Getting the Right Shoes for the Job

With all the gadgets and gizmos available to use while working out now a days there is still one thing I see everyone from beginner to advanced overlooking, their shoes.  We see it all the time and have probably all done it at least once.  We begin getting soreness in our legs, hips, or lower backs that over time progresses to a consistent annoying pain every time we workout.  We begin to analyze everything we do while working out to find the root of the problem while the answer is right in front of us.  You only feel the aching while working out, but not during your everyday life.  You’ve been able to do the same workouts you do now with no issues. The pain subsides when not working out.  Well the answer may be your sneakers.

When it comes to sneakers there are so many options its no wonder we don’t know where to start. We go to the big box stores and are confronted with a wall of shoes so big we don’t know where to start.  There is tennis, basketball, cross training, running, casual, aerobic shoe’s and so on.  The best way to narrow down what you need is to look at what activities you’re going to be wearing the sneakers for.  Specifically the movements you will be making.  For example a running shoe is great for walking, running, elliptical and some light weight lifting.  Basically anything that involves strait line movements with minimal lateral movement.  Running shoes aren’t built to support your foot from rolling side to side off the sole of the shoe.  The support given by a running shoe is to support the foot from the impact being applied to it from the ground.  Like wise a cross training or basketball shoe is going to supply plenty of lateral stability to hold the foot over the sole of the shoe but less cushioning than a walking or running specific shoe.  In general getting the right shoe for the job can have a huge impact on how comfortable you are while working out.  Don’t get me wrong though we are working out it is going to be strenuous and cause us to be uncomfortable at times so a shoe won’t change that.  They can help to drastically improve your comfort though.  Just don’t expect them to make you run faster and jump higher, unless you have a pair of PF Flyers hidden away.

Keep an eye out for additional segments on what shoes to get.  Since the big focus on this blog is endurance training I will narrow my focus to just running and cross training shoes.  Next up I will breakdown the actual inner working of sneakers and the technology now being built into them.

Endurance = Strength = Speed

Happy Running and Training

Matt

Foot Type, Foot Strike and How it Affects You

Foot Type, Foot Strike and How it Affects You

                Instead of writing about the types of shoes available today and what to look for I decided it would be much more beneficial to go over foot types, and the foot strikes associated with them. 

When it comes to feet there are two factors that play a pivotal role.  The first of the two is your foot type.  This is the factor which most everyone has heard of.  Foot type can be classified into three categories: Normal or neutral arch, high arch, and flat foot or low arch. 

Of these three foot types by far the most common today is a low to flat arch.  The height of the arch is determined by the plantar fascia.  A more elastic plantar fascia will result in a higher arch while a more lax one will usually result in a flat foot.  So how does your arch height affect you while running? 

The simple answer to this question is PRONATION.  Many may have heard of this before, it is usually the thing the sales people at the big box stores categorize as either fix it or your foot will fall off or they have no idea what it is. Yes excessive pronation isn’t a great thing it places excessive rotational torque/stress on the lower leg and can lead to a slew of overuse injuries. Some pronation is also a very normal and necessary thing in the gait cycle though.  Everyone has some form of pronation as it is the foot and ankles mechanism to absorb the impact when the foot strikes the ground. Pronation is broken down into three categories and directly correlates with the three foot types. Pronation is classified as: neutral pronation, overpronation, and underpronation (more commonly referred to as supination.)

In the neutral pronator the Achilles tends to stand straight up and down with a 0˚ curvature medially or laterally.  In the overpronator the foot is angled medially or to the inside of the foot with a high˚ of medial curvature.  Last but not least is the supinator which I’m sure you have figured out by now is angled laterally or to the outside of the foot with a high˚ of lateral curvature.  The picture below is a great example of each foot type.

Next up is foot strike.  This is the way that your foot strikes the ground.  Once again this is broken down into three categories just as arch type and pronation.  Foot strike is classified into heel striker (the most common), Fore foot strike/ toe runners, and midfoot strikers (by far the least common).  I won’t go into to much detail about foot strike since it can be a very complicated subject and can lead to many issues if one tries to manipulate their foot strike.  It is possible to change your foot strike but it’s something that takes a long time and a keen eye to make sure it doesn’t cause serious injury.  There is also a lot of controversy about which foot strike is better with the sudden boom of barefoot running.  This is a subject that has intrigued me quiet a bit.  For years heel striking was always said to be how we should run and walk yet the top runners barely have their heels touch the ground while running and seem to be doing fine.  I personally midfoot strike and have never had an issue and after over a decade of running have only had one major injury which I needed to take time off for.  With that said I do feel the terrain and situation dictates our foot strike to some extent.  While running downhill we naturally heel strike, leaning back and loading the heel is how we slow forward momentum.  A good thing to remember is heel = brakes.  While on flat or technical terrain many will switch to a more midfoot strike, midfoot = cruise control. Then when running up hill or sprinting we go to our toes, toe/forefoot = accelerator.

                With each foot type we see a much different shock applied to the body.  In the heel striker more shock is seen in every step.  Striking heal first causes a straight line from the foot to the lower back and a perfect path for that shock to follow up to your pelvis and lower back. In a midfoot or forefoot striker this shock can be seen to be greatly decreased by a smoother transition through the gait.  That’s all I will say about this as it really is not something anyone should worry too much about till you get to the upper levels of training.  The images below are great examples of the differences between a heal strike and forefoot strike with the impacts associated with them.

Now that you know the different arch types and pronation types its time to find out what category you fall into.  This can be done by a simple wet test.  In the wet test you step into water then on a sheet of paper. Looking at the print left behind you can determine your arch type and the pronation type most likely correlating with your arch type.  The wet test is only a glimpse of how your foot is reacting while running.  For the best results I recommend going to a reputable physical therapist, movement specialist or running specialty store where they will analyze your stride for you and determine the best shoe for you. All good specialty stores will do this. Some will do it automatically others you may have to ask for them to assess your stride.

Here’s a great description of the wet test process for anyone who would like to try.

www.runnersworld.com/running-shoes/take-wet-test-learn-your-foot-type 

I hope after reading this everyone has a little better understanding of the role the foot and ankle play in our running.  Any questions which may come up feel free to post in the comments below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Endurance = Strength= Speed

Happy Running

Matt

A Couple Diet Mistakes

So before I go into recommended daily values, and calories I want to look at some of the current info out there for the general public. After all everyone wants an athlete’s body don’t they.  Not only that but we want it with as little work as possible, a single pill would be nice wouldn’t it.  Unfortunately we’re living organisms and aren’t that lucky, but with the right knowledge it can become a whole lot easier.

First up is the most obvious one that everyone has probably tried or seen someone else try.  Hell it may have even worked for some, but definitely not for long.  Cutting calories.  Yes cutting intake is obviously going to make you lose weight.  That is until you hit deminishing returns.  The only way to lose weight by cutting calories is to have a deficit of less calories in than are being used throughout the day as energy.  The problem with this is that it can cause some bad side affects, and these side affects are what make people think they found the greatest diet.  Without the calories as energy your body goes into survival mode.  First it starts to conserve.  That’s right It starts to store as much fat as possible for future energy needs.  Second once the body hits a point that it can’t get the energy from the fat it stored it moves to the next best thing, muscle.  That’s right good bye muscle mass and toneness.  Your body starts breaking down your muscle to lower caloric need.  Essentially it starts making you skinny-fat(think of bed ridden elderly,  their skinny but frail due to zero muscle tone).  There are times when calorie cutting does work but cutting isn’t a good word for it.  With a low calorie diet and exercise you can get the same result except this way you can still enjoy eating and you avoid the dreaded skinny-fat.  The key is to not go below the calories needed for daily activity(this is different for everyone).  The more active you are the more calories you need to keep from going into a negetive caloric expenditure.

The second myth that really bothers me is the fad of high protein, low carbohydrate diets.  Right away I will say carbohydrates are the body’s energy, no carbs no energy.  The biggest argument for this is that evolution shows early neanderthals ate an almost completely meet diet and where the superior organism of their time.  Yea well the neanderthals went extinct for a reason.  As humans we evolved from erectus humanus not neanderthals, and erectus humanus survived where others couldn’t.  Why they survive isn’t completely clear, but one thing is obvious.  With their evolution they adapted to a gatherer lifestyle.  While the neanderthals went extinct searching for meat on the barren plains their weaker less smart counter parts moved into the forest and took on a hunter gatherer diet.  With a diet mostly made of wild vegetation, and root vegetables that was only mildly supplemented with meat they survived.  Now since we evolve from erectus humanus and not neanderthals  why would a high protein diet be best if our ancestors evolved to sustain off the opposite.  Alright enough bashing protein I guess it does have it benefits like muscle repair, increases the full feeling, and increased metabolism function to break it down.  With that we need protein but not as much as most think.  For an active individual the diet should be about 60% carbohydrate vegetables and fruit, heavy on the fruit and vegetables and whole grains.  The other 40% should be a mix of healthy fats and protein.

Alright that’s enough ranting about the two dieting mistakes that I see way to often.  Next up I will give a run down of what a truly healthy diet looks like for an active individual with recommended nutrient intakes.  Just remember healthy doesn’t mean eating less, it means eating better.

Endurance = Strength = Speed

Matt