Training smarter AND harder!

There is a big move the the US footwear market towards footwear that gives you something for nothing. This sparked a conversation I had with a footwear designer that really got me thinking about the nature of training and a spin on a subject I have been talking about for may years. Like most people in the health and fitness world I talk about exercising smarter NOT harder, I like to think that I am one of the few that actually practices this because I am one of the few that has the skill to measure and evaluate the body before prescribing either strength or endurance exercise, everyone else is just guessing… But my realization was that what I actually want is for my clients to train smarter AND harder, let me elaborate:

By taking an extensive evaluation in terms of interview, postural and biomechanical testing and, if appropriate, blood lactate testing I can help the client avoid many pitfalls. I can help my clients do exercises that are the right exercises for their body, exercises that won’t injure them, exercises that will yield results. This evaluation takes time, and has taken many years of study all around the world. My years of study and years of experience working with the widest range of clients is that doing an evaluation is not enough. To get the results that most clients want the client usually needs to be working harder, that means more hours training usually at a higher intensity, and for endurance athletes many more hours training a lower intensity (trust me this is harder for the client).

To get real results clients need to be doing something nearly every day! I spoke to a noted triathlon coach who believes that doing 20 hours of training per week for an age-group Ironman athlete is a compromise and will only give mediocre results, he expects his athletes to work in the 40 hours per week arena (these are not full-time athletes, and most have normal jobs!). The combination of us doing the blood lactate testing for these athletes and the coaches training program ensure that we are definitely working smarter. The results that this particular coach gets are amazing, it is a matter of training both smarter AND harder.

The best way to improve running form is to run, if you want to get fitter and stronger you need to train hard. If it was as easy as putting on a slimming belt or wearing special weight loss shoes or weight loss clothing then we would all be slim and fit! Buying the latest bare foot running shoes is no substitute for hard work, you still need to put the hours of training in.

Until we find a magic pill, or running shoe, that gives you more willpower then those that train hardest and make the most sacrifices will see the best results. Yes you need to train smart but that alone is not enough, you need to train smarter AND harder.

Alan

Dare to Bare

How many people will wake up on Christmas morning to open their presents only to find an empty shoe box with a note saying “here are your new running shoes”?

Barefoot running is in it’s ascendancy there are lots of barefoot runners and barefoot running advocates. There are tons of new running shoes with minimal support and cushioning, conversely, there are also a preponderance of big clog like instability shoes! In this instance I think that less is more.

There are a lot of good reasons to do at least some of your run training barefoot. Running barefoot on a suitable surface like semi-hard sand or grass makes the body develop a more natural stride and gait pattern. Barefoot running can help with correct foot-strike, it makes the body stabilise itself and can help biomechanics. But like all types of training it should only be part of your training program. Running barefoot for all of your training and doing your long runs barefoot without years of practice is not advisable. This is because it strongly taxes your stability mechanisms which can become fatigued easily and this can lead to overuse injuries.

The same holds true in the gym where I think that a client who is barefoot often develops stability faster than someone in a very stable shoe. Most gyms won’t allow members to exercise barefoot, sandals are great for lifting weights and yoga classes are great for developing this type of intrinsic strength.

As a martial artist I do most of my training barefoot, both in the dojo and out of the dojo. When I train with my sword I will be barefoot so this is how I train in the gym. I do this is in order to get the biggest functional carry-over into the work I do on the mat. If I was to wear shoes in the gym my body would get used to lunging or squatting in shoes, so when I go into the dojo and perform similar moves barefoot my body would use different muscles and those muscles would fire differently. I want the training I do in the gym to help me become more efficient in the dojo, so that I can concentrate on my technique rather than the pain in my quads! As with all types of training the closer you can mimic the action that you perform in your activity to that which you do in the gym the bigger the carryover.

I have tried to wear tabi, (traditional Japanese indoor booties) when I lift weights to see how this effects things. Tabi have only a single layer of material on their sole, a bit like a sturdy sock. Traditional martial artists often wear tabi. It is amazing to see the difference, muscles fire differently and you lose so much sensation and information from your feet. Wearing these tabi with just this single layer of fabric on the sole of my foot was like wearing a glove to massage with, ok but not the same. Given the choice I would much prefer to be barefoot.

Too much of anything is a bad thing but in the right amount, barefoot training is an excellent addition to most athletes training repertoire. Training barefoot stimulates the nervous system, taxes stability mechanisms, strengthens the muscles of the foot and ankle and overall provides an excellent training stimulus.

Alan

Running Easy

As I came into the studio this morning I saw a lady running at the side of the street that I assumed was running with an injury. When I passed her I saw that she was running in a pair of shoes designed to make her work harder while she runs, they looked like clogs! Maybe she was injured before she owned the shoes?

There are a lot of advertisements at the moment for footwear that makes it harder to run or shoes that tone your butt… The idea is that you work harder when you are training or just walking around town and this tones your body. Great advertising, but is it too good to be true? Probably…

The idea of getting more from your training is obviously appealing to everyone, you get more bang for your buck and something for nothing. Athletes have tried different training methods for all time and will continue to do so. This is great as it pushes technology and new training methods develop. But some training methods just don’t stand the test of time.

In the gym we use instability training all the time, swiss balls, BOSU and balance discs are all great ways of increasing the demands on the body, but there is a limit. If you wear instability shoes and you don’t have great biomechanics to begin with, the chances are that the shoes will not help you become more stable, or improve your biomechanics. If your body is dysfunctional, the shoes will most likely magnify this dysfunction, overusing muscles that are already working too hard to stabilize your body.

Shoes that mimic running in sand are crazy, have you ever tried running in sand? Running on sand can be useful in particular circumstances, but as someone who has lived close to the West Sands in St Andrews (where the famous Chariots of Fire scene was filmed), running in soft sand is a recipe for turned ankles, pulled muscles and torn tendons. For good runners, yes it can be useful, and when learning to run barefoot sand running can be great, but I wouldn’t want to do it all day long!

Running with ankle or wrist weights is a bad idea, running for extended periods of times wearing instability shoes is a bad idea, even sitting on swiss balls at work all the time is a bad idea. You need to find a balance, if you pardon the pun.

Find a good running shop, speak to someone who runs, try on half a dozen shoes in the shop and don’t buy gimmick shoes as your main millage shoe. If you need more intensity in your run training: run faster, join a running group, train with people a little faster than yourself, change the route that you run, but don’t become injured because of a fashion shoe that is marketed as a magic bullet.

Happy running!

Alan