Man first emerged from the depths of sea as a fish with fins-turned-shortened limbs that over hundreds of millions of years evolved into legs. From these humble ancestral origins emerged bipedalism, and in the blink of a cosmic eye, humans have gone from Stone Age hunters and gatherers to rulers of the planet. So it’s…
Category: Blog
Running Relaxed and Efficient with Lee Saxby: Short Tutorial
Looking to improve your running form in just 80 seconds! This new gait and form video by U.K. barefoot running coach Lee Saxby, who closely works with VivoBarefoot, will help. Watch and learn, as Saxby offers a jazz musician’s rhythmic tempo-touch to a runner’s cadence on the treadmill: “1,2,1,2,1,2,3,4…” According to Saxby, “As…
Brooks Banks on “Float or Feel” for Launch of New Pure Running Shoes
Come this Fall, specialty running shoe stores will be selling a new line of Brooks footwear called the Pures. Deliberately eschewing the minimalist tag, these shoes still have a lot of minimalist features: lightweight, flexible soles, very little heel-to-toe drop. Citing extensive market research, Brooks claims that runners aren’t looking for “less” in a shoe;…
Desert Running in Vibram FiveFingers Improved My Cadence and Gait
By Coralee Thompson, M.D. I’ve been working out for much of my adult life, and since first meeting Dr.Phil Maffetone in 1997, running always included wearing very flat shoes. The past few years while living in the mountains of southern Arizona, we sometimes combine three activities that might include hiking, running, walking, biking and swimming….
How Do I Transition My Running to Minimalist Shoes?
by Mark Cucuzzella, M.D. This is a great question and one I get asked frequently. There isn’t a set formula that can be applied to all situations. There is a big difference between transitioning to a Newton shoe, a pair of FiveFingers, or completely barefoot. Newton shoes have more protection than your bare feet and…
Coolest Treadmill on the Planet
The Gait and Motion Laboratory at the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Virginia encompass 1,400 square feet and is available for private rental. And who could be blamed for never wanting to run again on a treadmill at the local gym after being spoiled on this state-of-the-art machine with computerized biofeedback?…
Should Runners Stretch Before Running?
Why is the running community so divided on this topic? Your junior high gym teacher probably required you to do a series of stretches at the beginning of each class. These exercises might have included toe touches and hamstring stretches. Proper form was usually neglected. But did these exercises actually warm up your muscles and…
Looking Beyond Dietary Fat and Heart Disease
by Dr. Phil Maffetone. The publishing of objective research plays an important part in our understanding of how the human body works. As scientific studies better demonstrate certain relationships between food and health, previous recommendations may be updated. The U.S. government, and others, often does this through their agencies such as the U.S. Department of…
Nike Free “Scribble Men” Commercial
ITB Syndrome: Avoid Icing, Stretching, and Orthotics
ITB Syndrome is a common and quite painful leg/knee injury that can leave runners, triathletes, and even cyclists out of commission for months. It often presents itself as pain on the outside of the leg, typically near the lower part of the knee. In this video, Sock Doc (aka Dr. Steve Gangemi) discusses the reasons…
What is Minimalist?
It’s to be expected that with any new footwear trend, a lack of consensus among manufacturers can often muddy the waters for runners. Minimalist shoes are a prime example of this happening. Nothing is to stop a company from marketing a shoe as minimalist, when in fact, it might appear anything but when compared to…
What is Zero Drop?
Zero Drop refers to the height differential between the shoe heel and toe area. Most conventional running shoes have an average drop of 12 mm, which places too much impact and stress on the heel region– and we know what happens next and it’s not good for runners. The runner’s cushioned heel strikes the ground…
Freedom’s Run In West Virginia on October 1, 2011
Come join us at the Freedom’s Run held in early Fall in colorful, leaf-changing West Virginia on October 1,2011. Five events– kids, 5K,10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Race director is Dr. Mark Cucazzella, owner of Two Rivers Treads in Sheperdstown and director of the Natural Running Center. For more info go here. And make sure you…
Putting on FiveFingers In Just 10 Seconds!
Many ardent fans of Vibram FiveFingers bellyache about how long it takes to slip on the barefoot shoes. But leave it to professional sword-swallower and ultrarunner Roderick Russell to tell you how to get VFFs on your eager feet in under 10 seconds. Hey, that’s about one second per toe, or just over a shade…
Nike’s Ode To Barefoot Running… in 2006!
This memorable Nike television commercial, which aired in 2006, was a witty, ironic homage to “Chariots of Fire.” It heralded the early beginning of the barefoot running trend, albeit in well-padded shoes called the Frees. This was three years before Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run became a national bestseller– and which really became the Big…
Seven Tips for Finding the Proper Shoe Fit
by Dr. Phil Maffetone — Understanding proper running shoe fit is the first step towards pain-free running and injury prevention. That doesn’t mean you should waste your time trying on or investigating those expensive, super-comfortable, padded, and built-up running shoes that keep being thrown our way each year by profit-hungry running shoe companies. If you…
The Pros and Cons of Video Gait Analysis — Runners Getting Their Body in Balance
By Dr. Phil Maffetone For the past several decades, video analysis of human movement has been used in virtually all sports by coaches, athletes, and healthcare professionals. Because of the relative ease of combining video and treadmill activity, this approach is now common in the evaluation of running gait. Properly applied, video analysis can be…
How Running Shoes Get Tested in Footwear Labs
This photo of a honking-big New Balance sneaker (taken from a 2009 issue of Popular Mechanics) shows how most of the major shoe companies test the exaggerated heel-cushioning of their conventional running shoes. No wonder many millions of runners unnaturally became accustomed to heel-striking. One could safely bet that the mechanical piston never experiences shin…
Conversation: One Runner Enlightens Another Runner
James works at Two Rivers Treads in Sheperdstown, West Virginia, which is also the headquarters and flagship store of the Natural Running Center. He recently published on the store blog a rather lengthy, and highly informative email exchange he had with another runner who was seeking his advice, Their online back-and-forth is reposted here. The…
How Body Weight and Nutrition Affects a Runner’s Gait
Tom Osler, a top ultrarunner in the 60s who later became a math professor and author of The Serious Runner, conducted a comprehensive study of runners and found that for every extra pound you carry, you will be 2.5 seconds per mile slower. Dr. Steve Gangemi aka “Sock Doc,” examines the biomechanical relationship between excess…
Proprioception
Proprioception is defined as the perception or sensing of your limbs in space (orientation) during movement of the body. Specifically in running, proprioception allows your mind to learn, with each step, from the effect of each movement and then adjust your limbs accordingly for future movements. Proprioception comes from the Latin word proprius, meaning “one’s…
Who Needs a Fuel Belt, When You Got a Fridge?
Pete Digby, a former paratrooper, carried a 40-pound fridge on his back at the 2010 London Marathon as part of a fundraising challenge for the Royal British Legion. Pete finished in 5:49. Will he run in this April’s race also toting a cooler? And does he keep his mobile fridge filled with ice-cold brewskis and…