Long-distance running can be a very fun, rewarding, and simple way to get exercise with little investment. The key is to go about the sport the right way. Each time you plant your foot, you send impact forces throughout your body, but especially through your feet, knees, hips, and lower back, which can be upwards of three times your body weight!
If you weighed 150 lbs, would you agree to pick up 450 lbs with little or no #training beforehand?
Not likely, unless you want to be severely injured. Yet, many folks go from little to no exercise right onto the road, pounding the pavement.
If you start running without the strong base required to properly absorb all those impact forces, you are setting yourself up for injury.
Even the #elite runners we see are usually battling one injury after another, simply because they started running with no strength base and often times did not cross-train while running, with resistance training.
Keep this motto in mind for any endeavor: you cannot shoot a cannonball out of a canoe! Think about it, the canoe is on a very unstable surface while the cannon produces huge forces. The blast would mostly destroy the canoe while the cannonball drops into the water after just a few feet.
The human body is meant to run, no doubt. Just remember that our great, great ancestors just did not run in straight lines. They climbed, jumped, used balance and agility to manage their environment. Their cross-training was built in.
To prove how amazing these early humans were, #anthropologists found some eye-opening evidence. They found fossilized footprints in the sand, from thousands of years ago.
The scientists estimate the person was moving at speeds that could nearly qualify him for the 100-meter dash at the #Olympic games!
This means world-class speed.
Crazy, huh? And he was not wearing any shoes!
Imagine how well conditioned this athlete had to be – but all without fancy shoes, equipment, or supplements.
Please do yourself a favor and get your gait analyzed, get fitted to the right footwear, and last, but not least, consider a proper evaluation by a fitness #professional with some prescribed resistance training to save you lots of wear, tear, and pain.