Tag Archives: Dicharry

Help for New Runners: a conversation with Healthynomics

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So, you read the “4 exercises every runner should do this month!” in Runner’s World. You even like the 6-pack abs you see on the cover. You wonder how many miles you have to run before yours pop out like that too?

Your best friend challenged you to sign up for a 10K in a few months. And your trip to the running store left you so confused on what to buy that you are thinking about just wearing the beater shoes you use to cut grass.

and we haven’t even started a conversation about chocolate milk being the best recovery drink or not…….there’s a ton of info out there. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with many thousands of runners. If you ever wondered what kind of simple advice goes a long way to set you on the right course for a smooth start and long term success, you just might want to check this out. Healthynomics asked some questions – and you’ll get some answers. Take a listen here: 

Getting Started With Running: Choosing shoes, prepping the body, and more!

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Does barefoot running really impact injury or performance? Evidence for the peanut gallery

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Screen Shot 2014-05-16 at 2.34.30 AMOK…..most of you are going to have a field day with this blog post, so let’s just get it out there. Barefoot running came in a BIG way. And like most BIG things that come quickly, its fading at a rapid rate. A lot of people think barefoot runners are nuts, and begging for injury. And others think that the injury risk is the same as those who wear shoes, but the location of injury in the body will just move from one to another. Well, I’m not really a fan of speculation.

Some years ago, I put out a survey to barefoot runners with some simple questions. How much to you run barefoot? Why did you go down this path? Did barefoot running impact your injury risk or performance? Over 500  runners responded. Thank you interweb.

To be 100% forthcoming, the study is biased towards runners who have actually tried barefoot running (not minimal footwear, but true barefoot). Duh, you had to have experience running barefoot to answer the questions! Barefoot runners are a passionate bunch, but we made the default assumption that people tell the truth. And yes, its just a survey. But it provides an interesting slant. Instead of wondering if barefoot running works, why not just ask people who do it?

This study, “Barefoot Running: Evidence from the Field” was just published in the Journal of Sport and Health Science, and you can get a full download right here. And for those of you who just want the simple version, the abstract is below.

Now I’m not saying that all of you should ditch your shoes for 100% of your mileage. But this idea of barefoot running supports a very critical concept. Feet are capable of some pretty good work. Barefoot running, when done in the right volume and circumstances, can be a great training tool to help you build a better body. And no matter what side of the barefoot debate you stand on, putting better bodies into running is a concept we can all get behind.

Abstract

Background

Running is becoming an increasingly popular activity among Americans with over 50 million participants. Running shoe research and technology has continued to advance with no decrease in overall running injury rates. A growing group of runners are making the choice to try the minimal or barefoot running styles of the pre-modern running shoe era. There is some evidence of decreased forces and torques on the lower extremities with barefoot running, but no clear data regarding how this corresponds with injuries. The purpose of this survey study was to examine factors related to performance and injury in runners who have tried barefoot running.

Methods

The University of Virginia Center for Endurance Sport created a 10-question survey regarding barefoot running that was posted on a variety of running blogs and FaceBook pages. Percentages were calculated for each question across all surveys. Five hundred and nine participants responded with over 93% of them incorporating some type of barefoot running into their weekly mileage.

Results

A majority of the participants (53%) viewed barefoot running as a training tool to improve specific aspects of their running. However, close to half (46%) viewed barefoot training as a viable alternative to shoes for logging their miles. A large portion of runners initially tried barefoot running due to the promise of improved efficiency (60%), an attempt to get past injury (53%) and/or the recent media hype around the practice (52%).

A large majority (68%) of runners participating in the study experienced no new injuries after starting barefoot running. In fact, most respondents (69%) actually had their previous injuries go away after starting barefoot running. Runners responded that their previous knee (46%), foot (19%), ankle (17%), hip (14%), and low back (14%) injuries all proceeded to improve after starting barefoot running.

Conclusion

Prior studies have found that barefoot running often changes biomechanics compared to shod running with a hypothesized relationship of decreased injuries. This paper reports the result of a survey of 509 runners. The results suggest that a large percentage of this sample of runners experienced benefits or no serious harm from transitioning to barefoot or minimal shoe running.

a new way to train for running. Lava magazine and Linsey Corbin lead the way

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Its not all blood, sweat, and grinding to the same ‘ol tune.

Lava magazine spoke to Linsey Corbin to discuss the innovative things we did together to rehab her injury and get her ready to run Kona. Yup, a 9 mile long run, plus some outside the box thinking = a 3:04 marathon at IM world championships.Check out the full article for the story by Lava. 

Training the old way is boring. Training the new way is faster (and fun!)

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Webinar of the month: Running Footwear

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USA Triathlon selected my webinar “Running Footwear:  A critical look at what we know about footwear, and how to select the right shoes for your athlete.” as the February spotlight. This presentation is loaded with objective information and references to understand what shoes do (and don’t do) and help you see past the marketing hype to select the right tool for your runs.

Smarter runners make smarter decisions on footwear!

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Anatomy for Runners: Top 9 Thought Provoking Books of 2013

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Its always nice to get a shout out. Steve Magness is one of the “better thinkers” in the world of running, coaching, and athlete performance, and I respect his opinion highly. Apparently, Steve is nice enough to respect mine as well, and named Anatomy for Runners as one if his “Top 9 Though Provoking Books of 2013” – thanks Steve. If you live under a rock, and haven’t come across his amazing blog, I highly recommend checking it out: the Science of Running.

And while I’m at it, I’d like to say thanks to all of you who have purchased the book. I teach all over the country, and the number of clinicians and coaches who already have the book, and actually USE it daily on their teams and patients is, well, quite humbling. I know the little niche I operate in will never reach the status of the Harry Potter, but there are over 11,000 of you around the world reading this book over the past year. I hope its making you rethink the way you approach your training, and your patients, your teams, and ultimately producing better results. If you’d like to pick up a copy, click on the link on the right side of the page!

The work of a decade of my career, bound into the "take home version" for you.

The work of a decade of my career, bound into the “take home version” for you.

Brain Camps and Tri-camp: education for you and yours this new year

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Happy NY! and with a new year, hopefully comes new stuff to put in your brain. Some of the knowledge below will help with your patients (talking to you MD’s and PT’s) , some will help your clients (hey coach!), and some is for you the athlete ( yup – come spoil yourself in a complete winter triathlon immersion camp here in Bend, OR). Together, we’ll discuss research and concepts that guide our thought process and training, do hands on assessments, drills, and interventions to help us all do what we do better.

Jan 16-17th
I’m headed back home to New Orleans to teach at the USA Triathlon Certification Course. If you are seeking to get certified as a Level 1 coach, or if you are a current USAT LEvel 1 coach and looking to get your Youth Coaching certification, follow this link for details. As a bonus, I’ll be offering a course on thursday the 16th on “Bike Fit for Performance” – of note, you can register for the Bike Fit talk even if you aren’t planning on going to the full Triathlon certification course. Click here for registration info on both.

Jan 25-26
Calling all Physicians, Therapists, and Athletic Trainers: Join us for the Health Running Course in beautiful and sunny Laguna Niguel, CA. Check out the link for an action packed weekend of peer-reviewed clinical knowledge and hands-on sessions designed to help you help your patients. At the end of the day, run along the cliffs and go for a surf. Not a bad place to be in January!

Jan 31st – Feb 2
Athletes, this one is for you. the REP Lab is hosting its first annual Winter Triathlon Skills Camp. We’ll talk shop, you’ll talk to professional triathletes, you’ll outline off-season conditioning plans and strength routines, do swimming form clinics, performance bike fits, and a 3D instrumented runing gait analysis. That’s right – a complete soup-to-nuts guided plan. Bring your 2014 goals, your gear, and a notepad, because we designed this camp to build a better you and a better season. NOW is the time of the year to make things better  – don’t wait until 2 weeks before your first race! More info in the link.

March 7th -8th
Clinicians, this is not to be missed. Join us at the longest running, running-speciifc CME course out there: UVA Running Medicine. This 11th annual event will be a dual focus on foot and ankle mechanics as well as strength and power development for endurance runners, field athletes, and sprinters. We are very excited to have Dr. Brad DeWeese as our keynote presenter this year. As of today- there are a few spots left for the Saturday hands-on lab, so register soon if you’d like to join us (the lab will sell out). Note: this isn’t a simple link – click here, then click on “live conferences” and then scroll down until you see “UVA Running Medicine” – you can download the brochure and register from there.

A lot of time and energy goes into each of these events to ensure that you have the best experience possible –  Hope to see you soon!

 

NPR asked: do smarter shoes make smarter runners?

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Brace yourself. You thought heart rate and GPS was cool? The tech revolution is coming to running in a major way. Sure, it’s got some hurdles, but its likely going to be easier than signing up for health care insurance online.

So what if your shoe could tell you about your foot strike ? would it matter? what if you had gear that could tell you about more than foot strike?  What can Tech do for you as an athlete?

Check out this link to listen to the NPR interview for some answers.
And if the merging of tech and athletics intrigues you, check out this article I wrote for Spark/Qualcomm.

Cool technology + smart people to make sense of it = some pretty cool times for you as an athlete.

 

Running around from USATF Nationals to USATF Nationals

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Last week, I had the privilege of jumping on a plane and traveling to speak at the USA Track and Field National Conference in Indianapolis. It was a great melding of the minds, with the focus on “rebuilding” the athlete pool. I was asked to speak about injury and trying to reduce injury. My talk was titled: “Solving the mystery of running: practices for sustaining an injury free career.” Given that over half of runners get hurt every year, its a pretty important concept to take a step back and try to STOP this madness. In this presentation we talked about how and why mobility, stability, strength, and power are all unique traits that runners must have, and how these attributes directly transfer to gait. And most importantly, how to improve deficits you’ll find in your runners. So after a day of great discussion, meetings, and networking,  I jumped on a plane back home to Bend, OR.

USATF Nationals to NationalsAnd nationals followed me back home!- This weekend is the USATF National Cross Country Club Championships.  About a thousand runners are converging here in Bend to see which XC Club can take the cake. Local stud, Max King, has organized a challenging course for Saturday. On Friday, I’ll be hosting an all-star athlete panel Q&A featuring: Lauren Fleshman, Besty Flood, Mario Mendosa, Stephanie Howe, and Max King. If anyone wants to ask the best what makes them the best, and gain some scientific insight as to why and how these concepts may make sense for you, come on by – we’ll see you at 4 PM PST at the event expo.  And on Saturday (raceday!), we’ll see you starting at 9 AM for the community run. The REP Lab tents  will have fire pits, hot chocolate, a propane heater, and most importantly – we’ll be hosting a holiday cookie swap!  -that’s right – bake some cookies, trade em out, and eat up. And yes, yours truly will be awarding bragging rights for the best cookie at nationals. Sugar cookies are cute, but don’t stand a chance. To all the potential bakers out there, I’ll give you a hint – don’t bother bringing an entry without chocolate if you really do want to win. And while you are munching, you’ll be cheering as MC’s Jesse Thomas and Matt Lieto calling the races from 10 until 2. And rumor has it there are some after-parties happening ’round town……come see us at the tent and we’ll give you the scoop.

And if you can’t make it to Bend this weekend, Make sure to check out the Runner’s World Google Hangout with Oiselle’s Project Little Wing. The REP Lab is proud that these elite women  call our clinic home for their performance and injury prevention needs.

So this weekend: listen to the experts, eat cookies, and run…..that about sums it up!

Why is stability important for long term athletic success?

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Success as an athletes depends on an intact joint, strong muscular support, and specific control from our brain to use the right amount of force for the job. But what happens when our joint is chronically damaged? Is your career over? Let’s take a detailed look at how the body adapts, and even improves with stability training.

Warning: I shot this quickly between patients…..there is some fast talking going on at times…….

Road vs. Cyclocross Bike Fit: what’s the difference?

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A lot of hype concerning the difference between fitting a road bike and a cyclocross bike could be cleared up if we all agree on two simple things: put the engine in the right place, and then adjust for handling and comfort. Let’s break this down.

Saddle position

Your pedals are driven by large muscles surrounding the trunk, hips and knees. In fact, about 98.8% of the force you deliver to the pedals comes from your hips and knees. That’s right, the ankle only produces a very small percentage of your total power. So it makes sense to have the saddle height and setback (also called for-aft position) the same between your road and cross bikes to maximize power production. Why would you select a saddle position that compromises power output? Keep it simple. If you like your current saddle placement on your road bike, there is zero reason to change it on your ‘cross bike.

Handling and comfort

Good bar position allows you to move around while properly weighting the front end for corners and technical terrain | Photo © Jill Rosell Photography

Good bar position allows you to move around while properly weighting the front end for corners and technical terrain | Photo © Jill Rosell Photography

Okay, now here’s where things are a bit different. Instead of rolling your slick tire down fresh asphalt, you’ve got to contend with dusty pumice, wet grass, rocks, roots, and the nutrient ‘crossers crave: mud! In short, it’s critical to have a good handling front end. This means that you want to have a little less weight on the front so that you can lift your front end over obstacles easier. Careful though, too little weight on the front end will bring your torso too upright make it hard for your front tire to bite and send you skittering wide towards the outside of the turn. Let’s see how this all plays out in fit.

  • ‘Cross bikes typically have a higher bottom bracket. If you were smart, you’d kept your saddle in the same place as your (properly fitted) road bike.  This means that your saddle is higher in the air than your road bike. Since your saddle is higher, your handlebars also need to be higher.
  • Hand-grip placement for optimal handling: A lot of people rarely use their drops on their road bike. Then when on the ‘cross course, they find that they are forced into the drops on steep downhills to brake and get a better grip on the front end. Most riders find the bike is much more stable when conditions get squirrely if they use the drops. So if you are going to be in the drops, make sure you are comfortable.

So what’s the secret recipe to make sense of it all?

It’s simple really; the goal is to get the bars a bit “closer” to you. And you can do this in three different ways. You can run a shorter stem to move the bars closer, you can run your bars higher (by putting a few spacers under the stem or by using a stem with more rise), or a combination of both. I typically recommend that riders start by raising their bars first (because this usually only means moving spacers or flipping a stem). Setting up the bars with some combination of “up and back” will allow you comfortable access to the drops for good grip and handling, and while still allowing you to have optimal engine placement so you don’t lose any precious watts.

Powerful, sketchy, and somewhat comfortable. Yeap; sounds just like ‘cross racing!