Jogging/running

[hendrix]

Flem is right in calling out the appeal to nature. Just because we evolved doing something doesn't make it better.

Albi is right that the burden of proof lies with Big Shoe to prove their claims true. Which they haven't done - there's no evidence that expensive, padded running shoes prevent injury. However, there's also no evidence that barefoot style running is any better either.

Like I said, pick a shoe that's affordable and comfortable. Sure if you want massively developed calf muscles try out barefoot running but again, there's no evidence that it's actually better for you.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

millions of years of evolution to perform a basic motor function essential to our survival

vs

20 years of an industry with a massive vested industry trying to make a buck

But yeah I agree there's no body of evidence yet, but that's largely because the barefoot movement is only just starting to gain traction so no-one's been able to do a long term study on the effects. I'm obviously irrationally supportive of it but I'm interested to see what happens now that we've got a decent number of barefoot runners ready to provide data.

 

[Redbacks]

Went for a longer run last weekend, 10k in about 61mins. Pretty happy with that but had pretty sore legs for 3-5 days and struggled at training. I'm giving foam rolling a chance to see if it can help ease soreness and more I guess help undo the tightness from sitting at a desk all day.

 

[hendrix]

millions of years of evolution to perform a basic motor function essential to our survival

vs

20 years of an industry with a massive vested industry trying to make a buck

But yeah I agree there's no body of evidence yet, but that's largely because the barefoot movement is only just starting to gain traction so no-one's been able to do a long term study on the effects. I'm obviously irrationally supportive of it but I'm interested to see what happens now that we've got a decent number of barefoot runners ready to provide data.

We got plenty of injuries running around on the plains of africa mate. More essential to our survival was that we developed the tools to do the job better than our bodies could. Like throwing spears. Evolution /= perfect design.

With all of that said, I am definitely a proponent of strengthening weaknesses and the principles of barefoot running (i.e. strengthen the arches and calf muscles) makes a LOT more sense to me intuitively than something like stretching (which also has no evidence and worse, makes no sense).

 

[Redbacks]

And I bet when we were running such long distances we weighed about 55-65 kgs, putting less stress on our bodies.

 

[zorax]

Wait stretching makes no sense?

Does this mean Yoga is a scam?

 

[vcs]

The pseudo-scientific "woo" claims about Yoga's benefits and "energy flows" and what not are most definitely a scam.

I'm sure silentstriker would like to weigh in on this.

 

[Redbacks]

Stretch Before Exercise? Not So Fast. | BU Today | Boston University

 

[hendrix]

Wait stretching makes no sense?

Does this mean Yoga is a scam?

stretching makes sense if you want to increase your flexibility. You do mma, right? You probably want flexibility for high kicks etc.

Does it prevent injury as part of a warmup routine? Nope.

Does it prevent injury at all? Probably not.

 

[Furball]

I never stretch before or after running.

 

[Furball]

Also a big believer in active recovery. During marathon training I'd do my long runs on a Sunday then hit the swimming pool on the Monday for 100 lengths.

 

[Daemon]

I don't know how true it is, but I've been told to think of your body and a rubber band that's been put in the freezer. If you start stretching it immediately it's going to snap, but if you just jog around and do dynamic warmups it'll be at it's stretchy best in no time.

 

[zorax]

So in order to procrastinate today, I looked up stretching and dynamic warmups and active recovery.

Quite insightful. Pretty glad to learn that I have mostly been doing the right things. Really need to get more yoga/stretching into my schedule somehow though.

 

[Furball]

I don't know how true it is, but I've been told to think of your body and a rubber band that's been put in the freezer. If you start stretching it immediately it's going to snap, but if you just jog around and do dynamic warmups it'll be at it's stretchy best in no time.

Yeah for both the Edinburgh half and the Berlin marathon, my hotel was about a mile away from the start line so I just ran at an easy pace from my hotel to the start line for both events. For races that long the first couple of miles works quite nicely as a warmup as well.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

Wait stretching makes no sense?

Does this mean Yoga is a scam?

If you're doing movements which require certain mobility to perform properly then you have to stretch first.

Yoga isn't just stretching, it strengthens postural muscles etc

 

[social]

And I bet when we were running such long distances we weighed about 55-65 kgs, putting less stress on our bodies.

Also helped that they were being chased by a T-Rex at the time

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Does it prevent injury at all? Probably not.

Disagree. I'm pretty sure it helps reduce the risk of ripping and tearing during childbirth. Good for the pelvic floor, apparently.

 

[zorax]

I only ever run on road/concrete and have worried about the effect that would have on my knees and ankles.

Can anyone suggest some good running shoes to use on such hard surfaces?

So naturally after making this post, I go running on road/concrete, and after about 5 Km my right ankle starts to ache.

Walking around with a slight limp now. Sigh.

 

[wellAlbidarned]

build it up slowly mate

 

[zorax]

Not my first time running down that route, but been ages since I last did it. zzzz. Should look for better shoes #SlaveToBigShoe