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Exercise & Fitness VII


Stubby

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Did any of you guys catch the pole dancing thread a little while back? For those who didn't.
came up and it's absolutely mind blowing. Don't worry, safe for work.

Mind blowing indeed -- but not quite as much as

, at least not to my eyes. He also has a few impressive and hilarious videos together with a friend; my favorites are
and
. Finally,
are pretty amazing, too.

The world would be a more fun place if everybody knew how to do stuff like that.

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So I went for a run yesterday trying to train a bit in preparation for running barefoot. It was just on the treadmill at the gym, but I switched up and did ten minutes on my toes (balls of my feet) and ten minutes running normally, ten minutes on my toes and then normal for the rest of for miles. It felt ok, although I could definitely feel it in my calves a lot.

At the time I was thinking that I should maybe have done another 10 minutes on my toes, since it didn't seem like such a big deal.

Today my calves are informing me that I'm a fool for doing that much. They're aching and sore and I'm limping everywhere I try to walk. It looks like I'm going to be resting for the next several days. My right calf is in particular pain and has been bothering me for some time. I'm not sure how long I need to rest it or what I need to do. Heat? Cold? Just rest?

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So I went for a run yesterday trying to train a bit in preparation for running barefoot. It was just on the treadmill at the gym, but I switched up and did ten minutes on my toes (balls of my feet) and ten minutes running normally, ten minutes on my toes and then normal for the rest of for miles. It felt ok, although I could definitely feel it in my calves a lot.

At the time I was thinking that I should maybe have done another 10 minutes on my toes, since it didn't seem like such a big deal.

Today my calves are informing me that I'm a fool for doing that much. They're aching and sore and I'm limping everywhere I try to walk. It looks like I'm going to be resting for the next several days. My right calf is in particular pain and has been bothering me for some time. I'm not sure how long I need to rest it or what I need to do. Heat? Cold? Just rest?

If you want to try to train yourself to run barefoot (or near barefoot by using something like the Vibram 5 Fingers) you should be training in distance racing flats. You should also probably not be running on your toes, that can end up causing pain in your heel. Try landing on the middle of your foot while running in flats, that is the recommended method. I did some of it and my calves are pretty sore, and parts of my feet too.

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Couldn’t run the last two weeks because of travel and insane amounts of work (organised a conference).

So I’m pretty happy to report another 12 km, in 67 minutes, i.e., no noticeable slow-down. Apparently the stress kept in me in shape. Total 118.

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Finally managed to nail the back lever today, though as you can see, it's far from perfect. I need to get my whole spine straighter and look directly forwards instead of down. I also need to fully extend my legs and engage my hips more. The less said about the wrists the better. Still, it's a fair improvement and I'm happy with my progress so far.

One day, I'd love to be able to do this.

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So I went for a run yesterday trying to train a bit in preparation for running barefoot. It was just on the treadmill at the gym, but I switched up and did ten minutes on my toes (balls of my feet) and ten minutes running normally, ten minutes on my toes and then normal for the rest of for miles. It felt ok, although I could definitely feel it in my calves a lot.

At the time I was thinking that I should maybe have done another 10 minutes on my toes, since it didn't seem like such a big deal.

Today my calves are informing me that I'm a fool for doing that much. They're aching and sore and I'm limping everywhere I try to walk. It looks like I'm going to be resting for the next several days. My right calf is in particular pain and has been bothering me for some time. I'm not sure how long I need to rest it or what I need to do. Heat? Cold? Just rest?

I'm still blinking a bit at the idea of running on the toes on a treadmill. Do you mean you were actually on your tip toes the whole time, not letting your heels strike the surface? That seems like a hazardous idea...

Ideas for your pain:

Soak in a hot tub with epsom salt

Self massage on a foam roller: drape calves over the roller, turn toes out and in, to cross-wise massage the calves. This might hurt...but in a massage-y sort of good way.

Go get a pedicure. They'll massage your calves for you!

Stretch those poor calves out! Simple one: stand with toes on a step, hang heels below the level of the step...ahhh!.

I would recommend that you strengthen your feet for barefoot running by walking around barefoot in your everyday life as much as possible, to get the arches accustomed to new effort. Then, if you have a beach or a giant sandbox (volleyball court?), try doing some barefoot running on both hard-packed sand (the sand that has recently been packed down by the water and is still damp) and soft dry sand.

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Finally managed to nail the back lever today, though as you can see, it's far from perfect. I need to get my whole spine straighter and look directly forwards instead of down. I also need to fully extend my legs and engage my hips more. The less said about the wrists the better. Still, it's a fair improvement and I'm happy with my progress so far.

One day, I'd love to be able to do this.

Thats awesome.

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When I said running on my toes I meant on the balls of my feet.

I have been stretching my calves, I should say. Today they were a lot worse, actually (which is to be expected, since it's the second day), but I applied heat and massaged them, and am now doing some stretches.

As far as walking around barefoot, that's not really possible at work and whatnot. I can try buying the vibram shoes and wearing them around, casually, and I suppose I could even wear them to work for that matter. I was thinking that practicing a bit before even trying the vibrams would be a good idea, in part because it's easier just to switch back and forth between running on the balls of my feet and running normally than it is to switch shoes...

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Like I said a little further upthread, I'm working towards being able to do a few of the more basic ones. Muscle-ups, elbow lever and nearly a back lever at the moment. Handstand, planche, front lever, flag, and maybe even iron cross one day, those are a few long-term goals for the future.

How do you train for this stuff? I'm still pretty a beginner at working out. I just got off the assisted dip machine and I'm still using the machine for assisted wide grip pullups. i'd love to be able to do some of the cool body exercises.

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How do you train for this stuff? I'm still pretty a beginner at working out. I just got off the assisted dip machine and I'm still using the machine for assisted wide grip pullups. i'd love to be able to do some of the cool body exercises.

I'm using beastskills as a resource at the moment. It has a load of tutorials for a lot of cool bodyweight exercises, including a gradual progression from easy movements to harder ones. Of course, you need to continue with the basics as well. Compound weight lifting including dips, pullups, squats and deadlifts (amongst others) is very important.

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A question for the hikers: Do you Achilles' Tendons hurt after a hike? I took my son on a short hike yesterday (just 2 miles) and afterwards my tendons were killing me. This happened before, but I figured I had over done it on the 7 mile hike.

Is it just my shoes? I tend to wear sneakers with good arch support.

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Finally managed to nail the back lever today, though as you can see, it's far from perfect. I need to get my whole spine straighter and look directly forwards instead of down. I also need to fully extend my legs and engage my hips more. The less said about the wrists the better. Still, it's a fair improvement and I'm happy with my progress so far.

One day, I'd love to be able to do this.

wow, that's pretty cool, Liff. I'd love to be able to do that stuff too. Talk about goals, that would be my coup de grace. Aside from spending two hours a day in the gym, every day for a year, I just don't see it happening for me.

I'm feeling a bit unmotivated today. I'll pack my gym clothes anyway, but I don't think I'll be working out. c'est la vie.

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Lany and needle: If your Achilles tendon pain is a persistent problem, you should see a doctor. I learned this the hard way: I got tendinitis in my Achilles tendon back when I was an active sprinter (about ten years ago), and kept ignoring it until it was too painful to run. I couldn't run or work out seriously for many years afterwards. The tendon felt perfectly OK as long as I didn't do any physical exercise, but whenever I tried to start training again, the old pain quickly returned. I think I've finally got rid of the problem now, but it's taken ten years, and I still fear that it will return some day.

Something completely different:

How do you guys squat? Until recently, I've always been doing what appears to be known as a high bar Olympic squat: Bar placed high on the traps, relatively narrow stand, and going all the way down until the thighs touch the calves. This autumn, I've tried getting used to low bar squats, which is what most people seem to recommend. The arguments in favor of the low bar squat mostly make sense to me (in particular the use of bigger muscle groups and the increased emphasis on the posterior chain), but in practice I find it extremely uncomfortable. It hurts my shoulders and lower back, and it is difficult to get a feel for exactly how deep to go. Are there any serious disadvantages of doing only Olympic squats, as long as I also train my posterior chain with deadlifts, cleans and snatches?

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No, I haven't had any achilles tendon pain from hiking, or running for that matter. Not sure what would be the cause for such pain. The only pain I've had from hiking or running have been muscle aches in the quads, calves or hamstrings, and occasionally some soreness in or around the knees.

Started running again after falling off the wagon for a couple months. I've been going on a long hike each weekend, but I've noticed that my hiking performance has sort of plateaued. So I'm getting back into running again. I recently moved, so I've needed to find some new trails. I've found two good ones so far. One is about 5 miles, back and forth, and has a gentle incline. The other is a 5 mile loop with about 1000' gain, a real buttkicker.

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No, I haven't had any achilles tendon pain from hiking, or running for that matter. Not sure what would be the cause for such pain. The only pain I've had from hiking or running have been muscle aches in the quads, calves or hamstrings, and occasionally some soreness in or around the knees.

Ditto this for hiking. What sort of surface and/or incline was your hike on? It definitely makes a difference.

I went hiking for the first time in a while on soft, unstable ground--we were at Lassen National Park and my calves were kind of sore after hiking through a bunch of tephra (that's pebble-sized volcanic debris, the equivalent of big ash) for several hours. It wasn't that long of a hike, we just stopped a lot (because this was actually a lesson for high-schoolers, not one of my personal geologic death marches) and I was surprised in the afternoon. Maybe I need to take more long walks on the beach when I'm at home. :P

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Are there any serious disadvantages of doing only Olympic squats, as long as I also train my posterior chain with deadlifts, cleans and snatches?

If you have the mobility to do Olympic squats properly there can only be advantages in doing them. They're good for the knee joint, mobility and building quad strength, don't stop doing them. With low bar squats and a wider stance the knee joint will usually be at its most vulnerable position right when you change direction and start pushing the weight back up. Also, like you said, you'll be using mostly your glutes and hams to complete the lift and in time your quads will get weaker in comparsion to the antagonist muscles. Now, I'm not saying the Olympic squat is better than the low bar squat, just that they're different kind of exercises with emphasis on different musclegroups. Since your goal is general conditioning for the track I suggest you keep on doing those Olympic squats just so you're doing something with the full range of motion of the knee joint. On the track you'll never have to use the full ROM and you can guess that with the forces pounding the joint every time you run you'll be happier in the long term if the joint strong throughout. Besides you get much the same benefits with deadlifting and GMs that you would with low bar squats.

All that rant aside the transfer effects of Olympic squats to your sports are pretty poor. I'd still do them periodically just to keep the joint healthy and the muscles around it strong. On a side note I used to despise direct ab work but I've found that everyone doing real sports should do it. Being able to do a set of 10 with a 25 kg plate behind your neck is a good start.

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Yowza! So I've been doing some minimalist footwear training by doing 3 miles in my old racing flats, and also changing up my stride to strike with the midfoot instead of the heel. My ankles are a bit tired, and my knees feel heavy and dead. There is a soreness on the inside front of my calf which I haven't felt before, and my FEET are tired.

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How old are your running shoes? If they're older than a year, it could be that the insole needs replacing, if the shoes otherwise look good. I replaced my insoles and it made a world of difference.

hmm. Shoes aren't old, but they only cost about 15 Euros. Could be that.. :)

Anyway, not painful today. I'll try running and if they get sore I'll stop. Don't really want to muck about with tendons, right enough. Thanks for the feedback, all.

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