Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Monday, September 7, 2009
The Vibram Five Fingers B2D Article Index
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How fit VFFs? How do they feel after months of real wear? Is there any science behind why going this close to bare is a good idea? What's the relation between vibram fivefingers and pose running? Can you get through an airport security check with them on?
It occurred to me i've written a few articles about Vibram FiveFingers - from fitting them to wearing them in various conditions.
Thought it might be useful to have an article that keeps tabs of them all in one place:
How to Fit Each of Vibram's FiveFingers models (as of summer 2009) - and with Injini socks.
Changing Foot Size of the VFF wearer. 1 year on.
Keep your Vibram FiveFingers ON.
Vibram FiveFingers and Pose running.
This leads to an invited article at birthdayshoes.com on connecting Z-health practice with VFF benefits, and kinda circles back to that VFF five months on review.
Vibram FiveFingers and Longboarding
Barefoot Running - More Vid and Scholarly Analysis (it's da bomb)
Hope this proves a useful index.
Looking forward to the new models coming out in another month or so for Oct 09.
Related Posts:
How fit VFFs? How do they feel after months of real wear? Is there any science behind why going this close to bare is a good idea? What's the relation between vibram fivefingers and pose running? Can you get through an airport security check with them on?It occurred to me i've written a few articles about Vibram FiveFingers - from fitting them to wearing them in various conditions.
Thought it might be useful to have an article that keeps tabs of them all in one place:
How to Fit Each of Vibram's FiveFingers models (as of summer 2009) - and with Injini socks.
This article started it all: facing the conundrum of figuring out fit when in a mail order situation, and then figuring out some good shops for mail ordering these awesome shoes.Review after five months of Vibram FiveFingers daily wear
I'm still pretty astounded by the affect of these things on gait and sense of well being.VFF free foot massage
Changing Foot Size of the VFF wearer. 1 year on.
has your foot changed size - more than once - with vffs?
Keep your Vibram FiveFingers ON.
Cold weather dry is cool. And VFF's still prove the best way to get through airport security without being asked to take off your shoes.What to do in Winter; Airports Catching On; Running Up that Hill
Vibram FiveFingers and Pose running.
Beyond how it seems VFF's just lend themselves to pose running, yes, you can run in these on sidewalks and concrete and feel just fine.The biggie: *why* going barefoot in VFF's is such a good idea for neurological well being.
This leads to an invited article at birthdayshoes.com on connecting Z-health practice with VFF benefits, and kinda circles back to that VFF five months on review.
Vibram FiveFingers and Longboarding
Wearing VFF's while longboarding? why not? Proprioceptive goodness.
Do running shoe TYPES reduce injury? How bout no.
Do running shoe TYPES reduce injury? How bout no.
sneakers good; sneakers bad - maybe that's the wrong question.Do your shoes pass the Twist Test
Do try this at home
Barefoot Running - More Vid and Scholarly Analysis (it's da bomb)
Hope this proves a useful index.
Looking forward to the new models coming out in another month or so for Oct 09.
Related Posts:
- z-health: not your daddy's joint mobility
- z-health i-phase: practicing for the strain
- reps: practice makes reflex
- from rannoch of simplestrength.com: motivation based on non-alternative footware
- in the context of footware for deadlifting (pre-vff discovery :) ) with Pavel comment
PDF
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bones and Pistols: a start at B2D responses to readers' queries
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This post provides a summary of what research suggests about what we can do to enhance bone strength - and especially when we can do it. It also includes a preliminary review of Steve Cotter's Mastering the Pistol DVD. All because of what b2d readers want to know :)
A little while ago, i asked b2d readers if there were any topics of particular interest to them they might like to know more about. Ron asked about Why Hardstyle (implicitly perhaps as opposed to GS?) - a part of a reply to that is in a recent post on early impressions of GS training which may or may not help Ron's quest.
One of the other queries was from supercat strongman Adam Glass on bone strength:
I've been fascinated by bones ever since i had to study about bone formation for the CSCS certification. It's a topic i find rather overwhelming because SO MUCH is going on in bone. So rather than try to get into the intriguing complexities of bone development and growth, i've restricted myself to Adam's question.
A more detailed discussion of his question is over at geekfit. That seemed a more appropriate place for the article as it has finally given me something i've been looking for: an unequivocal imperative for desk jockeys in their 20's to get working out. Working out now for future ease from pain and disability may be about as exciting to think about as pension planning , but the results are in: bone loss is inevitable, and the best cure is prevention rather than treatment.
If you're interested in the topic, there's lots of detail and referenced research over at the article on geekfit, but let me quote the summary here:
Another topic posed by Jason was to write the next phase of the Bum as the Path to Sveltness . In that geekfit article i argued that since the butt hosts the largest muscle in the body, working it will have a big bang for the buck.
The Pistol and the Butt
As a preview to more descriptions of butt oriented effort, allow me to come back to the Issue i've been having with the Pistol. The pistol must be one of THE ULTIMATE butt working body weight moves, but i've been focusing on the weighted pistol. Adam gave me some great advice for slingshotting with a kb which i have tried with great pleasure and fried my legs too boot, and Irontamer David Whitely has volunteered to look at a video of my (pathetic attempt at) weighted performance. Rannoch suggested i look at Steve Cotter's Pistol DVD, and i owned a skepticism of any more sets of instructions. But then two things happened.
What i am looking forward to doing is a detailed review of the dvd once i've had a chance to work through it to "master the pistol" - which by Steve Cotter's definition is 10 body weight pistols on each leg.
One may ask (as i did ) why one would need another Pistol DVD since there is already Pavel's most excellent Naked Warrior which teaches both the one arm push up and the pistol, and includes variants of each.
One may ask the same question about why would anyone do another kb instructional dvd after the excellent book/dvd "Enter the Kettlebell"? And this is rather the same question as why are there a dozen textbooks all teaching stats? Part of the answer may be that different teachers/writers/coaches convey the same topics in different ways, and at different times, different approaches may connect more effectively than at others.
Alternative Approaches
Right now, after working through some of the Cotter DVD, there is a certain appeal to the approach. Rather than working pistols by working the same move on progressively lower boxes, there are a series of supporting drills and levels in the DVD.
The DVD provides:
Again, i'm not saying that one approach is better than the other. For my mental state right now, the Mastering the Pistol DVD seems a closer fit.
And here is where there may be a kind of philosophical difference between the two approaches. Cotter's focuses on drills and routines to build up the strength ultimately to execute the pistol as effortlessly as one might get up from a chair. In other words, the progression on the DVD implies that if you do all the preliminary levels, the end result will be the 10/side pistol.
Pavel's approach seems to be more about learning how to generate tension to succeed with movement. He does not quantify number of pistols done to master the move; rather he demos the types of moves that should be possible once the particular strength technique is mastered. The same technique is to be applied starting with the highest box necessary to do the move down to finally the fully in the hole bottomed out posture to do the move.
Naturally there is overlap between the two: Cotter uses progressively lower boxes as parts of his series, too, but again, there seems a philosophical difference especially with regard to the role of tension. That's not a bad thing; it's just different, and i think in a good way for me as a pistol trainee. I like more information.
To Boldly Go...
What i don't know is how Cotter developed his program, any more than i know how Pavel developed and tested his: did each of them test their approach out with 10 newbies to see what worked? Or did they just draw on their experience to say "this seems like a reasonable program to help build up the muscle skill necessary for this move." Dunno.
What i do know, is that, like having a couple texts on say statistics (and i have more than two because it's a topic that drives me crazy so the more insights i can get into ANOVA calculations the easier i breath) to get different material AND to get different perspectives on the same material, it seems there is much to learn from both.
So i'm flagging Cotter's program up as something that looks like an interesting plan to follow to build into the pistol - it even uses Adam's sling shot in level one (thought without the kettlebell :) ).
What it also confirms for me as i work through Level 2 is that, regardless of approach taken, it has been the right decision to get back to basics: to master the bodyweight pistol first - with perfect form for perfect reps (a focus in these moves) - before getting into the weighted variety. It may put off my Bete challenge, but c'est le gare.
This stepping back to perfect the bodyweight variant seems necessary. And as Pavel claims in the Naked warrior, doing the Pistol is a testament to strength, movement and agility, so why not get it right? Right now, it feels like Cotter's circling around and up to it program may be right for where i'm at.
I'll look foward to a more complete review when i'm done the progressions and see where that lands me relative to "mastery."
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A little while ago, i asked b2d readers if there were any topics of particular interest to them they might like to know more about. Ron asked about Why Hardstyle (implicitly perhaps as opposed to GS?) - a part of a reply to that is in a recent post on early impressions of GS training which may or may not help Ron's quest.
One of the other queries was from supercat strongman Adam Glass on bone strength:
A few weeks back i posted a question relating to the subject of bone adaptation to stress- a law was recited back to me by several members. I would like to see some more information on bone growth-specifically how i can increase the resulting thickess and researched methods of enhancing bone strength.
I've been fascinated by bones ever since i had to study about bone formation for the CSCS certification. It's a topic i find rather overwhelming because SO MUCH is going on in bone. So rather than try to get into the intriguing complexities of bone development and growth, i've restricted myself to Adam's question. A more detailed discussion of his question is over at geekfit. That seemed a more appropriate place for the article as it has finally given me something i've been looking for: an unequivocal imperative for desk jockeys in their 20's to get working out. Working out now for future ease from pain and disability may be about as exciting to think about as pension planning , but the results are in: bone loss is inevitable, and the best cure is prevention rather than treatment.
If you're interested in the topic, there's lots of detail and referenced research over at the article on geekfit, but let me quote the summary here:
While studies have mainly focussed on post-menopausal women, bone health - in particular bone mineral density - is a concern for both men and women. The best cure for bone loss is prevention rather than treatment, and the best approach for this prevention of inevitable bone loss is to bank it up with extra BMD work in childhood, youth and young adulthood. The best approach to do this loading is with resistive force work: power training, stop and start sports.The Butt
Nutrition is critical for bone building, but will not cause bone building any more than simply eating protein will cause hypertrophy. While we still don’t know what the optimal prescriptions are for optimal bone mineral density building, all the studies looking at this effect show that doing nothing is the worst approach; better to do some fast load bearing activities - but not over doing it, or one may have the opposite than desired effect with microfracturing the bones beyond repair.
Because of the critical effect of bone loss post our alas early peeking in life, it’s great to know that we can bank up bone for future benefit by using it regularly and vigerously - at least a few times a week. If you’re reading this, you’re not too young to start the deposit, no matter what gender. Use it or lose it seems to be increasingly a way of describing our entire physiological system, and that is certainly the case with our locomotive, protective, rather magnificent living skeletal system.
Another topic posed by Jason was to write the next phase of the Bum as the Path to Sveltness . In that geekfit article i argued that since the butt hosts the largest muscle in the body, working it will have a big bang for the buck.
The Pistol and the Butt
As a preview to more descriptions of butt oriented effort, allow me to come back to the Issue i've been having with the Pistol. The pistol must be one of THE ULTIMATE butt working body weight moves, but i've been focusing on the weighted pistol. Adam gave me some great advice for slingshotting with a kb which i have tried with great pleasure and fried my legs too boot, and Irontamer David Whitely has volunteered to look at a video of my (pathetic attempt at) weighted performance. Rannoch suggested i look at Steve Cotter's Pistol DVD, and i owned a skepticism of any more sets of instructions. But then two things happened.
- after cold reflection i thought, my body weight pistols just suck too much: i don't "own" as the expression goes - the body weight pistol. So how get even heavier and do a weighted pistol. To me a weighted pistol is the bell is in the rack - not being used as a counter weight. Maybe no one else cares about that, but it's where i'd like to be. So i decided to get back to basics and focus on just getting more reps. back to the drawing board.
- i was at a recent event where the very rannoch recommended dvd was just sitting there, on sale. So dear reader, i bought one.
What i am looking forward to doing is a detailed review of the dvd once i've had a chance to work through it to "master the pistol" - which by Steve Cotter's definition is 10 body weight pistols on each leg.One may ask (as i did ) why one would need another Pistol DVD since there is already Pavel's most excellent Naked Warrior which teaches both the one arm push up and the pistol, and includes variants of each.
One may ask the same question about why would anyone do another kb instructional dvd after the excellent book/dvd "Enter the Kettlebell"? And this is rather the same question as why are there a dozen textbooks all teaching stats? Part of the answer may be that different teachers/writers/coaches convey the same topics in different ways, and at different times, different approaches may connect more effectively than at others.
Alternative Approaches
Right now, after working through some of the Cotter DVD, there is a certain appeal to the approach. Rather than working pistols by working the same move on progressively lower boxes, there are a series of supporting drills and levels in the DVD.
The DVD provides:
- flexibility exercises
- balance work
- strength prep work
- three levels of actual pistol practice prep
- doing those 10/10 pistols
- variations of pistols (including weighted)
Again, i'm not saying that one approach is better than the other. For my mental state right now, the Mastering the Pistol DVD seems a closer fit.
And here is where there may be a kind of philosophical difference between the two approaches. Cotter's focuses on drills and routines to build up the strength ultimately to execute the pistol as effortlessly as one might get up from a chair. In other words, the progression on the DVD implies that if you do all the preliminary levels, the end result will be the 10/side pistol.
Pavel's approach seems to be more about learning how to generate tension to succeed with movement. He does not quantify number of pistols done to master the move; rather he demos the types of moves that should be possible once the particular strength technique is mastered. The same technique is to be applied starting with the highest box necessary to do the move down to finally the fully in the hole bottomed out posture to do the move.
Naturally there is overlap between the two: Cotter uses progressively lower boxes as parts of his series, too, but again, there seems a philosophical difference especially with regard to the role of tension. That's not a bad thing; it's just different, and i think in a good way for me as a pistol trainee. I like more information.
To Boldly Go...
What i don't know is how Cotter developed his program, any more than i know how Pavel developed and tested his: did each of them test their approach out with 10 newbies to see what worked? Or did they just draw on their experience to say "this seems like a reasonable program to help build up the muscle skill necessary for this move." Dunno.
What i do know, is that, like having a couple texts on say statistics (and i have more than two because it's a topic that drives me crazy so the more insights i can get into ANOVA calculations the easier i breath) to get different material AND to get different perspectives on the same material, it seems there is much to learn from both.
So i'm flagging Cotter's program up as something that looks like an interesting plan to follow to build into the pistol - it even uses Adam's sling shot in level one (thought without the kettlebell :) ).
What it also confirms for me as i work through Level 2 is that, regardless of approach taken, it has been the right decision to get back to basics: to master the bodyweight pistol first - with perfect form for perfect reps (a focus in these moves) - before getting into the weighted variety. It may put off my Bete challenge, but c'est le gare.
This stepping back to perfect the bodyweight variant seems necessary. And as Pavel claims in the Naked warrior, doing the Pistol is a testament to strength, movement and agility, so why not get it right? Right now, it feels like Cotter's circling around and up to it program may be right for where i'm at.
I'll look foward to a more complete review when i'm done the progressions and see where that lands me relative to "mastery."
Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Bare Feet with Sole(s) - Quick Review of Dopie Sandals by Terra Plana
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Recently i wrote about the benefit to our nervous systems and therefore general well being in freeing our feet and going barefoot as often as possible. I've learne
d the philosophy of the Twist Test: if you can't grab your shoe and the heel and toe and twist it around the middle, it's too stiff for decent foot bone mobility. Another test is: can you bend them just behind where the ball of the foot is, and are they heel-less? It's incredible how high tech trainers do not pass the twist or bend tests, and many shoes that pass the twist/bend test, ruin it by having heels. So since going through these multiple lessons on footwear failure, i've been looking for shoes that pass the Heel-less Twist Test and support barefootedness as much as possilbe.
So far, i've been disappointed in the mixed up sizing of the otherwise brilliant Vivo Barefoot boots for women (scroll down this article to "vivo" for why), and have been keenly waiting my next trip to the states to try out the much celebrated Vibram Five Fingers - ask RKCs Doug Nepodal (aka the kilted one) and Ronaldo Garcia (aka the elvis one) what they think of these flexible wonders (update nov08: see article on experience with how to fit FiveFingers).
Sandals Special Additional Factor: toe clutch One of the biggest challenges has been to find sandals to replace the venerable, but untwistable/unbendable birkenstocks, or even Reef flipflops. Two problems: don't twist, and many many flip flops require toes to remain pretty much in flexion (clenching or bending the toes) to hold the shoe on while moving. Guess what? that constant flexion, well that's not natural: when walking the toes should be able to do many other things than hold on a sandal.
The solution for now seems to be another product from the Terra Plana shop: the oddly named Dopies. The Dopies are, yes, flip flops BUT the toe clawing effect induced by the raw flip flop is both reduced by the weird toe holder that rather hooks over two toes; the clawing is even further mitigated by using the optional strap - even if that strap is really loose.
The cool thing about this sandal is that the sole is very thin. in this way, the shoe is effectively very close to being barefoot - with a wee protective sole on the foot.
There's quite the design development discussion on the sandal's web site. I'm not that persuaded by footware designed by artists rather than people who know foot mechanics, but in this case i have a simple test: does it twist? yes. does it cause toe flexion? not when the strap is attached. After that, is it comfy? yes. Is it fun? oh very.
COST Is Dopie cheap. oh no - or that depends. If you visit the Dopie site at Terra Plana, you'll see that the sandals sell
for thirty quid in the UK. That's more or less 60 USD - granted that includes 17.5% vat. That's 24.75 without VAT, so 50 USD. 50USD for foam rubber molded sandals. According to Terra Plana they sell quite alot at that price, so they were not interested in price matching with other online dealers. If you look around, you can find them for less - at least right now before new stock comes in in February. In the UK, i've found them from 10 quid to 19, pending on availability of size. In the US, amazon has 'em from 19 to yes 49 bucks. And sadly now, for us in the EU where this company is founded, in looking at the US version of terraplana.com, they're 30USD. Please explain how a product that comes from china is double the cost in the EU from what it is in the US.
Value: i only have my feet to go by, but they look interesting and feel fine. Walking on sidewalks and grass has been equally zippy. The thing between the toes is less noticeable, it seems, the more one walks. I've only tried them briefly without the strap, and as suspected they really do flip/flop - rather loudly.
I may experiment with that further, but was less inclined to do so due to the toe flexion thing. Without the strap - they really do look naked. The one disadvantage compared with birks for instance is that they're going to require ninja tabby toed sox if they'll be worn in the winter. That aside, unlike birks, these have the advantage of being highly wash and wearable.
Overall: Freeing Your Feet The tag line of the Dopie is "naked shoes for naked people." When naked footed people need a little sole protection, Dopies pass the twist test, and seem to pass the sandle toe flexion test. They're comfy and fun. While it's warm enough not to wear gloves, it may well be likely warm enough to go as barefoot as these Dopies afford
. 
Update, a month later
I've been wearing these sandals pretty much daily for the past month, both in the UK, and in the US. The longest walk has been about 3km. The average daily extended walk is 1km up and down hill, all on pavement, plus walking around in an office environ at work. I've worn them on 11hour flights and in the rain.
I like 'em. I like being able to kick them off to stretch my toes (even more), or put my feet up on a chair. My downhill heel strike seems to be softening in the gait too.
What i don't like: two things about fit
One Bug: On both feet the strap across the top of the foot has worn away the skin in a way that looks like a stigmata pattern on both feet. While one foot has recovered i'm still bandaiting the other. Another solution perhaps would be to put some moleskin on the strap that rubs.
Another Bug: The other issue, and one that others have noticed who have tried these on is that the toe peice can make a toe feel like it's suffering from an ingrown toe nail a bit when you put the shoe on. this feeling sort of goes away when you're walking, but i don't quite understand what's up with this. It's only happened to me on one side.
In each case, my feet have adapted, but can ya reasonably expect people to stick with a product that wounds them in the first moment of putting them on?
The pluses are such with the shoe that i'm going to experiment with these further until the weather turns colder: i figure when i start needing mitts, i'll start needing sox again.
What's been weird is that putting on sox and shoes the other night for a doo felt utterly horrible, even in nike frees. Perhaps this is something beech dwellers go through annually? But here's to foot freeing.
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Follow @begin2dig
d the philosophy of the Twist Test: if you can't grab your shoe and the heel and toe and twist it around the middle, it's too stiff for decent foot bone mobility. Another test is: can you bend them just behind where the ball of the foot is, and are they heel-less? It's incredible how high tech trainers do not pass the twist or bend tests, and many shoes that pass the twist/bend test, ruin it by having heels. So since going through these multiple lessons on footwear failure, i've been looking for shoes that pass the Heel-less Twist Test and support barefootedness as much as possilbe.So far, i've been disappointed in the mixed up sizing of the otherwise brilliant Vivo Barefoot boots for women (scroll down this article to "vivo" for why), and have been keenly waiting my next trip to the states to try out the much celebrated Vibram Five Fingers - ask RKCs Doug Nepodal (aka the kilted one) and Ronaldo Garcia (aka the elvis one) what they think of these flexible wonders (update nov08: see article on experience with how to fit FiveFingers).
Sandals Special Additional Factor: toe clutch One of the biggest challenges has been to find sandals to replace the venerable, but untwistable/unbendable birkenstocks, or even Reef flipflops. Two problems: don't twist, and many many flip flops require toes to remain pretty much in flexion (clenching or bending the toes) to hold the shoe on while moving. Guess what? that constant flexion, well that's not natural: when walking the toes should be able to do many other things than hold on a sandal.The solution for now seems to be another product from the Terra Plana shop: the oddly named Dopies. The Dopies are, yes, flip flops BUT the toe clawing effect induced by the raw flip flop is both reduced by the weird toe holder that rather hooks over two toes; the clawing is even further mitigated by using the optional strap - even if that strap is really loose.
The cool thing about this sandal is that the sole is very thin. in this way, the shoe is effectively very close to being barefoot - with a wee protective sole on the foot.
There's quite the design development discussion on the sandal's web site. I'm not that persuaded by footware designed by artists rather than people who know foot mechanics, but in this case i have a simple test: does it twist? yes. does it cause toe flexion? not when the strap is attached. After that, is it comfy? yes. Is it fun? oh very.
COST Is Dopie cheap. oh no - or that depends. If you visit the Dopie site at Terra Plana, you'll see that the sandals sell
for thirty quid in the UK. That's more or less 60 USD - granted that includes 17.5% vat. That's 24.75 without VAT, so 50 USD. 50USD for foam rubber molded sandals. According to Terra Plana they sell quite alot at that price, so they were not interested in price matching with other online dealers. If you look around, you can find them for less - at least right now before new stock comes in in February. In the UK, i've found them from 10 quid to 19, pending on availability of size. In the US, amazon has 'em from 19 to yes 49 bucks. And sadly now, for us in the EU where this company is founded, in looking at the US version of terraplana.com, they're 30USD. Please explain how a product that comes from china is double the cost in the EU from what it is in the US.Value: i only have my feet to go by, but they look interesting and feel fine. Walking on sidewalks and grass has been equally zippy. The thing between the toes is less noticeable, it seems, the more one walks. I've only tried them briefly without the strap, and as suspected they really do flip/flop - rather loudly.
I may experiment with that further, but was less inclined to do so due to the toe flexion thing. Without the strap - they really do look naked. The one disadvantage compared with birks for instance is that they're going to require ninja tabby toed sox if they'll be worn in the winter. That aside, unlike birks, these have the advantage of being highly wash and wearable.
Overall: Freeing Your Feet The tag line of the Dopie is "naked shoes for naked people." When naked footed people need a little sole protection, Dopies pass the twist test, and seem to pass the sandle toe flexion test. They're comfy and fun. While it's warm enough not to wear gloves, it may well be likely warm enough to go as barefoot as these Dopies afford
. 
Update, a month later
I've been wearing these sandals pretty much daily for the past month, both in the UK, and in the US. The longest walk has been about 3km. The average daily extended walk is 1km up and down hill, all on pavement, plus walking around in an office environ at work. I've worn them on 11hour flights and in the rain.
I like 'em. I like being able to kick them off to stretch my toes (even more), or put my feet up on a chair. My downhill heel strike seems to be softening in the gait too.
What i don't like: two things about fit
One Bug: On both feet the strap across the top of the foot has worn away the skin in a way that looks like a stigmata pattern on both feet. While one foot has recovered i'm still bandaiting the other. Another solution perhaps would be to put some moleskin on the strap that rubs.
Another Bug: The other issue, and one that others have noticed who have tried these on is that the toe peice can make a toe feel like it's suffering from an ingrown toe nail a bit when you put the shoe on. this feeling sort of goes away when you're walking, but i don't quite understand what's up with this. It's only happened to me on one side.
In each case, my feet have adapted, but can ya reasonably expect people to stick with a product that wounds them in the first moment of putting them on?
The pluses are such with the shoe that i'm going to experiment with these further until the weather turns colder: i figure when i start needing mitts, i'll start needing sox again.
What's been weird is that putting on sox and shoes the other night for a doo felt utterly horrible, even in nike frees. Perhaps this is something beech dwellers go through annually? But here's to foot freeing.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Summer in Revew: Diet Science, Turkish Get Up, CK-FMS, Complexity and 'Tude - oh and kilts, too
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This summer has seen a lot of interesting activity in terms of approaches to training. The CK-FMS (reviewed here) introduced a bunch of us to the concept of looking at patterns of movement to help us understand how best to tune other moves. As a part of this, it seems we've all gained new appreciation for moves like the Refined Turkish Get Up. Discussion about optimally effective form is ongoing still. RKC's like Dave Whitly have talked about how they're pairing back their TGU work just to focus on this precision.
Within this quest for perfect form (and have you seen Will Williams do a kettlebell front squat?) have been discussions around how to achieve that perfection relative to simplicity at one phase and complexity in another - what is the tension between simplicity and complexity?
In other notes, i spent time to review the science claims of the warrior diet, a way of eating popular among many in the hard style RKC community.
One of the things i've learned is that adherents don't care if the science part of the diet's presentation is questionable, if it works for them, mate! If nothing else, my interest in how/why intermittent vs frequent feeding approaches work for some. As research discussed this summer shows, more than anything, it's staying connected with your support group when dieting.
Other nutrition questions that have been explored are around the Elevation of Fat as the new Black of nutrition and the conflation of carbohydrates as the new dietary evil. Caffeine is also in the precarious position of being both praised and burried. And then, if we're talking about nutrient extremes, there's Lyle McDonald's insightful anodyne reference on Ketogenic Diets. Or maybe you'd just like some miso soup?
In matters of style, there's Kilts & Kettlebells. Whether 21st Century hand made in Edinburgh or Utilikilts - or some other kind entire, there's no denying that kilted kettlebell'ing is grand (never mind the nuances of swinging while swinging). And as to form and function, well flat footwear has also been explored - when bare footing that deadlift ain't possible.
And speaking of deadlift, a few athletes have been inspiring in the DL (like Ruth Kasirye) and elsewhere like Ross Enamait (or did i ask, have you seen W2's front kb squat?)
Great as well to have been able to say hello to Rannoch (who is profound), Mike (who's so knowledgeable) and Rif (who's becoming a zen monk) in person after reading their stuff with mein bitte for so long. It's also been great getting to chat with Rich and Franklin and Rip. Thanks for dropping by gents; please continue to visit and share your thoughts. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
Within this quest for perfect form (and have you seen Will Williams do a kettlebell front squat?) have been discussions around how to achieve that perfection relative to simplicity at one phase and complexity in another - what is the tension between simplicity and complexity?
In other notes, i spent time to review the science claims of the warrior diet, a way of eating popular among many in the hard style RKC community.
One of the things i've learned is that adherents don't care if the science part of the diet's presentation is questionable, if it works for them, mate! If nothing else, my interest in how/why intermittent vs frequent feeding approaches work for some. As research discussed this summer shows, more than anything, it's staying connected with your support group when dieting.
Other nutrition questions that have been explored are around the Elevation of Fat as the new Black of nutrition and the conflation of carbohydrates as the new dietary evil. Caffeine is also in the precarious position of being both praised and burried. And then, if we're talking about nutrient extremes, there's Lyle McDonald's insightful anodyne reference on Ketogenic Diets. Or maybe you'd just like some miso soup?
In matters of style, there's Kilts & Kettlebells. Whether 21st Century hand made in Edinburgh or Utilikilts - or some other kind entire, there's no denying that kilted kettlebell'ing is grand (never mind the nuances of swinging while swinging). And as to form and function, well flat footwear has also been explored - when bare footing that deadlift ain't possible.
And speaking of deadlift, a few athletes have been inspiring in the DL (like Ruth Kasirye) and elsewhere like Ross Enamait (or did i ask, have you seen W2's front kb squat?)
Great as well to have been able to say hello to Rannoch (who is profound), Mike (who's so knowledgeable) and Rif (who's becoming a zen monk) in person after reading their stuff with mein bitte for so long. It's also been great getting to chat with Rich and Franklin and Rip. Thanks for dropping by gents; please continue to visit and share your thoughts. Tweet Follow @begin2dig
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