RUNNING IS THE ANTI-CHRIST!

  Distance running is one of the most monotonous destructive drudgery's ever invented...EVER! Not only does it take countless hours to perform this low quality cardio evil, but it's boring, and worst of all, it's a complete disregard for the Health of your body. However, most people think of running as healthy. And if you're stuck in the 80's, you believe this is the only effective form of cardio training.

Myths, lies, and the cumulative injury cycle.

 Now I'm not going to get into statistics on this because if you are an avid runner, or know someone who is an avid runner...you have been, or know someone who has had a running injury...don't shake your head...I know you have. The other ridiculous portion of this whole plague is that most people that do it don't even enjoy it, they do it because they feel they have to do it to be in shape.  Ready for the most mind blowing idea of all time?!  If you are running for an end goal and not the enjoyment of running....STOP! There are far more effective means of achieving your dream body...trust me I know, I regularly train clients that are burning 900 to a 1000 cal in one hour! verses about 600 cal per hour from a medium to fast slog on the treadmill or your nearest pavement jungle...and all without taking a single knee obliterating stride! After all, every one of those endless steps is exerting a crushing 2.5 to 3 times your body weight sending a shockwave of destruction up through your feet and into your knees! Ok...maybe I was being a little dramatic on that last part, but still... Do that over and over and over... and you can see where this is going. Lets estimate the average 150lb runner has 400 steps in a mile. that would be 60 to 90 tons of force in a mile!

The other major problem with running, is that people believe you just go out and do it. Contrary to popular belief, running is a very technical exercise, it must be done properly to prevent injuries. There are an endless amount of mechanical variables in running (stride length, foot strike, and knee angle) and if just one of these is off it leads to injury. 

  Yet another misconception, is that you just run as much as possible to get better. But as with any other form of exercise, you must have a well thought out training program that allows for a rotating schedule of intensity vs distance.

  Now this next isn't isolated to just running, but most fitness routines...it's the lack of soft tissue rehab. You can't just go to the gym or run, pound the hell out of yourself, and then go home and sit on the couch. It doesn't work that way! You need to help your body heal from your bouts of exercise properly. Meaning??

  A good foam rolling (SMR) routine is a great start when it comes to soft tissue health, this will break up adhesion's in the fascia and release tension in the underlying muscle, restoring proper length and elasticity of tissues. For a simple SMR/Stretching routine here is my video: http://youtu.be/oYl86_ZpDyQ

  Know when to ice and when to heat! Ice should be applied to acute injuries (fast onset pain that is normally linked to a specific injury) and post exercise. Heat should only be applied prior to exercise or if you are suffering from a chronic injury (slow onset injury that may come and go with no 

pinpointable traumatic event). 

  Also, stretch and give your body proper nutrition.

  The last problem id like to bring to your attention... running is very repetitive by nature, soooooo it very commonly leads to overuse injuries. Imagine that, doing something non stop over and over again overuses body systems involved. I hope you could sense my sarcasm there:) Trying to get an avid runner to stop doing their activity once they have said injury, is like trying to keaster stash a thanksgiving turkey inside a prison inmate. "What the hell was that?!". Oh nothing...What I mean is that its next to impossible, so they inevitably go right back to running without proper rest and rehab, and you guessed it, FURTHER INJURE THEMSELVES. That's why its called a cycle (cumulative injury cycle), because once you start it, the pattern of injury is hard to break without intensive care.

Are you starting to see why I detest running?

A better way...

  "Awe great, now I cant run and I'm going to get fat and everyone will hate me because now I cant burn calories". Ok now you're just being silly. Let me show how to burn those evil little fat producing bastards! One word...SPRINT. "But you just said I couldn't run!". Shut up Steve! and start paying attention! I said that long bouts of steady state running are bad and worthless to the calorie conscious folks out there! However, a well structured sprint workout with proper warm ups, stretching, and no jack rabbit starts is a FAT BURNING INFERNO!!! As I said before, running is a highly technical exercise. If you would like to take advantage of this great fat burning tool, learn how to do it properly! There are plenty of video resources out on the Internet...Go forth my son and watch the sprinting techniques sent forth from heaven via your computer or mobile device!! One of the simplest sprint workouts out there is: Go to a track and sprint the straights and walk the curves. when I say simple, I mean in explanation...not in execution.

   Now if you don't want to sprint, apply the interval model to something else. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can be applied to any form of exercise, from sprints to weightlifting. If its an exercise, there's a way to make it an interval.

  My personal favorite calorie incinerating workout though, would have to go to a good down and dirty battle rope workout!  I LOVE these workouts! They are quick (16-20 min) and hard. It's like all out war between you and the rope...maybe that's the reason for the name. 

 

  Ok, now that I have given you your new cardio spark...its time for you to do some further investigating and find some cardio you actually enjoy! And thanks for reading!


P.S.  If you are also needing some diet advice, I highly recommend you read "The Renegade Diet". While I cant prescribe this diet to you, this is the program I personally follow. I absolutely LOVE this system!!! Here's a link: http://spartacore.rbc31f.hop.clickbank.net