My New Toy

I'm not sure when I first started wanting a compound bow, but over the last year, I've found myself in the archery section of Bass Pro Shops more than a few times. I've talked Yvette into going to dinner at their attached restaurant on more than one occasion so that I could drop in over at the bow hunting section of the store.

I have never shot a bow, don't really have a great reason to own one other than the fact that they look really cool. But that hasn't stopped me from coming up with a list of excuses to get one. So a few weeks ago I picked up a new PSE Stinger Compound bow, along with a Jim Fletcher Release, a dozen carbon fiber arrows, and four straw bales to shoot into. 

Below is a video of me shooting it. The audio is horrible on this, sorry about that.

Here are my impressions of it after having owned it and shot it for a couple of weeks. First, it is way harder to pull a bow back then they make it look on TV. Mine is set to a draw weight of 60 pounds, so it does take some work to pull it back. Second, you can get pretty accurate, pretty quickly with a compound bow. I grew up shooting everything that I could get my hands on and got to do a lot of shooting in my time in the Marine Corps, so I have some of the fundamentals already in place, but I still expected it be a lot more difficult than it is to shoot tight groups. Modern compound bows have great sighting systems that make hitting what you are shooting at a breeze. Third, if the bowstring hits your lead arm, you will experience a whole new level of pain. Holy crap that hurts when that happens and it leaves an immediate and nasty looking bruise where it attempted to rip off your skin as it passes by. It first happened to me (yep, it's happened more than once) about a week after owning it and I still need to make a trip to the confessional at church in order to be forgiven for some of the words and thoughts that flew out of my mouth. Fourth, shooting with a triggered release is pretty cool while at the same time a trust building process. It all lies on the small teeth of the release and it doesn't seem like there is a whole lot there to hold it all together when you are pulling it back, but it works, and works well. Next, these things shoot fast and with a lot of power.  The feed store where I buy my straw was out of straw so I picked up one bale of hay thinking that it would be enough. Not even close. I'd say that close to 75% of the arrows that I shot went clean through that bale and I ended up destroying 3 arrows because of that fact. Straw bales are more dense so they stop the arrows, but I still have 2 rows behind it, just in case. My last impression is that compound bows are not only awesome looking but a lot of fun to shoot. I'll typically come home from work and shoot a couple dozen arrows to improve my accuracy, work on my drawing muscles, and just have some fun. Often times, my kids will join me and shoot the bow that they have. That is one of the "reasons" that I had used to justify my purchase- increased family time and bonding. It seems to have worked out.

How MMA workouts can cross over to football. Check out this video of Clay Matthews ( who lifted the Lombardi trophy yesterday) works out.

How I Lost 14 Pounds in 8 weeks Eating Ice Cream and Beer for Dinner

Yvette and I met last night for dinner at Richie's Diner after my jiu jitsu class for our weekly date night. I ordered a half pound bacon cheese burger, ate it, and when I stepped on the scale this morning I had lost another 1.4 pounds. How did that happen you ask?

In the following post I will detail out everything that I have been doing over the last 8 weeks to loose weight and it will not involve starving ( I am rarely hungry), I am not doing crazy workouts ( in fact, I am working out less than I have traditionally done in the past), and yes, it will involve eating food that will make you question my sanity. 

I want to start off by saying that these are only my results and you might question my methods, but I can only document what I learned, how I applied it, and what it has done to my body.

But first.... Beer and Ice-Cream pictures.

(a current favorite)

Here's what I will cover in this post:

My supplements

My exercise program

My feeding regimen

A few months back Mona Vie announced that they would be expanding their product line to include weight management/ weight loss products. Full disclosure here: Yvette and I are distributors for these guys and make money when people buy this product from us- ahhh..... the sweet smell of capitalism.  I was initially excited about this because there are so many fat people around me always looking for the next magic diet and spending a fortune on it. I figured that I'd get in the way of a few of those dollars and add to my checking account. 

However, I really didn't look at it as an opportunity for me personally to loose any weight. I've always been thin- we'll call it a runner's build as that makes me feel better, so what would I need with a weight loss product? However, I did notice that although I had run hundreds of miles every year for many years and worked out pretty regularly, I wasn't running around my house with my shirt off on a warm day like I had for most of my life. That was due to a little extra fat that I was carrying around my waist that was hiding the six-pack underneath. I'd pretty much written it off to aging ( I'll be 40 in a few months) and a slowing metabolism. But hey, I still looked better than most of the 39 year olds around me, right?

When the MonaVie RVL product came out in late November, I took a serious look at my diet and decided that replacing my almost daily habit of running through a fast food drive through and choosing the healthiest alternative possible ( Chicken tacos at Del Taco and Chicken Fajita pocket at Jack-in-the-Box if you're wondering) with a shake touted to be the most nutritionally dense on the market might not be a bad idea. It also helped that, when I did the math, I could save a ton of money too by doing this. 

So with that decision and the fact that I figured if it worked I would have a pretty good story ( like this one), I set a goal and embarked on my first real diet of my life- remember, runner's body. 

On November 14th I logged onto LoseIt and started a free account to track my progress (shout out to my friend Tracey Smith for pointing me this direction). I set up a goal to go from 174.2 to 160.0 pounds and it calculated a plan. Then I hooked it up to my Facebook account so that whenever I log my weight in (primarily via iPad app or on my Droid), it posts my results on Facebook for the whole world to see. Nothing like shame to keep you on track. I also purchased a cheap body fat analyzer so that I could keep track of that metric as it is truly a way better indicator or results than pure weight. Lastly, because I can be a bit of a data freak, I set up a separate spreadsheet to log my weight and body fat% daily. 

Because I know how much weight can vary throughout the day, I decided on measuring myself at the exact same time daily so that I can take out that variable. So each morning, I stumble over to the same scale, put it in the exact same spot on the floor, and jump up on it wearing the exact same clothing (boxer briefs because I know the curiosity is killing you). I then take my body fat percentage and record  the date, time of weigh in, weight and body fat%. Note: I had read in a book called the 4 Hour Body by Tim Ferris that just doing this step alone of daily measurement can result in a desired weight change and I believe it. That which is measured can be improved.

I am going to get to what my eating because I know that is what you really want to know, but first let's knock out my exercise regimen.

Currently I work out only 2-3 days per week. I am not sure that if I do more it will make a larger impact or not, but my current schedule only allows for this. Tuesday and Thursday night I roll a jiu jitsu class at 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Riverside  for an hour to an hour and a half. I highly recommend jiu jitsu as a workout as I have never found any workout that equals it for amount of energy used and results obtained for least amount of time invested. I regularly cut up to 3 pounds of water weight in a class. On Saturday morning I'll get in a run of somewhere between 4 and 8 miles. That's it. I have been running a Boot Camp training in my garage every morning at 5:30 for a great group of people but I never get to train with them as I am coaching the whole time. This workout schedule is WAY less that my schedules of the past where I've trained for 1/2 Ironmans ( pretty much a part time job) and ultra marathons ( running up to 50 miles per week) and I am lighter now than I've been in a long time, so I can conclude that it was diet changes that have made the difference.

DIET SECTION:

The headline doesn't lie. Two Saturdays ago I ate the following:

Breakfast:

Coco Pebbles- big bowl with milk

French Toast with real maple syrup made by my amazing wife

3 cups of coffee ( quantity not significant, I just really like coffee)

Lunch

1/2 of a large pepperoni pizza

Salad with ranch

Dinner:

One of the medium sized Coldstone Creamery Creations 

Six pack of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat Beer

Admittedly, this was a bit glutenous, but last Saturday was only slightly less decadent.

Here's what I remember there:

Breakfast

Raisin Bran Crunch with milk

3 Eggs with toast

More Coffee

Lunch: A huge Italian sandwich from Panera ( seriously big) and chips.

Dinner:

Mushroom Ravioli with cream sauce at California Pizza Kitchen

Another Mushroom Ravioli plate with tomato sauce because he brought the wrong one the first time so I ate both.

Bread with real butter

Chocolate from the rocky mountain chocolate factory 

Jack-n-coke with dinner ( the only time I ever drink soda is with Jack Daniel's)

2 glasses of milk when we got home to wash down the chocolate.

Both of the above days were "Cheat Days". I'll explain the meaning of that in more detail below in my rules for eating. I've taken these rules from the 4 Hour Body book mainly because they jived with what I already knew and believed ( but just didn't practice) about diet.

Rules for Eating:

1st and most important: 1 cheat day per week. 24 hours of food debauchery. Nothing is off limits. This serves three purposes. First, it keeps me sane, because I know that I can have any foods that I've removed from my diet every 7 days and gives me less temptation throughout the week. Second, it confuses the hell out of my body and does not give it a chance to "reset" to a lower baseline. Third, I believe that it lends to a lifestyle that I can live with long-term. I'm not sure that I could give up milk forever, but I can give it up six days per week, forever. I cheat on Saturdays and have been adding between 2-5 pounds. By Tuesday it is gone.  Warning about cheat days: You probably won't feel well during these days when you apply the other rules to the other 6 days of the week, but it sure is fun other than that. I first saw this work with a friend of mine, Jeremy, who dumped over 100 pounds using a cheat day a few years ago. I was along for one of them at a buffet in Vegas, holy crap. 

Next: No bread whatsoever. That means that when I had the burger last night, it was in a lettuce wrap. I stay away from crackers and chips. I would never eat white bread knowing what goes on with bleached flower, but now I try to stay away from anything that would have bleached flower in it ( beware many wheat breads are colored white bread- that is why I just choose to stay away from breads altogether). 

I eat high protein meals with lots of vegetables and beans. I NEVER count calories, as I don't believe that all calories are created equal. And, I'm not all that concerned about the amount of fat in my meals (did I mention that the burger had bacon in it?. I eat only "slow carbs". To me that means that if a machine has processed it and my body doesn't have to do the work, then I am going to pass on that. I stay away from grains too. Yep, that includes oatmeal ( one of my personal favorites). I don't eat fruit and use the Mona Vie juice to give me what is necessary from fruit without all of the extra calories. I do not drink my calories. I drink only water and coffee or tea. I do not drink milk and stay away from dairy for the most part ( the exception to this would be cottage cheese if I actually liked it). No white potatoes. Red potatoes are good and yams or sweet potatoes are better.

I always start my day with a high protein breakfast. This is a huge tip. It sets up your day and will help mitigate cravings.

Here's a typical day for me:

BREAKFAST:

3 egg omelet ( eggs courtesy of my hens that we purchased this year). I use the whole egg. If I were using store bought eggs I would use 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg. It is my understanding that my chickens egg yolks aren't as bad cholesterol-wise as the store bought ones. I am doing that experiment right now and will have blood-work done again in 6 months to see how true that is in my body.

Omelet will have a variety of things in it, including, but not necessarily at the same time: Spinach, mushrooms, grilled onions and bell peppers, pepperoni, ham, black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, and other kinds of beans, salsa and just a touch of cheese to keep it together. I salt lightly and use generous amounts of pepper.

This mornings omelet was a cheese omelet on top of a healthy serving of pinto beans with a mango salsa on top ( I would have preferred tomato salsa but Yvette bought the Mango Salsa to support HomeBoy Industries the other day at the store and it is really good).

I'll have a half of a MonaVie RVL meal replacement bar or protein bar from Pure Protein if I get hungry before lunch and the other half between lunch and dinner ( closer to dinner so that I don't come home starving and crash my cupboard and eat all my kids' chips and crackers).

Lunch: I drink my lunch- Mona Vie RVL Chocolate Shake mixed with cold water for lunch. This is the only shake mix that I have ever found that I can drink with water and not milk. With water it is 190 nutritionally dense calories and it does satisfy my hunger.

Dinner: Usually beef, chicken and occasionally fish ( we'd eat this more if it weren't so freakin expensive) with vegetables. I try to keep in mind that this meal should be smaller and live by the mantra that my friend Lance Smith gave me: Eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper whenever possible. That is not to say I leave the table hungry though. I hate being hungry and very rarely am eating this way.

I'd like to say I don't eat after 6 or 7 and it probably would be best, but life gets in the way and more times than I'd like to, I am sitting down to dinner at 8 ( last night 8:30).

Those are the rules that I've lived by to loose 14 pounds over the last 8 weeks. I reset my goal this morning to go to 155 because I'm hovering at around 12.5% body fat and I'd like to get below 10% and maintain it there. We'll see if 155 gets me there.

Feel free to email me directly or comment on what I've written. If it disagrees with what I've written I will only say this, I am no expert, nor do I claim to be, I am just applying what I've read, what I've learned over life, and the RVL product and here are the results I am getting. Try it or don't. 

Get in Shape for 2011 (NEW Completely free 2 week Trial Offer)

As the ball dropped over the Big Apple on December 31st, did you make a resolution to loose weight or get in shape for 2011? If you did and you live in the Rancho Cucamonga area, you need to come to the 4 week Boot Camp that Yvette and I are conducting starting January 3rd. 

We've made some changes to our previous offer.

First off, the first 2 weeks are absolutely free ( no strings attached). After that, if you wish to continue you will have to be using the Mona Vie RVL weight management product in order to participate (I've lost over 10 pounds just switching out one of my meals with this and saved money over going to fast food for lunch every day).  Second, Saturday sessions are open to everyone. My only request is that you let me know you are coming so that I can plan accordingly. 

Last, I am changing the hours that we are offering the training. Mornings have been the popular choice so far so here is the new schedule. 

New Workout times will be:

M, T, TH, F 5:30 am-6:30 am
Sa 8:00 am

We want to make a difference in some lives in 2011. So, we are going to run a boot camp style training for 4 weeks starting Monday January 3rd.

 I guarantee that your body will change in 4 weeks.

Why should you let me train you?
For most of my life I've been active. I've raced triathlons, run off-road ultramarathons, surfed, snowboarded, rock climbed,  weight trained, trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing. I've trained with the best fighting forces in the world as a Marine in the United States Marine Corps. I've also been tortured by the British Royal Marines in their version of boot camp and spent weeks being harassed by Army Airborne Sergeants while training to jump out of planes. I've paid thousands for coaches for both me and my amazing wife and have experienced hundreds of ways torture and shape the human body. I've got a good understanding of how your body utilizes what you eat and what you can use to best fuel it.  And, I've got a crazy desire to help people become more healthy and change the way that they look.

The program:
All workouts will take place at our house. I have a fairly well stocked gym and that which I lack in equipment, I can more than make up with in creativity. You will circuit train, weight train, mix in some kick boxing, running, cycling, and other aerobic and anaerobic torture. It will be fun and challenging and most importantly you will have a group of people to motivate you and keep you on track.
I will design workouts that change and challenge daily.
Before the program starts, we will sit down in a one-on-one setting and figure out where you are and set some goals for where you want to be at the end of 4 weeks. Then we will monitor your progress on a weekly basis in order to track all of your amazing results.
Any level of fitness can participate.
Email me at christopherpatterson@verizon.net if you are interested or contact me on twitter (@cjpatterson) or facebook.

Free Boot Camp-Circuit Training

OK, so here's the deal.
I want to make a difference in some lives in 2011. So, I am going to run a boot camp style training for 4 weeks starting Monday January 5th. I am going to train the first 30 people that register for free...It will be challenging, it will be fun and you will loose weight and/ or shape your body. There will be no charge for the training however there is one catch and it is below.

 I guarantee that your body will change in 4 weeks.

Workout times will be:
M, T, TH, F 5:30 am-6:30 am
M, W, F 6:00 pm- 7:00 pm
Sa 8:00 am


Why should you let me train you?
For most of my life I've been active. I've raced triathlons, run off-road ultramarathons, surfed, snowboarded, rock climbed,  weight trained, trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai kickboxing. I've trained with the best fighting forces in the world as a Marine in the United States Marine Corps. I've also been tortured by the British Royal Marines in their version of boot camp and spent weeks being harassed by Army Airborne Sergeants while training to jump out of planes. I've paid thousands for coaches for both me and my amazing wife and have experienced hundreds of ways torture and shape the human body. I've got a good understanding of how your body utilizes what you eat and what you can use to best fuel it.  And, I've got a crazy desire to help people become more healthy and change the way that they look.

The Catch: 
Since I understand that I can only make your body change through diet AND exercise (diet being the bigger part) and since I have teamed up with a company to promote the most nutritionally dense weight loss product on the market, you will have to be using the Mona Vie RVL weight management product in order to participate. However, since you will be substituting some meals for shakes and bars that cost less than $5 per meal, you should actually save money by over the money you'd normally spend on food. How many meals per day that you will be replacing will depend on your goals, but the nutrition portion of the program will run you between $137 and $250 for the month. But remember.....

I guarantee that your body will change in 4 weeks.

The program:
All workouts will take place at our house. I have a fairly well stocked gym and that which I lack in equipment, I can more than make up with in creativity. You will circuit train, weight train, mix in some kick boxing, running, cycling, and other aerobic and anaerobic torture. It will be fun and challenging and most importantly you will have a group of people to motivate you and keep you on track.
I will design workouts that change and challenge daily.
Before the program starts, we will sit down in a one-on-one setting and figure out where you are and set some goals for where you want to be at the end of 4 weeks. Then we will monitor your progress on a weekly basis in order to track all of your amazing results.
Any level of fitness can participate. And I promise not to yell like the guy below ( maybe just a little).
Email me at christopherpatterson@verizon.net if you are interested or contact me on twitter (@cjpatterson) or facebook.

I am who I am and that's all that I am

One thing is for sure,running these Vibram Five Finger shoes are going to grow my calves.

I have come to terms with the fact that I have skinny legs. I've cycled thousands of miles, run thousands of miles and weight lifted at some level my entire life, and yet, my legs are still thin. Although, the muscle definition does change with all of this training. However, running in these Vibrams is a crazy hard workout for my calves, so perhaps I will finally get some growth here.
Tonight I ran four miles after working a 12 hour day. I was driving home from La Quinta and thinking that I should run tonight, but I still needed to eat dinner. I made all sorts of excuses to blow off the run tonight as I drove. Finally, I fell back on the fact that I am an fitness fanatic and I exercise daily. That is who I am and if that is who I am, then I don't blow off workouts. I've studied successful people at all levels and the lesson contained in those last few sentences is one of the most important that I've learned. Define yourself then live up to that definition. You don't get what you want, you get what you expect and when you define yourself ( in this case as an athlete or fitness fanatic) you expect a certain behavior that matches that definition. So I'm not really deciding to workout or not, I'm deciding to be who I am or not be who I am.
Anyhow, who I am, is a guy that is going to have some calves......Just saying.

Updates from the Vibram Five Fingers Zone

I got in about 30 minutes ago from a 6 mile run in m y Vibram Five Finger shoes. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. My calves are "adjusting" to this new form of torture on them right now and it's likely that tomorrow I will crawl from my bed to the sink to brush my teeth in the morning. After having run about 20 miles in these slippers here are some of my insights:

First, these are a humbling shoe and it will definitely take some time for your body to adapt to running with little to no support.
Second, running through sprinklers feels really weird in these shoes.
Third, I've had seering arch pain a few times that goes away in a few minutes almost completely.
Fourth, my Achilles tendon problem is being helped by these shoes. It hurts really early in the run, but with a quick stretch, it disappears for the rest of the run. Something to note, the arch pain shows itself, typically, on the same leg as my Achilles problem, leading me to believe that as my arch strengthens and shortens, the Achilles will have less strain and less pain,
Fifth, you will turn your feet over more quickly in these shoes in an effort to land softer ( a good thing for longevity of my tendons I hope)
Sixth, when you get tired and your calves don't want to cooperate, you'll revert to heel striking, but you will know it because it will try to shake the fillings out of your teeth.
Seventh, driving your hips up and forward a bit puts you into more of a forefoot strike and can be used in the early stages of calf exhaustion to keep from heel striking.
Eight, these things are light and if I can ever get strong enough to put some speed-work in, I can only imagine how fast they'll feel.
Ninth, they look funky and running in them with shorts makes your legs look funky. Those of you that know me well, know that I have a disdain for girls that wear capri pants and flat shoes. Almost no girl can make that look good. If you must wear capris wear a heel of some sort. These shoes with running shorts kinda have that same effect.
Tenth, running on a horse trail at night in the dark in these can be an adventure for your feet. Small rocks, sticks and twigs are all felt and the other night I just missed stepping in a pile of horse crap. While that did provide a welcome distraction as it entertaine my thoughts for a while as to how that might have felt squishing between my toes and the difference between it being warm and cold were questioned, I am glad that I missed it and try to maintain a little more tail awareness.

That's all I have for now. The verdict is still out. I promise to keep you updated as my strength grows and I can put some distance on them. A huge shoutout to my friend Marivel who just finshed a /2 marathon in her Five Fingers a couple of weekends ago.

Lastly, I'll be making an announcement soon about a new nutrition line that I am teaming up with to shed a few unwanted pounds and help some friends do the same. It promises to be the most nutritionally dense meal replacement drink on the market to date. Stay tuned and put on some weight for a good "before picture".

Live Fit,

Chris

Gloves for your toes

I just finished reading "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall and in the book he notes that 8 out of 10 runners will experience an injury every year. As I "resemble that remark" and am currently nursing a sore left Achilles tendon for the umpteenth time, I read the his text with a special interest. His hypothesis is that the current crop of padded running shoes has changed our gait in such a manner so as to cause more and more injuries. This goes along with many other articles that I've read recently.
One of the runners he studied runs either barefoot or uses the Vibram Fivefingers shoes. So with nothing to loose, except the love of my physical therapist ( who really enjoys collecting from my insurance company) I placed my order last week for a pair from REI.com
Today a pair of size 42 Vibram FiveFinger Sprints arrived at my house.

I walked around in them this evening and went to the bank in them ( yep, a few strange looks there) . They are crazy light and you feel like you are barefoot, except that the bottom of your foot isn't getting scratched by anything. So with that small test behind me, I decided to take a run tonight.

I went for a two mile run. They certainly change your gait and your run a LOT quieter. That much I did like. 2 miles felt more like 6 and I did get some soreness in my left arch and the pads of my feet. I think, though, that as my feet strengthen and adjust that these are going to be an awesome addition to my life. I do also se how they will help alleviate injuries. I'll keep you posted on that. 

One note, reflexology uses points on the bottom of your feet to create changes all over your body. So it should have come as no surprise that when your run virtually barefoot you get some wild sensations throughout your body. I am wondering if this subsides or is something that just comes with the territory. Again, I'll keep you apprised.

Why do we love sport?

Videos like this reinforce why I love sport and competition. I could watch Nike commercials all day long. Enjoy




Or this....

How far would you run without shoes?

Injuries, injuries, injuries have lead me to search for a way to run and not get hurt. The article below got my attention late last week, so I thought I'd give it a try.
I ran .8 miles on my treadmill tonight without shoes and it was a success. I am excited about hitting the road one night this week, sans shoes, ( I'll actually carry them and put them back on after a while) and see how far this barefoot thing takes me. I can tell you that the quick experience I had tonight leads me to believe that it is far less punishing on the body to run this way. You cannot heel strike and you will straighten up and run light without shoes on. 
I am also reading the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall ( mentioned in the article below) and that will sell you on staying away from the current crop of running shoes, if anything will. I can tell you that I've run thousands of miles with tons of different shoes and I have the injuries to prove it, so I am going to give this a try.

Born to run: Barefoot? Minimalist training trend gaining popularity

Brandon Kruse/Palm Beach Post

From left, Zoe Rodriquez, Carol Wygand and Richard Wygand (foreground), cool down following a workout at Polo Park Middle School with the RW Training running club on Aug. 4, 2010. The runners subscribe to barefoot running, a popular trend many runners are adopting into their workout to strengthen their feet and legs and reduce the chance of injury.

By CARLOS FRIAS

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Updated: 6:40 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010

Posted: 4:37 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, 2010

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In the running culture, it's always about the shoe.

Runners focus (read: obsess) on the next shoe coming out, the revolutionary padding technology, the construction to keep an ankle from rolling, how this-or-that innovation will keep you from turning your feet in or out when you run.

Grown men and women still ask of our running shoes what we asked of them when we were 6 years old: Will they make me faster?

No, the shoes won't do that.

A growing tide among the running community now acknowledges that it is indeed not about the shoe or costly technology. Matter of fact, it's about no shoes at all.

More runners are now training part time or running completely barefoot. Yes, as in, nothing but skin, muscles and fat between the sidewalk and that infinite number of bones in your feet.

But the concept has moved from the fringe to the forefront, especially after the explosion of Chris McDougall's New York Times bestselling book, Born to Run (Knopf, $24.95).

In it, he asks the basic question: Why do my feet hurt when I run? And he finds the answer in the Mexican Tarahumara Indians, who run hundreds of miles a day in bare feet or in homemade sandals just millimeters thick.

"People still think that it's about the shoes," said McDougall, a broken runner himself who found how to run again in nothing but bare feet or so-called minimalist shoes. "The important thing is to change your running form."

Born to Run tells the story of how humans evolved to run on bare feet over 2 million years, how running long distances may be the very reason we evolved from our apelike ancestors to outrun big game. He follows the story to this lost tribe in Mexico and offers an illuminating history of how the running shoe companies created a niche market for comfy padded shoes in the last 40 years alone - and built a nation of ailing runners.

Plus, he tells this story as a journalist and a runner. And I guess that's why it appealed to me. Ten years ago, I ran a 10K, the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, got a crippling case of plantar fasciitis (pulled ligaments in sole of my foot) during the race, crossed the finish line hobbling and never ran again.

Until three months ago.

I received the book as a gift just as I'd decided to start running again. I have to admit, the concept of running barefoot not only scared me- "What about glass on the sidewalk? Not to mention dog poop!"- but somewhere I heard my Cuban mother wailing that she has failed as a parent. No, we're used to covering our feet at all times, especially when we run.

But I've spent the past few months speaking with some of the foremost authorities on barefoot running and incorporating it into my runs. And I realized from the very first time I took off my shoes that McDougall was on to something seismic.

The best way to experience it is just to do it. So, just take off your shoes, find a nice smooth (yes, hard) surface and just take off on a slow, short trot.

"You'll get instant feedback from your feet," McDougall said. "Pay attention to what feels comfortable. When it feels uncomfortable, tweak it."

That is, if it seems to hurt when you land on your heel (it should), run so you don't land on your heels. Instead of taking long, galloping strides, take shorter, power-packed steps where you land on your midfoot and the balls of your feet. If you pay attention, you'll notice your heels do graze the ground, but only after you've landed on the widest part of your foot, the forefoot.

"That's what barefoot running is all about, using your natural resources," McDougall said.

Some will argue that the human body wasn't meant to run on concrete sidewalks. And McDougall counters that there is no harder surface than the packed, hard earth of Africa, from where some of the best runners emerge, or in the Copper Canyons where the reclusive Tarahumara live.

Actually, the 1960 Olympic marathon winner, Ethiopia's, Abebe Bikila, ran the race barefoot, in two hours, 15 minutes, 16 seconds - a record at the time. He won it again four years later wearing racing flats from Puma, which sponsored him.

As it is, consensus research says that seven out of 10 runners are hurt every year, in the fancy running shoes, seriously enough that they need to quit running until they are healed.

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HOW TO START RUNNING BAREFOOT

• Go slow to go fast. Running expert Mike Sandler stresses you must ease into barefoot running.
• Start by running only 200 meters on your first time out (about halfway around a high school track), running with shoes in hand like 'hand weights,' Sandler suggests. Then, put on your shoes and finish your regular run. Do this 2-3 times a week.
• Next time out, increase your distance in bare feet by 10 percent. That is, if you started with 200 meters, make it 220 meters the next time out.
• If you feel hot spots, or stinging on you feet, stop and put your shoes on.
• Stretch. Sandler suggests grabbing a golf ball with your toes and holding that for 30 seconds. Do that 2-3 times for each foot before going for your run.
• Warm up with a 5-10 minute walk.

ROOKIE MISTAKES

So you're tough, huh?

When you sail through those first 200 meters and your feet feel great, body feels light, and you're running faster than you ever have before (and you will). So you'll keep running.

Yeah, that's what I did. The next day I couldn't walk. But, being tough myself, I pushed through it and kept running. I ended up having to take two weeks off to recover from ankle pain.

Here are some rookie mistakes to avoid:

• Running too far. Running barefoot or in minimalist shoes means running on the front of your foot. So it's like doing 100 calf raises a minute.
• Running too fast: Your feet will feel fleet and you'll go out way too fast. You'll run out of steam and find yourself winded early on.
• Not wearing socks: If you decide on minimalist shoes like the Vibram FiveFingers, you may want to wear special 'toe socks.' Some people get blisters in these shoes if they are worn without socks. Try them without socks first, but if you feel hot spots cropping up, you may want to try Injinji socks ($12,www.injinji.com or search the site for a local retailer)
• Throwing away your old running shoes: You need to transition into barefoot running. Work into the Vibram FiveFingers or completely barefoot over the course of several weeks or months. Remember, you've been in cushy shoes your whole life. It takes time to strengthen your feet.

- Carlos Frias

You've got to be kidding

This article below infuriates me and exemplifies what is wrong with our current crop of pussy bureaucrats. Instead of encouraging our warriors to be at the peak of physical fitness for one of the most grueling jobs on the planet, their telling them that they are not fit enough. That should be a wake up call. If Suzy Homemaker can do P90X or Crossfit, our military personnel should be able to pull it off. In fact, if it's that hard, then let's adopt it as the standard. One of the reasons I left the Marine Corps was the lack of commitment to being the best. After training with the British Royal Marines for a few weeks, I was painfully aware of what political correctness and the softening of our leadership was doing to my beloved Corp. What especially sucks about this article, is that most of the men I served with would step up to the challenge if presented with it, however, it's those officers in high places afraid of losing their career because someone gets injured that permit the weakness illustrated in this article. Our enemies will not be so sweet and accommodating. Arghhhhh!

Military Fitness Gurus Tell Troops: You’re Too Flabby For CrossFit

• By Katie Drummond  
• September 17, 2010  |  
• 9:30 am  |  
• Categories: Military Life

More troops than ever are flipping tractor tires, lobbing 50-pound kettle bells and conquering the Three Bars of Death in an effort to become “tougher, faster, hard-bodied freedom fighter[s].” But some of them are also working out until they puke, faint or suffer permanent organ damage. Now, a team of medical researchers have a message for recruits: you’re probably not fit enough for CrossFit.

Ditto for P90X and Insanity. Together, the brutally intense fitness regimes are “the big three” being studied and evaluated in a review of high-intensity fitness programs by the Consortium for Health and Military Performance (CHAMP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

All three are characterized by rigorous, explosive movements and an emphasis on rippling muscles and quick results (see here, here or here). And all three have garnered dedicated followings in military circles: CrossFit is already taught by several Army Captains and has become a mainstay in the Marine Corps. The program even names workout moves to honor deceased troops, like a grueling forward-and-backward sprint combo dubbed “Griff” for Air Force Staff Sgt. Travis L. Griffin.

“Our number one concern is growing anecdotal evidence of injuries,” CHAMP medical director Col. Francis O’Connor tells Danger Room. “Military leaders are interested in knowing how to handle these programs, and want more information, and we just don’t have adequate solid data.”

Indeed, CrossFit in particular has become linked to serious injury, including a 2008 lawsuit by former Navy sailor Makimba Mimms, who alleged that the program led to permanent disability from rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle fibers that can cause kidney failure.

Pain and suffering, though, have become something of a calling card among dedicated CrossFitters. “It can kill you,” program founder Greg Glassman told the New York Times in 2005. “I’ve always been completely honest about that.” The program’s own mascots include “Pukey” the clown and “Dr. Rhabdo,” whose kidneys are spilling out of his abdomen (t-shirts $32.00, S-XXXL).

Online, though, mobs of troops and veterans are quick to endorse the practical war-zone benefits of CrossFit and these other intense workout regimes. P90X’s “focus on push-ups, pull-ups and dumbbell training translated into the strength I needed to pull myself over walls and other obstacles downrange,” Army Lt. Col. Paul Cravey tells Air Force Times.

Already, CHAMP researchers have spent two days meeting with military leaders, fitness experts and members of the American College of Sports Medicine, to establish a research agenda. O’Connor anticipates published results and recommendations within 2-3 years, and expects subsequent studies on key issues.

And while the high-intensity fitness craze is relatively new, it coincides with another trend that makes the CHAMP review even more relevant: the lagging fitness levels of new recruits as a whole. Thirty-five percent of American youth are unfit to serve because of health problems. Compared to the Army’s new new training regime, which wants troops to embrace yoga and calisthenics, start slow to avoid injury and sweat their way to basic fitness levels, CrossFit’s standards seem all the more extreme.

“Certainly, we are addressing a perceived lack of fitness among recruits,” O’Connor says. “People are doing too much, too soon, too fast. Participants [in high-intensity programs] need baseline strength and flexibility, and they simply aren’t prepared.”

And while O’Connor’s team is interested in evaluating the physiological pros and cons of the programs, they’re also trying to figure out why troops are so gung-ho about the grueling, exhausting, physical fitness puke-fests. O’Connor, for one, has his own theory.

“What attracts people to these programs?” he asks. “Frankly, I suspect that in some cases it’s because the commercials really do make them look sexy.”

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/military-fitness-experts-to-troops-youre-too-flabby-for-crossfit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher#ixzz0zoBPIcYG

Win the Day

I look for inspiration everywhere that I can. I've had people tell me that they don't need motivation or inspiration, that they are self motivated. I used to argue with them to try to convince them that there is no such thing, but I gave up trying to convince a "man against his will" a while back ( at least on this subject).
So last night I was watching TV late at night. I turned on Bow Hunting TV on my DVR to look for tips on an item that I have on my bucket list. There is a segment on bow hunting fitness. Last night's tip wasn't something particularly spectacular, in fact it was rather simplistic. But tied up in its simplicity was its power. Last night's fitness tip was on just being consistent and fighting to get in your workouts. They commented that even if it is a quick workout that is at less than 100% of your effort, it is better that you get one in on a regular basis ( whatever that means and is scheduled to mean for you). I whole-heartedly agree with them on this and have realized it to be an utter truth in my life. In fact I read a sentence, as part of a mission statement to myself daily, that says, "I am a master of discipline. Small things done regularly make a huge difference." By reading that mantra daily, I hope to convince myself that it is who I am- and it is certainly who I strive to become every day.
The commentator made a statement in the piece that I loved and have heard in my head  all day long. He said, "You need to do whatever you need to in order to WIN THE DAY". I think that too many times we try to win the life, instead of winning life by winning one day at a time, and in fact, actually just winning more days than we lose.
So, ask yourself, did you Win the Day today? as a father, as a spouse, as a business owner or employee? as an someone dedicated to a healthy lifestyle. I know that I can answer yes to some of these with certainty and some with less, but I know that tomorrow, I can wake up, look at the roles that I hold in my life and try to win the day in each one of them. Hopefully you can do the same. If you can, I tip my hat to you.