Monthly Archives: March 2011

Burden of Proof

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This is a response by Christopher McDougall to a New York Time article titled, “Is Running Barefoot Better For You?” from 2009. It was so well stated that I felt it deserved a blog post of its own. Here it is:

Wait — why isn’t the question “Is Running in Shoes Better for You?”? Since when did motion-controlling shoes become the default position for the human foot? It’s bizarre, and I guess admirable in a perverse, market-manipulating, sucker-born-every-minute way, that motion-controlling shoes are considered natural and bare feet are seen as some kind of thrill-seeking experiment. Since when did an artificial contrivance with absolutely zero scientific evidence to recommend them become the default position? The burden of proof isn’t on the human foot — which had been doing fantastically well on its own for 2 million years, thank you very much. It’s on these overpriced, overengineered novelty items which have done nothing to decrease the injury rate in 40 years.

— christopher mcdougall

I think this speaks brilliantly to just how easily our culture is manipulated by corporations.

Merrell On Board

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Check out the new Merrell web site. They are really on board with the barefoot movement. They have an entire section for nothing but barefoot products. I guess it’s just a matter of time before all the companies out there do what they can to get their share of the pie on this one. It should be easy for them to deflect questions about why they would support running barefoot when they claim to sell products designed to reduce or eliminate injury yet provide no research to back it up. The irony will probably escape most.

Project 42 – “Ronnie Lott” – Day 12

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I swam a mile today…although it took me 45 minutes to do it…  Not blazing speed but it felt good.  Actually, I was just short of a mile.  I thought I remembered a mile swim being 1,650 yards but afterward, I did the math and it’s 1,760 yards.  I was one football field short.  Damn!  I took the stairs up to my office (4th floor) this morning to see how the calves were feeling and they didn’t really hurt.  This is very good because I really want to run more…  I am enjoying the runs (although painful) because they are not as boring as the swimming.  I forgot how much I love being outdoors at dawn.  It is a very beautiful time of day and I also get inspired when I see other people running in the morning…  Alarm at 5:15 is becoming more normal also and it is getting easier to get up every day knowing that I am doing the right thing…

I had 5 fried eggs wrapping in iceberg lettuce with a little salt & pepper and Tapatio hot sauce after my swim…  Happy Friday!!!

Project 42 – “Ronnie Lott” – Day 11

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Day 11:  When are my calves going to stop hurting?  I ran this morning with the usual warm up and warm down but went a little farther….maybe another half mile.  I walked for about 100 yards somewhere in the middle just to “settle things down”.  My calves still hurt right at the base of the muscle….maybe it’s more of a tendon thing than a muscle thing.  I definitely felt a little stronger with my stride and felt good about what I was doing.  I took yesterday off after struggling with going to work or taking a swim.  Work pressure prevailed but I am still holding to my commitments.  I think I’ll try to swim tomorrow instead of running to give the calves a chance at recovery…  I want to be able to run without that pain…  Thanks again for all the support everyone!

Strength Addict

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Over the last couple of weeks I have been making some unusually big gains in strength since I got back into weight training. It’s felt so amazing that I can almost liken it to a drug addiction – not that I know what that feels like exactly. I started in November of 2009 by joining a small gym near my house. It had been nearly 15 years since I touched a weight with any degree of seriousness. I started strength training when I was 20 years old right before joining the Navy in 1986. In 1989 I was certified as a personal trainer and went to work training clients privately as well as fitness clubs. In 1998 I changed careers and stopped weight training altogether. From 1998 to 2008 I went from 200 lbs to 290 lbs. I spent a year from November 2008 to November 2009 losing most of the fat I had accumulated by walking, running, and eating healthy food in very small portion sizes. As a reward for going a full year without faltering on my commitment, I joined a gym knowing the money spent would not go to waste. Here are my approximate starting strength levels for the basic movements:

Dead Hang Pullups: 0
Pulldowns: 90 lbs. (8 reps)
Cable Rows: 70 lbs. (8 reps)
BB Bench Press: 115 lbs (8 reps)
DB Incline Bench Press: 35 lb DBs (8 reps)
DB Shoulder Press: 25 lbs DBs (8 reps)
Leg Press: 400 lbs. (8 reps)

These are the weights I am currently lifting:

Dead Hang Pullups: 7
Pulldowns: 170 lbs. (8 reps)
Cable Rows: 150 lbs. (8 reps)
BB Bench Press: 205 lbs (4 reps)
DB Incline Bench Press: 70 lb DBs (6 reps)
DB Shoulder Press: 65 lbs DBs (6 reps)
Leg Press: 800 lbs. (5 reps)

So on average I have about doubled my strength in most movements. It’s amazing how good it feels to be able to lift these kinds of weights. A great deal of this adaptation is neuromuscular rather than actual new muscle tissue development but I estimate I have gained about 10-15 lbs. of new muscle since I started. These kinds of numbers make the act of going to the gym kind of like going to an amusement park. I can’t wait to see how far I can take my strength potential. It’s going to be a great new year.