 ratio. You can buy a commercial product such as Ultrafit Recovery™ (www.ultrafit.com) for this. Or you can make your own by blending 16 ounces of fruit juice with a banana, 3 to 5 tablespoons of glucose (such as CarboPro) depending on body size, about 3 tablespoons of protein powder, especially from egg or whey sources and two pinches of salt. This 30minute window is critical for recovery. It should be your highest priority after a hard workout or race.

Stage IV: Eating for Extended Recovery

For the next few hours (as long as the preceding challenging exercise lasted) continue to focus your diet on carbohydrates, especially moderate to high glycemic load carbohydrates along with protein at a 4-5:1 carbprotein ratio. Now is the time to eat nonoptimal foods such as pasta, bread, bagels, rice, corn and other foods rich in glucose as they contribute to the necessary carbohydrate recovery process. Perhaps the perfect Stage IV foods are raisins, potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams.

Stage V: Eating for LongTerm

Recovery For the remainder of your day, or until your next Stage I, return to eating a Paleo Diet by focusing on optimal foods. For more information on the Paleo Diet go to www.thepaleodiet.com or read The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

How Much Protein, Carbs and Fat Should I Eat?

The macronutrient requirement changes with the demands of the training season and so should be periodized along with training. We recommend that athletes maintain a rather consistent protein intake year round. As a percentage of total calories this will typically be in the range of 20-25% for athletes. This is on the low end of what our Stone Age ancestors ate due to the athlete’s increased intake of carbohydrate in Stages I to IV which dilutes protein as a percentage of daily calories.

On the other hand, periodization of diet produces significant and opposing swings in the athlete’s fat and carbohydrate intake as the training seasons change. During the base (general preparation) period the diet shifts toward an increased intake of fat while carbohydrate intake decreases. At this time in the season when a purpose of training is to promote the body’s use of fat for fuel, more healthy fat is consumed—in the range of 30% of total calories—with carbohydrate intake at around 50%. During the build and peak (specific preparation) periods the intensity of training increases placing greater demands on the body for carbohydrate to fuel exercise. At this latter time of the season Stages III and IV become increasingly critical to the athlete’s recovery. Carbohydrate intake increases accordingly to around 60% of total calories with fat intake dropping to around 20%.

During times of the year when training is greatly reduced (peaking/tapering and transition periods) the athlete must limit caloric intake to prevent unwanted weight gain.

Why is the Paleo Diet Beneficial?

Health and fitness are not synonymous. Unfortunately, many athletes are fit but unhealthy. Frequent illness, injury and overtraining reduce performance potential. The Paleo Diet for Athletes significantly improves health long term. Compared with the commonly accepted athlete’s diet, the Paleo Diet:

• Increases intake of branched chain amino acids (BCAA). Benefits muscle development and anabolic function. Also counteracts immunosuppression common in endurance athletes following extensive exercise.
• Decreases omega-6: omega-3 ratio. Reduces tissue inflammations common to athletes while promoting healing. This may include asthmatic conditions common in athletes.
• Lowers body acidity. Reduces the catabolic effect of acidosis on bone and muscle while stimulating muscle protein synthesis. This is increasingly important with aging.
• Is high in trace nutrients. Vitamins and minerals are necessary for optimal health and longterm recovery from exercise. The most nutrient dense foods are vegetables and seafood. On average, vegetables have nearly twice the nutrient density of grains.

Excerpt from the Paleo Diet for Athletes

Training for endurance sports such as running, cycling, triathlon, rowing, swimming, and cross country skiing places great demands on the body, and the athlete is in some stage of recovery almost continuously during periods of heavy training. The keys to optimum recovery are sleep and diet. Even though we recommend that everyone eat a diet similar to what our Stone Age ancestors ate, we realize that nutritional concessions must be made for the athlete who is training at a high volume in the range of 10 to 35 or more hours per week of rigorous exercise. Rapid recovery is the biggest issue facing such an athlete. While it’s not impossible to recover from such training loads on a strict Paleo Diet, it is somewhat more difficult to recover quickly. By modifying the diet before, during, and immediately following challenging workouts, the Paleo Diet provides two benefits sought by all athletes: quick recovery for the next workout, and superior health for the rest of your life.

For more information on The Paleo Diet for Athletes go to…
www.thepaleodiet.com 
www.trainingbible.com

An interesting study on the macronutrients of your day's first meal setting the type of fuel you'll burn the rest of the day.  Link is here: Bacon+Eggs For Breakfast

Quote:  

...research team found that fat intake at the time of waking seems to turn on fat metabolism very efficiently and also turns on the animal's ability to respond to different types of food later in the day. When the animals were fed carbohydrates upon waking, carbohydrate metabolism was turned on and seemed to stay on even when the animal was eating different kinds of food later in the day.

"The first meal you have appears to program your metabolism for the rest of the day," said study senior author Martin Young, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine in the UAB Division of Cardiovascular Disease. "This study suggests that if you ate a carbohydrate-rich breakfast it would promote carbohydrate utilization throughout the rest of the day, whereas, if you have a fat-rich breakfast, you have metabolic plasticity to transfer your energy utilization between carbohydrate and fat."

I don't avoid carbs, but I do avoid breakfast carbs (and a max of 50g / day).  You will feel the difference if you try, and you'll not be 'dying for lunch'.  Experiment with yourself, we're all an experiment-of-one.  

Low Carb for Athletes

Sound familiar?  "supplementing with simple carbs effectively turns off one's ability to access fat stores and use them for fuel"

Very Low Carb Performance with Peter Attia

August 23 20:46 in Exercise, Low Carb High Fat, Salt

Conventional wisdom says you need to eat lots of carbs to exercise. As you probably know that’s not true. But how low carb can you go — and are there even benefits to performance from eating extremely low carb?

Peter Attia is a medical doctor and an endurance athlete. He’s learned from the world’s biggest experts on keto-adaptation (such as dr Stephen Phinney) and in the last few years he has relentlessly self-experimented.

Here dr Attia shares his insights on very low carb (ketogenic) diets and physical and mental performance.  

Foot Strengthening by Mobility WOD

K Star and Brian fly through these mobility movements that are great lower leg looseners.  Watch this video a few times to get the gist, and find your own nightly mobility movements that work for you.  

Polar RC3

This watch looks pretty awesome.  I've had such good luck with Garmin products that I feel some brand loyalty, but the price is right on this Polar device!   

Today Polar announced their new RC3 integrated GPS watch – the first fully integrated GPS watch coming from Polar.  This unit primarily targets runners with a bit of cycling, though it can also be used in some multi-sport scenarios.
And for clarification, here’s a quick refresher on similar sounding watches from Polar:
Polar RC3 = This watch, simplified running watch with integrated GPS Polar RCX3 = Simplified running watch (not GPS integrated, but supports G5 GPS pod) Polar RCX5 = Triathlon focused/advanced watch (not GPS integrated, but supports G5 GPS pod)

"First Look" style review here

Crossover Gait

Just be more stable!  The first time I considered where (in relation to our hips) our feet should fall is while watching "Running the Sahara".  In this documentary, the elite, amazing runners complained that in running in the desert, they would frequently have to run in the tire track of the support vehicle.  That meant their feet would follow a narrow line and that was contrary to their normal running style.  That comment rang in my head while i'd run i'd purposely "straddle" sidewalk seams to ensure my feet landed below the hip sockets from whence they sprout.   

I know my efforts in a slightly wider landing led to my 5km PR - there are indisputable torsional benefits gained by not crossing over. 

Walk on a piece of string or along a seam in the concrete or walk on the lane dividing lines on your local high school or college track. What happens ? If you walk on a single line you will find yourself more unstable as compared to walking with a foot fall directly under your hips and knees the way it is supposed to occur. The limbs are a pendulum and economy and biomechanical efficiency as well as injury reduction will occur when the parts operate in the most effective manner.
We have all of our cross over runners, as you see her doing in the first half of this video before she corrects to anti-cross over (ie. natural), first walk on a line. In our case we use the metal drainage grate outside our office that you see in the video for just that purpose, they walk the grate. Then they run the grate. We ask them to feel ....... want to read the rest ? head over to our blog here for the entire article.

http://thegaitguys.tumblr.com/post/29486393822/the-cross-over-running-techniq...


Here are the other related cross over links here on youtube:
Part 1: http://youtu.be/LG-xLi2m5Rc
Part 2: http://youtu.be/WptxNrj2gCo
Part 3: http://youtu.be/oJ6ewQ8YUAA

^^Thanks Gait Guys for articulating what I had to learn the hard way :)

This Is America's Sugar Addiction - An Infographic

Created by: www.OnlineNursingPrograms.com

Improve Running Performance With CrossFit

How to Balance CrossFit With Running

The tricky part is programming CrossFit workouts into your running schedule. Your goal should be to supplement your running with CrossFit workouts, not the other way around. Keep in mind that CrossFit’s motto is “not specializing;” the workouts are about being good at everything and not great at one thing.

This is why programming your CrossFit workouts remains incredibly important. You need to perform WODs that are metabolically relevant to running. Doing 5 sets of 1 rep of back squats with hopes of setting a personal record isn’t the right type of workout. But a WOD that involves rounds of 4 to 5 different exercises at a moderate weight will more closely resemble the energy system used in a 10K or half marathon. Throw out your junk mileage days and replace them with CrossFit workouts.

By incorporating CrossFit strategically into your weekly workout plan, you can reduce the volume of mileage and replace it with a strength-training day, done in a circuit style fashion, at an anaerobic pace. These workouts can be fun and beneficial, and will build the mental toughness and conditioning that will make you a better runner. One to two CrossFit workouts a week are all that you need, depending on your level of fitness and race goals.

More: Strength Train to Improve Running Economy

CrossFit workouts will improve fitness for runners of all distances. If you are new to running or cross-training, or even if you are a veteran, start with one CrossFit workout a week for 4 to 6 weeks. As your fitness level progresses and your body adapts to the new stress, you can add an additional workout each week.

If your race goals are to have fun and finish the event, complete two CrossFit WODS a week. If you are an experienced runner or a novice and you are looking to set a personal record in an upcoming race, start with one CrossFit WOD per week; build up to two workouts a week.

If you’re training for a marathon, one CrossFit workout a week is all that is needed because the demands of marathon training require more rest. Four to six weeks before the race approaches, cut back to one WOD per week. This will allow your body to recover fully.

How to Manage High Volume and Intensity

There are two ways to improve your endurance: with low-intensity long runs and high-intensity intervals and cross-training. You do not want to limit yourself to only one way. CrossFit is high-intensity training that uses sprints, weights and gymnastics. Many running coaches and purists believe in high volume mileage training followed by intensity. Your training program needs both volume and intensity in running and cross-training.

The running off-season presents an opportunity to accomplish these needs. When you’re not training for a specific race and focusing on building base mileage, the amount of total weekly mileage should be higher and the volume of cross-training workouts should total two per week.

More: High Mileage or High Intensity?

Keep in mind that there are dangers that could result from high volume and high intensity in both running and cross-training. Overuse injuries to bones, tendons and joints, and general fatigue symptoms are common problems that come with hard training. Learn to read your body—our bodies give us warning signs, so listen to them. Lower your mileage, cut out, or cut back on the CrossFit WODs as necessary. It is always better to miss a week of training rather than a month or more because of an injury.

Many runners and coaches will not agree with me, but don’t be afraid to give CrossFit a try. Done correctly and planned properly, your running performance will improve.

B2R Shoes, yay! (First Look)

I was happy when my former running coach, Eric Orton, said he had a line of shoes coming out.  Eric taught me the importance of cadence, running economy, running-specific leg, core and glute strength (in other words, everything I know).   I am all ears when Eric suggests a shoe, so him 'making' a shoe! Even better!  <<--in summary, I had high expectations.  

The first Born2Run shoe is road shoe available in red or flourescent yellow.  The zero drop (0mm heel to midfoot differential) has become a requirement for running shoes for me.  The shoe is very lightweight at about 7ounces, comparable to Merrells or the latest Vibrams.  When I saw the stack height I feared there would be little ground feel.  The split toe, or cloven sole, seemed novel.  I have Vibram five fingers and Zem Gears so I'm no stranger to having things between my toes.  

I chose a true to size for me.  Sizing is a little bit of a science to me.  It's not about where your toe lands in the front of the shoe, it's about lining up the flexible part of the shoe with the flexible part of your foot <see pic>.  My toes' bend lines up with the natural bend in the shoe (as measured from the heel) perfectly.  <In summary the distance from your heel to your toes' hinge point should match the hinge point of the shoe>.  Fortunately, in this case, this shoe is flexible enough that if you're off a bit it won't matter.  

Putting the shoe on I first noticed how thin the material between my toe was!  It was unnoticeable.  As is explained repeatedly on mobilitywod.com, the gap between my big toe and the rest of my toes gets bigger as my feet get stronger - the cloven shoe helps with that.  Some people with weaknesses or tightly crammed toes may not find this as natural a fit as I did.  I then noticed even though the stack height is tall, the material is thin enough that I had great ground feel.  I could tell if I was standing on a quarter.  The shoe comes with two pairs of tabi socks, so i paired them together.  I then tried my injinji toe socks and found them to also be a great fit, unobtrusive even.  

My first day of wearing them, I took them though a crossfit workout that included box jumps, rope climbs, weightlifting, and running with weights.  The shoe performed very well and didn't slip when sweaty. In fact, the upper gripped the rope well!  The shoe also gave good lateral stability and didn't roll across my foot the way Softstar runamocs, or Zem Gears do for such workouts.

So far I have run in them on paved trails, roads, sidewalks and track for 5-9 mile runs.  My feet felt a little tight post-run; I think I'm calling upon more foot muscles with these shoes than I need for my Merrell trail gloves.  Whenever I feel sore, I'll change shoes the next day and swap back and forth.  I haven't needed to do that in my B2Rs.  I've ran with them for 4 days in a row and counting, hill repeats, hard intervals, recovery.  All good!  

Fit, ground feel, flexibility are all A+.  No seams inside to annoy me, achilles tendon guard is low and flexible.  Can not be improved.  My two tiny complaints: 


a.) my laptop cable has once gotten caught in between the toe seam! I took a couple steps and yanked the cord out (thank goodness it was a Mac - magnetic connector!)


b.) this little liner at the bottom worked its way out of the shoe as I ran! <see pic> it was travelling up my heel during my speed workout day.  Funny that i'll blame the shoe, although it's probably my form - my problem!  ;)

I look forward to beating these shoes up some more and talking more about their longevity. 

Below is a quick, unnarrated vid showing the difference in heft and flexibility between the Brooks True Grit and the B2R Road shoe.  Notice the True Grit's split toe is really artificial, just a slice in the tread.  

 

Gluteus Medius: Weak buttocks ruin the runner

Gluteus medius weakness, Sean Fyfe says, is a likely culprit in many overuse injuries
The gluteus medius should be considered in every running injury. So many athletes with running overuse injuries of the lower limb present with poor gluteus medius function that I have come to the view that the strength and function of this muscle is probably the most important active component in the achievement of a biomechanically efficient running technique. This is not so surprising when you consider that during running you are always either completely in the air or dynamically balanced on one leg. All sports injury practitioners should, I believe, be able to assess and retrain gluteus medius function.
The gluteus medius muscle originates at the dorsal ilium below the iliac crest and inserts at the top outside surfaces of the greater trochanter. It is the major abductor of the thigh. The anterior fibres rotate the hip internally and the posterior fibres rotate externally. The muscle is innervated by the superior gluteal nerve (L4, L5, S1) and gains its blood supply via the superior gluteal artery.
During closed kinetic chain actions, such as the stance phase of running, the normal role of gluteus medius as a mover muscle is reversed, causing it to act as a pelvic stabiliser. So, for instance, during right stance phase, the muscle contracts to slow the downward motion of the left side of the pelvis so that the pelvis doesn’t tilt more than seven to eight degrees from parallel to the ground. If the gluteus medius is not functioning well enough to achieve this control, the athlete is said to have a ‘Trendelenburg gait’. Often, but not always, you may see the same weakness in walking (producing a waddling motion or, in extremis, a limp), and the dysfunction will then be more marked when they run.
The therapist should analyse the function of gluteus medius dynamically and manually. This is not easy. The assessor must be properly alert to the adaptations to running technique that an athlete can adopt to offload a weak or fatigued gluteus medius muscle. To scrutinise the dynamic function accurately, you will need to use video analysis.

Dairy, Required for Kids?

It is very strange that 25% of Americans have an issue with dairy and it's considered mandatory, but why?  Calcium, right?  But of course there's no thought about it being usable by humans.  To test if you tolerate dairy- avoid it for 30days and then reintroduce it.  But do so slowly, starting with a week of daily cheese intake, then milk.  Give it a try!  Now for our article, from here:

The war on milk has shifted fronts. First it was sugar-laden chocolate milk, which parents and school administrators battled in recent years to remove from school-lunch menus. Now, it’s plain old moo that’s under fire. 

On Thursday, a national doctors group petitioned the U.S. government to remove milk as a required food group from the National School Lunch Program, the federally assisted program that has provided lunch to millions of public school kids since 1946. The doctors’ reasoning: milk doesn’t help protect kids’ bones. 

The promotion of milk to help build strong bones in kids is, “in effect, the promotion of an ineffective placebo,” writes the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in its petition [PDF]. “Milk is high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal protein” — all of which counters its purported benefits to bone health, the committee argues. 

The PCRM notes that dairy products, including milk, are the No. 1 source of saturated fat in Americans’ diets. Drinking milk for the calcium it contains is therefore a losing strategy, especially since people can get their daily recommended calcium from other, more nutritious foods. And for millions of Americans who are allergic to milk — including 1.3 million children — or intolerant to the lactose it contains, drinking milk carries potentially severe health risks. 

 “Research has now made it abundantly clear that milk doesn’t build strong bones. Whether we are talking about children who are forming bones or older people who are trying to keep their bone integrity, milk doesn’t have a beneficial effect on either one.” 

In March, a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine followed a group of 6,712 girls over seven years, tracking their diets and assessing their likelihood of stress fracture. The researchers found that neither calcium nor dairy intake was associated with a lower risk of such fractures. Similarly, 2003 data from the Nurses’ Health Study, which followed more than 72,000 postmenopausal women for 18 years, found that milk drinkers were no less likely to suffer a hip fracture than those who didn’t drink the white stuff.

Take Control of Your Cadence

You need to be the boss of YOUR cadence, don't let it be controlled by someone that's not you! I noticed sites like these (Link Here) are popping up to sell you songs in an effort to better control your running.  Their web site claims this:  


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Linking BPM to Running Speed How to work out which BPM to choose: The run2rhythm program is essentially coupling running cadence to music. With running, very few people can sustain a steady rhythmic pace over an extended period. Many tend to start too fast and don’t get to finish the distance intended, or within the time targeted for the run. The run may not last as long as they intended…..”puffed out early!” Outdoor running: Run for 15 minutes at a pace you are comfortable with If you are starting out this will be slower than if you are a conditioned runner. During that run count your steps for 1 minute. Do this several times to get an average. Then, refer to the chart below to determine the BPM you should choose.

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I think in their description they're smearing cadence (steps per minute) and running speed.  In a car you've got tachometer and speedometer, tach measure cadence of engine, speedo is mph of vehicle.  Like running in place is steps / min and 0 mph.  To extend my analogy too far ... a pump is an engine (like a car engine) that runs at one rpm all day.  A pump's engine's rpm was chosen to be at it's peak efficiency.  Running is much the same way.  There is little reason to deviate at ALL from YOUR personal efficient cadence when endurance running.  


What is 'my' natural cadence?  My resonance?  Well it depends, but not by much!  You can experiment by just hopping in place (two foot hops to start with) like you're jump roping. Start out springing up once a second.  You'll notice that's so slow that the spring energy you loaded on your tendons dissipates before your next hop.  Try two hops per second boing-boing-boing, you should notice that some energy is stored then released to help you spring back up.  As a boundary condition try hopping as fast as you can.  It's WORK!  A typical figure to work with is 180 steps per minute (aka 90 strides per minute).  If you want to synch that up to music or an audio metronome (many apps available for phones, or search metronome on amazon.com).  


I treat 180 spm as a MINIMUM.  If you're running there is no good reason to allow that stored elastic energy to dissipate, use it for your next stride and it doesn't hang around long!  ;).  An interesting test is to search for your maximum.  Fun thing to try at a track, do a series of 200m with rests each one increase a few strides per minute.  After 205-210 it's really hard to keep up.  What's your max?


Note: if you are synching up to music or beats, treat each beat as a foot LIFT, (not foot fall) otherwise you'll find yourself planting your foot unnaturally hard.  


Enjoy and let us know how it goes!

Funny How To Vid! You're Welcome!

Finally solutions that we can use!

Biochemistry of the Paleo Diet by Doug McGuff MD

Mental Challenges in Running Far

Like me, are you a little inspired by seeing improvement?  Running, weightlifting, your career, shit anything?


I have been pretty good about figuring out "what limited me last time?" - and assessment of my shortcomings in hopes of reducing limitations.  Might be a tough shortcoming to surmount - like, "well in that last race I was out of breath!!" - ok, a few MONTHS of cardio base building should remedy that.  Certainly a tall order.

My first few races (talked in to running by friends with decades of experience and me with NONE) usually ended like this.


As I 'jumped' in to the sport, injuries seemed to plague my running, but this was finally remedied by awareness, practice and implementation of good running form.  Strength building outside of running prepared my body for the unforeseen.  Nothing gets you ready for tripping in the woods like deadlifts in the gym!!

As my races got longer, I've been limited by temperature regulation, fatigue or nutrition, etc.  Each of which comes with valuable lessons learned.   BUT I then hit a new 'weakness' or 'limiter' - the brain.   Chasing around the commands of a brain that seemed not always to have my goals aligned with its own has been an interesting ride!  One of the indicators I knew it was my mind was:  

You're trudging up a hill, it's so steep that you better walk it.  After you peaked the hill and it's flat, then downhill smooth you snap out of a trance-like state and ask yourself "why am I still walking!>!?!?!1!? Then you do the checklist, breathing=idle, muscles=unfatigued, heart rate=idle... well get back to WORK!  this is a RACE!"

I have these conversations periodically with myself.  Here's some ways to overcome your own brain (aka mental fatigue):

1. You Are Lucky

I begin with this strategy because I use it most frequently and believe it produces the most empowering results. When I’m not enjoying myself during a long run, I turn it around by reminding myself that I am so, so fortunate to be out there.

So many individuals will never have the chance to explore the remote mountains, meadows, ridges, and lakes that we see during ultras. Some are physically unfit, others saddled with injuries, and others grappling with life circumstances that make distance running impossible.

During your worst moments of any ultra, tell yourself these words: “I am lucky. I paid money to do this. I am in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and I’m one of the fortunate few able to experience it.”

It works for me.

2. Break Down the Numbers

Looking at the numbers during an ultra can either provide a sudden boost or instant frustration. To assure it’s the former, I turn the numbers into something positive. I try to never, ever look at a mile marker and think, “I’ve only come this far?” Inevitably, that mental process makes me feel discouraged and weary. Instead, I say, “Only seven more miles to the next aid station!” or “I’ve already finished one-third of the race!”

I break down the race into manageable bits, but look at my progress in a positive way.

3. Reward  

Exercise is all about reward, in my book. I think about the slice of watermelon waiting for me at the next aid station, or the hamburger I’ll get to devour at the finish line. If my stomach isn’t feeling so hot, I’ll change it up to “Only 10 more miles till I get to change my socks” or even “20 more minutes and I’ll get a burst of energy from the Gu in my pocket.” Looking forward to the next small thing on a long run helps keep me going.

4. Distract:  When all else fails, I try to forget that I’m running. I do many of my races with my running partner, Caroline, and we spend hours catching up on work, family, rowing (me), triathlons (Caroline), and any other topic of conversation we can think of. If I don’t feel like talking, I listen to music on my iPod. A favorite song perks me up right away and makes me forget about the long, laborious trail ahead. 

Any others?  

Brain, never quite cooperates

The Men Who Made Us Fat

4 Part Series on Youtube explaining why obesity is now considered a disease, where it's going.

"this is the American meal: beef fed on corn, bread made with corn syrup to make it last longer, fries fried in corn oil, catsup made with corn syrup, soda sweetened with corn syrup.  a direct link between the overproduction of corn in the 70s and the overproduction of food today."