Communication Beat

Nike Free does not think so; and neither should you. Read on to find out why this concerns every one of us, our health and a good deal of wasted money. This is not a story of the Nike Free shoe; it’s about our freedom and growth.

It has been a really long time since a major shoemaker has stepped forward and acknowledged that the human foot is the perfect running, walking machine.

Hence, a good shoe should be simple and that allows this perfect machine to execute flawlessly, rather than attempt to take over Nature’s function.

This is the core concept of the Nike Free line of shoes. Shoes that both mimic and allow the foot its freedom to get things done – in this case, walking, jogging and running.

Nonetheless, detractors argue that the lack of structural support and cushioning undermines the shoe’s ability to be a serious running shoe. The experts are spewing out terms like – Stress Fracture, Calf Injury, Knee Injuries, Plantar Fasciitis.

The Footwear Market & You

In the footwear industry, structural support and cushioning are considered the benchmarks of shoe superiority. The more features a shoe has; the more acclaim it will receive and, coincidentally, the more expensive it will cost.

Do we, as consumers, really need all that expensive support and cushioning?

Is it really better for us?

For centuries across civilizations, shoes were only worn as status symbols by aristocrats; while the common folk went about barefooted.

The very people, who walked the most and ran the most, went about their daily lives barefooted!

Obviously, shoes did not come about as an invention because our feet failed; it came as an invention of luxury and ego.

In the centuries that have gone by, our feet still maintain this same powerful ability. Today, we have barefoot marathon runners across the world and complete communities of tribal people who live barefooted.

Our God given machine of motion still explodes power in this day and age!

Yet, weekend runners who barely run a tenth of a marathon are spending hundreds of dollars to buy advanced technology for their feet!

Why is the man on the street spending so much on high – tech shoes when marathon runners and hunters happily thrive without them?

The answer is advertising and product branding.

Shoemakers astutely noticed that city folks are mostly overpronators or underpronators. Hence, in an effort to capitalise on this underlying dysfunction, they design shoes that support and cushion shock. Consequently, detaching and depriving the foot from its primary role as locomotion point guard.

Overpronation, Underpronation and Neutral Feet

More than 75% of city dwellers are either overpronators or underpronators. Essentially, it means that your feet lose their ability to accommodate ground unevenness and absorption of daily walking stress. Your foot has curved in one direction and cannot return to neutral state – think of it as a jammed window that cannot close.

In its functional state, our feet are made to pronate; curve to suit the contours of the ground. This is how we can run side ways on slopes and edges without tumbling over. Hence, feet with full range of pronation can walk, run, jog barefooted and not injure themselves (assuming you are not silly enough to go running on broken glass).

Since the foot has lost its ability to fully pronate, shoemakers generally believe that a shoe has to be padded, cushioned, gelled and reinforced. The reason being that it will make up for the feet’s loss of pronation range. Hence, the natural progression towards spending millions on technology research and charging you hundreds of dollars more per pair.

On the other hand, I look at all these structured shoes like crutches. Yes, we may need it for a while. But, when we consistently wear them and use them, we can never regain our natural ability to move the way we were originally made to – Pain free, explosive and flexible.

A plain simple running shoe that allows your feet to spread out is sufficient and good for any weekend jogger. It also happens to be much easier on the wallet! If you do want a fancier shoe, the Nike Free series would be a good buy because it goes beyond un-restriction of the feet; it mimics the shape of the feet and offers the feet much more control.

Ultimately, the injury and pain does not come from the lack of a jazzed up shoe, but rather dysfunctional feet.

My Feet / Knee / Shin / Calf hurts because of my Pronation. What do I do now?

I would first make a wild guess that the sole of your shoe is eaten up excessively on one side of the shoe. This could occur on one or both shoes. Do not assume that both feet equally underpronate or overpronate.

The first thing to do is to throw away all your shoes that reflect this unevenness. Go buy new pairs of shoes; neutral shoes that do not have excessive support. Have fun shopping, do it with a friend, a spouse or alone!

After a while, if you do not buy new pairs of shoes, your recovery will be impeded because you never throw away the “crutch”.

The next step is to slowly walk barefooted and as often as possible. You can start with your house, followed by the beach or park. The aim is to re-introduce your 26 foot bones and muscles to the sensation of the natural foot movement. They have been trapped in the shoe for all these years.

Finally, you have to move into active rehabilitation to help your body recover its neutral state. It is not some costly procedure, but rather a series of simple movement patterns that specifically unlock your frozen foot muscles and reintroduce your body to its natural alignment.

Some familiar exercises like yoga and pilates do help in this process. Nonetheless, if you want it quicker, faster and simpler, drop by http://phenogy.com to find out how you can be free of knee pains, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, flat foot, raised arch and other musculoskeletal injuries that are by-products of feet pronation.

Even if you think that you are not suffering from any of this at the moment. Take 5 seconds to stand straight up, feet shoulder width apart…. Now look down… Are your feet parallel to each other? Both pointing forward?

It is a disservice to yourself to cheat by correcting them. You have to look at your feet when they are at a relaxed state. Take a look when you go to work, or go shopping.

If your feet flare out or curve in or are not parallel pointing to the front. It is a very strong hint of future musculoskeletal injuries, that includes the above conditions coupled with back, shoulder and neck dysfunction.

Nonetheless, you may be that rare 1 out of 4 who have neutral feet. Congratulations and keep up whatever good motion that you already have!

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The author, Winston Ng, is an avid peak performance coach and CEO of Phenogy Health Advisors Pte Ltd, based in Singapore. His Health Consultancy programmes are renowned worldwide for their efficiency, simplicity and independent unbiased advice. The Phenogy Health Concierge is unparalleled internationally in providing cutting edge Natural Health Alternatives to the busy individual who needs viable options to invasive surgery, dangerous synthetic pills and overpriced ineffective therapies!

They want you to experience their service before spending a single dime! Receive FREE Health Coaching and find out more about their E-Manuals and Consultancy Services! http://phenogy.com

Winston Ng and his Coaches are contactable at enquiries@phenogy.com

Welcome to article number 2 in our series “Bodybuilding Sins That Cause Back Pain and Missed Workouts”. In this article we are going to talk about how bodybuilders tend to create massive muscle imbalances and what you can do to not be one of them.

If you missed the first article, you can read it by clicking on the link below.

Here’s a breakdown of the articles to look for:

1. Article:1 – Choosing The WRONG Exercises
2. Article:2 – Training Variations for Pain Relief and Maximum Results
3. Article:3 – Targeted Stretching
4. Article:4 – Targeted Exercises
5. Article:5 – Rest, Recovery, and Injury Prevention

Article:3 – Targeted Stretching

Stretching can be great, but it can also make existing injuries worse or even bring about new ones!

The key to making stretching work for you is knowing which stretches you need to be working on… and just because a muscle feels tight, that doesn’t necessarily mean it needs to be stretched.

For example, many people stretch the hamstrings because they feel tight and they think the hamstrings are limiting their flexibility…

the fact is, most of the time the hamstrings are “tight” because they are constantly being pulled / lengthened due to muscle imbalances that tip the pelvis forward.

As you can, when the pelvis tips forward the hamstrings get pulled upward and are constantly held in a stretched position…

And this is why millions of people can stretch their hamstrings every freakin day and never make any improvement in their flexibility….

Are you one of those people?

If you are, you need to stop stretching your hamstrings and find out exactly which muscles you need to be targeting by reading the rest of this article…

Not only does this forward tipping of the pelvis (which is caused by muscle imbalances) keep the hamstrings tight and make it very difficult to make improvements in the muscles flexibility, but it also leads to the following:

• increased stress / wear and tear from the ankles all the way up the spine

For example, the forward tipping of the pelvis places uneven pressure on the ankle, knee and hip joints and also many of the vertebrae in the spine.

• weakens the hamstrings, inhibits normal functioning and increases the likelihood of hamstring pulls

When the hamstrings are constantly being strained because of the muscle imbalances, the muscle is weak, not able to function as it normally would, prone to injury and without correcting the muscle imbalance recover can take up to 9 months to a year, or longer!

• creates excess curvature in the lower and middle spine

This tipping of the pelvis places excessive amounts of abnormal stress on the muscles, vertebrae and discs in the lower and mid spine and this sets you up for potential injuries to the muscles of the lower and middle back…

Plus, it also causes the discs between your vertebrae to wear down and deteriorate much faster than they normally would and this sets you up for degenerative, bulging, protruding and herniated discs along with numerous other spinal conditions like arthritis, spinal stenosis, and the oh so popular sciatica!

This hamstring example is just one of many… muscle imbalances are responsible for nearly every ache, pain, injury and condition out there!

Here are a few more examples of injuries / conditions that are caused by muscle imbalances and can easily be prevented and/or eliminated with targeted stretches and exercises:

• upper back and neck pain
• shoulder injuries (rotator cuff)
• elbow and wrist pain (carpal tunnel, tennis/golfer/baseball elbow, etc)
• knee pain (runners knee, chondromalacia, ligament tears, etc)
• hip pain (IT band syndrome, bursitis, etc)
• ankle pain (Achilles tendonitis, shin splints, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, etc)

All of these conditions are caused by muscle imbalances and will NOT go away unless you work towards correcting the imbalances… and the only way to know for sure which imbalances are causing your pain or injury is to do a series of physical assessments like the ones covered in our Lose the Back Pain Video which is designed for anyone suffering from back pain or sciatica.

What the heck is a targeted stretch?

This is a question we are asked often and here’s the definition we give it:

Targeted Stretch – a stretch or stretching exercise that is chosen, based on physical assessments, to target a specific muscle or muscle group to increase the flexibility and range of motion in that area and bring the bones and or joints back towards the normal position.
When you compare a targeted stretch to general stretches like the ones found in Yoga, Pilates and the corny ones your doctor, chiropractor or physical therapist gives you, it’s no surprise they give little or no pain relief and almost always fail to get rid of the problem.

Conclusion

Remember, the key to eliminating injuries and preventing future ones is to identify what areas you need to target. In the next article we’ll be discussing in detail, how to address various injuries like back, hip, knee, and shoulder pain with targeted exercises. In the meantime, be sure to read thru all of our detailed Pain Articles and post any questions you have on our discussion fourm.

Article by Jesse Cannone, CFT, CPRS, CSPN and Steve Hefferon, CMT, CPRS of http://www.losethebackpain.com. If you’ve got back pain or sciatic pain, you’ve gotta check out their website!

It doesn’t matter what your age or ability, anyone who wants to can start running for fitness. It does not appeal to everyone, but it does not take a lot of special equipment or know how to do. Running is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health as well as helping you to maintain a healthy weight. You can run a lot or a little. You can run inside or out. You can go running with other people or by yourself. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Talk to a doctor or another qualified health professional before you start any type of running program. They will be able to help you assess your current fitness level and will give you guidelines for how much to exercise and nutrition advice as well.

2. Your clothing and shoes will be really your most important running equipment. But, you don’t necessarily have to go out and buy all new stuff once you start to run. Clothing should be appropriate for the weather and climate if you are going to run outside. Your shoes should be comfortable and fit well. Once you start to run for longer distances you may want to purchase some better quality shoes with advice from a specialty running shoe store.

3. Warm up before you start to run. This will get your body ready for the increased activity and will help to limit injuries. Stretch your calves and thigh muscles and walk briskly to get your heart rate up.

4. In the beginning you can alternate walking briskly and running for short distances to get accustomed to the activity. If you are new to exercise, you should probably only go for 10 to 20 minutes for the first few times out.

5. Set goals that are reasonable. If you want to do a 5K run, then set little more manageable goals that you can do to reach your big goal. If you are too ambitious in your start, you may burn out too quickly and not reach your goal.

6. Cool down at the end of your run. Stretch again and walk slowly. This will help to keep you from getting sore muscles and limit injury as well as increasing flexibility.

7. Eat right. Give your body good nutritious fuel to work with. Use a calorie calculator online to find out how much you will need for weight management or loss.

Eriani Doyel writes articles about Sports. For more information about running shoes visit runninge.com

You have heard in the news that walking is one of the best exercises to maintain a healthy weight. Yet, what should a new mother or father do when they work so many hours and time is precious? The virtually forgotten and, perhaps, optimal piece of fitness equipment for the young mom, or new daddy, is the baby jogger stroller. A baby jogger stroller may allow one of the best sorts of work out for the regular working parent is just walking. Really, any variety of movement is work out. Even So, young mums and pappa ofttimes appear to suffer a mediocre time juggling a rich work day with taking care of the little kid.

Most of the time, individuals fail to view a baby jogger stroller, I guess because a baby jogger is not marketed as a piece of physical fitness equipment, is the baby jogger stroller. A baby jogger stroller can allow the young mother, or the new mother, to get out of the home and delight in a little restorative air, while at the identical time experiencing some much-needed work out. Children normally enjoy the ability to get away for a nice walk.

Instead of investing in a gym membership only to utilise the treadmill, you should consider using a baby jogger stroller to reach your primary physical exercise needs. I am not stating that a gymnasium membership is futile. However, most individuals will state to you you that you want mixture in your work out program in order to maintain your regimin’s efficacy. Even So, I have in person heard so many people not realize their daily work out because they simply cannot get to the gym. Individuals sometimes have difficulty finding a sitter or they fail to trust the babysitters at the gym.

Utilising a baby jogger stroller is simple and what it can do is let you to find the work out you demand to at least maintain your current training point, and recognize that your infant is secure. Why not think about buying a baby jogger stroller today.