Should You Stretch?

Can You Touch Your Toes?

Should you stretch?

For as long as I have been exercising, there has been a debate about whether you should stretch. 

The debate looks at stretching before exercise, stretching after exercise, and different types of stretching such as static and dynamic.

Those against it argue that stretching before exercise does not appear to increase performance and can even lead to damage. Stretching after exercise is also shown not to improve recovery. These are focused mainly on static stretching, leaning into the stretch and then holding it for a certain amount of time. 

Yoga and pilates enthusiasts will be crying out at this point. Flexibility is so much more than better immediate performance! They focus on the increased and extended mobility which makes life a whole lot easier when you get older. 

So what should you do? Well, I'm with Winnie The Pooh on this. Everyone needs to do some stretching, if only to be able to maintain the range of motion you already have. 

However, the non-stretches have made some valid points.

When Not To Stretch:

If you stretch incorrectly, push too far or do it at the wrong times then you will cause damage and get none of the benefit. Anyone that has overstretched their hamstring and been unable to walk properly the next day will tell you that. It can take weeks to slowly get yourself back to where you were.

The answer (beyond the: don't be an idiot, stop if it hurts) lies in matching your timing to your type.

Before Exercise:

A lot of people like to stretch as part of their warm up before exercise. This can often be the time when people do the most damage.

You should never try to stretch your muscles while they are cold.

Before exercise, what you are trying to achieve is to warm up the muscle and work it up to the range of movement it will be using during the session. Therefore, doing static stretching is not the most beneficial method as it cools you down and isn't focused on the type of movements made during the workout.

The baby you want is 'dynamic stretching'. This is basically stretching by moving the muscles through their range of motion (dynamic in that you keep them moving).

For example, in rowing it is necessary to have good hamstring flexibility in order to get the proper body positioning. However, instead of sitting down and stretching out the hamstring before sessions, which cools you down etc., dynamic stretching involve swinging the leg forward and up, letting it swing back down, before trying to swing it just a little bit further. Sort of like you were doing the cancan (just don't go too far!) This warms up the muscle, and gently stretches it at the same time.

Before exercising, use body movement to slowly stretch out the muscles you are going to be using.

After Exercise: 



After working out is a great time to work on your flexibility as your muscles will already be warm. Further, if you have been doing any strength work (weights, sprinting, whatever) that has been making the muscles contract, you should take the time to lengthen them back out. This might not affect your performance tomorrow, or the day after, but it will prevent injuries later on down the track (and stop you feeling like one of the body builders that can't even turn enough to wipe their own butt, you know what I mean.)


This is the time that you can use static stretching. However, remember: gaining flexibility is a long term project, not something to be done in a single session. If you stretch too far, you are only going to cause damage. A slight stretch is all you need.

The secret to increasing flexibility is frequency not duration.

This was one of the key things I learnt at my health retreat, that taking 10 minutes twice a day to stretch instead of doing an hour long session once a week has a lot more benefits.

An easy way to remember how much to stretch is the Rule of 3: 3 times for 30 seconds is what you want to aim for, as often as you can.

So in conclusion: yes you do want to stretch, your 90 year old self will thank you for it. Just be appropriate and don't push too hard.


Want to learn more about stretching? Check out my next post on a Beginner's Guide To The Seven Types of Stretching.

Barefoot Running Part 3: Choosing Shoes.

In the first post on Barefoot running I covered the basics of what it is and why people do it. Then I went onto look at the best technique. In this third and final part I'm going to be rounding up all the info on the various different barefoot running shoes, because for most of us actually running barefoot is not an option unless we want lacerated, infected feet. 

My Experience: 

First I'll just let you know my own experience with barefoot shoes, and give you my honest opinion. 

In 2010 while I was in America on holiday, and first really finding out about barefoot running, I bought myself a pair of Vibrams Five Fingered running shoes. They have become affectionately known as my froggie feet:

To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed. The very second time I wore them, they started coming away from the sole, and just did not seem to be that well made. Dirt got into sections that it shouldn't have got into. So I retired them to be my house building/painting shoes. They are amazingly good when on a ladder. Having the added feedback makes me feel more stable, without the fear of a nail going through my foot. 

I have to admit I don't really like things in-between my toes, so that does quite a bit of getting used to, and they are not as simple to just slip on. But after wearing them for a while you do tend to stop noticing these things. 

However, that was three years ago now, and a lot has changed. While I was at the Golden Door, one of the PT instructors there had a pair which he wore ALL the time. It turns out that he even wears them out to dinner (lucky they were black... though his girlfriend still wasn't that impressed). He's a huge fan, and his appeared to be a much better construction. 

After watching the video by Terra Plana I am interested in trying them, as they look more like a normal shoes. Will let you know if I do.

What is a minimalist shoe and what should you look for?

Peter Larson over at Runblogger, who is an anatomy professor and minimalist shoe fan, lists the following qualities for minimalist shoes: 

a. Require a runner to rely more on their own feet and legs to take care cushioning and stability. How much cushioning is necessary will vary with individual preferences and the purpose for which the shoe is to be used.

b. Provide less sensory interference between the sole of the foot and the ground. Ground feel generally increases with reduced cushion and/or a firmer sole.

c. Have a lower height differential between the heel and forefoot (i.e., a lower heel-forefoot drop). Heel-toe drop is the difference in the height of the sole at the heel as compared to the forefoot. Most modern training shoes have a drop of 12-13 mm or more, whereas a minimalist shoe should have a drop that is considerably less. There is variability, and different runners have different comfort zones (ranging all the way down to zero-drop, or flat soled shoes). Most of the shoes I run in these days have a drop of less than 6 mm, and many have a drop of 4 mm or less.

d. Be lightweight. I prefer shoes less than 10 oz in my size 10, though these days I tend to run mostly in shoes that are 8 oz or less.

e. Be wide in the forefoot to allow splay on contact.

f. Be more flexible.

There are other factors that could be included here, but for me these are the most important.

(Read more at Runblogger's Guide To Minimalist Shoes.)

So, onto the general reviews. I've done a round up of the best bits of advice about three major minimalist shoes out there.

1. Vibrams KSO

Okay, like all the minimalist running brands, there are now multiple different types of Vibram five fingered shoes. However, the KSO is the standard.

What Vibram Say:

"Voted “Most Popular” for its versatility. Over the last two years, the KSO has become our most popular model for men for its unbeatable comfort and versatility. It features a thin, abrasion-resistant stretch polyamide and breathable mesh upper that wraps your entire forefoot to “Keep Stuff Out.” A single hook-and-loop closure helps secure the fit. The non-marking 3.5mm Vibram® TC1 performance rubber outsole is razor-siped for enhanced flexibility and a sure grip on wet or dry surfaces."

Things to note:

- Make sure you don't mind things between your toes.

- Great in most conditions, but not super hot in muddy or icy terrain. 

- Some notice that you can feel the seams on the inside which could cause chafing.

- Girlfriends/wives might ridicule you, but other guys tend to think you are cool.

General opinion appears to be: yeah, it's great (except for you Ben, you would be much better off with a more normal looking pair of shoes (Happy Suse?))

2. Merrel Trail Glove:

Official Description from their website:

'Less is definitely more exploring with our Vibram®-soled Trail Glove natural adventure shoe. All the protection your feet need from rocks and roots, and an ultra-lightweight upper with a synthetic leather foot sling for stability fits like a glove.'

(Note Women's equivalent is: Merrel Pace Glove. Merrell also do a 'Road Glove'). 

Runblogger appears to be in favour of them. However, comments on Runner's World forum suggest that while it has zero-drop and no cushioning, it is too narrow and doesn't allow the foot to spread. 

It should be noted that it is specifically designed for trail running, so does have features to protect against rocks, such as increased stiffness around the arch, which does affect the feel of them as minimalist shoes.  

The general consensus appears to be that they area really good off-road, but not great for wearing as an everyday shoe or at the gym. 

3. Inov-8 Bare-X 180

Description from Inov-8:

'Designed for pure minimalist runners with a 0mm differential keeping the foot as close to the ground as possible. A 3mm sticky rubber outsole and no midsole offers a stable platform for performance when running on tarmac.'

The company started off making trail and hiking shoes. The Bare X line was their first in barefoot shoes. 

General recommendations appear to be that it is great if you really want to have no cushioning, and can be used for trails, gyming, and as an everyday shoe. Suggested to be the best minimal cushioning shoe if you don't want to go five fingered. (not sure why, but appears to be huge in the CrossFit world.)

Will update with further brands when I get more time. Until then, for a rather scary list of all the different types of barefoot, minimalist, and transitional shoes, check out the reviews on Natural Running Centre. 

Barefoot Running Part 3 v.2 - Make Your Own Barefoot Shoes

So, for about four days now I have been trying to load a post on barefoot running shoes.
For some reason, blogger just does not want you to have it. It has been refusing to save or publish, and also happens to crash my computer.

Yes, it is really, really annoying. Really annoying.

So while I continue to work out these minor issues, I thought I would share with the more diehard barefoot running fans among you (or those who just like making stuff) a video on how you can make your own barefoot running shoes.

They are based on Huaraches, the sandals worn by the Tarahumara, a tribe of ultra runners in Mexico, made famous to current culture through the book Born To Run.

This video is in three parts, so enjoy. (Also, I think looking at the guy presenting gives you some insight into the type of people that like barefoot running and making their own shoes... obviously haircuts is not part of their style.)

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Cool, huh?

And you thought it was hardcore to buy Vibram FiveFingered shoes.

Review of the Golden Door Health Retreat - Elysia

Hello all!
I'm back from a 7 day retreat at The Golden Door, arguable one of Australia's finest health retreats.
The Golden Door has two retreats, one in Queensland and one in New South Wales. I was staying at the New South Wales one - Elysia, in the Hunter Valley which is famous for its wineries.

Interesting fact for the day: it is Australia's only purpose built health retreat. So there you go.

So, what do you actually do on a health retreat?

This is the question that most people have been asking me, so let me spell it out in envy inducing details.

We were woken up at 6am every morning (keep in mind that absolutely everything was optional, so you didn't have to be woken up) and at 6.30 we did half an hour of Tai-Chi on top of a hill. Check out these views:

  

At 7.00 am we had a choice of Deep Water Running (will do a review of that later) or a 4.5km walk around the lake. 

8.00 am was a gourmet breakfast with a buffet of fresh fruits, toasted and otherwise muesli, and always a different hot food: omelet, barley porridge, poached egg with smoked salmon. All the food was super healthy with no caffeine, alcohol, reduced sugar and salt. The first few days they also cut down on the complex carbs, dairy and meat to help you detox, but brought more of this back in later in the week. 

9.00am was half an hour of stretching, enlivened one day by the male instructor (a 12 year old stuck in a 30 something year old's body) subtly using a whoopie cushion while we were in a compromising pose and blaming it on one of the guys. 

9.30am every day there was a seminar on something interesting such as setting goals, detoxing, nutrition etc. At the same time another activity would be run that you could choose from such as gym circuits, cardio box, etc. 

From then on there were usually two activities running that you could choose to go to, or you could just relax reading a book by the pool (which I did on a few days). 

Morning tea was served at 10.30 and lunch was at 1pm with always a hot dish and salads. Afternoon tea was at 3.30 and dinner was at 6pm. The portion sizes were small (though you could eat as much salad as you wanted), so you never felt full, but you always knew that you would be eating again soon so it wasn't really a problem.

As well as all the activities, there were a range of treatments to be had in the spa or wellness centre. I had a one-on-one guided meditation session as well as two Swedish massages and a facial. 

After dinner there would usually be another talk. Then at 8pm, when you returned to your room, you would find the bed turned down and the oil lamp in your bathroom lit waiting for you to draw a hot bubble bath. 

A nice hot bath, a bit of time catching up on the Foxtel movie that night, and you were ready for a good nights sleep.

Now repeat 6 more times. 

Is It Really That Good?

The next big question is: is it really worth it? There are no two ways to look at it, it's expensive.

I was looking at going on a cruise which would have been 11 days, started in Sydney and went up around the Whitsundays. Food, accommodation and most entertainment would have been included and it would have come to roughly $1,500 for a room with a balcony (less if I wanted an inside room). 

The Golden Door was 7 days with all this, though it did include drinks as well (but since they only let you drink herbal tea, this isn't much of an addition) and the treatments I had as part of my package probably would have cost an extra $300 roughly. I also had a larger room, but it wasn't on a ship that took me to tropical islands. It was $3100. 

So the question from my mother is: is it really twice as good? (My Mum is a HUGE cruising fan. She took me on my first cruise two years ago, and I've been wanting to go again since.)

For just a holiday, probably not. If you just want to relax beside a pool go on the cruise twice.

If, however, you want to come back from your holiday looking and feeling better than you left, go to the health retreat. 

There is a huge advantage not having to choose to eat well or to exercise. On cruise ships they offer you fruit etc., but they also offer you crepes with ice-cream and chocolate sauce for breakfast. How is a girl meant to fight that? 

And they don't give you nearly as much information or attention. The staff at the Golden Door were great, always happy to have a chat or give you a hug when the caffeine detoxing was driving you insane. They wanted to help you work through your issues, and give you information so you could have a better life.

The reduced temptation and self-development aspects really appealed to me. I definitely liked the health retreat, as I felt I was relaxing but also achieving something for my holidays, and wouldn't come back heavier than when I left. 

Is The Golden Door The Best Health Retreat To Go To?

This is the first proper health retreat I've been on so I don't have a lot to compare it too. 

One thing in its favour is the huge number of returning guests. Out of our group of 40 (which appears to have been quite large by general standards) I would say about 1/3 were returning guests. Some of them come every year for a number of years. They all love it and are very loyal to this particular retreat. 

While I was there people did mention other retreats they had been on, some more strict, some less strict, but most seemed to love Elysia. 

Personally, I loved the set up and the people, but the architecture and aethetic really did not work for me. It was a purpose-built health retreat, opened 9 years ago. The trees and inside the main builds were beautiful, but...

Couldn't someone have told them that corrugated iron and concrete was a passing architectural fad and not really all that relaxing? 

Out of pretty much all the common architectural styles, it is one of my least favourite, so found that just stopped me fully appreciating the experience. 

The other point I will make, as a lot of my friends (and thus my readership) are strong Christians: they did try to focus mainly on nutrition, exercise and relaxation, but did introduce other forms of spirituality which I did not find ... helpful. I felt awkward trying to explain why I didn't want to do certain things, and made uncomfortable because I was trying to be faithful to my religion. They just did not consider for a moment that what they were doing might create difficulties for some people. 

Therefore, I have a brilliant plan: in a few years, once I'm a world famous author, I'm going to start my own health retreat! 

The best part of this plan (whether it happens or not) is that for the next few years I can use it as an excuse to do 'research' by visiting other health retreats around the world! Brilliant, no?

Anyway, in future posts I'll go through some of the individual classes I did and great things I learnt about fitness as their instructors were all really knowledgeable.

Anyone else been to a health retreat? Any good recommendations that I can start researching at?

Bare Foot Running Part 2: The Best Technique.

This post follows on from Bare Foot Running Part 1 which introduced the concept of Bare Foot Running and laid out exercises to build up the foot muscles in preparation for starting your natural running.

(Slight side note, while doing some researching into barefoot running, I came across the theory that it is supposed to be very good for you because it allows free radicals and pent up energies to be realised into the ground... Really? Really? Just to state, I don't support bare foot running for these reasons. Also, she was still wearing Vibrams, so how many more free radicals can escape through those compared to normal shoes? I'm sure they have an answer, but I think my mind might cry hearing it.)

So, today we are going to look at the necessary changes in your technique to run injury free while bare foot.

Most people think that running is a very natural movement that doesn't need to be trained or taught. Well, just stand by a jogging track and watch people go by for long enough and you'll realise this isn't actually the case. There are lots of variations on 'how to run' and some of them look really painful. (I can't stand watching people run with their shoulders up around their ears, it makes even my muscles ache.)

Further, even if you have been trained in good running posture and technique, there are a lot of adjustments that need to be made when reducing the cushioning in your shoes (which is a good thing in the long run (pun was not intended! I'm not becoming my dad!)).

I'm going to outline the basics, and then if you have 10 minutes free I highly recommend the video by Terra Plana I've added below. They are makers of a minimalistic shoe, so do have a vested interest in promoting the method, but they give a lot of good advice and some exercises to do before running to prep you with appropriate posture, etc.

1. The Foot Strike.

The biggest difference that needs to be made (and almost automatically will be made because it's rather painful not to) is that you stop 'heel striking'. When you jog in shoes, you lengthen out your stride and hit the ground with your heel first. However, without the cushioning, this becomes very jarring, and you should move to a mid-foot or ball of foot strike. Just think of when you jump off something, you try to land on the balls of your feet because they absorb the most shock, you wouldn't try to land on your heel.

This photo from Science Daily demonstrates the difference in movement.

2. Length of Stride

One of the consequences of striking with your forefoot is that you will need to shorten your stride. Barefoot running requires faster, more dynamic movements than a lot of people might be used to. The aim is to keep the movements light, easy and fast. Initially this can add extra strain on your Achilles tendon and calves, so be wary of overworking these. However, once they strengthen up, you will have much stronger legs.

3. Posture.

A lot of people lean forward when they run with shoes, but with the shorter strides of bare foot running, it is always best to be as vertical as possible, which also allows you to breathe better. Your foot should be hitting the ground almost under your hips, which will be in line with your shoulders.

Those are the big three. I highly recommend you take the 10 minutes to watch this video, which will give you a much better idea of what to do:

Next time we will look at the various products you can get to help you go barefoot.

Other resources you might want to check out:

Science Daily. Barefoot Running: How Humans Ran Comfortably and Safely Before the Invention of Shoes. This article looks at the research into heel versus mid-foot strikes, and how running without shoes encourages a more natural gait. 

One Life. Is Barefoot Best? The Truth About Running Techniques. This offers a balanced view from a physical therapist who doesn't recommend barefoot running for everyone.

BareFootRunning. Running Barefoot, Forefoot Striking and Training Tips. This covers the same information about heel verse forefoot striking, but has some very useful tips on transitioning to barefoot running. 

BareFootTed (the whole blog, basically). Anyone who has read Christopher McDougall's 'Born To Run' will know of BareFoot Ted. He is a big advocate for barefoot running. In his blog he covers all the different issues you might face trying to transition. (By the way, if you haven't read 'Born To Run' and are interested in natural running, I highly recommend it.)

Barefoot Running - Part 1

Barefoot running. Surely you've heard of it by now? Also known as minimalist running? Natural running?

If you are a regular exerciser, but don't spend your spare time browsing fitness magazines and books, then you might not have heard of this. My little sister hadn't until my brother and I mentioned (me because I'm interested in fitness, and my brother probably more because he's interested in fads. Love you Dave, but you know it is true!)

So, for all those faithful exercisers who haven't heard about barefoot running, this post is for you!

Let's start at the beginning. What on earth am I talking about?

I first heard about barefoot or minimalist running in a fitness magazine. Then the Maffetone method brought it up again. Then it came up again in 'Born to Run' and I started to do some more investigation.

The basic theory is this: our foot was designed to run without any cushioning or stabilization. The foot has a massive number of bones which give it a natural shock absorption when running on the middle to balls of our feet. However, with the introduction of more cushioned shoes, we have started landing on our heels, which is not how we are designed to run and leads to a lot of the injuries runners seem plagued with.

The solution? Go back to running in bare feet and very soon your posture and foot fall will go back to the more natural movement (possible with some retraining).

Generally, there is a lot of internal logic to this argument.

1. striking the ground heel first does seem an unnatural and jarring movement if you aren't wearing padded shoes.

2. deconditioning elements in your feet and legs that usually stabilize the foot would lead to injury.

3. runners are generally plagued by injuries.

So, the movement is not altogether crazy. If you watch some of the videos out there, a lot of the proponents of the movement seem slightly on the hairy palm side of normal, but the general principle that you should reduce the padding in your shoes and try to run with a more natural mid to ball striking gait seems sensible.

So where can you sign up?

Now slow down. If you are anything like my eldest brother, and a large proportion of men appear to be in some respects, then you will jump straight in, kick off your shoes, try to run a marathon and end up injuring yourself. 

First warning: obviously the skin on the bottom of our feet is not as tough as it would be, so some form of footware is necessary at least to begin with.

Second warning:  after years and years of running in shoes, a lot of the muscles and stablizers that normally would be super strong are not so strong and can become inflamed if you go straight into long runs in anything close to bare feet.

Have you ever spent a day at the beach and after walking on sand for a hours the next day your foot is cramping and sore? Well, that's because you are expecting it to adjust to the moving sand, something it's totally not use to and the muscles fatigue just like any muscle with a new exercise.

Going straight to barefoot running is a milder, but similar form of this.

So, if you are interested in this movement, I recommend working towards it in three steps:

First, try to get a pair of runners with the least amount of padding and the most flexibility that you can tolerate. Usually, super cheap running shoes work well for this.

Second, actively work on building up your foot muscles.

My top exercise suggestions:

- If you can, walk on sand as much as you can.

- Walk around your house barefoot. 

- Every night while cleaning your teeth or chatting on the phone, balance on the ball of one foot, and work your way up to doing it with your eyes closed. This will strengthen all the stabilizers.

Third, look into getting some of the minimalist shoes out there once you feel comfortable. The five-fingered vibrams were some of the earliest, but a lot more have come onto the scene. Just remember that you should always start with a few sessions just walking in them, then build up to alternate walking and jogging and finally jogging/running normally.

In the next post I'm going to look more at the technique for barefoot running, and then in the third post I'll review some of the different barefoot products out there, as well as looking at how to make your own... just because you know you want to.

Sugar Detoxing Fail

From Stock.xchng uploaded by silviogs

Sugar detoxing is hard!

It's probably even harder if you manage to actually cut out the sugar. But even just trying to do that is difficult.

So, on Sunday I said I was going to cut out the sugar this week, caffeine next week, and increase my low level cardio in line with the Primal Blueprint, before going on my health retreat in two weeks' time.

The fact that I had to have a fasting blood test on Monday did not really help. Almost passed out again in the doctor's surgery, but that could also have been because I'm not great with needles, and tend to do weird breathing while one is stuck in me.

So needed something quick, but without sugar. So I got a juice, which faithfully said it had no added sugar. But is juice cheating? It feels like it should be cheating.

I also got a turkey wrap for my late breakfast because I couldn't find much else, and fear that the cranberry sauce probably had sugar too.

For lunch I was super good and had sausages, steamed veggies and a roast tomato. So definitely going well on the extra veggies and protein.

Walked for 2 hours after work (only one hour was intentional, the extra hour was because the tram didn't come.)

Shopping for meat for dinner I found that so much of it is basted in... sugar! Ended up getting these mini pork roasts with chilli and corriander which were really nice (and supposedly sugar free). I also roasted some eggplant, tomato, capsicum and chunks of garlic (I live by myself, who cares if I have bad breath?) with some olive oil along. And that was it for the night.

This morning I had sausages and salad for breakfast (weird, I know, but breakfast salad is becoming a thing, just wait.) But then at work one of the girls brought in Mochi, which I love, and turns out to have like five different types of sugar in it. I admit I cracked.

Then at lunch grabbed an iced white tea, only to find after I had bought it that it had cane sugar as the second ingredient after water! Natural cane sugar, though, does that make it any better? (Don't worry, that one's a joke).

Continued on the downhill slope with sweet chilli salmon for my mid-afternoon snack, but was good after that with most roast pork with veggies and some apple for dinner.

So, starting all over again tomorrow.

Anyone know: is juice and fruit allowed when trying to detox from sugar?

Think I'm going to make up some date and almond balls, as had them at a yoga retreat recently and it was just as good as chocolate. Will let you know how they go.