After about 10 sessions of shadowboxing with jabs, rights, and hooks, the path to the shoryuken has just begun. The 起手式 (starting pose) is tiring like a *beep beep*. You do a "dash left" where you dodge and crouch to your left hand side to get your punch ready. Then you release, but it's a controlled release starting with your left leg, waist, shoulder (only a bit), and then your fist.
Damn near sprained my wrist/hand today. I foresee a lot more shadowboxing.
It's weird that I'm either a middle or a supper middle weight. I guess I'm still housing a lot of excess chub.
So Nature News released some findings by Harvard professor Daniel Lieberman on the merits of running barefoot. I think they might have made the article pay-to-read, but the professor's website still has some youtube links up. It's a fascinating read for me because I'm severely flatfooted (I say severe because I literally leave a flat footprint with no arch on the wet cement test.) And for me, shock absorbing shoes are absolutely critical. If it weren't for awesome Asics/Mizuno shoes, I probably would have quit running a long time ago. It's really frustrating when you have to stop mid-exercise just because your feet is hurting while the rest of your body is fine.
Back to running barefoot. In Lieberman's research, he proposes that heel strike running may cause a lot more stress to your feet and knees. This is because when your heel strikes the ground first, your leg is essentially in a straight line. The impact goes straight to our feet and knees and the force is about 2-3 times our weight. And why do the majority of us run with the heel strike stance? Because of the design of our running shoes. Almost all of the shoe designs are centered around heel striking first and then rolling the force evenly to the forefoot. When you look at people who run barefoot, they're almost always forefoot strikers. Lieberman says that this is due to natural evolution and it's what our feet is intended to do. In his video, it even shows that impact drops greatly when you compare the two stances.
While this almost has me ready to go out and run like a wild man, they do warn about the differences between running barefoot in the savanna (like our ancestors) versus running on paved road and cement. The ground has gotten a lot harder and less absorbent. Maybe we do need the cushioning of the shoes to simulate soft earth. Also, Lieberman doesn't really tie issues of being flatfooted and pronation into his findings. I think I'll write him and ask whether he's got anything for me.
But all in all, if you're fancying running like a Na'vi, you might actually have an advantage.
That's a really interesting study on running. My first thought was, "AWESOME! I'm going to go run on the beach barefoot! Best of both worlds!"
ReplyDeleteBut then I realized that might not be the safest idea. You never know if a bunch of rowdy college kids left a broken beer bottle in the sand. Having a private beach/jungle to run in barefoot seems like the best of both worlds. Low impact terrain plus forefoot striking.
I wouldn't worry too much about the middleweight thing. It's hard to say if you're chubby or not based on total weight. Especially if you're doing a lot of anaerobic activity. All that muscle mass really weighs in for something.
My husband uses those new Finger Toe Running Shoes. (That's my name for them, don't ask me what brand they really are.)
ReplyDeleteAll in all, here are my conclusions:
1. It's a bitch of a calf workout...no matter how strong you think they were before.
2. Until you get the calluses you need, they tear your feet up in a big way.
3. They do seem to help the general runners problems.
4. Heat from a hot sidewalk will go straight through them. (Rob almost burnt his feet trying to run in those things in Texas.)
5. You can feel everything under your feet, but I'm told it doesn't hurt your feet, it's more of just a cool texture.
Conclusion: Depending on how much you run, they may or may not be worth the price. For me, they're still not worth the price. I'm with your friend - go run barefoot on the beach, just keep an eye out (or run just in the edge of the water).
I like it! I did notice that when I run barefooted I basically run on my toes and I always wondered why I ran like a sissy without shoes.
ReplyDeleteTotally going to run around barefoot....on softer ground.
Those shoes sound really interesting. I sure wish I knew what they were really called so I could look them up... =)
ReplyDeleteVibram Five Finger Shoes. I believe.
ReplyDeleteDanke =)
ReplyDeleteThose shoes look so full of win. I can't think of a better thing for outdoors between climbs. I'm totally getting a pair.
ReplyDeleteI've heard people discussing the five finger shoes on runnersworld's forums, and they mostly seem pretty positive. Do let me know how they fare!
ReplyDeleteNow we just need these in green and wear a turtle shell on our back come October...
I probably won't buy a pair until it actually gets warm enough for me to run on the beach and go climbing outdoors again. But I'll definitely let you know then.
ReplyDelete