Yes, it is true.

Is it a meme?

This isn’t just a meme (an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture) or a passing fad. According to a BBC News Magazine article, “a recent survey found that many of us spend up to 12 hours a day sitting on their bottoms looking at computers or watching television. If you throw in the seven hours we spend sleeping than that adds up to a remarkable 19 hours a day being sedentary.” As it turns out, we are the most sendentary humans in history due to our fabulous technology: computers, televisions, and cars.

Yikes!

 

The experiment of standing

Next, the same BBC article asked 10 people (which is a small sample but a representative number nonetheless) to stand for 3-4 hours a day versus sitting their normal 8-9 hours a day.  They cite evidence for standing up with precedent: a study published in the Lancet in the 1950’s showed that bus conductors who stood versus bus drivers who sat had around half the risk of developing heart disease.

Cut heart disease risk by half? That is pretty significant!

In this case, when the volunteers stood, their blood glucose levels fell back to normal levels more quickly after a meal. They also found that by standing they were burning more calories when they looked at heart rates. The researcher Dr. John Buckley explains, “If we look at the heart rates we can see they are quite a lot higher actually – on average around 10 beats per minute higher and that makes a difference of about .7 of a calorie per minute.”

That doesn’t sound like much?

It adds up to about 50 cal an hour!  If you stand for three hours a day for five days,  that’s around 750 cal burned.  Over the course of the year it would add up to about 30,000 extra calories, or around 8 pounds of fat. That also happens to be the caloric equivalent of running about 10 marathons ….just by standing for three or four hours a day at work.

How about that! Stand up- its easy!

Sitting is the new smoking….

Runner’s World ran an July 2013 article about this phenomenon. Smug daily exercisers were essentially saying that this didn’t apply to them…because after all, they workout! Daily! PhD candidate Travis Saunders was quoted, saying, “A consistent body of emerging research suggests it is entirely possible to meet current physical activity guidelines while still being incredibly sedentary, and that sitting increases your risk of death and disease, even if you’re getting plenty of physical activity. It’s a bit like smoking. Smoking is bad for you even if you get lots of exercise. So is sitting too much.”

What then are some ideas to get you out of your chair? Or, if you have to sit, what can you do to wiggle while you work?

Alternatives to sitting

• How about a Steelcase Walkstation? The gold standard of the treadmill desks goes no faster than 2 mph. You don’t actually break a sweat, but are moving constantly. I used this concept recently when studying for a test. I was teased endlessly for “not really getting exercise” by passers-by, but after explaining the concept, the teasing stopped.  🙂

 

• The Trekdesk fits over the treadmill you already have.

 

• You could sit on a really cool Technogym Wellness ball, which requires more work done by the body –the company calls them “micro movements”- like my boss Talitha. The company calls it “active sitting” and comes with a QR code emblazoned on the cover (by her left hand). This code gives you the Technogym Trainer app to customize your own training program.

 

• How about using a traditional weight training machine in a non- traditional way?

 

 

• Perhaps you have dumbbells sitting around. Try this simple technique: lift up your feet!

 

 

• Walk at lunch, walk instead of sending an email, walk the stairs, talk on the phone standing up, or set an alarm to stand up. Move!

 

• Get a tracking device to see how you match up to the national average. Remember the movie documentary Supersize Me? He limited himself to 3,000 steps a day which was what the average American did at that point. Your goal: 10,000 steps a day, at a minimum.

 

• Look at what this brilliant teacher did for her wiggly students: she wrote a grant for these sitting bikes and purchased several for her classroom.

 

 

• When she ran out of grant money, she took old discarded bicycle inner tubes and lashed them to the front legs of chairs…so if you couldn’t peddle away, you could kick your heel back and hit some resistance.

 

 

Brilliant! All methods of allowing movement while sitting! All the while allowing students to thrive under sitting conditions at school, which isn’t good for anybody.

Anybody.

Tell me how you combat extended periods of time in one position by leaving comments! 

 

Let’s pretend you have just walked into Club Sport for an appointment with me. This is how the opening conversation usually goes. “Hi, Mike, how’s the _________ (fill in the blank: knee, foot, back, elbow, neck, wrist, etc) feeling? Mike: “Well, my right hip flexor is still bothering me.” I think about this for a moment, mentally review what we did the last time I saw him, ask him what he has tried to alleviate the tightness, and then generally say, “Let’s watch you walk!”

Here is what I recorded as his initial gait pattern. What do you notice? (answer below :). Watch it a few times if you need to, and see if you can put your finger on the left hip to right hip discrepancy.

Here is the “after” video. What do you notice?

Do the hips move more symmetrically now? They sure do. In this case, his right glute had completely gone to sleep– or developed a temporary case of muscle amnesia.

How did we fix it?

Well, in order to answer that question, let’s take a look at the actual juicy bun-buns themselves.

Notice that the direction the lines are drawn, or the actual striations of the muscle itself, are in the direction the muscle contracts. This becomes important because this muscle is not running up and down perpendicular to the ground like a hamstring or a quad. This muscle is running diagonally, or sideways, and should be used when you move sideways or laterally. However, what direction do most people go? Straight ahead.

When life isn’t going well straight ahead, go sideways.

That is my general rule of thumb. What do I mean by that? Well, let’s say your knees hurt when you walk. I find that those quad muscles are getting maxed out, because every muscle only has so many contractile fibers, and because you insist on continuing to move, your body finds a way. However, this quad muscle has maxed it’s muscle fibers, and now starts to yank on the place it attaches– over the top of the knee on the shin. This makes your knee joint sore. Complicating matters further is that the quad’s best friend and antagonist is the hamstring, and if you overuse the quad, the hamstring gets knocked out of commission. This creates further imbalances in the balance of power between the front of the leg and the back of the leg.

Is it a knee problem?

No. At least, generally speaking, the knee is just reacting to the quad getting overused and the hamstring knocked out of commission. So, in the case of Mike above, one way to start rebalancing the power between the front and the back of the leg and hip is to walk sideways. In Mike’s case, even though he is a long-time client and pretty good at realizing when his muscles lose balance, it took us almost ten minutes of walking sideways to get that right glute to re-engage and feel like it was definitively working again.

Here is a quick video explaining how to do that:

My best advice

If you are going to try walking sideways, which is a quick and easy way to get your glutes to engage, the absolutely essential ingredient is to make sure you drive through your heel, and be patient to make sure both glutes work EQUALLY. That is very key! If you have a treadmill, then give it a little incline– around 5%– and set the belt to 0.8mph. Walking sideways is not a speedy endeavor.  The hill gives you just a little bit of an advantage to getting your glute to fire faster, but it will work just as well on the ground. Give it a whirl, and let me know below how it went, or if I can answer any questions about your new life as a crab!

So let’s talk core muscles. I think the fastest way to explain this is to give you a visual presentation of what exactly I’m talking about. Let’s look at Mr. Muscle guy here. The top most layer of the core musculature is the external oblique muscle, around the waist area.

Peel off a layer and you have the internal oblique muscle, as shown below.

Peel off the internal oblique and in your deepest layer of core muscles lies the transverse abdominus, the target of this discussion, shown below.

Two other core muscles that are will be included in this discussion are the multifidus and the pelvic floor.

Multifidus runs up the inside of the back of the spine,and pelvic floor stabilizes the bottom of the hips.

In essence, these three muscles work together to stabilize the top of the hips, the back of the hips, and the bottom of the hips.

Why is this important? Well, if you want your core muscles to actually look good and be strong, you had better get the core of the core working, if you will.

Biomechanics

Let’s have a quick biomechanics lesson. Different joints in the body are designed and primarily good at either being stable or being mobile. Let’s start from the top: the neck is supposed to be mobile, shoulder blade stable, thoracic spine or middle of the back mobile, low back stable, and hips mobile. Notice they alternate as there’s a specific design in the alternation of stability and mobility. Something literally has to hold still so something can move or work off of it. In the case of the core, the low back is supposed to be stable therefore allowing the hips to be mobile and move around in the many directions. That’s why various professionals will say do crunches to get low back pain to release… but there’s way more to the story than that.

So how do you get the core to engage at the core of the core?

Well, let me tell you a story. I tagged along on an interesting sounding physical therapy appointment in April of last year. My client was having S I joint pain and went to see a physical therapist entirely devoted to breathing. Quite honestly I’d never heard of such a thing, so I had to see what this gentleman had to say.

His assertion was that the three core muscles that I’ve named above do not fire unless you breathe diaphragmatically. I once attended a seminar where the seminar leader was an unbelievable diaphragmatic breather and he could actually pop out his rib cage visually one side at a time. The diaphragm is a muscle and has a divider down the center called the septum. He was able to use one side of his diaphragm more, therefore creating the ribcage movement. It was amazing to behold and I thought an unbelievable party trick.  🙂 More than that it illustrates how powerful that diaphragm is and what potential you have in breathing this way!

Opera singers do not need to be told any of this. They already know how powerful diaphragmatic breathing is. There are three levels of breathing: mouth and nose being the first, lungs being the second, and diaphragmatic being the third. Diaphragmatic breathing is the most oxygenating, deepest level of breathing and what we want you to focus on here.

Homework

To make a long story short, the physical therapist had my client do some homework: he wanted her to walk 30 minutes. Of the first 10 minutes of the walk he wanted her to very specifically work on her breathing. It was all done through the nose and he gave her a very specific number assignment for inhale and exhale. Let’s stay she stepped on the right foot. She was to inhale for a count of three and then exhale for a count of four. Notice one number is even and one number is odd. You don’t have to choose three and four; you can do five and six or seven and eight. He even offered to have her hold for a count of two in the middle between the three and the four breaths. That proved to be too much, so we just stuck with what I now call 3/4 breathing. Choosing an even and an odd number allows you to both inhale and exhale on the right and left foot alternating sides. If you did 4/4 breathing you would always inhale on the right foot and always exhale on the left, and that isn’t useful.

I often offer to count out loud for my clients as they are learning this technique because everyone is shocked by the quantity of concentration it requires to breathe in this fashion. There is no chitchat or talking; it requires your full concentration. The other big thing to watch out for is to not breathe with your shoulders. Sometimes before I tell a client what we’re about to do, I will put my hands casually on their shoulders and I say, “Take a deep breath.” If my hands go up and down because they are inhaling using their shoulders, then I know we have a lot of work to do.

What are the benefits?

So all that sounds fine and good, but what benefits have I noticed from breathing in this fashion for the last year? First, I noticed that my shoulders and neck are considerably looser because I’m no longer using my shoulders and trapezius muscles to breathe. I don’t even know I was doing that! That means when I come home from a double-digit run my shoulders aren’t tight and sore, which always mystified me in years past.

Second, I now wake up with my mouth closed breathing through my nose and very much rested from sleeping. I don’t wake up with my mouth open, the back of my mouth or nose dry, or snoring. I have never had any trouble sleeping, but now I can’t believe how much more rested I feel because I’m getting so much more oxygen with every breath.

Third, when I spend 10 minutes walking with 3/4 breathing for the beginning of my warm-up I can actually feel my glutes engaged, because now they’re working off of a truly stable core. Normally I have to walk sideways or use Kettlebells to really definitively get my glutes to work. I still do both of those but it’s remarkable to me that I can just walk and breathe properly and it works just as well. By the way: After ten minutes, just work out, but check in with your breathing and see how it is that you’re actually getting oxygen into your body.  Are you using just your lungs? Are you using your diaphragm?

Finally, and really the biggest burning question of the day, do I notice a difference in my core? Yes, absolutely, I feel like my rib cage has been sucked in tighter, and my former lack of a waist actually has some curves to it now as well as some definition that never existed before.

Why do kids have so much energy?

In conclusion, I now make sure that every single client I work with has this breathing technique in their arsenal to keep their body in the highest function possible. Watch a baby sleeping. That’s their little belly going up-and-down. Now watch an adult sleeping. That’s the chest rising and falling. Why do kids have so much energy? I will guess it has a lot to do with how much oxygen they get all day, every day!

I had the opportunity to try out a home version of a pretty cool new treatment called cold laser therapy. This particular unit uses a combination of cold laser (versus a hot laser that would be used in a surgical situation) and micro-current electrical stimulation. You might be familiar with another electrical stimulation device called a TENS unit. This is that, with a laser added on.

Using a cold laser for injuries

My first encounter with this device was in the physical therapy clinic attached to the club where I work. I had sprained my ankle snowboarding two Januarys ago and was curious to see if it impacted how my ankle felt. The physical therapist said that the idea behind the device was to increase the ATP of the cells affected. ATP is basically cellular energy.

I liked it, and it felt slightly better.

Later, I wondered what other conditions this particular device might help, so I went onto the LaserTouchOne website, and found this study done by four researchers associated with the University of Massachusetts. There was no way of summarizing the potential applications of this modality any better than they did, so I simply cut-and-pasted it out of the research study. LLLT is low level light therapy, which is the cold laser device that I was testing out.

Interesting, huh.

It’s a very simple device to use. All you have to do is pull it out of the box, and slather on some conductive gel that comes with the device on the area you want to target. I tested this Laser Touch One Low Level Laser Pain Relief Therapy

It has a (+ and -) roller on the side to increase or decrease the zappy, tickly feeling to a comfortable level.

Another feature is the built-in two-minute timer which makes the unit automatically shut off when your session is complete. Pretty bulletproof.

Cost-wise, it is not cheap…this guy is basically $500. Professional grade units go for as much as $8000. However, let’s say you are going to PT for an acute injury. If your physical therapy appointments have a $30 copay, and you go twice a week for eight weeks, well, you’ve just bought yourself the equivalent of a cold laser. The PT might give you one treatment per visit, but if this was at home you could give yourself up to six treatments a day according to the manufacturer.

This is one of the only major disadvantages, as it takes a series of treatments to make a difference. It can also slightly aggravate old injuries, but the effects of that are reported to be short term. Finally, some insurance companies will not cover the treatment, so make sure yours does. Empirically, several clients have reported great results with the home version. For instance, one client ruptured the major ligament in the arch of her foot and was given an archaic leather lace up ankle brace to her knee to wear to support her foot.  Her foot hurt a great deal, even with the brace. She has used this unit for about three months and now her foot does not hurt!

Therefore, consider a cold laser whether at home or in PT to speed your soft tissue healing that much faster.

One of the funniest compliments I ever got was from a friend who picked his daughter up from my daughter’s birthday party. He said, “Becky always comes home from your parties tired and quiet!” Apparently, at most other parties she was amped up on sugar and wired to the hilt. How did I accomplish such a feat? Well, there are a lot of creative moms out there, but I just kept it simple. I made sure not to serve sugary foods (who needs icing on cupcakes, anyway?) and insisted on an active birthday theme to wear out all party-goers. For instance: we have done kung fu, dance instructors, scavenger hunts, the Blueberry Olympics, and tons of roller skating to name a few. Not only do I give active parties, but shoot for active birthday gifts when we are invited as well.

What do I like to give? Here are a few of my tried and true favorites:

The hula hoop

This one is actually padded and weighs 3 lbs. It does not feel heavy, but if you hold a traditional hoop in one hand, and this one in the other, there is a significant difference. It comes in pieces which snap together easily. It is actually a “workout” hoop, and the manufacturer warns of possible bruising in the first two weeks. However, that hasn’t happened to anyone I have subjected it to. I personally have not mastered the art of hula, but love trying. So have my clients: they have had fun with big smiles on their faces, so this makes a great gift for a big or little person.

Buy it: Weighted Sports Hula Hoop for Weight Loss 

The smash medicine ball

This one weighs four pounds, and what kid doesn’t love to smash anything with all their might into the ground and have it not break? Here’s the cool feature: it does not bounce, so you have to lean over, pick it up, and start all over. Especially effective if your kids ever get mad or frustrated, which never happens at my house.

Ha!

Additionally, when I have clients come in for their workout who are even a little bit frazzled or I can tell that something is bugging them, I simply smile and say as I hand them a smash ball, “Why have a good day, when you can have a great day? Hit the ground as hard as you can!!” It works like a charm every time. Again, great gift for the tall or small in your life.

Buy it: 4 Lb Crossfit Slam Ball Low Bounce Plyometric Medicine Ball

The hippity hop.

Did you grow up with one of these? I sure did, and when I tried to replicate the action in the gym by hanging on with my heels to the Swiss ball and bouncing along, I was pleasantly surprised at how hard it was to cover ten yards. I nicknamed it “cushy polymetrics” because my legs and hips felt remarkably similar to a light box jump workout. Try it. It is hard, but fun. Careful not to fall off the ball mid-air, so grip tightly with those legs. Kids will get equally tired, and the handle definately ups the safety factor for them. Bottom line: get two and have a race.Ball, Bounce and Sport Ball, Bounce and Sport Cars Hopper (Styles and Colors May Vary)

 Stomp rocket

Wanna learn about physics and get some great exercise at the same time? Try a stomp rocket, in a nice big clear area, of course, unless you are an avid tree or ladder climber. Those rockets definitely get stuck sometimes in tree branches. However, It is so fun to line the rocket up on it’s launch pad, jump and *phoomp* (puff your cheeks out when you say it 🙂 see how much propulsion you can personally generate. They make small and big versions for the small and bigger kids (and adults) alike.

Buy it: Ultra Stomp Rocket

Jump rope

Good ole standby. I took two jump ropes to the track the other day, and my client Kristin and I did a lap around the track jump roping all the way. Seriously good exercise, hard work, and pretty darn fun. It takes such little room, and if you don’t have time to do anything else, step out onto the front porch and see if you can knock out ten minutes. My kids took a jump roping class one spring, and learned to double dutch. That was really fun to watch, easy to learn, but it takes two or three people instead of one which requires a bit of coordination. Children driving you crazy? Hand them a jumprope and kick them to the curb. Fast, simple solution to burn off the extra energy. Super great gift for all ages.

Buy it: D&D Distributing Rainbow Jump Rope

There you have it! Simple, easy, fun, relatively inexpensive, and active gifts for yourself, your child, or your child’s BFF. Keep a few of these nearby for instant entertainment or stress relief. The ongoing ultimate goal: a happy, tired kid!

Photos courtesy of Amazon.com

What Shoes Should I Buy?

I often get asked about shoes:  which shoes to buy, which shoes are the best, which shoes would work under this or that or the other circumstance. My favorite answer used to be: just get shoes that are comfortable. I personally pick out shoes that are colorful and comfortable and see no reason to sacrifice one or the other. However, now I have more of an opinion for the now two decade old question, “What shoes should I buy?” 

Born To Run

It all started when I read Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall It had come highly recommended from a number of sources, and when I get more than one person recommending the same thing I know I probably better read it. Here’s the essential summary of the book (and I highly recommend it as it is well-written, a good story, and super interesting to boot): it is all about the beginning of the barefoot running phenomenon here in America. There is quite a cast of characters, mixed in with an indigenous Indian tribe in Mexico, mixed in with the author trying to track down this tribe, mixed in with a few other assorted circumstances and happenings. Additionally, the author throws in the anthropology of humans and running, and makes a very good case for why humans really are meant to run and not just short distances, but long distances.

More Cushion is Worse

How does that apply to shoes? Well, it turns out this indigenous Indian tribe wears nothing but a piece of leather essentially lashed to their foot with another piece of leather shoelace. None of their villages are very close together, so often times a tribal member is traveling between 40 and 70 miles a day. “How is that possible without developing lower compartment syndrome, shinsplints, or planter fascitis?” you ask. Here was where I thought the most interesting paragraph in the whole story was presented. Turns out that the major shoe companies have known for decades that the more cushion the shoe has, the less the muscles in the lower leg actually end up working. That means you’re actually making your feet and shins worse by giving them more cushion. Worse! 

Minimum Sole Shoes

I have a client Marie who has been plagued by heel pain for as long as I have known her, which is going on twelve years. We have gotten it to abate with getting her hamstrings and glutes to take pressure off her calves, but nothing really seemed to make a difference long term. Finally, I suggested less shoe. In her fabulous enthusiastic way, she jumped in wholeheartedly. Long story short, her heel pain is gone and she purchased minimum sole shoes for entire family, immediately. As a mother, I was aghast at the Converse and Vans my children insist upon wearing, because I thought the soles were ruining their feet. Happily, that is just one less battle we now have to fight.

In addition to deconditioned lower leg muscles, I find that clients with traditional running shoes have a difficult time driving through their heels to activate their glutes when we are working out. Often I will illustrate this point by having them slip their shoes off, or slide my shoes on, to demonstrate the difference. It is remarkable! 

Monster Soles

Here is a photo of Nike’s latest Nike Air Max 2014 with flyknit uppers that I was given for my birthday. Look at the monster soles on those stompers! They were billed as the best shoes for long-distance runners, and long-distance runners are my people (even though I don’t run marathons anymore). However, my heart sank. How could I keep them? I knew they would be a cushy disaster.  

 Here are the shoes that I actually love running in every morning: Nike Women’s Free 5.0+. They are super dirty from a recent trail run and smell worse. I actually bought them pre-loved in a thrift store on the way to a cyclocross race in the rain two years ago. I didn’t have bike shoes and I didn’t want my running shoes to get muddy, so I stopped and bought these things just needing a pair for that race. (By the way, don’t ever believe anyone when they tell you you don’t need bike shoes for cyclocross race, but that’s a story for another blog!) 

Here’s another pair of shoes I like really well. Not only are they colorful, but their soles are super flexible. The only downside is these are Adidas Womens ClimaCool Modulation 2 Running Shoes and those black spots are actual vented air holes that also let in water. Also known as rain here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I even went running in these guys below, and their sole is absolutely minimal. These Adidas Renewal Womens Size 10.5 White Sneakers Shoes9 UK 9 are extremely similar.

 

Ease Into Minimal Sole Shoes

So, am I telling you to strap a piece of leather to your foot and hit the road? No way! When this phenomenon hit, that was exactly what a lot of people did, and their lower leg muscles complained mightily. No need to give yourself horrible shin splints or plantar fascitis.  

You must ease into this, should you choose to give it a try, very slowly. Very slowly!  If you normally walk or jog or run 2-3 miles every other day, try half of one walk/run/ in a lesser soled shoe. Give that lower leg some love afterward, with a roller, a little massage, ice, or all three.  This is a new workout for these muscles, and you can’t overtax them all at once. 

By the way, my sweet brother exchanged my birthday gift and got me these Women’s Nike Free Hyperfeel Run, 11. Black, White, Atomic Pink
instead. I was elated! I was even more elated when I hit the road the next morning. You are kidding me, I told him, these shoes are like running in slippers.

Therefore, just think less sole.  However, this is a new training regimen for your lower leg, so go slowly. Ease into it! Truly, the only time I go barefoot running is when I am at the beach. Who needs sand in their shoes? 

With 6 weeks to go in this year’s snowboarding and skiing season, it’s never too late to balance, strengthen, and warm up  your muscles before hitting the slopes. Really, you could be in your kitchen or garden doing the same thing, as the principles are the same.  Therefore I am going to share with you my top 5 quick snowboarding and skiing warmup exercise routine, that will take less than 5 minutes to execute. Your body will thank you for the warm up!

Lunge

Hang on to your board or skis in front of you for balance. Notice my right leg is about as far back as I can get it, but from the side my left ankle is directly below my left knee. In this exercise I want you to feel the front of your right hip stretching as you drop down, and then drive through  your left heel to engage the left glute as you come back up.

Most people tend to have their feet closer together thereby making it an all quad exercise. Try ten times each side, 2 seconds in duration, as long as you feel the muscles I have specifically described. Keep going a few more reps if you haven’t quite gotten the glute for instance to engage. Make absolutely sure you feel the same amount of work in each hip.

Twist

Again hanging on to your board or skis in front of you for balance. Twist away from your balancing hand and open up your hip and shoulder feeling the hip, shoulder and back all gently stretch. Since this is a warm up, do not hold this twist for more than 2 seconds. If we were cooling down, I would have you hold it for one and a half minutes. 

Airplane

Next is a little balance work. Board or skis off to your side, and you are hanging on for balance again. Reach the right arm forward and extend the right leg backward, feeling the hamstring on the ground get the stretch. Put your weight on the heel of the leg on the ground to engage your glute and therefore stabilize the hip. This will also hopefully prevent you from using your back excessively. Don’t forget: you are only holding your arm and leg in the air for 2 seconds. Try 10 reps on each side.

Squat

Your skis or board are in front of you. Hang on with your left hand and pretend you are sitting down in an imaginary chair. I find most people don’t kick their hips back far enough,  thereby bypassing hip muscles like  hip flexors, hamstrings and glutes and end up using their quads way too much. You are only down for 2 seconds, and drive through both heels to use your glutes and hamstrings to stand back up. Again try 10 repetitions but pay attention to the muscles you are actually using to execute the exercise.

Single Leg Squat Touchdown

Here is a little cross patterning for your brain and one of my favorites. Board or skis are on your left side. Left foot on the ground, right hand in the air. Take the right hand down and across your body touching the left toes and then drive through  your left heel to engage your glute and hamstring and stand back up. Be very careful to bend at the hip and use it as a fulcrum, versus just bending over from your back. If you don’t use your hip your back will let you know very quickly. In this case switch sides and see if you can tap into hip muscles on the other side before returning to the first side.

Hope to see you on the mountain!

P.S. Here’s my new favorite piece of equipment for snowboarding: Flow Snowboard Bindings. Typically a snowboarder disembarks the lift, scootches over to the top of the run, sits down, and buckles in. These bindings allow you to strap in without having to sit down. They fit your foot like a comfy slipper and have one handed locking mechanism in the heel.  Easy! Love It! Dry Bun-Buns!

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and as such I get a small portion of any sales made through this link. Please know, I do not recommend lightly.

Streaking

Streaking, you say? What exactly does she mean by that? Well, let me tell you a story about the Raven. Not to be confused with the Native American story about the raven, this involved a certain man who — better than the postal system because they are only 6 days a week– has been running every day for the last 39 years on Miami’s South beach. 8 miles a day @14 minute mile pace! This man has been running the same 8 mile route and logged upwards of 100,000 miles.  Believe it or not, there is a group that keeps track of various streak runners (USRSA: United States Streak Running Association), and apparently because he has run so long for so far, but run the same route every day, really separates him from the rest.

He is currently #8 on the list of more than 400 active runners. More than that, 1,900 people throughout the years have participated in his run, which takes place in the late afternoon daily at the Fifth Street lifeguard station.  If that weren’t enough, he names every single person who comes along on his run and has an “roll call” of sorts at the beginning. All 50 states and 75 countries have been represented on the 8 mile run.

You might think that he is able to run consistently because the weather in Florida is pretty balmy most of the time. Aaaah, you are forgetting about hurricanes. In 1999, Hurricane Irene hit with 86-mph winds. That day, he was accompanied by three runners in hooded windbreakers and goggles while he ran in his usual outfit: shirtless. He said the sand stuck to him for two weeks afterwards.

The big question is: why did he start? Well, to make a long story short, he wanted to be a songwriter and went to Nashville to try and break into the business. He would hang out by the back door after performances and try to hand his lyrics to Johnny Cash.  Apparently one day he was successful, but Mr. Cash directed him to a man standing on his right, who was a songwriter, and never heard back. Discouraged, he returned to Miami and six months later a Waylon Jennings song on the radio came on…and there were his lyrics. He called up the radio station to ask who the songwriter was and it was not his name. This news put him in a deep, dark depression.

One day about two years later, he encountered a boxer on the beach who struck up a conversation with him. That day the boxer was going to run and throw punches for two miles (his “roadwork”) and he invited the Raven along.  Not having anything better to do, he struggled along next to him and finished the two miles gasping for air but felt marvelous for the first time in his life. Look what he has done since that fateful day!

Here are my takeaways from this story. First of all, there is power in an invitation. Invite someone to join you in your workout.  Look at the profound difference it made in the Raven’s life, and then paying it forward he has inadvertently impacted many others’ lives. You could be the very first snowflake in an avalanche of goodness and fun! There is a lot to be gained in meeting up for a workout in accountability, as well, which we will explore in a future blog.

Secondly, I recently read a phenomenal book called “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” The author goes to great trouble to document story after story, research article after research article on how best to combat depression and engage the brain.  The Raven was suffering from a huge tailspin of depression, and guess what pulled him out? An invitation and exercise.  

Wow. Pretty powerful. Imagine what an impact you can make with two things: an invitation for a walk. Or a run. Or a combo walk\run. Zumba class? Yoga or Pilates? Really, you are more amazing than you imagine! Give it a try and tell me how it went!

 

One wintery day last week, my two rascals wanted to go sledding. However, I wanted to go running. We compromised! I would walk them to the sledding hill, and run around the track while they were having fun sledding. I knew based on previous winters that it would take some doing to make running in this winter wonderland a warm, safe and dry experience.

The snow at this point in time was 6 or 7″ deep with an icy crust.  I have tried running with snow shoes on in similar conditions and not had a whole lot of luck. (Although I know they make snow shoes designed for running). I gave some thought to what would make running in these conditions doable, and this is the gear I wound up choosing.

Footwear

First on my list was footwear. What would work best? Running shoes were out of the question. Snow boots were too heavy and clunky. A quick search of the basement turned up nearly forgotten treasure: my mom’s Adidas leather running boots (circa 1984)! I knew I would sink through the crust of the ice into the snow thereby filling my shoes with snow making my feet wet. These boots were the perfect solution.

Knowing my readers would want something similar I researched what 40 years of shoe evolution had produced. I found these Adidas snow running boots – Adidas Women’s Choleah Laceup CP Pl Snow Boots

First of all, isn’t it great they are designed specifically for snow and running. Second of all, these are much more lightweight than my mom’s, and will probably stay waterproof longer than leather. Unless you love all things vintage or you want to travel back in time 30 years to Germany, this is a better option!

Traction

Second, I thought I would need something to stop me from slipping and sliding around the track. So I laced on my Yaktrax Pro Traction Cleats for Snow and Ice  since we were headed out onto the ice. These are simple to use and strap on to any boot or shoe, and look like chains for  your shoes. The ends are rubber and slip over the toe and heel of your boot. It is anchored with a simple velcro strap over the top of your shoe.

“The Rascals” just wore boots without any Yaktrax, and slipped and slid their way to the sledding hill, giggling all the way. This totally reinforced my decision and my power going uphill, that I had made a great choice.

Warmth

Third, I was lucky enough to be given a Nike Aeroloft 800 Metallic Women’s Running Vest for Christmas. This is lightweight warmth technology at its finest!

My vest is a version of the jackets made for the American Olympians in Sochi. You hardly know you are wearing it and they put a very handy, nice sized cell phone pocket in the lower back area. I have taken it to the mountain snowboarding, worn it to soccer games, and find it ubiquitous for many sporting events.  

Waterproofing

Further, not to leave out the third major sporting goods company based in Portland, I have my Columbia Sportswear snow pants on. Like yoga pants, they are slightly flared at the bottom to accommodate boots, but not so flared that the extra material flaps together and drives you crazy! I added this layer because if it started to snow again, I didn’t want to get wet. I knew we would be outside for an extended period of time and staying dry was going to be absolutely essential to our enjoyment.

In case your mother didn’t tell you – under no circumstances allow any of your layers to be cotton! Our local century-old Portland mountain climbing group, Mazamas, say “cotton kills”! Why? When cotton gets wet you lose its insulating properties because the air pockets in the fabric are full of water. If you sweat, you are the source of the water and any cotton absorbs that water. Finally, if the air is colder than your body temperature, you will feel cold because your cotton clothing is full of water and not providing any insulation. In other words, don’t wear cotton!

Headwear

Another part of my body that seems to get cold is my ears. My dad loves to call these things “ear brassieres” but I think the rest of the world refers to them as headbands. This particular headband is a combination of fleece and a polyester knit layer. The double layer versus a single layer, although not wind proof, seems to at least break the wind. I get too hot wearing a full hat, and since you loose a major portion of your heat through the top of your head, it allows me to stay the perfect temperature.

Therefore if you’d like to go running or walking in the snow, include in your layers these 5 items.  Items from a tried and true field tester!

Pin this image to your Pinterest board for an easy reminder of winter running gear!

 

What to take with you on a plane trip.

On a recent trip to Santa Barbara, I found myself thinking about travel and how it wears the body down. I did a quick inventory of what I had with me, and what I had forgotton.

Number one on my list as a must have: Pop Top Water bottle

Pop top water bottles. Not screw top. Pop top water bottles only require one hand to operate. Screw top water bottles need two hands, and never get their tops unscrewed. Result=dehydration. Remember, if you are thirsty, it is too late! You are already dehydrated. Beat hydration to the punch!

 

Number Two is Tennis Balls

Two tennis balls in a sock for my mid back. It makes all chairs much more comfortable as it supports me in sitting up correctly, but additionally puts pressure on the muscles running parallel to the spine. That keeps my back loose!

 

 

 

 

Number 3 is a Foam Roller

My foam roller, which is hollow in the middle. In your suitcase it can be stuffed with clothes, but this trip I carried it on. I tried putting it behind my back, and under one leg, to no avail. However, it made a great footrest and I rolled out my feet, to the delight of my arches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

# 4 Snacks

Compact and protein focused for sustained energy. It is bad planning to be starving upon arriving at your destination!

#5 Socks

Why not slip off your shoes and keep your feet warm and comfy for the duration if the flight?

 I hope you find this list useful. 

 A Handy Reminder Card for you

Pin the image below to remind yourself of your essential travel items the next time you find yourself heading to the airport on a trip.