I'm finding myself caught in the crossfire of the Great Endurance Running Wars. Think of it as Born to Run vs. Chronic Cardio. The paleo/CrossFit world has basically rejected "chronic cardio" in favor of sprints, high intensity training, and weight training. The barefoot running world has rejected modern high-heeled running shoes, but embraced endurance running as a core explanation of human evolution. And then there's little old me, caught in the middle -- hosting barefoot running events AND deep in the paleo world.
So who's right?
- In the blue corner....Born to Run. We have Dan Lieberman at the forefront of the science, and Christopher McDougall as the great story-teller in Born to Run. The argument goes: we've been eating meat for more than 2.5 million years. We've only been making projectile weapons for some tens of thousands of years. In the interval, we evolved from upright scavenger to endurance hunter. We are slow sprinters compared to other animals, it'd be too dangerous to try to kill game with just spears, and we have lots of physical adaptations (like sweating) that point to endurance running as an adaptation to run down animals in the noon day heat, killing them of heat exhaustion (aka, persistence hunting). There's a lot more, but that's the quick and dirty.
- In the red corner...chronic cardio. We have folks like Mark Sisson, much of the CrossFit crowd, Art De Vany, Robb Wolf, and more. Sisson gives a pretty good argument for why we didn't evolve to be endurance runners: why run when you can scavenge, a high risk of failure during a persistence hunt without easy access to carbohydrate, and alternate explanations for certain physical adaptations. Persistence hunting is essentially a good trick that we learned, kind of like holding our breath for a long time to gather mollusks from the sea floor. A clever way that some people have developed to get food, but not core to human evolution. We went from weak scavenging (eating what animals left behind), to strong scavenging (scaring off animals before they eat their fill), to use our smarts to kill animals by ambush, running them off a cliff, or hell, throwing rocks at them.
Let me just say that when I first read Born to Run and Lieberman's Running Man hypothesis, I hated it. It went against everything I believed from living a few years in the paleo world (and importantly, what I had been telling other people). That's wrong, I thought. But the barefoot concept made a lot of sense (modern high-heeled running shoes are actually bad), barefoot running seemed like fun, and I gave it a shot. I also heard Dan Lieberman speak at the Harvard Club of NYC, and his lecture was compelling. I started Eating Paleo in NYC in July 2009. I started Barefoot Runners NYC four months later, in November 2009.
Here are a bunch of beliefs I hold:
- Some of the injuries that we associate with "chronic cardio" and distance running are actually due to high-heeled running shoes. And to the bad form that it engenders.
- The American jogging / jogging shoe fad of the past four decades does not represent barefoot running in the same way that the weight lifting that goes on in Bally Total Fitness does not represent CrossFit.
- It's healthier to go barefoot or minimalist in a wide variety of activities, whether standing, walking, or running.
- Barefoot running is fun.
- Barefoot running is psychologically engaging, particularly on trails (where you have to pay closer attention to where you step).
- You can still injure yourself even if you run barefoot. Particularly if you transition to quickly, get caught up in competitive running, and don't listen to your body. Barefoot running is not a foolproof method to never get injured.
- Simply because running is a repetitive motion doesn't mean it's unhealthy. The concept of a repetitive stress injury really only makes sense in relation to whether the creature evolved to do that motion. Fish don't get repetitive stress injuries from swimming, a bird doesn't get repetitive stress injuries from flying. The problem is performing a movement more frequently than your biological design specs are prepared for.
- Frequent injury among healthy minimalist runners would militate against the importance of endurance running. We'll have to see.
- Endurance running should never be your only form of exercise. (Nothing should ever be your only form of exercise.)
- Lieberman has marshaled a lot more evidence in favor of his Running Man Hypothesis than has percolated onto the internet or into a typical article. I'm not going to give an exhaustive catalog, but from thermo-regulation (sweating, the distinctive shape of the human nose, hairlessness) to biomechanics (tendons in the foot, stabilizing muscles for the head, and other parts of the body that tend to appear in the endurance runners of the animal world). This is not a "tired argument", but a completely novel one from the past 5 or 6 years. And he's not "full of crap". Write this guy off at your own risk -- he is more careful than you are.
- At the same time, we could all point to LOTS of academics who get tons of shit wrong. Don't think Lieberman is right just because he's a Harvard professor. Harvard Shmarvard.
- Persistence hunting was not the be all, end all of survival. It would not have been a daily occurrence. It would not have ever been the only source of food, or even meat. And it would have been harder outside of Africa where it's cooler, and the terrain isn't as open and flat (not that all of Africa is open and flat).
- Lieberman has not made any claims for the optimal way to exercise, beyond suggesting that a forefoot strike will reduce your ground impact compared to a heel strike. And whether we evolved to be endurance runners or not, it doesn't mean it's the most effective way to be healthy and train.
- HIT (high-intensity training) and strength training can improve performance in endurance activities, but the reverse doesn't hold. You can get better at marathons by doing CrossFit, but you can't get better at CrossFit by running marathons.
So here's my take:
- I think the paleo world -- like Mark, Robb, and Art -- have a better understanding of what actually works on the ground to make people healthy. And I think the most effective and efficient way to workout, in order to minimize risk of injury and maximize health and longevity, is based on a HIT-based method with a lot of variety, like what that they recommend.
- But I think Lieberman knows a hell of a lot more about evolution. Though I'm not saying he has everything exactly right. But I enjoy barefoot running and the benefits from it, and I think running can be one part of a healthy and fit life.
What do you think?
Comments
I've seen Lierbman speak at a
I've seen Lierbman speak at a leakey foundation talk. It was what inspired me to start barefoot running. I understood what he was saying a bit differently. That endurance hunting was a method we used before we got to the poision arrow stage and was combined with other food gathering methods. Even to the point of simply tracking herds waiting for a kill by another predator.The more important thing Lieberman impressed on me is how much we used to WALK places. I try to walk whenever I can.
As some of the others have
As some of the others have indicated in their comments, these ideas are not necessarily mutually exclusive. My understanding is that persistence hunters were doing mostly very slow jogging, walking and even stopping as needed when hunting. Also, they were doing this activity only about once or twice a week. Most reasonably fit people who follow the "Paleo" lifestyle could maintain this long slow activity once or twice a week with very little adjustment to their training. Just walking a little inbetween jogging and running greatly increase the milage most people can can cover. Unlike today’s endurance athletes, persistence hunters didn’t run long distances on a daily basis, and they did not put any more effort into their running than was necessary. I doubt that persistence hunters would have done any significant mileage between hunts.
Here's a newsflash for you:
Here's a newsflash for you: Human beings are omniverous!If the food and/or activity patterns are natural (i.e. not synthethic/artificial) much of the population is adapted to it or can adapt itself fairly readily to it.But let's note that Vibram 5-fingers and even Tarahumara sandals are synthetic...And let's also note that if you are fairly strong, flexible, and lean, you can adapt to do most activities, especially if you build up to them slowly and steadily over weeks.
Every theory that asserts
Every theory that asserts that evolutionary humans are primary long distance runners would have to explain why women prefer the toned or built body type as opposed to the slender one [1]. My guess: we have probably evolved for a mix of medium distance running or stop and go (see Mr. Sunshine) and heavier work. Look at the men on page 14 of [1] (if you don't have access try [2]). Now take a look at the decathletes in [3] and for comparison at the marathoners in [4]. Now look at the preferred body types (toned and built) in [1] again. Notice something? [1] http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2007/06/19/0146167207303022.full.pd... [2] http://www.diet-blog.com/07/are_muscular_men_more_attractive.php [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon
Every theory that asserts
Every theory that asserts that evolutionary humans are primary long distance runners would have to explain why women prefer the toned or built body type as opposed to the slender one [1]. My guess: we have probably evolved for a mix of medium distance running or stop and go (see Mr. Sunshine) and heavier work. Look at the men on page 14 of [1] (if you don't have access try [2]). Now take a look at the decathletes in [3] and for comparison at the marathoners in [4]. Now look at the preferred body types (toned and built) in [1] again. Notice something? [1] http://psp.sagepub.com/content/early/2007/06/19/0146167207303022.full.pd... [2] http://www.diet-blog.com/07/are_muscular_men_more_attractive.php [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon
Apropos of nothing but I
Apropos of nothing but I thought it's funny: a tweet from The Nerdist: "a 92 pound vegan man climaxing (what it sounds like when doves cry)"
I think there needs to be
I think there needs to be some differentiation between the questions of whether humans evolved as persistance hunters, and whether we are adapted to endurance running.The description of persistance hunting in the book Born to Run indicates that:1) Persistance hunts occurred infrequently) They were a group activity that involved multi-directional intervals, not prolonged steady state in a relatively straight line.Given these facts, it would indicate to me that playing the occasional team sport such as football/rugby would be more in line with persistance hunting, not running long distances on a regular basis.I think the fact that Leiberman is an endurance runner himself clearly influenced his judgement. Perhaps if he were an olympic lifter, and had spent time with Bulgarians rather than Tarhumarans he would have concluded we were evolved to lift heavy things!
Good points Simon.I'm not
Good points Simon.I'm not sure, though, about football being an archetypal human activity. As a little experiment, use a stopwatch to time the amount of effort the average player expends in, for example, a 20-minute period. It's minimal. The bursts are typically 5 to 10 seconds in duration and separated by 1 to 2 minutes of low-level activity (walking, huddling, patting each other on the butt, etc.)As De Vany notes, basketball is probably more like what the optimally fit human body was designed to perform - but how many of us could play high-level basketball for more than a few minutes at a time?
Sorry, I'm a Brit, therefore
Sorry, I'm a Brit, therefore for football, read "soccer"!I'd agree that there is little similiarity between (American) Football and persistance hunting!What I think could be interesting, would be to send a group of soccer/rugby/basket ball players and a group of endurance runners out onto the plains persistance hunting, and see which group brought down the most antelope...
I'm a Brit too! Not a lot of
I'm a Brit too! Not a lot of upper body strength on footballers (soccer players). I'd put my money on rugby or basketball players...
True - Your typical
True - Your typical premiership player would last about 5 seconds on the plains of Africa before jetting home for a manicure and a glass of crystal...
Apparently Premier League
Apparently Premier League footballers are handy, though, with air rifles and such like...
@font-face { font-family:
@font-face {
font-family: "Times New Roman";
}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Not sure why this is an argument. Look to the systems in place. John, your conclusion is right. We are both. We have both fast and slow twitch muscle fibers. Metabolically we have many ways to create energy that suit both endurance and explosiveness. So the ultimate training should probably train all systems
Hi John,One point that the
Hi John,One point that the paleo guys always make is that, to our eyes, the sprinters/lifters have better looking physiques than distance runners. I think they assume that people can radically transform their body type.I chose distance running in school because I was good at it, and built for it (thin distance runner body), At the tryouts, I did well at distance, not so well at sprints.While I think we can modestly change our bodies, I don't think sprinting would have made me into a Carl Lewis type, and vice versa.
Not sure if any one
Not sure if any one mentioned this but don't endurance/marathon runners also tend to be refined carb munchers ? could this and not the actual stumulus of endurance running be the cause of some of the cardiovascular risks.
Not sure if any one
Not sure if any one mentioned this but don't endurance/marathon runners also tend to be refined carb munchers ? could this and not the actual stumulus of endurance running be the cause of some of the cardiovascular risks.
I too have a Harvard Ph.D. in
I too have a Harvard Ph.D. in anthropology, and I have run several marathons. I have also gone hunting with West Africans and most amazingly, with the !kung San of Namibia. With traditional hunters, running is more stop-go. Rarely would one run more that 10-15 miles at a stretch. In my experience, long-distance endurance running breaks down the body, while stop-go builds it up.
Glad you brought this up
Glad you brought this up John. Last year I ran over 800 miles of trails, all in five fingers (KSO Treks), all while eating paleo. My training between races was at most 5 minutes of sprints each week. I will not say it is the healthiest of fitness options and a soccer related knee injury aside, I will not be running another ultramarathon any time soon. There are major differences between a marathon on pavement and an ultra on trail, with river crossings and rock climbing. I downright despise running on pavement, barefoot or not, so in response to your first bullet point I think many injuries are not only from the neolithic shoes but also from the neolithic surface.Running barefoot/minimalist is more efficient. That is why I think the endurance running world is taking to it. I would often question how many steps I took in a 50 mile race... and usually by the end I cursing every final step. Running barefoot/minimalist allowed me to go further and go faster, be it 5k or 50k.Regarding persistance hunting, you could use similar arguments to justify other things: We evolved painting our food on cave walls, so we should all paint before we eat. We evolved smoking/drinking plants that caused us to hallucinate, so we should all go light up and chase our spirit animals round the apartment. I am sure we evolved, and were selected for, doing a lot of things, including stupid things, including desparate things. I am sure we, as a species, have tried everything. Oh yeah, we probably evolved with human sacrifices... now there is something we in the paleo community could bring back! Need to thin out the vegan herds somehow, right?
Hello John, great post,
Hello John, great post, thanks for bringing this topic up for discussion. I've been wondering if some of the negatives associated with cardio are actually diet related and not exercise related. Could the inflammation, etc, we assume results from cardio actually be the result of a western diet and lifestyle and not so much cardio itself? Could eating clean and paleo negate some of the problems we associate with cardio? What do you guys think?
Just make sure that everytime
Just make sure that everytime you do a marathon you eat vast quantities of dead animal on completion :)
or vast quantities of bagels
or vast quantities of bagels
Bagels are fine too, just
Bagels are fine too, just don't discard all that delicious bagel marrow.
I'm not to sure how many
I'm not to sure how many anthropologists believe in the scavanger theory anymore. Early hominids would be at a severe disadvantage in scavaging vs. Hyenas etc. I don't think it is what we are best at.What Leiberman has proposed is supported by something that human kind is best at: distance running - there just isn't a lot out there that comes close.As far as thinking that early hominids had no access to carbs for a distance run - that's a bunch of bahooey. If it there is another thing that humans are good at is finding carbs.
I would like to bring to your
I would like to bring to your attention this short video demostrating the level to which human have mastered the skill of scavenging.
Thanks for this! After
Thanks for this! After reading Born to Run I was torn between focusing on distance running or HIIT/free weights/Crossfit style workouts. I guess there's room for both :)P.S Did anyone notice the difference in stride between the two runners in the photo?
After the landing and your
After the landing and your leg goes behind the toes are pointed, so a muscle at the front of your leg snaps it back so you don't land on your pointed toes. I think its the photo, if you look at the shadow, jureks foot is higher off the ground , his tibials anterior(opposite of the calf muscle)reset his foot so he wouldn't land on his toes. as his knee extends and the gastrocnemius (calves) engage his foot should land with a graceful mid-foot strike.
sharp eyes. yes, jurek
sharp eyes. yes, jurek appears to be running with a heel strike whereas the tarahumara has a forefoot strike
Great topic and discussion.
Great topic and discussion. One other personal consideration is that I find distance running can be meditative in a way that CrossFit absolutely is not. So some people may find mental, emotional, spiritual benefits as well as physical ones. Also, I think HIIT is a good complement but not substitute for traditional training for competitive distance runners (and other endurance sports). CrossFit Endurance seems to be evolving in this direction. A few folks from my CrossFit gym recently ran a marathon and while it's impressive how few miles they ran in training, their times weren't great for their athletic abilities.
yeah, I'm interested to see
yeah, I'm interested to see how CrossFit Endurance works and recommends over time
I think you came pretty
I think you came pretty close to what i think on this one, maybe the endurance runners were the mutants and sprinter / heavy lifters just interbread with them. or maybe its just simple environmental demand and humans had to alternate between endurace and the next generation power and high intensity and back and forth. so the genes have both options. I personally hated running till I read born to run /started running barfoot and I love the image of a pack of 50 humans men , women , grandparents , babies, teens, just running along living a nomadic life.But I'm not going to plug my ears to Art de vany or mark sisson who have some cool stuff to say about other aspects.Just as you've said there is no "the paleo diet" only " A paleo diet" . So too must there be just " an evolution inspired exercise program not " the evolution inpired exercise program".
Hi John,I think you make a
Hi John,I think you make a lot of really good points and that a lot of people struggle with the same issue, but I don't think the two modes need to be mutually exclusive. I am an avid barefoot runner and racer but do high intensity strength and power training 3 times a week along with swimming. I find to that I often times out perform people in their specific sub sets who only train in one manner. Any time people relagate themselves to one absolute mindset especially in regards to health and fitness they are going to limit themselves from being a complete athlete and its during this single minded, all eggs in one basket so to speak, mentality that people get injured or problems arise. Variety in all things is always the best way to go. And as you said barefoot running is fun and so is the HIT method mixing the two will be enjoyable and I don't think anyone would outright say that either is bad for you. It's all about striking a balance between the two. Depending on a person's athletic or fitness goals the balance can certainly sway in either direction. I'd also like to add that as a long time reader and first time poster how much I enjoy your page, keep up the good work.
Hi John, this post is very
Hi John, this post is very timely for me. I feel a bit torn too. I'm just now diving into Sisson's "Primal Blueprint". Much of what he has said on his site has resonated with me, like hard/easy training, insulin control and intermittant fasting. I'm coming from an 18-month background of running almost exclusively barefoot with 2 barefoot marathons under my belt. What brought me to Mark's sight was a recent injury from running (barefooted), so I agree with your 6th bullet point. My injury was a groin pull from sprinting, not from chronic cardio. I believe though that the injury could have been avoided if I had included core strength training in my regular routine, but I didn't. I also strongly agree with Mark's point that most of our body composition (%80 is his number) is determined from what we eat. Our diet controls our health, our exercise controls our fitness. It's very possible (as in Mark's earlier years) to be very fit and very unhealthy, or even injuried. The jist of all of this I believe is to not focus on one thing, like only running slow or only running fast or only running long distance.Mark obviously burned out on running many years ago when he was training 100+ mile weeks and running sub 2:30 marathons. Marathons and the associated training are stressful. The primal goal is to minimize stress. In that aspect, his message is liberating. His message is also very convincing given his physique. In the back of my mind, I've wondered why some committed barefoot runners (or any long-term endurance runners) have bellies.I'm going to take up running again when my groin feels better, and I'm going to include bodyweight strength training (Mark's ebook is very informative on how to do it), but I doubt I will run another marathon, or if I get the urge, then my pace will be slow enough to actually enjoy the outdoors as opposed to suffering through those last few miles. And BQ? I've done it once before, but see no need to do it again. It's not worth the effort.
Great post. I look at it a
Great post. I look at it a little differently. Cardio is what I prefer/enjoy to do (I think). Cardio is my vice. I live healthfully in other ways (clean food, no booze, no drugs, low emotional stress, etc..) so that the damages from my vice are balanced a bit.IMO there are much worse vices we could engage in ;)
Great post. I've found
Great post. I've found myself straddling the paleo/barefoot running worlds myself and I think what we are witnessing more of a religious conflict than a scientific one.Paleo is about living in a way that is consistent with our genetics - forged by a long period of evolution - eating, activity patterns etc. And the simple fact is that there are a wide variety of populations (generally hunter-gatherer) that thrive on a variety of eating and exercise profiles (macro nutrient profiles vary widely - look at Eskimos vs Kitavans) . Some of us are evovled to handle dairy better than others - and likely evolved that way because of the genetic advantage that being able to consume cow's milk gave them. The questions are - what foods/activities are consistent with us being healthy. I'm sure there are a number of paradigms, but probably most don't include fructose divorced from fiber or refined white flour. Those two may be the two "biggies" and may be all that we can really support from an anthropoligical examination of existing communities.My intuition is that both messages are very consistent at their core except for their terminology. What barefoot runners call "slow runs" probably matches pretty closely with Sisson/DeVany's large amounts of low intensity activity like walking/hiking. Chris McDougall's pre-race prep in Born to Run echoes many cross fit/paleo principles - he did "raw strength drills" to becme more of an athlete and more like Tarzan - able to jump, swim, crawl and climb. He focused on doing slow runs slow and fast runs fast (echoes HIIT right?). I think the "endurance running debate" is probably the first challenge for the paleo community to avoid the bait on. It's fine to advocate HIIT/CrossFit, but let's not knock a behavior (endurance running) which may very well be an important part of our evolutionary heritage. I think it's time for paleo to go "agnostic" on endurance running, while remaining a proponent of functional fitness (being able to lift/manuever one's own body weight in a variety of useful ways).
Yeah, I like the concept of
Yeah, I like the concept of being agnostic on it. I think people are fighting over the narrative of who we are, but if HIT works, then it doesn't matter whether we did it in the paleolithic or not.
I think it is all in the
I think it is all in the phrasing of the question...If you ask "what did we do while we were evolving?", I think it is a mix of scavenging, persistence hunting and trapping prey. That is pretty obvious from the science. Nothing is exclusive. If you has "what is the most effective way to achieve optimal health for humans?". That is proven to be high intensity training w/ sprints and minimal endurance training. lets not get caught up in equivocation and logical fallacies b/c someone has a pet theory that doesn't translate to someones understanding of evolution. If you want to answer evolution questions...answer them. If you want to answer how to achieve peak fitness...answer them. They need not be exactly the same.
Yeah, they're separate
Yeah, they're separate questions BUT it's a very useful in the food realm to go from "what we evolved to eat" to "what we should eat today". Not exactly, but roughly.
Aptly timed article. I just
Aptly timed article. I just finished re-reading born to run and I was actually just going through a period of frustration with crossfi. I had realized that I could barely run a 5k in under 30 minutes. This is up from about 23 minutes when I first started crossfitting about two and a half years ago. Now, keep in mind that I'm not really a natural born runner. At 5'4" and with a long torso and thick legs, I'm built like a deadlifter, however, on a lark, I threw on my VFFs last weekend and managed to run nearly 14 miles at a 1030 pace, and it was more or less effortless. Now, that's not a particularly fast pace, but to me it says something about crossfit methodology if lifting and sprinting kept me (a short, strong, but kind of fat dude) in shape enough to just run for two hours and twenty minutes. The irony of it is that I set a PR on the half marathon on that run, beating a time I set when I was actually training using chronic cardio methods. Today I ran 5 miles in huaraches at about a 930 when-I-was-running pace. Of course, stopping for coffee along the way and to adjust my laces meant that I was constantly varying my actual pace, but again, it felt effortless and still seemed like a decent workout. Anyway, that's just my personal experience, but I wonder if there is a nice overlap where crossfit and distance running don't have to completely opposed to each other. The body seems designed to run and cover great distances, but running flat out for hours on end everyday isn't necessary to keep us in the condition that we needed as a species to hunt. I definitely don't plan to stop either.
That's what's cool about
That's what's cool about those verrrry slow runs, the kind that straddle the fence between Sisson's "move... at a slow pace" and the faster training runs for the endurance types - the focus is on just enjoying being out there and not pressing forward to go faster and beat some time. I dig that you stopped for coffee... kind of turns "running" into "running errands," but wasn't that technically what our ancestors used it for, anyway?
Nice. I'm going to try super
Nice. I'm going to try super slow runs like that and see how long I can go before my body says no. So hard, initially, to want to push it
The argument for the
The argument for the paleo/cross fit approach versus the chronic cardio approach seems as though it will never be fully laid to rest. There's clearly compelling research for both sides. Rather than trying to single out one approach as being superior to the other, I think we should all take a step back and appreciate what it really means to be human. We are a highly adaptable species that can thrive performing all kinds athletic endeavors. I am a triathlete, marathoner, and former college tennis player. By incorporating training aspects of crossfit, barefoot, and MovNat my propensity for injury in my other athletic realms has significantly declined. I wrote about Chi Running this week and think it ties in well to the concepts discussed here on John's blog.
the only problem is that we
the only problem is that we have a pain threshold too...maybe we're a little too adaptable!
I think it is all in the
I think it is all in the phrasing of the question...If you ask "what did we do while we were evolving?", I think it is a mix of scavenging, persistence hunting and trapping prey. That is pretty obvious from the science. Nothing is exclusive. If you has "what is the most effective way to achieve optimal health for humans?". That is proven to be high intensity training w/ sprints and minimal endurance training. lets not get caught up in equivocation and logical fallacies b/c someone has a pet theory that doesn't translate to someones understanding of evolution. If you want to answer evolution questions...answer them. If you want to answer how to achieve peak fitness...answer them. They need not be exactly the same.
Here is my take.Distance
Here is my take.Distance running and chronic cardio are not the same. Distance running (for pleasure or competition) is good... chronic cardio (which is basically running or elliptical time to burn calories) is unhealthy... psychologically and physiologically. Most times, the folks who run with bad form are the ones who run to burn calories.Distance running is like potatoes or white rice in an anotherwise completely healthy paleo diet. Technically not paleo... but definitely beneficial if used right (say post intense activity). Chronic cardio is like the SAD diet... bad for you in every way possible.
Funny, I am reading this book
Funny, I am reading this book now and I was thinking much the same things.Great article. Lots of good thinking.
Hey JohnBeing a life long
Hey JohnBeing a life long runner, did the mile in high school, ran one marathon and various other distances over the years, Born to Run got me all hyped up on barefoot running. I tried it. It was fun, like being a little kid running around in the backyard again. Then I stupidly tried doing forefoot strike sprints on a treadmill while on vacation and injured my achilles tendon. I am now slowly adding in running pretty slow with a few sprints here and there and it still gives me a twinge at times. I agree that running is fun and I really feel that just doing HIT, weights and other stuff like bike riding still is missing something for me. I consider my few hours a week of running as my base and the rest is gravy. At 52 years old, I gotta be grateful that I am super active and fit and not sweat the small stuff. Like special shoes :) or hitting rocks with my bare tootsies.deb
I did too much too soon too
I did too much too soon too -- not once, but twice. but it was more about my pad than tendon stuff.
Some of the links in other
Some of the links in other comments (and the links from the links) allude to what I think is critical - there is a huge difference between low intensity jogging and pushing your anaerobic threshold for three hours to try and qualify for the Boston Marathon. From what I remember from Born to Run, the pace of a persistance hunt was relatively slow - just enough to make the animal gallop. Plus, running (especially barefoot or minimal) in a natural setting involves much less repetitive motion than running on pavement. The stuff that mountain bikers just fly through with their fat tires and suspensions require a runner to constantly change one's foot placement, stride length, direction, etc. While it's certainly up for debate about how frequently persistence hunting was used, I have no doubt that it was one of many hunting strategies used by early humans.
good points...should have had
good points...should have had that up there
I think Liberman has a better
I think Liberman has a better theory, and barefoot running is most definitley fun. Guess I'm not paleo.