Running Pain - An interview with Monte Hueftle

In a recent post I talked about my back pain and about the idea that much of it is not due to physical injury, but to emotional factors (TMS or Tension Myoneural Syndrome as the originator of the theory - Dr Sarno - now calls it). It is still real physical pain – not imaginary – but the cause is emotional. Public speaking can make you blush – a real physical reaction – but the cause is emotional. Physical pain can be the same thing.

In this post I interview a guy called Monte Hueftle, a long distance runner who has also battled back pain. He explains where his pain came from, how he finally identified the cause and - crucialy - how he has managed to cure it.


I first read Monte’s book – Get Rid of the Pain in your Butt Now! – a few years ago when my own back was playing up. My pain has returned recently and I have gone back to Monte’s book and one or two others. You may find this stuff a bit challenging and but I’d urge you to read and consider what Monte is proposing. I thoroughly recommend his book.



Monte can you give the readers a little bit of background on you as an athlete: what is your record as a runner?

Sure. I have been running since cross country in high school. I mainly focus on the longer distances. I have run 6 marathons with a PR of 2:42, 8 half-marathons – PR of 1:16:50. Haven’t run a 10 in a couple of years and that was around 36:10

Are you still competing?

Yes, I’ll be 49 in December, can’t wait to get to the 50-54 age group though. I train about 75 miles per week and have my sights set on running a new PR in the half early next year. One of my goals is to continue to set PR’s.

Most of the readers of this blog are fairly serious amateur athletes. We may not be that good, but we enjoy our training and love the sheer pleasure of movement and exercise. We take it seriously and it is a big part of our lives. As an athlete do you understand the frustration that many of us feel when we are unable to train or compete because of injury?

Absolutely I relate. Running was and probably is still the most important part of my life. When I had piriformis for 3 years it was the most depressing/frustrating time of my life. And this carries over into work life and your relationships. When you can’t do something you love and can’t completely figure out what is going on with the body it’s not much fun.

What sort of pain were you experiencing at its height?

I had chronic lower back pain from about the time I was 18 years old. I would get back spasm about 3 or 4 times per year and chronic stiffness in the legs and back. Incredible inner knee pain that came totally out of the blue but it was the piriformis and sciatica that just make running and life in general miserable. I had non-stop piriformis for 3 years.

Your book explains that you went through a whole series of treatments – physical therapy, massage, yoga. Did it help?

I got absolutely no relief from chiropractic, massage, nerve stimulation, orthotics, lower back brace, specific exercises to strengthen, acupuncture, relaxations exercises and knee brace.

How did you finally work out what was causing the pain?

I found Dr. Sarno’s book on healing back pain. The book described my physical condition, my Type-A personality and stated that the pain was caused by psychological dynamics like inner stress and tension. It also stated that the biggest key to healing the pain was to Think Psychological. This means that you must stop treating the pain/injury with physical treatments and that the pain symptom is always a signal to reflect on your thoughts and your emotions---what and how you are feeling.

How quickly did you manage to conquer the pain?

My chronic stiffness and back pain were gone within weeks—at least 90% of it. The piriformis and sciatica I had to work on myself a little more. It took me about another 7-8 months to be fully pain free. Much of that was due to learning how my thoughts and behaviours were generating inner tension and then on how to reverse or change those patterns. That was the hard part and this is why I have written three books on how to permanently end this pain disorder.

At first did you think that this approach – the emotional aspect of pain - was all a bit too “alternative” / hippy / weird stuff or did it make sense?

Two things about this:

1. When you have tried everything and are at a loss you are probably going to be more open to an alternative diagnosis.

2. I earned a degree in clinical hypnotherapy and had studied the mind body connection for quite a few years, so I was very open to it from the beginning. This is quite important to understand. A person must accept the mind body diagnosis in order to begin to think psychological and stop all the physical treatments. This is the biggest challenge for people and especially athletes who are really conditioned to treat any pain as an over-use or muscle imbalance injury.

Does you pain ever recur? How would you / how do you cope if it does?

Never like before. I have not had one spasm in nine years. The low back pain has never reoccurred. On occasion I will feel the sciatica or piriformis sensations. They are like a reminder to make sure you are paying attention. The key to coping is to always, always, always Think Psychological. The biggest key to remaining pain free is paying attention to your thoughts and behaviours. A person knows when they are creating inner tension or losing energy to a person or situation. When you monitor the psychological aspects of yourself and then change or redirect when you are creating lots of inner stress you can keep the pain disorder from coming back.

I must admit that I am pretty convinced by the argument that you and Sarno and others advocate. It seems obvious to me that mental and emotional issues have very real physical impacts on the body. An example I think of - which I suppose reveals my base nature – is sexual arousal. An image – even a mental image – that is explicit can easily cause a physical change in the body – an erection or whatever. Something wholly mental has an impact on the physical body. Does that make sense?

Yes, perfectly. Also people accept for example the tension headache or the ulcer caused by stress. Scientist have now shown us that emotions have physical locations in the body. The challenge is accepting this for chronic soreness, back and knee pain or piriformis, especially when you are an active person and you can associate the pain with activity.

How would you explain your approach to pain to - say - a recreational athlete struggling with persistent / intermittent back pain?

First, take a look at your history of pain and of treatments. Have you been able to successfully heal these pain symptoms or injuries? Also does it appear that you win certain battles of pain but then always seem to be fighting a new one, a new injury or a new pain symptom or location? It is important to take this type of investigation so that you can open your mind to looking at a completely different diagnosis as the cause of the pain.

Next I would want to make the association that people have with a tension headache and stress in their life or an upset stomach and stress. We all in some way are able to identify stress with affecting our body in some way. I would then ask this person if they identify themselves with the Type A personality behaviours—Striving, People Pleasing, Perfection, Highly competitive. Do they consider themselves the type of person that worries a lot and is being self-conscious and/or do them seem to hold their feelings inside. I would then explain that it is common for people with many of these qualities to generate a tremendous amount of inner tension and that there is a chronic pain disorder that is caused by this generation of inner tension. I would explain that this is real pain and it closely resembles the pain sensations felt by physical injuries.

Next I believe it is important for people to understand the biochemical event taking place in the body that is manifesting the pain. When our autonomic nervous system becomes overloaded with inner tension it will automatically constrict blood vessel walls. This means less oxygen is making its way to muscle and nerve tissue. When these tissues have their oxygen supply restricted the result is a variety of pain symptoms—burning, soreness, spasm, stiffness, shooting, burning, tightness and numbness.

While understanding the argument, I still struggle with back pain myself, particularly at stressful times of my life. I do my best to “think psychological” as Sarno prescribes, but sometimes I’m left more frustrated. I am aware of some of the things that stress me out – work, a relationship – but thinking about them doesn’t seem to get rid of the pain. Where could I be going wrong?

You just explained the major struggle most people have and why they remain stuck to some degree in this pain disorder.

For some, at least initially being aware of this pain disorder caused by psychological factors is enough to reverse the pain. However, I have discovered that usually just being aware of the stress-pain relationship and knowing that stress is the cause is not enough to reverse this disorder. Here is why. This is a chronic pain disorder caused by our daily, moment to moment, chronic behaviours and thoughts. So a person will be aware that they are in a striving, people pleasing mode, and they know that this is generating inner tension and then pain, but they don’t do anything else!

My work in this pain disorder is focused on helping people understand that they must begin to change their chronic behaviours and thoughts that generate inner tension. If a person doesn’t stop generating inner tension/stress they are not going to stop this pain disorder. It is significant to understand that a person in worry or being very self-conscious or holding in anger is doing two things:

1. Generating new inner tension and

2. Repressing emotional energy or holding it down, which also generates inner tension.

Awareness is where you must start, but once you are aware that you are generating tension/stress, you must learn how to change or redirect out of those patterns.

I admit that I still get a regular massage. Most of the time it is purely for relaxation but when I have a back spasm or cramp I do submit to their treatment. Could this be an issue – me still looking for a physical cause?

I am extremely anal when it comes to physical treatments. The short answer is that if you are doing anything to treat your body in the hope that it is going to somehow fix or cure your pain/injury, you are breaking the number rule on how to heal from this disorder. This is the crux of Think Psychological. It means that every communication that you make back to the body/pain/injury is psychological. In the beginning a person must be this anal about getting or even thinking about physical treatments. This may sound quite knit picky, but I am telling you it is a big, huge deal. If you can truly go and get a massage because it makes you feel good and by no means do you believe it is going to fix your body then yes, have at it. You must be completely honest with yourself here though.

Thinking psychological is also hard work! It is not easy to dwell on things that are painful / frustrating and disappointing to me. I sometimes feel that I am fighting my own mind.

Yes, in the beginning, it is mentally exhausting. For maybe the first time in our life we are actually paying attention to what we are thinking and then we are analyzing it and then trying to change it. But this becomes much easier and then it actually begins to give you more energy. At first you need to listen in on your inner conversations so that you are aware of what you are thinking. Once you are aware of your thoughts, the chronic ones become a signal for you to change or redirect out of that thought.

Here is what I mean. Let’s say you are a big worrier. You know that this worry generates tension and anxiety within you. The next time you catch yourself in these worry thoughts you make the choice to deliberately think a new thought, one that is not so much in worry, and then you built on that thought with another one. It is a process and it takes discipline and practice.

When we make the decision to stop generating inner tension so that we can stop manifesting pain we find the inspiration and energy to continue on. Because suddenly we begin to feel the results in our body and then we go “wow” this is fun, this is working and we keep moving forward with it.

How much pain do you think is caused by mental factors? Is it the predominant cause of pain and disability in our society?

I believe it is easily 90% and probably higher. My own case as an example. I’m 48 and I have averaged running about 50 miles per week for the past 30 years. I have had all sorts of back, neck, leg, piriformis, itbs and sciatica pain. Chronic stiffness and soreness and probably 25 back spasms. I can say that 100% of this pain has been due to psychological factors creating inner stress/tension. For the past 5 years I have been consulting with chronic pain patients and it is phenomenal to hear the success stories of people who have been in physical pain for half of their life, tried every treatment known to man and when they begin to apply the principles of treating chronic pain caused by inner stress/tension and anxiety, their pain goes away. It is absolutely astounding!

You seem to take quite a “spiritual” approach. Other writers working from the same premises seem to be a bit more into positive thinking. Fred Amir for example focuses very much on goal setting, rewarding his “inner child” and mental imagery. Does this just reflect your different personalities or are your approaches really similar?

Everyone at the core practices "Think Psychological". This always means the pain is a signal to think about how you are being/thinking and not to think physical injury or treatment.

I am 100% confident that this disorder is caused by inner stress/tension/anxiety, as are all TMS doctors. I take the approach of then getting to the core of how a person is generating this inner tension in order to reverse the effects. Everyone is generating inner tension through behaviours and thoughts. Period!

I was fortunate enough to experience my pain subside greatly though a very physical power yoga practice. What I realized though, it was not so much the physical exercise as it was the tremendous amount of mindful focus that it took to breath, hold locks, stay balanced, count your breaths and change postures that was the transformational healing force. Understand that it is impossible to be in angry or worry thoughts when you are counting breath #3, contracting your perineal muscle, holding in your abdominals, breathing closed mouth, while keeping your balance in a position that is stretching legs, arms and everything else.

It is impossible to be generating inner tension when you are being so mindful. So I began to apply this mindful focus to simple mindless activities like: eating, taking a shower, brushing your teeth, walking up steps. When you do this or I should say be this way you are not in your dominant chronic behaviours and thoughts that generate inner tension. Having been a certified, clinical hypnotherapist, I believe that imagery and hypnosis are very beneficial in helping a person understand their psychological make-up. I have been fortunate to be pain-free for the past 8 years.

The reason for this is three-fold:
1. Understanding that you must Think Psychological and not physical.
2. Realizing that you must change the unique ways that you create inner tension through your thoughts and behaviours.
3. Implementing an on-going practice: of paying attention, being mindful, having a focused practice like power yoga and utilizing different practices like guided imagery and journaling that help keep you in check and balance mentally-physically and emotionally.

One thing that I have thought of - prompted a little by Scott Sonnon is the idea that if the mind/emotions can affect the body, can the body also affect the mind/emotions? Are there physical things we can do that can prompt certain mental states?

Sure.

I love what Dr. Elmer Green, the great Mayo physician and biofeedback expert stated.

"Every change in the physiological state is accompanied by an appropriate change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unconscious, and conversely, every change in the mental emotional state, conscious or unconscious, is accompanied by an appropriate change in the physiological state"

Physical exercise is the best example right. Go out for a high tempo 10 miler and experience the runners high. Do a highly focused 45 minutes of power yoga and you will feel emotionally and mentally clean. Practice guided imagery. Image energy or light moving through your body. Do it slowly at first and then have it move at the speed of light. Do this for 3-5 minutes and you and have changed the chemistry of your body and of your mind/emotions.

One of the themes of this blog is that I am very much sympathetic to the evolutionary fitness approach / primal blueprint. There are a number of writers now proposing diet and fitness approaches that start from the premise that we are still basically hunter gatherers and as such our activity patterns and diet should be those of hunter gatherers to promote health. We are still physically cavemen but we are living in a world that is very different form the one for which we were designed. One aspect of this approach that I think is underappreciated is the psychological. In his essay Evolutionary Fitness Art DeVany states:

Modern life leaves our minds restless and under utilitized because we are confined, inactive, and comfortable. That is why we restlessly seek stimulation and sensory satisfaction. Some find it in entertainment (an industry that could not exist but for the extraordinarily stimulating environment of our ancestors) in the form of television, movies, or novels. Others seek it in simulated adventure like mountain climbing or dangerous sports (like me). We cannot be satisfied with more and more, because we are evolved for another lifeway in which material goods do not matter. The result is that we are deeply unsatisfied with modern life and don’t know why.

Do you think primitive man – or even present day hunter gatherers – experience the sort of chronic emotionally induced pain that seems to dominate our societies?

Sure. Anyone anywhere that is competing and being self-conscious or striving to please or judging, comparing and complaining, holding in resentment, anger, guilt from the past or wishing for the future to arrive and not living in the present moment is susceptible to generating inner tension. When this becomes a chronic way of being it manifest into chronic pain.

For any of us struggling with chronic intermittent pain and stiffness, what would be the first step that we should take in tackling it?

Think Psychological and not physical.

Check how you are being, what you are thinking, where is your focus.

Who or what are you giving thought energy to.

Go into this psychological mode while totally stopping the physical treatments and thinking. Look at your past struggles and determine if the physical treatment approach has worked. Be open to an alternative cause of pain and then trust your intuitive self.

If readers wanted to learn more, what would you recommend that they should do?

Find a TMS book to read. Sarno has 4 or 5 out there. (That is Dr John Sarno)



I’m a little biased as I believe that my most recent book and cd program, The Master Practice, gives people the tms knowledge they need but more importantly the “how to” knowledge needed to reverse this pain disorder. There is a tremendous amount of free information at my site: www.runningpain.com

Monte – thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I have enjoyed and benefited from your books and hope that other people might learn something from this too.

It was my pleasure to share this information. Thank you.

Contact Monte at monte@runningpain.com

Shoulder Mobility

More mobility stuff from Mountain Athlete.

Grey Corries - Stob Ban, Stob Choire Claurigh & Stob Coire an Laoigh

One of Mark Sisson's Laws in his excellent Primal Blueprint - which I really need to review properly is Primal Blueprint Law #3: Move Frequently at a Slow Pace

I did that yesterday in the Grey Corries, some mountains in the Highlands just along form Ben Nevis. The guidebook said 21km and about 1200m of ascent but it felt a lot more! 9 and a half hours but we did not rush it, lingering on the ridge and soaking up the exquisite views.

Here are some photos:



There is a full write up here.

High Carbohydrate Foods Can Cause Heart Attacks!

It isn't often that you see headlines like that in the mainstream.....but I saw it today:

In a landmark study, new research from Tel Aviv University now shows exactly how these high carb foods increase the risk for heart problems.
Enormous peaks indicating arterial stress were found in the high glycemic index groups: the cornflakes and sugar group. "We knew high glycemic foods were bad for the heart. Now we have a mechanism that shows how," says Dr. Shechter. "Foods like cornflakes, white bread, french fries, and sweetened soda all put undue stress on our arteries. We've explained for the first time how high glycemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease." During the consumption of foods high in sugar, there appears to be a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelial walls of the arteries.
Endothelial health can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body. It is "the riskiest of the risk factors," says Dr. Shechter, who practices at the Chaim Sheba Medical Center — Tel Hashomer Hospital. There he offers a treatment that can show patients — in real time — if they have a high risk for heart attacks. "Medical tourists" from America regularly visit to take the heart test.
The take-away message? Dr. Shechter says to stick to foods like oatmeal, fruits and vegetables, legumes and nuts, which have a low glycemic index. Exercising every day for at least 30 minutes, he adds, is an extra heart-smart action to take.

Of course another take home message might be to meat, eggs, cheese, cream etc....no GI worries there. Or just just listen to Kurt....or Mark....or Richard.....or Peter.....or Stephan....

A Great new Paleo Blog

Kurt contacted me today to tell me about his blog which is focussing on paleo nutrition.

The Blog is at

PāNu
paleolithic nutrition - duplicating the evolutionary metabolic milieu

It is a superb resource. Kurt is a medical doctor - a radiologist - who was made aware of the paleo diet after hearing Gary Taubes speak. He is addressing a range of topics really well, including Paleo Booze, intermittent fasting and paleo on a budget.

An excellent resource that is now in my Google Reader!

West Highland Way Race

Each year some lunatics race the West Highland Way, a 95 mile trail that goes from Glasgow to Fort William through the West Highlands of Scotland.

This years race was held last Saturday and it was fascinating reading the accounts of some of the runners.

John Kynaston has a great blog detailing is preparation for the race and it was good to read that he once again managed to complete the course in under 20 hours. I am not sure if it is a healthy pursuit, but it is some achievement!

There is another account of the race here.

I have walked bits of the route and could not imagine the endurance that these guys have to run it!

1000 miles....in 1000 hours

This is some Challenge, underway as I write.

On 29th May 2009 at 11.30pm, Richard Dunwoody started a 1000 Mile Challenge to walk the same mile 1000 consecutive times (from the Bedford Lodge hotel in Newmarket up the Bury Road to a post half a mile away and back again) for a 1000 consecutive hours with the last mile up the home straight of Newmarket racecourse just before the Ladbrokes Bunbury Cup on 10th July 2009.

In 1809 Captain Robert Barclay Allardice was bet that he couldn’t walk 1000 miles in 1000 hours for 1000 Guineas – meaning he had to walk one mile in every consecutive hour 24 hours a day – the challenge therefore taking 42 days with the maximum an hour and 20 minutes sleep at any one time (if you walk back to back miles in different hours). He completed the challenge on 12th July 1809, losing three stone in the process with his challenge hailed as ‘one of the greatest human feats ever attempted.’

200 years on, champion jockey, polar explorer and BBC presenter, Richard Dunwoody MBE is recreating this challenge walking the same mile 1000 times in Newmarket – 1000 miles in 1000 hours but this time to raise a substantial sum for charity – Alzheimer's Society, SPARKS, Racing Welfare and Spinal Research

.

Think about what is going on here - walking 24 miles a day, every day....with no significant sleep......


Barclay is an amazing character.

The Seven Hills of Edinburgh - Challenge

Somehow my hillwalking hasn't really got going this year (although there is now a weekend booked in at the start of July probably in Glenfinnan). When working on the elections I was either working at the weekend or was just too knackered to think about getting up and away early on a Saturday. Then I've been struggling to get going....

Didn't do much yesterday either - weather up north looked a bit dodgy and I had been out on Friday night. Today though I took the plunge and did something......the Seven Hills race here in Edinburgh. 14.2 miles with a total of 2200feet of climbing around Edinburgh's hills. There is no fixed course just a requirement that you need to visit each of the hills in turn, so the experts are always looking for shortcuts. It is an interesting race for that reason - you are not sure whether the guy you are following has a great route idea or is just lost.

I last did this in 2002 when I was running a bit more and was probably fitter for this type of thing. On Friday I saw it was on this weekend and started to toy with the idea of entering. Then, when I didn't do much yesterday I more or less decided to have a go.

The race starts on Calton Hill with a nice view of Arthur's Seat, the last hill, Edinburgh's own city centre mountain. After that it is

• The Castle (esplanade)
• Corstorphine Hill
• Craiglockhart Hill (East)
• Braid Hill
• Blackford Hill
• Arthur's Seat

I must have walked at least half of the course - all the uphills and then lots of times on the flat too - but I was happy to get around OK. It was warm and sunny too, a really nice day.

After the castle there is a long trip out to Cortorphine Hill, where I got a bit lost on the top trying to find the checkpoint. Then it is back through different residential areas before a stiff climb up Craiglockhart Hill.

Arthur's Seat at the end was a tough climb and dropping back down towards Holyrood Palace and the Parliament, my quads were sore. It is a great race though - really friendly without all the hype that goes along with many races. The support round the course was great too, including one house in Nicolson Street where a guy was giving out water and a little boy was happily spraying us with a hose.

I was about 25 minutes slower than the last time I did it, but with the total lack of training, I was happy with my time. Well....not a total lack of training, just a lack of distance running.

I tried to keep taking photos on the way round, some of which are below:

Eati Carbs does not delay the onset of fatigue during exercise.

This one is interesting given the normal advice and the practice of many athletes. Even recreational joggers seem unable to go more that 10 minutes without slurping from a powerade or lucazade bottle. Such a practice might not have any effect. From a paleo perspective, it would make sense. Why would you be built to need regular refueling while on a run, on a hunt?

Carbohydrate ingestion during exercise does not delay the onset of fatigue during submaximal cycle exercise.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the ingestion of carbohydrate (CHO, in the form of maltodextrin) or placebo (PLAC, in the form of gelatin) on the physical performance of cyclists during submaximal exercise until fatigue on an ergometric cycle. Nine volunteers exercised on 2 separate occasions at least 2 days apart. On each occasion, after 48 hours of a balanced diet, they pedaled at approximately 66% &OV0312;o2peak until fatigue. Every 15 minutes, 150 mL of water and 18 capsules, containing either 0.5 g of CHO or PLAC (~0.13 g.kg of body weight), were ingested in accordance with a double-blind, randomized protocol. The results show that after 40% of total exercise time, blood glucose levels in the CHO test returned to baseline levels. However, in the PLAC trial these levels failed to return to baseline levels, remaining lower than levels recorded in the CHO test after 60% of total exercise time. Despite these results, CHO ingestion failed to delay the onset of fatigue (CHO: 91.8 +/- 10.1 minutes vs. PLAC: 93.3 +/- 16.1 minutes; p = 0.87). In practical terms, coaches and trainers should consider that CHO ingestion in previously fed users does not delay the onset of fatigue during submaximal cycle exercise.

.....it doesn't give you wings.

Despite what the advertising says, Red Bull apparently is not an energy drink!

Effect of Sugar-Free Red Bull Energy Drink on High-Intensity Run Time-to-Exhaustion in Young Adults.


Consuming sugar-free Red Bull energy drink before exercise has become increasingly popular among exercising individuals. The main purported active ingredient in sugar-free Red Bull is caffeine, which has been shown to increase aerobic exercise performance.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sugar-free Red Bull energy drink on high-intensity run time-to-exhaustion in young adults. Physically active university students (n = 17, 9 men, 8 woman; 21 +/- 4 years, 73.4 +/- 3.1 kg, 175.1 +/- 3.2 cm) participated in a double-blind, crossover, repeated-measures study where they were randomized to supplement with sugar-free Red Bull (2 mg.kg body mass caffeine or ~147 mg caffeine; 4 kcal/250 mL) and noncaffeinated, sugar-free placebo (lemon-lime flavored soft drink, tonic water, lime juice; 4 kcal/250 mL) separated by 7 days. Exercise capacity was assessed by a run time-to-exhaustion test at 80% &OV0312;o2max, perceived exertion was assessed immediately after exercise, and blood lactate was measured before and after exercise. There were no differences in run time-to-exhaustion (Red Bull: 12.6 +/- 3.8 minutes, placebo: 11.8 +/- 3.4 minutes), perceived exertion (Red Bull: 17.1 +/- 2.0, placebo: 16.6 +/- 1.8), or blood lactate between groups. In conclusion, sugar-free Red Bull energy drink did not influence high-intensity run time-to-exhaustion in young adults.

Methode Naturelle - translated.

We've mentioned Methode Naturelle before in connection with Erwan Le Corre. Wikipedia describes this Natural Methode as

A (Natural Method) session is composed of exercises belonging to the ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, equilibrium (balancing), throwing, lifting, defending and swimming.

A training session consists, then, of exercises in an outdoor environment - a course of greater or lesser distance (a few hundred meters to several kilometers), during which, one walks, one runs, one jumps, one progresses quadrupedally, one climbs, one walks in unstable balance, one raises and one carries, one throws, one fights and one swims.

Erwan, in his MovNat philosophy, has taken this basic approach and developed it, adding some of his own ideas.


The American Parkour site has just posted a fascinating document.

Pilou, a Primal Fitness and DC local who grew up in France has found, translated, then made available for us, Georges Herbert's "Methode Naturelle." He writes:

"For the past few months, I have been reading and experimenting with Georges Hébert's physical education guide from 1912 that I found digitized on Google Books. I think most traceurs have heard something about Georges Hébert, the "Natural Method" and how it somehow relates to Parkour. Thanks to that book, I was able to see for myself what it was all about, and I have to admit that I have been very impressed."

The PDF is here

Donwload it - it is interesting, even just as an historical document.

Stretching...guess what

Guess what.....another study says that before and after physical activity does not appreciably reduce all-injury risk. (but it might make you less sore) Of course I've pointed similar studies out before.


A pragmatic randomised trial of stretching before and after physical activity to prevent injury and soreness.


OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of stretching before and after physical activity on risks of injury and soreness in a community population.
DESIGN: Internet-based pragmatic randomised trial conducted between January 2008 and January 2009.
SETTING: International.
PARTICIPANTS: 2,377 adults who regularly participated in physical activity.
INTERVENTIONS: Participants in the stretch group were asked to perform 30-second static stretches of 7 lower limb and trunk muscle groups before and after physical activity for 12 weeks. Participants in the control group were asked not to stretch. Main outcome measurements: Participants provided weekly on-line reports of outcomes over 12 weeks. Primary outcomes were any injury to the lower limb or back, and bothersome soreness of the legs, buttocks or back. Injury to muscles, ligaments and tendons was a secondary outcome.
RESULTS: Stretching did not produce clinically important or statistically significant reductions in all-injury risk (HR = 0.97, 95% CI 0.84 to 1.13), but did reduce the risk of experiencing bothersome soreness (mean risk of bothersome soreness in a week was 24.6% in the stretch group and 32.3% in the control group; OR = 0.69, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.82). Stretching reduced the risk of injuries to muscles, ligaments and tendons (incidence rate of 0.66 injuries per person-year in the stretch group and 0.88 injuries per person-year in the control group; HR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.96).
CONCLUSION: Stretching before and after physical activity does not appreciably reduce all-injury risk, but probably (that is not a very scientific word!) reduces the risk of some injuries, and does reduce the risk of bothersome soreness.

Barefoot hillwalking

Ok amid all the discussion of the benefits of going barefoot, or at least of minimal shoes, this video is a scream. Climbing big mountains barefoot:

Book Review: Born to Run

I love the way that the internet exposes you to such a wide range of ideas and writings. I am really grateful to be connected, through blogs and websites, with so many people who point out new ideas and books.

A couple of weeks ago, Matt Metzgar's blog noted that he was reading a new book - Born to Run. He heaped praise on it. I trust Matt and value his opinion, so I thought it was worth risking the price. I ordered it from Amazon and have been totally blown away by the book.

Born to Run works on so many levels - it is a documentary and biography, it is science and sports journalism, it tells a human story with some eccentric characters and is transporting travel writing.

Spinning the structure of the book around an underground ultramarathon in Mexico, MacDougal, weaves together the story of a boxer (Caballo Blanco / White Horse)who drops out of the world and escapes to live among the Tarahumara Indians. The indians inhabit what is presented as a utopia. There are few diseases of civilisation, 60 year olds habitually run 40 miles or more. There is no money, great community spirit. The boxer dreams of racing these indians against some of the world's best ultramarathoners....and ultimately he does, an exciting and genuine race free of the commercialism and marketing that rides on the back of so many athletes.

Within this complex we learn about natural running style - similar to POSE running - and the disastrous history of running shoes. As shoes got more complex, runners got more injured.....yet the shoe companies keep churning out more and more complex and expensive shoes. We are shown the roots of human running - we are endurance athletes. We can run slowly for a log time. We are shown the gradual erosion of utopia as drugs and other corruptions - such as running shoes - seep into the society. We are shown how some of today's best runners share the running style and the more basically the joy of the Tarahumara. They are exuberant animals (incidentally Frank Forencich is hooked up with one of the key characters here - Barefoot Ted)

This is great writing. I read it quickly - could not put it down - and was genuinely disappointed when I reached the end.

Indeed it even inspired me to go for an easy run yesterday lunchtime! Not hard, not chronic cardio, just an easy gentle jog trying to run properly....Like Erwan does here



Thanks for the heads up Matt.

Barefoot debate?

The whole barefoot debate also goes on in the realm of hillwalking and backpacking. Or at least a debate about the value of simple, minimal footwear.

There the argument is between boots and trail shoes. As I pointed out last week, some people say that you need heavy stiff boots to protect your feet and ankles while other say that heavy stiff boots are actually dangerous since they interfere so much with your natural gait.

Martin's excellent blog had an interesting post on this recently. Make sure you read the comments - there are some fascinating insights.

Built to run, Built to walk

So run with a friend carrying a tent between you and all your kit one weekend in Inov-8 310s and wildcamp on the route and say you’re training for a mountain marathon and no one on the hills will bat an eyelid. Do the same route walking in the same kit and call it backpacking and you’ve crossed some unknown safety line and are using the wrong footwear. You’re risking twisting a ankle, breaking a leg. “You’re just wrong”

More Barefoot stuff....

It's no wonder that so many runners get sprained ankles: the shoes they wear designed to "support" their foot deadens its natural ability to communicate, hobbling the body's ability to respond and get it out of trouble.

There is a superb and detailed article here explaining why minimal footwear is to be preferred:

Kick Your Shoes Off, Free your Feet, tell your nervous system you care

Our feet are one of the most jointed parts of our body (after the skull and the hands) and yet daily, what do we do? Lace up shoes to restrict those bones from doing what they were designed to do to support us: MOVE.

This video demonstrates more:

Same runner, same day, with no instruction given in between videos. On the left, correct nice SHOE LESS forefoot strike. On the right, incorrect, with SHOES, heel strike, braking, straining. Sneakers are designed to affect the way our foot strikes the ground, yet in this video you see it affects what we do in the air. Try this experiment yourself.

Animal Stick?

Ok, I think Frank's Exuberant Animal stuff is really good (this talk is superb) and he is coming to Edinburgh later this year to do a seminar with Rannoch. ....... but surely you could do all this with a sledgehammer or a shovelglove?

Tabata is mainstream now....

So the Tabata protocol goes mainstream. I saw this in a sports centre in Edinburgh on Sunday. I was there working at the European Election Count. They are now offering classes based on a Tabata protocol.

It is strange how this particular protocol has gained such a high profile. Something there has grabbed the imagination of many. One study by a Japanese scientist and now his name up on noticeboards in Scottish gyms. He could never have had an inkling of the way that his name would be used.

I first came across it in a Clarence Bass article back in 1997. 12 years later it hits the mainstream. To me it seems like old news but apparently it is the new hot routine......

Stubborn Fat Loss....

This rings bells. The idea is that resistance exercise followed by an aerobic session makes you burn more fat than just doing the aerobic session.

It rings bells because it is seems to be basically Lyle MacDonald's prescription in the Stubborn Fat Solution, which I wrote about here.

Here is the study :

Effect of preceding resistance exercise on metabolism during subsequent aerobic session.

It appears that in training that combines both aerobic and resistance exercises, performing a comparatively higher intensity resistance exercise first would augment fat utilization and energy expenditure during subsequent aerobic exercise.

Old School Self Defence

I've mentioned before that I go along to a class each week at Krav Maga Edinburgh. I'm no expert - still very much a novice - but it is a good laugh and a good bunch of guys. It is also good to but some fitness and training to a practical use.

Anyway, one of the things I like about the training is that it is explicitly not a martial art. It is about self defence not about some sport or esoteric method of movement or philosophy. Gross motor skills and simple movements that you could recall in the stress and adrenaline of a confrontation; hit hard - sometimes pre-emptively - and get out of there.

In the spirit of this approach I've been reading Get Tough by W E Fairbairn. This was the standard close combat manual of the British Commandos in world war two. The principles are the same: hit hard and viciously.

You can buy the book at amazon or it is also available as a pdf for free

Get Tough.

Fairbairn is fascinating.

William Ewart Fairbairn (1885–1960) was a British soldier, police officer, and exponent of hand-to-hand combat method, the Close combat, for the Shanghai police between the World Wars, and allied special forces in World War II. He developed his own fighting system known as Defendu, as well as other weapons tactics.

Here is a classic video - poor quality, but you can see some similarities with the Krav Maga approach.




and another:

Does a very low carb diet limit your propensity to exercise?

....er no. Low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets give greater weight loss in the short-term than low-fat, calorie-restricted diets. This experiment shows that such diets do not result in decreased voluntary exercise....Well at least not if you are a rat:

Maintenance on a ketogenic diet: voluntary exercise, adiposity and neuroendocrine effects

Background:

Adherence to low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diets (KDs) has been associated with greater weight loss in the short-term than low-fat, calorie-restricted diets. However, consumption of KDs may result in decreased voluntary exercise and thus render long-term weight loss and maintenance of weight loss difficult.

Methods:

Rats were maintained on either a non-ketogenic chow (CH) diet or a low-carbohydrate, KD for 6 weeks. Half of each dietary group was sedentary, whereas the other half was given access to a running wheel. Running wheel activity (total distance and meters per minute), plasma leptin and insulin, adiposity, and hypothalamic mRNA for neuropeptide Y and proopiomelanocortin (POMC) were measured to assess activity-related effects in animals maintained on KD.

Results:

With access to a running wheel, rats on KD engaged in similar levels of voluntary activity as CH rats and both dietary groups decreased caloric intake. Caloric intake increased over time such that it was significantly greater than sedentary controls after 1 month of access to the wheels, however body weight remained decreased. Sedentary rats maintained on KD had increased adiposity and plasma leptin levels and decreased hypothalamic POMC mRNA, as compared to sedentary CH rats. KD rats with access to a running wheel had similar levels of adiposity and plasma leptin levels as CH rats with access to running wheels, but significantly increased POMC mRNA in the arcuate.

Conclusion:

We demonstrate that maintenance on KD does not inhibit voluntary activity in a running wheel. Furthermore, prevention of KD-related increased adiposity and plasma leptin, as measured in sedentary KD rats, significantly increases levels of the anorexigenic neuropeptide POMC mRNA.

Pain in your back or in your heart? The impact of emotions…..

You may have picked up from reading this blog over the years that I have – occasionally - a bad back. Pain that ranges form stiffness after sitting for a while, to tightness that distorts my posture through to extreme spasms that will grip with great force and pain literally stopping me in my tracks and bringing me to me knees. Debilitating and depressing stuff for someone like me for whom exercise is fun, rewarding and an escape from life stresses.

I first remember hurting my back after deadlifting, not a maximum weight by any means, but just before I was to give up my job to return to university. Ever since the back has been there. Sometimes – for months at a time there is no pain and I’ll train, run and climb mountains – sometimes it returns with a vengeance and sees me floored, carried out of the office and taken home. Hence my interest in keeping my back healthy, in mobility, in posture….

However as I’ve also hinted here a few times, I am personally convinced that stress and emotional factors have a huge impact on my back pain. Often my back pain correlates very clearly with stressful episodes professionally or personally.

To me it makes clear sense that your emotions and mental state can have impacts on your physical body and on your health. You enter an embarrassing situation and you blush. It is the morning before an exam and you get the shits. You see something sexually arousing and get an erection. Totally abstract mental events have a very physical impact.

This is incidentally one aspect of the whole Primal Blueprint / Evolutionary Fitness approach that is under appreciated – that of mental outlook and stress. Mark Sisson in his excellent new book – the Primal Blueprint – does touch on the topic and Devany has also mentioned it. We talk about living primal – in a way that suits your genes in terms of diet and exercise, but we neglect what is going on in our heads - our psychology, our spirituality. To be honest I think our psychology can have a massive impact on our health, trumping diet and exercise.

I’ve pointed previously to the theories of John Sarno. Much back pain, he would contend, is not derived from any physical injury or abnormality. Rather it is a physical phenomenon caused by the brain - like a blush or an erection. But in the case of pain, the brain is causing the pain – probably due to restricting the blood flow to the muscles and nerves. Why? He would explain that it is a method used by the brain to distract you from really painful and frightening emotions – anger, frustration.

The brain is protecting you. When you have the pain you are not thinking about the stressful painful issues – relationships, work stress, pressure from family etc.

It might all sound a bit weird but the more I think about this and read about it the more it makes sense to me. I can see in my own life how my back plays up when other stresses are at their worst at work or in my relationships. The pain comes and goes and moves around. It will move from the back to the buttocks, from the lower back to the upper back, with no explanation. It can be terrible first thing but then improve.

OK it all sounds a bit wacky, but I’ve got an interview coming with a guy who has written a book on his experiences with this type of pain.

Fun Bodyweight Training....

fun.....

Coming soon - a review of Mark Sisson's PRIMAL BLUEPRINT

I have just received a copy of Mark Sisson's new book - The Primal Blueprint. I'll do a proper review when I've had a chance to read it properly - life is busy at the moment.

It looks superb and he takes to opportunity of the format to expand on the principles he laid out some time ago in what is a classic post: The Definitive Guide to the Primal Blueprint

The essence of the Primal Blueprint is this: Most of life is really much simpler than modern medicine and science would like to have you believe. You can have a tremendous impact on how your genes express themselves, simply by providing your cells the right environments.

Working from that position, Mark presents 10 basic laws for health:

• Primal Blueprint Law #1: Eat Lots of Plants and Animals
• Primal Blueprint Law #2: Avoid Poisonous Things
• Primal Blueprint Law #3: Move Frequently at a Slow Pace
• Primal Blueprint Law #4: Lift Heavy Things
• Primal Blueprint Law #5: Sprint Once in a While
• Primal Blueprint Law #6: Get Adequate Sleep
• Primal Blueprint Law #7: Play
• Primal Blueprint Law #8: Get Adequate Sunlight
• Primal Blueprint Law #9: Avoid Stupid Mistakes
• Primal Blueprint Law #10: Use Your Brain

I'm looking forward to reading the whole thing. Incidentally, probably the best recommendation so far is that my girlfriend - a notoriously sceptical scientist (she is a PhD immunologist) - was reading some of it earlier today and actually agreed with what she was reading. Normally she thinks most health and fitness books are just full of hype and empty marketing.

Here is Mark talking about the book.

You don't need big boots for hiking.....

Several times I have pointed to studies indicating that simple footwear is better than more complex, cushioned shoes. Our feet and our gait are disturbed by heavy shoes. People are using Vibram Five Fingers for example to try to get the advantages of being barefoot while also gaining some protection. (you can even play golf in them!)

One of my favourite outdoor writers is Chris Townsend. Thinking of all this minimal footwear approach he has a good interview explaining his preference for light, flexible shoes over stiff heavy boots for backpacking. Here is an extract:

Q: One thing that you talk and write about is “the ankle-support myth”. That is very strongly put. Could you explain what you mean by this?

Chris: One of the main arguments for heavy, stiff footwear is that you need it for ankle-support when carrying a heavy pack or hiking on rough terrain. This is not true.

To begin with most walking boots offer very little ankle support since their soft cuffs give easily under pressure. My plastic telemark boots give good ankle-support, but I can hardly walk in them. Stiff-ankled boots and natural foot movement do not go together.

What actually holds your ankle in place over the sole of a shoe is a rigid heel counter, found in good quality running shoes as well as trail shoes. And I’ve now done enough walking in sandals that I’m not convinced that any support at all is needed if you have strong ankles.

Exercise Demos from Keith

Keith from Theory to Practice has just posted some great exercise demonstration videos on his Youtube channel.

Keith is a pretty gifted athlete and a good and inspiring writer who really makes you think. It is worth checking out.

Here is an example

Thanks

Thanks for the good wishes and suggestions re my back spasms.

Things are a lot better, following some rest, a less stressful few days at work and some deep tissue massage from Colin Gordon here in Edinburgh. Colin is a good guy - he has been a competitive powerlifter and trains in submission wrestling so he knows his stuff when it comes to training related injuries.

He has also done courses in the Anatomy Trains approach - something I've mentioned here before.

Stress is still a big issue for me - I think a lot of it is just in my personality - but sometimes a massage can really alleviate the symptoms.