Minimalist Shoes

Do I need added support? What if I have a high arch? What about a raised heel? Should I get a shoe with extra ankle support such as a high top basketball shoe? Did you know that running shoe companies make billions of dollars each year? In addition, they have to market shoes year after year, when most of the changes they make are cosmetic. As with the seasons, the same holds true for the norms of running shoes - they change constantly.

The US shoe companies combined made almost $27 billion in revenue during 2010. They make this sum of money through lucrative and enticing advertisements.  They sell their products effectively through the use of key words - Stability, Cushioning, Fit Styles, Pronation, Flexibility, Smooth, etc.... The list goes on.  Throughout the years, we have become a materialized society, buying items because they are the latest and greatest in today's technology and this holds true for running shoes.  Attractive advertisements with vibrant colours and appealing vocabulary lead the way for consumers.  But do we really need the latest and greatest shoe technology?

Lets go back about 2000 years ago, what kind of shoes were employed at the time?  Handmade, flimsy, uncomfortable sandals.  Delve even further back and we will find ourselves back in a time where bare-feet was all the rage.  Why today have we suddenly decided to cover our feet with shoes that offer added cushioning and extra stability?  We seemed to do just fine over 2000 years ago without anything on our feet... but now, especially with the increase in hi-top basketball shoes that 'protect' against ankle sprains, why do we so many feet problems?  One simple answer - our feet and accessory muscles become lazy.

When we are not wearing shoes, our feet must call upon many muscles arising from the lower leg to maintain stability.  This constant stimulation will fully develop these muscles and strengthen the ankle joint.  By wearing a shoe, we assist these muscles which take care of the stability, ultimately making a weaker ankle joint.  This weakness can lead to an increased risk of injury... not what an avid runner would like to hear...

I am not implying that you should throw out your shoes and run barefoot, heck I don't even run barefoot.  I like to know that there is something between my foot and the pavement because stepping on a rock barefoot - especially while running since you will hit the ground with more force - will suck.  However, I am a big advocate of minimalism shoes, which are a class of footwear with barely any material supporting your foot.  This lack of support allows your foot to fully develop its intrinsic and accessory muscles around the ankle to increase your stability.  Through the use of minimalist shoes, you can decrease your prevalence of injury (if you train smart).

If you are wishing to make the transition from high cushioned shoes to minimalist shoes, you will notice a difference immediately.  The best thing is to take it slow and cut back on your mileage since your feet muscles are not fully developed.  Over time you can gradually increase your mileage and actually feel stronger.  Below is a video which shows a comparison of various types of running shoes:



Thank you for reading! :)

How to Fix a Flat

Today was eventful... I was out on a wicked bike ride today, planning to do over 40 km of riding today.   At approximately 15 km .... my back tire popped.  Stranded with no where to go, I was glad to have purchased a bike bag (small and sits under my saddle) where I store my phone for long rides just in case something happens. Lucky I got a hold of someone who could pick me up and drive me home... beats walking home with cycling shoes on, which would have been a 10km trek.

One of the most beneficial and cost effective skills one can have when owning a bike is knowing how to change a bike tire.  It takes a lot of arm strength but can save you money since you can do it yourself!  No special tools required, but some people use tire 'plyers' to facilitate the install, but not required - just some elbow grease!  Below is a video to show you how to do this install, which takes about 30 minutes in total.

The 'Endurance Gene'

ScienceDaily (2011-08-09) -- Researchers have identified a gene for endurance, or more precisely, its negative regulator. Not having the gene relates to greater endurance in the knockout mice that were studied. The investigators also showed that the gene is linked to Olympic-level athletes in endurance sports such as swimming compared to athletes in sprint sports such as the 100-meter dash. The work has implications for improving muscle performance in disease states including metabolic disorders, obesity, and aging.

The mice who did not present the gene (since the gene is a negative regulator - inhibits actions when present) were able to run approximately 6 times the distance than mice expressing the gene.  The fast twitch muscle fibers in the mice lacking the gene showed an increased fiber count, more active transcription factors, more mitocondria, and more machinery to better process calcium (in a future post I will explain the role of calcium in muscle contraction).  These mice were made with the proper components to succeed, essentially created to be efficient at oxidative (aerobic) metabolism.

To read the full article, click here: 'Endurance gene' for Olympic-level athletes: Genetic basis for muscle endurance discovered in animal study

20 km 3 Minutes Faster... But...

Yesterday I ran the same course I ran over a week ago which had a total distance of 20 km.  I finished it this time around in 1 hour 23 minutes 12 seconds and managed to rehydrate at the 10 km mark.  Unfortunately, ever since I got back yesterday at 3pm, my body has been having a hard time recuperating from the excessive loss of electrolytes and water from the run.  It was hot and humid yesterday and I didn't realize just how bad it was until I remained lethargic for several hours after the run.

I am happy that I decreased my time by 3 minutes in just over a week which is practically unheard of, but with adverse consequences.  Lets just say the bathroom and I spent some very good quality time together last night and early this morning.  So how did I replace my loss of water and electrolytes? Well initially I attempted to drink water but that would not stay in me for long... I began eating to refuel my loss in glycogen and glucose from the run.  Then I upped my game by adding table salt to my water to gain some electrolytes back in the process.  That seemed to take the edge off but still this morning I was feeling like my intestines were burning from the inside.  This morning I drank 2 Litres of Gatorade G2 (yep, 2 litres), and I have never felt better.  It allowed my body to replace the lost electrolytes in my excess sweat and excrement's.  I will live by G2 for quite some time for post workout replenishment of my electrolytes, plus it tastes good too.

These past 24 hours have been eventful for myself and I really want to make sure this doesnt happen to anyone else.  If its too hot or humid outside to exercise, wait until the sun goes down.  In addition, be sure to replace your electrolytes (sodium, potassium, and calcium mainly) after a workout.    Below are two videos I found on YouTube which illustrate different techniques for rehydrating, refueling, and replacing electrolytes post workout:

DOMS Day

Today is a much needed day off since I woke up with an athletes ever popular syndrome - DOMS, which stands for Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.  On Saturday I conducted a very rewarding workout consisting of running, plyometrics and resistance training, and then topped that off with 1.5 hours (or 46km) of biking Sunday.  Lets just say my legs are a little sore today...

So how do I prevent DOMS from occurring? Well, it usually occurs when one changes or adds to their training program but goes away after time as the muscle begin to adapt.  So the solution to decreasing DOMS is by continuing my training program as it will decrease gradually over time (provided that I maintain a proper diet).  

How do I tackle the soreness now? I enjoy a hot bath since it increases blood flow to the tissue promoting more nutrients to circulate and potentially fix all the micro tears which have occurred.  DOMS can last anywhere up to 72 hours after the exercise and subside completely after 5 days.  This means I can enjoy baths for the next 5 days to promote healing!  I could also do low-intensity exercise to increase blood flow as well such as walking or jogging.

What shouldn't I do?  High intensity exercise...duh!  By doing high intensity exercise while feeling symptoms of DOMS, one can increase their pain tolerance. Yes, increasing ones pain tolerance can allow an athlete to preform better and not feel DOMS, but if you increase your pain tolerance, you may become more susceptible to overtraining in my opinion.  

So if I still feel symptoms of DOMS tomorrow, I may either take another day off or do some low intensity exercise.  Kinda hoping the pain is gone though!

Plyometrics!

Plyometric training has many benefits for the endurance athlete, especially when resistance training seems to almost plateau.  Plyometrics can add a bit of variety into your training regime while also increasing your power and strength.  Power is necessary in biking as running because speed ultimately depends on the amount of force you can produce.  If you can increase the amount of force you contact the ground with, you will go faster.  Plyometric training is very sports specific and due to the increased risk of injury, I should mention that if you wish to conduct such complex training, you should have a very good muscular base.

Plyometrics are based on the understanding that a muscle in the eccentric phase (lengthened) can produce a greater force due to stored elastic energy.  So as an athlete goes rapidly from the eccentric phase (lengthened) to the concentric phase (shortening), which is also known as the stretch shortening cycle, the stored elastic energy produces greater force.  Imagine a spring, if you stretch the spring and then let it go, its stored elastic energy causes the spring to shorten quicker depending on the length it is stretched to.  The longer the initial stretch, the faster the contraction.  This is one of the basic concepts of plyometric training.

Plyometric training also increases the efficiency of the neuromuscular junctions.  Just like resistance training, the neuromuscular junctions and the motor units become faster and more effective in telling the muscles to contract.  Overtime, the physiological adaptation occurs and the muscles increase in power output by increasing speed of contraction and force produced.  In addition, our Golgi Tendon Organs (receptors in our  tendons that inhibit hyperextension or hyperflexion about a joint) become habituated to the increased force output and allow the muscles to produce even more force.

Very few studies have shown an increase in upper body force production when plyometrics are incorporated into a workout regime, but lower body plyometrics have been proven to be very effective, especially in increasing ones vertical jump.  Since in a triathlon, 2 out of the 3 sports involve your lower body, plyometrics can be very effective in increasing your athletic potential.  In creating a plyometric workout, a few things need to be considered:

• Adequate rest and recovery is required afterwards
• Be sure to have a good muscular base
• Start slow to work on proper form and landing
• Be injury-free, especially in the major joints being used during plyometrics (knee, ankle, hip)
• Do not do more than 75-100 repetitions per exercise
• Do not do more than 3 plyometric sessions a week since this has been known to cause muscle degeneration

So what are some lower body plyometric exercises?  Well essentially they are hops, leaps and bounds.  Some very popular plyometric exercises involve hoping down from a box and immediately jumping onto a box of equal or greater height than the previous.  But there are countless plyometric exercises and you can let your imagination soar with all the possibilities.  Just be safe and if you doubt something to be hazardous, do not do it.  Its better to be safe than sorry since plyometrics has a greater risk of injury than basic resistance training.

Furthermore, an even more complex form of plyometric training involves doing an exercise such as squats initially, and then following it with a plyometric exercise which targets the same muscle groups, such as a box jump.  As this increases the intensity, be sure to build a solid base before attempting this as risk of injury is far greater since you have fatigued the muscles from the squats initially.

Incorporating plyometrics into your training program can be fun and a great change up.  It will help you produce faster muscle contractions and increase your power.  Enjoy!

Proper Technique = Gains

Today at the gym, it made me realize something... a lot of people assume that they are doing exercises right, but in actuality, they are not!  I myself know that there are some exercises where my technique is poor, but I strive to make form my up most importance.  I see people attempt to do triceps extensions with the cable machines but swing their upper arms, bicep curls where they arch their back and use its momentum to pull up the weight just so that their friends can see them curl 50 lbs.  Simply put, poor form will not increase your muscles size and strength effectively.  In reality, poor form can cause muscle imbalances, injury, decrease potential gains, and be a little embarrassing...

When performing an exercise poorly, for example the biceps curl, most people tend to swing their back to facilitate the lifting of the dumb bells or barbell.  This may allow you to lift a heavier load, but you are defeating the purpose of the exercise.  Since you begin to activate other muscles to perform the task, your biceps get a smaller portion of the load, which will not allow them to increase in strength.  To perform a biceps curl properly, the only movement that should occur is around the elbow joint.  Unfortunately, too many people make this mistake which can cost them in the future with probable muscle imbalances.

How do I do a proper lat pulldown?  How do I perform a proper seated lateral raise?  Whats a military press and how else can I work my shoulders?  Scott Hermans Fitness channel on YouTube can help you.  He has a substantial library of how to videos for many exercises and he breaks them down so people can learn the proper technique.   Not only can it be helpful in developing technique, it can also increase your exercise knowledge base.  Seriously check out his YouTube channel, anyone can learn something from it!