Healthy Living and Exercise thread

[ztemhead]

when I was 140 lbs in high school I used to run 15 miles in sprinter's flats, and it was no big thing. It actually felt better because they were so light.

nowadays I wear New Balance trainers because they're the only ones that come in widths. My knees are shite (see above) so when I do run instead of use the cross trainer, good shoes are key.

[Stego]

No, it' ABSOLUTELY unreasonable. It's FAR more unreasonable than a Cosmo sex tips article.

Bad blisters lead to infections. I've seen someone lose half of their foot due to cellulitis caused by a horrible blister. They considered taking his leg at the knee. He was 18 and an elite athlete.

Guess what, people? Nike's don't do this to your feet. And clean socks are just as important.

Now I'm not saying that running on your own treadmill at home while barefoot is wrong (assuming you disinfect it regularly), but if you leave your home and go barefoot, you're *edited because I do not want to sound even more like a dick*

And I'm not even getting into the actual injuries that can befall your feet or shins or ankles through lack of cushioning and support.

There are running shoes and there are cross trainers and there are lifting shoes and there are basketball shoes and there are wrestling shoes and cleats and tabi's. There is a reason this footwear exists, and it is not to cover odor.

If you want to rethink commonly held human belief systems, I suggest you start with religion, capitalism, and personal prejudices. Not the benefits of SHOES, for Heinlein's sake.

[ztemhead]

btw, powerlifter guy I know (world record holder in deadlift) lifts barefoot unless forced to wear shoes by competition rules. not sure why, but he says it helps.

[Eurytus]

No, it' ABSOLUTELY unreasonable. It's FAR more unreasonable than a Cosmo sex tips article.

Bad blisters lead to infections. I've seen someone lose half of their foot due to cellulitis caused by a horrible blister. They considered taking his leg at the knee. He was 18 and an elite athlete.

Guess what, people? Nike's don't do this to your feet. And clean socks are just as important.

Now I'm not saying that running on your own treadmill at home while barefoot is wrong (assuming you disinfect it regularly), but if you leave your home and go barefoot, you're *edited because I do not want to sound even more like a dick*

And I'm not even getting into the actual injuries that can befall your feet or shins or ankles through lack of cushioning and support.

There are running shoes and there are cross trainers and there are lifting shoes and there are basketball shoes and there are wrestling shoes and cleats and tabi's. There is a reason this footwear exists, and it is not to cover odor.

If you want to rethink commonly held human belief systems, I suggest you start with religion, capitalism, and personal prejudices. Not the benefits of SHOES, for Heinlein's sake.

Why would the references to personal experience in the article be any less relevant than the personal experience referenced in your post?

[CiaranAnnrach]

Whoa, calm down a bit. This isn't something to get that worked up over.

If you want to write off the article and my thoughts based on it as just some uninformed idiot's ramblings, go right ahead, I'm not going to try and argue. But, I'm the kind of person who prefers to see what works for me, and what I pulled from the article is that shoes with thick heels might not be the best, so I'm going to see how some minimalistic running shoes work out. If they give me blisters, well, I know how to deal with those and I'll stop using them for running. If they don't, well, then I found something new that works for me. Either way, I've learned something new.

But there's no need to go off the deep end every time someone suggests something new/different. All that's gonna do is make people stop bringing the suggestions/ideas up and cause them to avoid the forum in general.

[Frosty]

I have been light jogging - I mean I jog slower than most walk - but my knees have been taking it well - wow.

Now at work it feels already like little shocks of energy are firing up my like a bionics - very cool! :D

[Stego]

CiaranAnnrach,

My background is quite a while in the Marine Corps. I've seen what happens when people do not care for their feet. I've seen foot diseases and fungi that would make you vomit. I've seen stress fractures in the dozens, knee and ankle injuries aplenty. The best way to avoid all of this shit is by wearing the absolute highest quality footwear possible, constantly changing your socks, and keeping your feet clean.

When an article comes along and says barefoot is better, AND I see people taking it seriously, I feel the need to say something. It's worse than telling people to not wear condoms with strangers, IMO.

[Eponine]

No, it' ABSOLUTELY unreasonable. It's FAR more unreasonable than a Cosmo sex tips article.

Bad blisters lead to infections. I've seen someone lose half of their foot due to cellulitis caused by a horrible blister. They considered taking his leg at the knee. He was 18 and an elite athlete.

Guess what, people? Nike's don't do this to your feet. And clean socks are just as important.

Now I'm not saying that running on your own treadmill at home while barefoot is wrong (assuming you disinfect it regularly), but if you leave your home and go barefoot, you're *edited because I do not want to sound even more like a dick*

I'm really not sure how you decided that you were the expert on distance running. Are you talking about barefoot running or minimalism? The article does exaggerate (although you do too), but you know, the elites and top college runners who do some barefoot running (as part of a program, not because they grew up with no shoes) don't exactly go out on the concrete and run over broken glass. It is controlled work on a groomed field and I am sure they clean their feet afterward. If you're talking about minimalism... well I really just have to laugh. But I'm sure you know more about running shoes than Vin Lananna.

I'm on the side of minimalism in the sense that what most people think of as running shoes- the large heeled, over-cushioned, stability shoes that are the most expensive and are pushed in the running sections of stores like Dicks or other chain sports stores are not good for high mileage and don't let one's feet move naturally. There's no reason why a well-fitted minimalist shoe would be more likely to give you blisters.

[Stego]

I am talking about barefoot running. Barefoot anything.

As for thinking I'm an expert on distance running, well, I'm not. It's a mode of transportation, and I don't imagine there is much to *be* expert about. But I'll admit, I've only run one marathon. And I was forced to do it. I would never do it again.

I don't exaggerate. I simply bludgeon with truth.

For instance, coming into a healthy living thread and bragging to the hundred or so people reading this who are trying to lose weight about how you eat ice cream every day and won't gain weight is pretty fucking inconsiderate of you.

[Yagathai]

When an article comes along and says barefoot is better, AND I see people taking it seriously, I feel the need to say something. It's worse than telling people to not wear condoms with strangers, IMO.

And a lot less fun!

[Liffguard]

Okay, I haven't posted on this thread much but I think I'll get in on this picture and goals thing.

Front

Side

Back

I'm not too bothered about my appearance, but it would be kinda nice to fill out my shoulders a little more and cut my waist down a little. Eh, low priority.

Fitness-wise I have three main goals I'd like to acheive, in different time frames:

By September I aim to be able to run 1.5 miles in less than 9.5 minutes and achieve a level 13 bleep test.

By the end of the year I aim to deadlift 200kg.

Current scores are 10 minutes 30 seconds for the run, level 12.3 for the bleep test and a 160kg deadlift.

Wish me luck.

[Whitestripe]

For instance, coming into a healthy living thread and bragging to the hundred or so people reading this who are trying to lose weight about how you eat ice cream every day and won't gain weight is pretty fucking inconsiderate of you.

Hey now, that is just rude. It's not a weight loss thread. It's a healthy living thread. She's training for a marathon and needs to maintain a certain weight to be healty and fit for the race. Believe it or not, some people *do* have a hard time keeping on weight. They need to eat high fat foods such as ice cream on purpose when they are burning more calories than they usually do under normal circumstances. Really. Training for a marathon would be one of those circumstances.

I dropped weight like you've never seen before when I was nursing, even though breastfeeding mothers are only supposed to need an extra 500 calories a day. I probably out-ate everyone I knew just to keep a miserable 120 pounds on my almost 6-foot frame. I looked like a concentration camp victim, and lemme tell you, there was a lot of ice cream eating going on in my house.

[LugaJetboyGirl]

sleeping right has always been the bane of my existence and the primary thing preventing me from really going to next level, weight/fitness wise. If how tired I'm feeling right now is any indication, this new workout regime is going to break that particular bad habit. I'd have been asleep an hour and half ago except I was watching a movie and had to finish it. now if I can just break that other habit of late night movies...

This is my problem. I have a hard time getting to sleep at the same time every night, which is partly why my participation in this thread is mostly about scheduling and establishing a daily pattern - otherwise I can't exercise and I end up eating pizza because I haven't been to the grocery store in three weeks or I've slept through lunch (1pm). You'll also note that as I type this, it is already past my bedtime.

I had a really hard time getting up with my alarm today just from tossing and turning for no apparent reason last night. I almost didn't go on my daily trek, but in the end made myself do so. It felt crappy for the first part, but I really think that it might be because it was dreary out and my 'shuffle' was shuffling poorly. I was out for about an hour and a half, but I don't feel like I really accomplished much.

Not that I want to enter into the shoe disaster going on in here, but I wear very very thin-soled shoes to run in. They are mega light and hug my feet, so that when I am running on paths (I never run on pavement) I can feel every rock or root or shift in the dirt. I love it, actually, and hate those thick fancy running shoes. And yes, I bought them at Target for less than 30 dollars. My feet are never sore after running and I haven't had any injuries (knock on wood). I'm quite happy with my shoes.

And you know, when it's summer, I go barefoot as much as possible. I do clean my feet, though, and avoid walking in glass or dog poo. Standard operating procedure.

[LugaJetboyGirl]

Fitness-wise I have three main goals I'd like to acheive, in different time frames:

By September I aim to be able to run 1.5 miles in less than 9.5 minutes and achieve a level 13 bleep test.

By the end of the year I aim to deadlift 200kg.

Current scores are 10 minutes 30 seconds for the run, level 12.3 for the bleep test and a 160kg deadlift.

Wish me luck.

Good luck! By then I'll also be doing 100 push ups!

[seastarr]

*plunges happily into shoe disaster*

I have never gotten a blister on my foot from anything other than a poorly fitting shoe or a pointe shoe. If you want to spare yourself blisters, barefoot is the way to go. You will, however, have to exchange the blisters for callouses. I spend 95% of my day barefoot. My feet feel better than they ever did when I had to wear shoes at work. I don't know about running (I wouldn't go for a run on pavement without shoes, but then I wouldn't go for a run on pavement...period) The only time my feet didn't hurt while running was when I lived in Hawaii and I could run on the beach, barefoot.

My kettlebell instructor won't let us lift with shoes. He says it dulls the sensitivity of your feet. He also says you develop a better balance reflex system when you train barefoot, because shoes offer too much support and surface area to stand on, and that makes your balance response sluggish and dull.

I rarely wear shoes for any exercise other than hiking or cycling outdoors. When I do my cycling trainer indoors, I go barefoot. When I use my climbing wall, I'm always barefoot. I know this has made my feet stronger, more supple, and more responsive. They hurt a lot less, too and I can stand on them for hours on end without them getting achy like they once did.

That's just my personal perspective on the matter of shoes. But I live a soft life, mostly indoors on kind surfaces.

If I was a Marine, I am thinking I'd want shoes, sturdy, comfortable ones. When I was hiking in the Amazon Basin, you couldn't have pried my knee high rubber boots off my feet unless I was dead. Certain circumstances do require that you protect your feet and ankles!

[Datepalm]

I am talking about barefoot running. Barefoot anything.

? That seems a bit over the top - i've learned (the hard way) about the importance of foot hygiene, but I still don't find simply going barefoot in any way unhealthy, including in busy urban areas. (Er, I have my barefoot hippie moments.)

I had some upleasant foot stuff in the army (and saw some that was incredibly gross and debilitating) but I was also a lot less hygenic and a lot less fussy about good shoes and such than most, but I also had relatively few problems - both fungal foot fun, and knee and back issues. Not to say that proves anything one way or the other, but these things must stack up differently for different people. (Obvious issues like not wearing the same sock for three weeks or shoes that don't fit well aside.)

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

Hey now, that is just rude. It's not a weight loss thread.

It started off as one, for the reason Stego mentioned (and because I had an extra dose of PMS and those types of comments made me want to cry since I eat less than 1200 calories a day of healthy food and barely lose any weight)

I honestly felt like those types of comments were bragging and rubbing our (us who what to lose weight) noses in the fact that we are over weight.

I was reminded to take others into consideration and I think it is something we all should remember.

eta: I'm not offended now, but when I started the thread I was, which was why I suggested separating the two different goals. I just don't want others who are having a hard time to feel discouraged.

[Eponine]

Thank you LW. Stego, you obviously don't know how barefoot running fits into a running program. If you want to think that running drills and strides barefoot on a field is going to give someone blisters that will require a leg to be taken off, go ahead and think so, but don't pretend like you have some kind of scientific basis for that.

It may not be a popular problem from the other side of things, but trying to keep healthy body weight goes both ways. It's only bragging if you're anorexic and you think the ultimate goal is to become as light as possible. If you're interested in people having healthy bodies, then keeping weight on is as valid a goal as keeping it off. I think that it should be fairly obvious from my pictures that losing weight wouldn't be healthy or attractive. So I have to compensate for the amount of calories I burn through exercise, which I do not do for weight loss, but because I like to compete. The ice cream comment was made lightly and if it was offensive to anyone but Stego, I apologize.

Also, I was told that this was supposed to be about our goals. Keeping weight on until September is my goal. If people don't want me to say that, fine, but don't pretend like it's something I made up to hurt other people's feelings.

Liffguard: :thumbsup:

[CiaranAnnrach]

@Stego,

I'm fully aware you have quite a lot of experience, military training included, with being fit and how to properly do weight training. That's why I have a fair amount of respect for your opinions, but honestly, your stance of bludgeoning your opinion into people isn't going to do much but drive people away. Especially when you throw a blanket over an argument or article, without actually discussing or refuting any of the points were made.

And, I do agree, barefoot is stupid. But minimalistic? Probably not. And I think that's the important thing to [potentially] take away from the article, and the reason I posted it.

[Yagathai]

I am talking about barefoot running. Barefoot anything.

As for thinking I'm an expert on distance running, well, I'm not. It's a mode of transportation, and I don't imagine there is much to *be* expert about. But I'll admit, I've only run one marathon. And I was forced to do it. I would never do it again.

I don't exaggerate. I simply bludgeon with truth.

LOLOLOL I love that.

Barefoot hiking definitely works different muscles than shod hiking does. It's a lot more dangerous, but if you don't break your foot or ankle or tear up your sole or lose a toenail or shatter a toe, your feet do wind up being a lot stronger. People that run barefoot, consistently and for long periods of time, find themselves unable to wear shoes, as their feet do adapt to it.

But you know, I like modern technology like boats so I don't have to swim everywhere, and bags so I don't have to carry a dozen apples in my hand, and antibiotics so I don't die from an earache. So I support shoes as well.