The world of fitness and exercise is full of mythologies, and this one keeps cropping up: you can run too much for good health. Ken Cooper, M.D., the father of aerobics, from Dallas, TX, said as much several years ago…when he stopped running so much, most likely because of the wear and tear it imposesRead More
running
On Stretching, Time, and Reward
In this piece in the Times, the issue of whether or not to stretch, and if so, how, is addressed, yet again: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/to-stretch-or-not-to-stretch/?r… The quick and dirty is that studies have demonstrated that power and strength are lost after extended durations of static stretching; that newer studies have shown that stretches under 30 seconds doRead More
Sprint to Faster and Maybe Better Health
Sprinting has been shown to improve all kinds of health and fitness parameters. here’s a recent commentary re a study that, again, supports the value of high intensity training: http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/acsm/active1-25.htm Now, before I go on and explain the pros and cons, let me provide a personal disclaimer: I don’t train like I used to butRead More
Running Shoe Type to Fit Your Foot Type
I’ve reported before on whether or not you should buy a running shoe to fit your foot type. The most recent studies simply do not support this idea. For one thing, analyzing a foot type, or how it performs when you run, is not as easy as looking at the sole of your shoe. tooRead More
Workouts that Work
It’s christmas morning and all through my house, not a creature was stirring, except me. Hopefully the mouse that’s been meandering on the counter near my home-made bread – he/she never did get any but keeps leaving droppings as proof of intent – has died from the poison I planted there for him. My kidsRead More
Knees, Arthritis, Running: Are They Connected?
I’ve probably written on this before but this article in the ny times inspired tonite’s blog: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/phys-ed-do-marathons-wreck-your… I alert you to the concluding line: ‘There’s no strong evidence,’’ he said, that, if your knees are healthy to start with, ‘‘running a marathon will hurt them.’’ I think it’s fair to say, as I’ve long held,Read More
Feet Revisited – Shoes, No Shoes, or the Right Shoes
This is prompted by the long-held belief that motion-control shoes prevent overpronators (flat-footed people) from excessive rotation of the ankle, lower leg, and knee, and thus prevents problems up the kinetic chain. Obversely, supinators- those with high arches – tend to not be able to absorb shock upon foot strike, so cushioned shoes were deemedRead More
More On Barefoot Running
The articles continue coming in about the merits or hazards of barefootness. The American Running & Fitness Association, of which I am a lifetime member and happy recipient of its newsletters, has an article in this month’s Running & Fit News: http://static.americanrunning.org/fitnews/ARAfitnews_V28_1/continued2.ht… It discusses some of the books out there along with some commentary byRead More
Shoeless Joe
Some of you may be old enough, or have seen the movie, “Field of Dreams”, to remember the name “shoeless” Joe. I’m old enough to know the name but not the reason he got this name. However, for almost 20 yrs, the idea that mankind should not be wearing fancy expensive hi-tech shoes for runningRead More