ENDORPHINE RUSH

It doesn't get mutch better than this folks. Just completed a laid back, 5 mile run on this sunny Saturday afternoon. What a great feeling to come out in the fresh air - heavy snow and extreme temperatures has kept me on the treadmill for months. In fact, last time I ran outside was at a beach in Hua Hin, Thailand (which isn't to bad either, both environments definitely has it's charm).

A DISGRACE TO SALAD

I almost couldn't believe when I found this "salad" at the salad bar today, right next to the garbanzo beans and spinach (take a look at the ingredience list above...) To me this is a heavy abuse to the word salad and a totally misplaced item.

Here's the definition of "salad" from the online dictionary dictionary.reference.com

"A usually cold dish of raw leafy green vegetables, often tossed with pieces of other raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, cheese, or other ingredients and served with a dressing..."

This example, along with muffins or sugarcoated cereal in a plastic bag for breakfast, are some things that drives me to promote healthier, smart, food choices.

OPTIMAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE - Stride characteristics & knees

Run with light feet, imagine that you are running on eggshells or thin ice. Don't lift your knees to high or drive drive them forward since this will increase stride length and your feet will land far infront of your center of mass. Extract from previous post (OPTIMAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE - Hips):
Your hips determines where your center of mass is. That fact is crucial to be aware of when it comes to maximize performance. Think of this: If your foot lands well infront of your hip every time it strikes the ground, your body will decelerate, you'll lose momentum and need to use your muscles to pull your body forward and thorough the motion for next stride

To prevent your feet from landing far infront of your center of mass you will have to increase stride cadance (stride frequency). In other words, a faster stride rate will mean less ground contact and softer landings (less mechanical stress on structures, ex. knees). This technique might be hard to apply at first and like I've stated before, I'm not posting these tips and saying "this is how everyone should run". I'm just sharing scientific facts that has proven to be effective and that I hope my readers will find interesting!

To practice a faster stride rate you can start of by building your running session in shorter periods of focused "lighter" running (intervals). For example, run 4-8 100yard/meter dashes with 30 seconds of rest in between, concentrating on "lighter" footwork. After a few initial practice sessions, increase number of intervals (first) and duration of run to build allow your body to adjust to the new style of running. Remember the basics (refresh your mind by reading previous post on OPTIMAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE) and avoid to tense up - RELAXATION is key when running!

Next and last post in the OPTIMAL RUNNING TECHNIQUE series will be the most constroversial and debated subject in running: Foot landing...(I just realized how uninteresting that sound, but for those of you that are runners, or plan to become one, and perhaps have heard about this topic before, you'll have something to look forward to=)...)

THE ASIAN SQUAT

At one of my lectures yesterday, the professor talked about some fundamental body movements. One thing she mentioned was how people in the third world use the squat whenever they need to rest from standing, waiting for the bus, etc and how it's such a natural part of their daily life - no matter age or form. In the western world, a full, deep squat is rarely seen or used (except in children), which is a shame since it's exactly what the human body is designed for (the "asian squat" technique is also used and prescribed in Physical Therapy).

Living in Hanoi, Vietnam I'd see people deep squating ALL the time and it's functionality fascinated me. Is stumbled across this YouTube video that demostrates the "Asian squat" in humoristic but yet very good way.

Start practicing!=)

WHAT IS COACHING?

A pic from one of my Personal Trainer sessions at the Botanical Garden in Hanoi, Vietnam.

I'm in the process of becoming an ASEP certified coach, to complement my Personal Trainer accreditations. As a part of the course I've been asked to define "What is coaching?" and this is what I've come up with so far:


What is coaching?

To me, the definition of coaching is the interaction between a coach and an individual, or group of individuals, and the dynamic processes of communicating, demonstrating, analyzing, encouraging, questioning, challenging and assisting individual(s) to attain a desired personal and/or professional goal.
Coaching a skill isn’t the same thing as executing or practicing a skill, very few world class athletes become world class coaches. I think this is in part of the great pedagogic, educational skills needed to be a good coach. Another important feature of a coach is also to be able to analyze situations and movements and then transform those observations in to easy comprehendible instructions and advice that will help the individual(s) excel and perform better.

Wikipedia defines coaching as following:
“Coaching…is identifying the skills and capabilities that are within the person, and enabling them to use them to the best of their ability – and by that increasing the independence within the individual, and reducing reliance”

To me coaching is also about mentoring and leadership (being a role model), practicing and teaching skills, especially in coaching athletes. And although I agree some form of reduction in coach reliance is advantageous, I think it’s always beneficial to have presence of a good coach (feedback, guidance, etc). 

I view coaching as a resource to provide feedback, critique, motivation and opportunities to individual(s), allowing them to grow. For example, if a client to a Personal Trainer (PT) wants the loose weight, the PT will give directions, examples, advice, motivation, instructions and guidelines how to get rid of the unwanted excessive weight. But at the end of the day there’s only going to be one person that decides if the weight will come off and that is the client herself.  In other words, a coach assists people achieve their goals by being an educator, a listener, a motivator and an analyst that helps people develop.

...please feel free to leave a comment if you agree/disagree or think something is missing in my definition!

HOLISTIC TRAINING - LIVE IN THE PRESENT

Here's an article I found in a swedish newspaper a while ago. I like the simple examples in the text of what we can do to increase presence and that it also brings up what I view (in most cases) as the biggest "threat" to live an exciting, constantly learning, dynamic life - ROUTINES. Once you're doing something purely on routine you stop to learn, minutes, hours, days, weeks float together and suddenly years are just flying by. Change can sometimes be uncomfortable and hard but it's crucial to avoid becoming a "creature of habit"!


Use your senses
Much of what we do in life is made of pure routine. But try to occasionally stop and really feel that your senses perceive. Focus on the feeling of water against your skin when you shower, the smell of freshly baked bread when you walk past the bakery or the sound of cars that rushes past outside the window. It forces you to find yourself completely in the present.

Know your emotions
From childhood we have learned to restrain our emotions and in some situations it is useful to be able to control your temper. But the risk is that we do not allow us to feel anything at all without becoming emotional blunting. Ask yourself regularly: "What do I feel at this moment?" Practice that and don't immediately push away feelings of irriation and disappointment, and make sure to enjoy and be grateful for the wonderful moments in life.

Breaking habits
Humans are creatures of habit and tend to do things on routine. This is a valuable feature that enables us to avoid thinking through each step when we are performing a task. But to get out of autopilot mode, it is important to occasionally test new ways of doing things. It can be something as simple as getting off the bus one stop earlier or start at the other end of the grocery store when you shop. Anything that stimulates the brain and makes you more present.

Trim to-do list
It takes energy to be able to live life to its fullest. A major threat to the ability to be in the moment is to constantly be weighed down by an over-filled to-do list, says coach Jane Herman. The first step towards breaking this trend is to write down everything you need to do on paper - then at least you avoid the stress of keeping everything in your head. But equally important is to take a critical look at your list. Do you really need to do everything you've written down? Is there anything you can skip or delegate? Remember that you do not have to say yes to everything.

Stop doing two things at once
To live in the moment means focusing attention on what you are doing right now. If you ever do two things at once - driving while talking on the phone, reading while eating or watching TV while you are writing e-mails - you can never be completely present. To constantly switch back and forth between two tasks also tires out the brain.

...Routines are of course not always "bad". Especially when it comes to healthy eating patterns and physical activity!

DOES RUNNING SHOES CAUSE MORE BAD THAN GOOD?

In the article "Running Shoes May Cause Damage to Knees, Hips and Ankles" researchers observed "increased joint torques at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running barefoot". The researchers also states that although "the typical construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased stress on each of the 3 lower extremity joints (ankle, knee, hip)"

CLICK HERE to read the article in it's full version, it's pretty interesting.

Since the article talks about injuries in running, it kind of also touches the whole footstrike debate (heel versus forefoot). That's a topic I will come back to soon, in future posts!

Now it's time to watch Sweden vs. Finland!

GO SWEDEN GO!