A Little Guidance on My Routine

Questions I get from regular people…

Hi there Jesse!

First off, thank you for the great resources that you have provided in your blog. It is almost exactly what I’ve been looking for. I have been wearing vibram five fingers as my daily shoe now for about 3 years. I prefer to wear nothing else really, but sometimes I’ll wear a regular shoe if I don’t have any clean Injinjis.

About a year ago, I was exercising pretty consistently and part of my exercise was about 20-40 minutes of running on a treadmill 4-5x per week. I’ve never felt better mentally than when I was running everyday like this but I ran into a problem. I was waking up every morning with sore achilles heel tendons to the point where it was almost debilitating. Because of this I backed off of the treadmill and started doing the elliptical. Then, on the elliptical one day, I pulled a muscle in my lower back fairly severely and it basically put me out of commission from all exercise. I got lazy and eventually put on about 30-40 pounds.

I am now back to weight-lifting 3x per week doing the Bill-Starr 5×5 workout. Immediately following the workout I do a 15-20 minute Yoga routine consisting of Sun Salutation and some relaxing neck and back stretches/twists. I also try to walk for about 30 minutes on my off days. I attempted to reintroduce jogging back into my routine but after the first day of jogging, I woke up the next morning with my achilles heel on fire so I began thinking that barefoot running just wasn’t an option for me.

This is when I ran into your blog and your 12 weeks to running program. I intend on starting the program next week during my non-weight lifting days. I do have several questions for you however, if you don’t mind answering them. First, do I need to start doing the exercises you recommend to strengthen my feet even though I’ve been in Vibrams for 3 years now? Second, will a 30-60 minute yoga routine be sufficient for your functional exercise? I would be focusing mostly upon stretching and balance poses and less on strengthening poses since I am weight lifting. Third, when walking, should my foot be landing on the ball/midfoot area of my foot or the heel? Currently, while walking I land on my heel, I have tried landing on the ball of my foot but it feels odd. While running I of course land on the ball of my foot. Lastly, do you think the 12 week program is the best place for me to start? I really miss that “high” I get from running and would like to get that feeling back as soon as I can!

Thank you so much for your time and effort!

My Response

First: Do I need to start doing the exercises you recommend to strengthen my feet even though I’ve been in Vibrams for 3 years now?

More than likely you have been wearing shoes for the majority of your life. With shoes placed on your feet as you took your first steps. If you were wearing shoes extensively while you were learning to walk, especially stiff, thick soles, it would have affected the development of your arches and entire posture. Add in a couple of decades of shoes and you more than likely have some significant postural dysfunction.

In the past three years, you have probably come a long way in improving your arch and postural health, but there is more you can do. There is always room to improve your postural strength and stability. And if you are starting at the beginning of a new program, why not start at the very beginning… training your body to move efficiently? Spending that extra time training with healthy, efficient movement is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of injury down the road.

The two serious injuries you are healing from (achilles pain, low back pain) are a sign that you have some significant postural dysfunction. I would also include the hips and shoulders into your corrective work. The feet are just the foundation to the entire postural system. The whole system deserves attention. So, yes I highly recommend working on your feet, hips, and shoulders to strengthen and stabilize your entire posture.

Second: Will a 30-60 minute yoga routine be sufficient for your functional exercise? I would be focusing mostly upon stretching and balance poses and less on strengthening poses since I am weight lifting.

No. Yoga is a great modality of functional exercise, but it does not include every movement at every speed your body is capable of performing. Functional movement is about using your body to its fullest capacity. To do this you must dabble in multiple healthy modalities of movement. Using Yoga as your only source of functional movement is like having a high performance sports car and only going slow around the corners. Your body is designed to push, pull, bend, twist, crawl, walk, run, sprint, swim, skip, jump, climb, throw, and so much more. Are you getting all of these movement patterns from your current routine?

Third: When walking, should my foot be landing on the ball/midfoot area of my foot or the heel? Currently, while walking I land on my heel, I have tried landing on the ball of my foot but it feels odd. While running I of course land on the ball of my foot.

This is an area of debate, and I’m not really sold on one solid answer. I walk both ways depending on the situation. I am currently 99% barefoot. When walking on sharp rocks, my body naturally lands forefoot first. It is too painful to land heel first. I don’t even have to think about it. My body makes the adjustment by itself. But other places, I find my body feels natural with more of a heel strike. I suggest spending as much time barefoot as possible, and let your body decide. Don’t think about it too much. The more you can get your mind out of the picture, the better your body will move in general.

Lastly, do you think the 12 week program is the best place for me to start?

No. I suggest beginning with this six week walking program first. You are coming off of two very significant injuries in your life and you have recently felt the achilles pain when you attempted to run. This tells me that the injuries are still very present in your body. NOW is the time to be mindful about doing too much too soon. It is more safe to err on the side of caution. Four to six months of building up slowly, getting your body stronger and without pain will lead to better outcomes than taking it to fast, getting injured again, and sitting for a few months on your behind.

Now is a great time to introduce foam roller therapy and to get some professional help for massage, personal training, and running form. Here is my guide to recovering from injuries.

Also, I suggest staying off of the elliptical. I don’t recommend any machine (cardio or strength) that tracks your body movement for you – with the exception of a bicycle.

I hope this helps. I look forward to hearing about your progress. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jesse James

Changing Your Life: When Pain Speaks, Listen

Pain sucks. Like a leech.  It literally sucks your energy.  It will drain you. What were once simple and enjoyable tasks, become tedious and hard.  Pain will leave you unfulfilled with life.

Pain is a wrecking ball.  It wreaks havoc and leaves destruction in its wake. Pain will quickly, almost without fail, make itself the number one priority of your life, drowning out everything else. You lose your ability to focus and concentrate.  Productivity vanishes. You feel distant and alone, it puts strain upon your intimate relationships. It leaves you frustrated and helpless. Over time, as the pain becomes chronic, hopelessness and depression set in.

The story of pain is a story that sucks. It is a story that I lived out for a good chunk of my life. Thankfully, I learned that life didn’t have to be this way. There is another way to live. It is possible to remove pain from the drivers’ seat.   It is possible to love and honor my Self and my Health – not just in passing but as a major priority.  I can change my relationship with pain. By changing my relationship with pain I have profoundly changed my life, forever. I feel more deeply. I experience greater intimacy within myself and in my relationships with others. I have seen amazing, incredible growth in my personal and professional life. I no longer live as a victim to my pain. Instead, I live with inspiration.

What is pain?
Pain is not bad.  On the contrary, pain is beautiful.  It plays an incredibly necessary function within your body. Pain is one of the most powerful ways your body communicates to you.  It is the way your body protects itself, and it is there to prevent harmful movements and unhealthy behaviors.  Pain is the feedback that keeps you in touch with what’s going on within your body.  If you were to lose the ability to feel pain, you would be unable to manage yourself safely. Ultimately you would end up destroying yourself.

Pain vs. pain
Pain shows up in a number of ways.  There is pain when you push yourself to the extreme. There is the burn in your lungs and legs during a hard run. Or the two days of soreness from an intense strength-training workout.  This is pain, yes, but it is what we usually consider “good pain.” This is not what I am addressing in this post.  I’m writing about the kind of pain that speaks of something different. The kind of pain that says, “this isn’t working”. That if you continue on, you will get hurt.  That you will injure your body. This is the kind of pain that is so important to learn how to listen to.

Pain is a fact of life
Every body feels pain. Some cope with it better than others and some may hide it well. But ultimately, pain has an affect on all of us.  It is part of our humanity.  So if you feel pain, guess what?  You are not alone. Not even close.  Pain is something you share in common with every other person on the planet.

Pain is opportunity
The older I’ve grown and the deeper I’ve ventured into my practice, the more I’ve learned about pain.  This experience has taught me a few simple lessons.  First, pain does not happen without reason.  It is a signal of underlying issues.  There is always a root cause.  Second, silencing pain doesn’t make it go away.  It makes it worse.  When I ignore, cushion, push through, or drug the pain I feel, I merely make room for the pain to fester, multiply and grow.  Third, unless I deal with the pain that I feel – unless I search for and address the root of the problem, eventually my body will deal with the pain in its own fashion.  Eventually, I will be forced to deal with it.  There’s no getting around it. Unfortunately at this point the measures turn drastic, and I’m forced to deal with the pain by way of injury.  What’s the overall lesson here?  We cannot run away from our pain.

Pain is an important part of life. When pain is speaking to you it is providing you invaluable feedback. If you learn to listen and take part in the conversation you will be able to make immediate and vital adjustments in every aspect of your life.

You feel the way you live
How you feel is directly related to how you live.  Are you in pain?  Then you are living the kind of life that makes room for pain.  Pain is a reflection of how you live your life. It is the result of each and every choice you make: what you eat, how you move or don’t move, how much you sleep, and how you deal with stress and adversity. If you are in pain and you want to feel better, you must change how you move, and yes, you must change how you live. You will not get change by maintaining the status quo.  Pain is the product of a system that is set up to produce pain.  It is a result, a symptom.  If you hurt, and you don’t make any fundamental changes, you should have no reason to expect any change in how you feel.

Pain free?
This is not about getting rid of your pain.  I’m not writing to teach you how to treat your pain, or even how to manage it.  This is about changing your relationship with pain.  It is about profoundly changing your life. I have no interest in helping you get rid of your pain. That is an impossible feat.  It’s not what I do, it isn’t my job.  I want to help you change your life so that pain becomes a companion as opposed to an adversary.  I want to teach you to make body and movement choices so that you feel healthier, happier, and whole. I want you to take a good hard look at how you feel and ask yourself why? Then you will have the tool to make significant adjustments in how you live. In that moment, you will change your life.

When you approach it like this, the role of pain in your life will change.  It will no longer convey a message of frustration, helplessness, or hopelessness. Instead you’ll find in it a beautiful beacon of opportunity. You will learn to go straight to the root cause of your pain.  The sooner you learn to listen to your pain, the sooner you change you relationship with pain, the sooner true healing and recovery can begin.

P.S. Check out this sweet video: Change how you view and deal with pain in your life.  Our lifestyle, and every choice we make, affects how we feel.

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The Art of Patience: Preventing Barefoot Transition Injuries

I want to return to the discussion of minimalist or barefoot walking and running to stress a point about transitioning to minimalist or barefoot shoes and the process of changing one’s walking and running form.

There are many runners who transition way too quickly. They quickly pick up their mileage so as not to lose any of their shod running conditioning. But this prevents them from adequately addressing the necessary changes that need to be made in their form. After six to twelve months of running either barefoot or in minimalist shoes they get a nasty injury. This is a shock to most of them, because they feel that they effectively made the transition safely. When in fact, they did Too Much Too Soon (TMTS). Unless you are injured in a collision, all injuries are TMTS injuries. Plain and simple. This is a very slow process. It only takes eight weeks for your muscles to adapt to a new training program. So you may feel ready to push your limits. But, it takes over two years for your fascia to adapt. Which means you will need to follow a well thought out, thorough, and patient transition program.

Have you decided to embrace a barefoot lifestyle? Congratulations, you are embracing a change that will be good for your body for the rest of your life.  That said: please, be patient with your body. Take your time. This not a good time to have a shoe burning ceremony and run off barefoot into the sunset.  Even if you ditch your shoes and hit the pavement unshod, your body will still be running as if you were shod.  Barefoot running is very very different.  If you are not patient, you will get hurt. Until you develop strength and stabilization in each foot and leg, even half a mile of barefoot running can cause a serious injury that can take months of recovery.

“The heel cushions and arch supports within modern shoes have made our feet weaker, the foot has so much support in these shoes that the muscles don’t need to work as much as they would otherwise and have grown weaker… If you transition to barefoot running slowly and run correctly, so you build up to it, you could decrease the risk of injury over the long term.” Science News

WARNING: changing your walking/running mechanics will place new demands upon muscles, joints, and tendons that are weak and unstable due to under use. If you are a habitual barefoot runner or walker, then your body is more prepared to make the transition to full time. For everyone else, plan for the transition out of shod running/walking into minimalist or barefoot running/walking to be very slow.

What do I do? Good question.  It will take at least six months and up to three years to fully transition into barefoot/minimalist running/walking safely. This is for all runners. It doesn’t matter how many marathons or ultras you have run.  Barefoot, or even minimalist, is a whole new ballgame; especially if you have a history of running related injuries. A very small handful of runners out there can make the transition quicker, but they are taking a very big risk. Far too many people who attempt a quick transition end up injured. Spend the extra time now. It will pay off for the rest of your life.

Follow the program I lay out here and spend at least six weeks retraining your body to walk barefoot or minimalist.

Once you are capable of walking 30 minutes a day, six days out of seven, with no pain or soreness, you are ready to slowly add in running. Here is a twelve week running program to help you have a pain and injury free transition.

Buy a foam roller and begin a daily practice of self massage and flexibility. The foam roller is by far the best investment in your long term health.

This is the foam roller I recommend: The Grid by Trigger Point Therapy

Find a highly qualified and experienced fascial therapist to help your body through this process. A good therapist can break down adhesions and restrictions associated with poor gait mechanics. This will help speed up the process tremendously and make significant reductions in your risk for injury.

No Pain = Your Gain

My number one goal with my clients is pain-free movement. Pain is an indicator that there is a problem.  Pain is the body’s way of communicating to the mind that something is wrong. It is important to listen to this 911 call.  When pain calls, stop what you are doing.  Seek out and utilize the appropriate treatment for the issue before returning to the activity that brought on the pain.

Good indicators that you are doing too much too fast:

  • extreme soreness in the calves, Achilles tendon(s), and/or arches
  • Top of foot or metatarsal pain
  • knee, hip pain, or low back pain
  • Neck or shoulder pain

It is not just pain during or immediately after you run that you need to pay attention to. It is important to be aware of any new pains in your body during the week, day or night.

When you choose to ignore your pain you are placing yourself at an increased risk of significantly more pain and injury. I cannot stress this enough. I consistently see it each week with new clients. Ignoring your pain leads to even greater pain down the road.

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10 Steps To Recovery From Your Running Injury And Becoming A Better Runner

This post is a response to an email I received this past week.

Hi Jesse,

I found you on Facebook’s Barefoot Running group discussion about stress fractures and would like to seek your advice.

I am waiting for my appointment with a Sports Medical Doctor.  In the mean time, my initial X-ray, taken 2 weeks ago, shows no signs of a stress fracture. The location is at the fourth metatarsal. I had been limping, unable to place my entire foot down to the ground without pain when walking. The pain is less now when I walk, but it is still not painless, and I can’t walk fast or for long without the pain coming back again.

I was running three times a week and swimming three times a week. I was alternating between Vibram Five Fingers and Newtons. I was increasing my mileage by 5 minutes each week and I was running at 45 minutes continuously before I felt pain in the metatarsal. I’ve never had any running injuries prior, nor any chronic pain problems. This is my first serious running injury and it took me by surprise. I am practicing Chi running and am always mindful about body alignment, mid foot strike, and light landing.

I have completely laid off running. Instead, I am swimming or using the elliptical machine. Currently, there is no pain post workout. There is a reddish spot and pain when pressed upon at the location of pain.

For now, I’m not sure if getting a roller will help me or should I use a golf/tennis ball instead? I’m also trying to walk as normally as possible so that I don’t turn limping into a habit – somehow, I have become fearful of stepping onto the outside part of the foot. I wonder if I will ever walk normally again, not to mention running.

-C

Hi C,

Sorry to hear about your injury. It sounds like it has been a major challenge. Here are ten steps to help you recover from your running injury and become a better runner.

1. Get on crutches ASAP. You cannot mindfully control your posture or gait, especially if you are experiencing pain. If you have pain, you WILL limp. Walking around with a limp reinforces a limp behavior pattern into your gait. I consider this a permanent injury, because once a limp is established in your gait patter, you will never fully remove it, and it will leave you more prone to injuries down the road. Trust, me on this one, I’ve learned it the hard way. You need crutches until you are beyond the pain cycle.

2. Stop exercising. You really don’t know if this is solely a running injury or some combination of things. I suggest you take at least two weeks off. I know this is tough to hear. You will not lose your conditioning with a two week break. If anything, this injury is your body’s way of telling you it is time for a break. You WILL lose conditioning if this injury nags at you for six or twelve months. Any conditioning you lose with this important two week break you will get back in spades once you fully recover.

3. Injuries are a good thing. Yes, I just said that. Injuries are good.  The degree to which you are injured suggests that you have some underlying problems that aren’t being adequately addressed, if at all. At one time, they may have been minor injuries, but they were ignored.

Pain is the device your body uses to communicate to you that what you are doing is not working, that something is wrong. Getting an injury is your body’s way of telling you that you are doing too much too fast, that you have been ignoring the subtle hints of minor aches and pains, and that it is time to reconnect and fully listen to what
your body needs. The longer you ignore pain, the louder your body will shout to get your attention, and the more severe the injury will become over time. Just like with your car, if you ignore the warning signals, you are heading for a breakdown. Taking the extra time to listen to your body now, and making the necessary adjustments in your life and training program will reduce the occurrence of pain and injury over the length of your entire life.


4. Get on the foam roller, soft ball, lacrosse ball, and golf ball and follow it up with flexibility and mobility exercises.
Perform full body self-massage. Don’t focus on the injured side. Make sure to balance out the body. For now, don’t roll over the site of pain. It will be too painful, and you will probably inflame it more. Follow the examples in these two articles on foam roller therapy:

Foam Roller Therapy For Beginners
How To Treat and Prevent Injury

This is the foam roller I recommend: The Grid by Trigger Point Therapy

5. Find a highly qualified and experienced fascial therapist who specializes in injuries. Here is an article to help you find the best therapist in your area:

Five Steps To Choosing A Massage Professional

6. Rest and be patient. If you let your body rest adequately, it will heal. You will start to feel better. Before you know it you will be back to running. But for right now, you need pain free movement. It is time to rest your body and mind.

7. Once you are beyond the pain cycle, you can begin working on strengthening and stabilizing your posture with corrective exercises. Spend at least eight weeks on this phase. Postural instability is more than likely the primary contributing factor to your injury. Taking a few extra weeks working to improve core strength and postural stability will prevent injuries down the road. Here are a few articles with examples of corrective exercises for your feet, hips and shoulders.

8. Slowly integrate walking and running back into your program. You will need to start over – from the beginning, from scratch. Remember, injuries are your body telling you that you are doing something wrong. What it says is that there is a kink in your step. The only way to work out a kink is to start over from the beginning. I suggest starting with a Six Week Walking Program – Transition to Running and then transition to the Twelve Week Running Program For An Injury Free Barefoot/Minimalist Transition. Make sure you continue to use your self massage tools throughout this process. This may be a good time to find a highly qualified and experienced running coach.

9. Perform Functional Movement. Running is a great form of movement and exercise, but by itself it is not functional. The biggest reason runners get injured is that they RUN and nothing else. Running is purely a linear movement and it replicates another movement pattern that most of us do all day… Sitting. What your body needs is Functional Movement. You need to spend more time moving your body in all of the other ranges of motion it was designed for. Adding functional training into your program you will improve your running dramatically. You will run faster, farther, with less pain, and you will run well into old age.

10. Take your time. Don’t be in a hurry. Injuries are not the end of the world, even if they may feel that way right now. If you invest the nest few months on healing, listening, and strengthening your body from the inside out, you will look back on this injury as the best thing that could have happened to your running. Allow this time to be a teachable moment in your life. If you do, it will change your life for the better, forever.

Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

Jesse James Retherford
Licensed Massage Therapist
Personal Trainer
www.tao-fit.com
512-587-2283

P.S. Here are a couple more articles on how to treat some common injuries.
Self Treatment For Plantar Fasciitis
A Common Cause Of Low Back Pain

Jesse James Retherford teaches runners how to break the injury cycle, safely transition into a minimalist/barefoot lifestyle and raise their health and fitness level to new heights. His program incorporates deep tissue massage, which, in combination with self massage, will bring an end to the injury cycle. He instructs in corrective exercises to improve posture, gait mechanics, and running efficiency. He writes an individualized, fun, challenging functional training program to increase speed, agility, endurance, strength, balance, stability, power, and over-all body image. As a client, you will perform, play, and run faster and farther, with less pain and injury for the rest of your life.

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Five Steps to Choosing a Massage Professional

Some of the best inspiration that I get comes directly from my clients.  Since I started writing this blog six months ago, the amount of back and forth with my readers – you – has grown.  This communication has been incredibly useful and has helped me grow as a practitioner.  So to my readers, those who’ve been with me from the start and those recently joining the conversation, I say thank you.My clients often ask questions.  Lots of questions.  From time to time a question is asked loud enough, often enough, and by enough of you that it begs to be given a more formal answer.  This blog post is just that.  I’m answering a question that I get all the time.  As more questions like this arise, you can expect me to do the same.  But for now, read on and enjoy. The Question:
I have chronic pain and I live in __________. How do I find a deep tissue massage therapist?

My Answer:
Massage Therapy is a fast growing industry, and there are a ton of therapists working in the field. For the most part, the majority of them are great at what they do, but very few are specialized in treating chronic pain and injury. Some may say they treat back pain or sports injuries, but this does not mean they are specialized in treating chronic pain and injury. There are short courses that therapists can take on treating symptoms of back pain or sports related injuries. These are great for introducing a therapist who may want to specialize in treating pain and injury. But it takes thousands of hours of hands on, successful treatments before a therapist truly becomes specialized.

Massage therapists are similar to other health professionals, such as doctors and physical therapists. The majority of them work in the generalized field, while only 5%-10% pursue a specialty.  It’s the difference between a general practitioner and an orthopedic surgeon. This makes finding a therapist who is specialized in treating your specific condition kind of like finding a needle in a hay stack. Challenging but not impossible. It will take some work and time on your part, but it is well worth the effort – even if it takes more than a week.

Finding a Therapist.  Five Steps.

1. What does your body need?
What are you feeling? How do you want to feel? Have you seen a doctor or physical therapist with little to no results? Have you been told your only options are pain medications, injections or surgery?

Deep tissue massage therapy can help with many common chronic pain ailments:
Pain in the neck, shoulder, back, hips, knees, and feet
Sciatic pain
Plantar Fasciitis
Carpal Tunnel
Tennis Elbow
Runner’s Knee
Piriformis Syndrome
Scar tissue removal
And many many more…

2. Who are you looking for?
What kind of specialist?  Who can help you get where you’re going? There are many specialties within the field of massage. All of them work for somebody and none of them work for everybody.

I specialize in deep tissue massage with a focus on improving posture by working on the fascial system. I have had success with the majority of my clients. Yet from time to time there are the occasional few for whom my work does not seem to benefit.

3. Who is available in your area?
Google this, yelp this, ask friends, family and co-workers for recommendations, etc.

Post a request for recommendations through social media sites. Join professional groups for massage therapists via Facebook, Linkedin or Google and ask for recommendations there. Great therapists discuss, support and learn from each other through these groups making them a great resource for referrals.

Be willing to drive a little out of the way. I have multiple clients who regularly drive 45-60 minutes for a session.

4. Pick the top  3 – 5 and research them.
Proactively vet your top five.  Before you settle on a therapist, I suggest interviewing them either in person, over the phone or through email. I love it when I am interviewed. I have noticed a greater trust relationship develop between me and the client’s who go through an extensive interview process. Trust is important, you will not find the level of successful treatment without it. If you interview them via email, be patient. Most therapists spend more time in session than on the computer. If they don’t respond within a day or two… call them instead.

Ask them if they have experience successfully treating clients with issues similar to yours. Ask them for references and don’t be afraid to call. Check out their website. Do they write a blog? What type of information do they post? Does it relate to what you are dealing with? Do they have reviews on Yelp or Google? Do any of the reviewers talk about having similar issues treated successfully?

5. Spend at least four to eight sessions with your favorite.
Once you’ve done this and you notice that it doesn’t fit or feel right, spend a few sessions with another. I generally tell my clients to commit to at least four, and even better, eight sessions. By the fourth session, most can feel whether or not the work we are doing is beneficial for them.  Best case scenario: you develop a relationship with a therapist for the long-term and you share a journey together.  You get to know them, they get to know you, and your process is hyper personal, geared exactly for you.

My 6th and special bonus tip.
When you find that great therapist and they help you move and feel better, pay it forward by telling the world. Tell your friends and family. Post your experience in detail on social media sites. Write them a review on both Yelp and Google – again be detailed about your experience. Offer to be a reference for potential clients. Your therapist relies heavily on word of mouth to survive and thrive as a business and so does the next person in pain who is seeking help.

Note: I wrote this list to help you best find a deep tissue massage therapist for your needs. This is the same advice I regularly give clients when seeking a family or specialty doctor, physical therapist, personal trainer or any other health care provider. Taking the extra time to build and develop a relationship of trust with your health care provider will pay dividends in your long term health and vitality.

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Twelve Week Running Program For An Injury Free Barefoot/Minimalist Transition

Last week I posted a six week program to help you slowly transition towards minimalist/barefoot walking and, ultimately, running. This weeks post is a 12 week program to slowly transition you into minimalist/barefoot running in a way that minimizes pain and injury, not just in the short term, but for the rest of your life.

If you are new to minimalist/barefoot walking or running or have not run in over six months, It is very important that, at minimum, you complete the six week walking program and follow the corrective exercises shown in the postural series herehere, and here, before you progress into the 12 week running program. It is extremely important to spend the extra time developing the postural musculature needed to run efficiently before you go for your first run. This is an important step that is missing in most running programs.

As I discussed in Free Your Feet:

“Your feet are the foundation to your posture.  A strong foot creates the base support structure for a strong healthy body. A weak foot creates an unstable foundation affecting the posture from head to toe. You cannot build a strong stable structure over an unstable foundation. It would be like attempting to build a house on top of sand. Sooner than later the entire structure will collapse. ”

A lifetime of wearing shoes has weakened your foundation. A weak foundation means you do not have the muscle strength or endurance to maintain proper form… You have kinks in your mechanics, or, with a different name: Gait Dysfunction. You cannot run your way to good form. What you practice is what you re-enforce. Running with gait dysfunction only strengthens gait dysfunction. It would be like you are running full speed with your head down… straight into a wall. I know this from personal experience.  I often see this with my clients. I have run head on into the wall many times. Each time, I wound up taking weeks or months off. Then I would do too much too fast and run right into the wall again. Does this cycle sound familiar to you? You will not quit this cycle until you start at the beginning by strengthening your postural foundation. To ignore this advice will ultimately lead you to pain and injury again and again.

A couple of great ways to work the kinks out of your gait is to hire a highly qualified and experienced fascial therapist and running coach. The guidance that follows in this article will help. But nothing beats hiring a professional. And yes you do need professional guidance to insure great form. Nature is a great coach, if you were fortunate enough to have nature’s guidance from your very first steps.

Unfortunately you more than likely have had shoes placed on your feet from the age of two, the very years you begin to stand upright and develop your arches. After decades of wearing shoes, you have developed dysfunctional gait patterns. At this point, nature, by itself, will not help you find your perfect gait. Hire a professional and save yourself the pain and injury over the long run. Look at it like an investment in yourself. What you spend now in preventative will save you a bundle in health care costs down the road.

Functional Movement
Your body is designed to move with a ridiculously large range of movement and at a variety of speeds. It is important to use every angle of motion at the varying speeds your body is capable of reaching on a regular basis as long as it is pain free.

Running is a linear movement – a straight line. In fact, running is very similar to another movement pattern that most of us do all day… sitting on our butt. Sitting is hip flexion (bending at the hips). Sitting for long hours causes the hip flexors (muscles attached to the upper leg bone, pelvis and lumbar spine) to shorten and tighten pulling on the lower back. This is a primary cause of low back pain. The act of running is repetitive hip flexion. If you run 5-6 days per week; sit for 8-10 hours a day; and you neglect all other angles of motion your body needs – YOU WILL run directly into pain and injury. I do not recommend running more than 2-3 days per week, even if you are training for endurance races. You can train for any distance of a race with 2-3 days per week of running, by incorporating adequate functional movement into your training. Something I tell many injured runners, “you will become a better runner by running less. Train smarter, not harder.

How to run

The goal of this program is to train you to run 30 minutes in a steady state, pain and injury free.

Note: This program is a guideline to transition your body to barefoot or minimalist walking and running. For some people, depending on current conditioning level and injury history it may take longer than twelve weeks. Also, this program will not guarantee all of your current injuries will disappear, or you will never experience a walking or running injury in the future. The simple truth is that everyone experiences pain or injury at some point. The goal is to reduce the risk of a devastating injury, significantly reduce the frequency between pain and injury, and to speed up the recovery time during an injury so that you spend more time active instead of inactive. Before you begin this program, you should be able to at minimum, walk 30 minutes for six days out of seven either barefoot or minimalist with no pain during the week. Otherwise, I suggest you begin with the six week walking program before you progress into this running program.

Things to focus on
  • No Pain! If it hurts… Stop what you are doing. The goal is pain free movement. Get on the foam roller and try to work it out. Take a day or two off from the activity that is causing pain. If it continues to persist, schedule a session with me. If you don’t live in the Austin area, find a highly qualified therapeutic professional with experience treating pain and injury.
  • Spend 10-15 minutes of self massage using a foam roller prior to workout.
  • A quiet foot fall. Your foot should touch the ground like a feather. No slapping.
  • Your forefoot or mid foot should strike the ground first, heel comes down after that. Do make sure your heel touches the ground. Otherwise, your calves will get very angry at you.
  • Quick cadence. Use a metronome to keep 180 steps per minute no matter how fast or slow you run.
  • Short stride with your feet landing directly beneath your hips, not in front of your body. This is true no matter what speed (slow jog, quick paced run or sprint).
  • Comfortable arm swing with shoulders relaxed downward. Don’t hold your arms rigid. Your right arm should move in tandem with your left leg and vice versa.
  • Your running gait stays the same no matter what your speed.  Jogging and sprinting should look virtually identical to each other. Avoid stretching your legs out in front of your body when you try to run faster. Watch video of Usain Bolt above. Note that at full speed his foot fall is directly beneath his hips, not in out in front of his body. And he is freakin’ bookin’ it.
  • Spend 30 minutes of self massage using a foam roller after your workout.

Week 1
Day 1: Walk 5 minutes: Run 1 minute: repeat 5 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes: Run 1 minute: repeat 6 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes: Run 1 minute: repeat 7 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 2
Day 1: Walk 5 minutes: Run 2 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes: Run 2 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes: Run 2 minutes: Repeat 5 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 3
Day 1: Walk 5 minutes: Run 3 minutes: Repeat 4 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes: Run 3 minutes: Repeat 4-5 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes: Run 3 minutes: Repeat 4-5 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 4
Day 1: Walk 5 minutes: Run 4 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes: Run 4 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes: Run 4 minutes: Repeat 5 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 5
Day 1: Walk 5 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 5 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 3-4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 5 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 4-5 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 6
Day 1: Walk 4 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 4 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 4 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 5 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 7
Day 1: Walk 3 minutes: Run 5 minutes:  Repeat 3-4 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 3 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 3 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 5-6 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 8
Day 1: Walk 2 minutes: Run 5 minutes:  Repeat 4-5 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 2 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 5-6 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 2 minutes: Run 5 minutes: Repeat 6-7 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 9
Day 1: Walk 2 minutes: Run 6 minutes: Repeat 4 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 2 minutes: Run 6 minutes: Repeat 5 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 2 minutes: Run 6 minutes: Repeat 6-7 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 10
Day 1: Walk 2 minutes: Run 7 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 2 minutes: Run 7 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 2 minutes: Run 7 minutes: Repeat 5-6 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 11
Day 1: Walk 2 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 3 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 2 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 4 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 2 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 5-6 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 12
Day 1: Walk 1 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 3-4 times: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 2: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 3: Walk 1 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 4-5 times
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Walk 1 minutes: Run 8 minutes: Repeat 5-6 times.
Day 6: 30-60 minute functional exercise
Day 7: Rest

Week 13
Take the walking out. You are now ready to run at least 30 minutes non-stop without pain.

Every journey begins with a single step. The goal of this program is injury prevention so you can run pain free for the rest of your life. If you’re like me, that means another 40-50 years of running. Keep it in perspective. What is a 3-4 months training your body to move more efficiently if it means you significantly reduce the amount of time you are lame with chronic pain and injuries over the rest of your life?

It takes eight weeks for your muscles to adapt to a new conditioning program. It takes years for your fascia to adapt. By incorporating self massage using a foam rollerdeep tissue massage therapy, flexibility training, corrective exercises andfunctional movement into your training program, you can significantly speed up this process, while decreasing the amount of time dealing with chronic pain and injury.

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Barefoot/Minimalist Walking – Transition to Barefoot/Minimalist Running

 I got a phone call from a friend last week asking me about minimalist running. This is what she said: 

“I want to run. I feel great when I run. But every time I try to start back up with running, after a few weeks, my calves are killing me. I take a break that ends up lasting a month or longer, then I try again with the same results. What am I doing wrong?”

I have this similar conversation every week. There are a ton of online programs designed to train you to run races, but very few that introduce you to the art of running pain free. Pain free is the key. It is at the beginning, while learning how to run properly, that you will develop great form which will prevent pain and injury down the road.

What I am presenting in this blog is the protocol that I recommend to my clients. It is what I followed myself.

First things first: transition out of your running shoes and either go barefoot (ideal) or purchase a comfortable pair of minimalist shoes. I’m not going to go into the details of why barefoot or minimalist is the ideal way to run in this article. If you want to learn about that, you can read about it here and here.

You have to learn to walk before you can learn to run.

In my life I have had my share of injury and pain.  A lot of it came from doing too much too soon.   I understood that running, or even walking, barefoot was completely different than how I had been training – and living – for years. So when I decided to transition to a barefoot/minimalist lifestyle, I knew I had to take it slow… very slow. I spent the first six weeks just learning how to walk. What I’m showing you below is the program I followed.

Learning to walk

When you walk, listen to your body.  When I re-taught myself to walk, I paid attention to how my body felt. Since my foot was in direct contact with the pavement, when I walked with a poor gait pattern, I felt it immediately at my foot. This allowed me to make immediate adjustments in my gait so that I walked without pain.Once you place a cushion beneath your foot, you are disconnected from this very important line of communication with your body.  It allows you to continue to walk with dysfunction instead of feeling pain immediately at your foot.  The pain allows you to make immediate adjustments. No immediate pain, no immediate adjustments.  Rather, you feel that pain weeks, months or even years later in your knee, hip, back, shoulder or neck.  By this point you are completely disconnected from the original source of the problem.  As you learn to walk again remember, every step is an opportunity to make immediate adjustments in your gait.  Your each and every step is a teacher.  Listen and learn. I followed each walking session by spending between 30-60 minutes performing self massage on the foam roller and stretching. If my body hurt the day after a walk, I would skip a day and spend extra time on the roller. Note: This program is a guideline to transition your body to barefoot or minimalist walking and running. For some people, depending on current conditioning level and injury history it may take longer than six weeks. Also, this program will not guarantee all of your current injuries will disappear, or you will never experience a walking or running injury in the future. The simple truth is that everyone experiences pain or injury at some point. The goal is to reduce the risk of a devastating injury, significantly reduce the frequency between pain and injury, and to speed up the recovery time during an injury so that you spend more time active instead of inactive.
How to Walk
Week 1
Day 1: Walk for five minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 2: Walk for five minutes. Followed by 30-60 minutes of Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 3: Walk for five minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 4: Walk for five minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 5: Walk for five minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 6: Walk for five minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 7: Rest

 

Week 2
Day 1: Walk for 10 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 2: Walk for 10 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 3: Walk for 10 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 4: Walk for 10 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 5: Walk for 10 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 6: Walk for 10 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 7: Rest

Week 3
Day 1: Walk for 15 minutes
Day 2: Walk for 15 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises
Day 3: Walk for 15 minutes
Day 4: Walk for 15 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises
Day 5: Walk for 15 minutes
Day 6: Walk for 15 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises
Day 7: Rest

Week 4
Day 1: Walk for 20 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 2: Walk for 20 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 3: Walk for 20 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 4: Walk for 20 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 5: Walk for 20 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 6: Walk for 20 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 7: Rest

Week 5
Day 1: Walk for 25 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 2: Walk for 25 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 3: Walk for 25 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 4: Walk for 25 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 5: Walk for 25 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 6: Walk for 25 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 7: Rest

Week 6
Day 1: Walk for 30 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 2: Walk for 30 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 3: Walk for 30 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 4: Walk for 30 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 5: Walk for 30 minutes: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 6: Walk for 30 minutes: Followed by 30-60 minutes Corrective Exercises: 30 minutes foam roller therapy
Day 7: Rest

At this point you might be thinking…. wait a minute, when do I get to start running?  Patience my friend, every journey begins with a single step and we’ve not reached running yet. The goal is injury prevention so you can run pain free for the rest of your life. If you’re like me, that means another 40-50 years of running. Keep it in perspective. What is a few months training your body to move more efficiently if it means you significantly reduce the amount of time you are lame with chronic pain and injuries for the rest of your life?

It takes eight weeks for your muscles to adapt to a new conditioning program. It takes years for your fascia to adapt. By incorporating self massage using a foam roller, deep tissue massage therapy, flexibility training, corrective exercises and functional movement into your training program, you can significantly speed up this process, while decreasing the amount of time dealing with chronic pain and injury.


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Looking Back and Looking Forward to the New Year – By Maria

This week’s post is from a very special client of mine. Maria epitomizes everything I love about the work I do. Over the past six months, I have witnessed her move forward through severe, debilitating pain. Each step of the way she felt better and moved better. Now when she comes into my office, she absolutely sparkles, radiates and glows. I have learned so much from her courage and determination. Each week, she provides me with a big boost of loving energy. If her story resonates with you, as it does with me, please share your story.
Jesse James Retherford
————-

Looking Back and Looking Forward to the New Year – By Maria

This is the time of year to think about resolutions for the New Year. Every year, right after Christmas, I begin to make my resolutions too. Yet by mid January, what was an exciting “wish list” has made its way to the very bottom of my “to do” list. No longer do I say… I’m starting a diet and an exercise program. (Dieting and exercising are no doubt the most popular – and the most broken – New Year’s Resolutions.) 

The resolutions disappear
When I think about it, I’ve never resolved to brush my teeth, hug my family, or sleep every day—I do these things because I like to do them and need to do them.  And now I feel this way about diet and exercise ever since working with Jesse James Retherford at The Art of Fitness.

I first met with Jesse in March 2011.  At the end of that meeting, he told me, “You will be amazed at what your body will be able to do this time next year.”  He was more right than I could have imagined.  In fact, I was amazed after just four sessions with him! I’m here to tell you my story, to give you a glimpse of my journey.  I hope you’ll share it with others, especially older females in your life that you love dearly.

At The End of Last Year 2010 . . .
I’d had a lovely Christmas with my family and dear friends, almost a year ago to the day. I went with my husband and three daughters for a walk around Lady Bird Lake.  I walked about two blocks when I started limping.  My family was worried about me. I urged them to keep walking while I sat on a bench.  They, of course, wouldn’t leave me.  It was a beautiful blue-sky day with great weather.  We had family in town from both the east and west coast, and I couldn’t walk without pain.  As a matter of fact, I couldn’t walk down our steep driveway to collect the mail without limping painfully.  “Well,” I thought, “the best year’s of my life are over.”

I am an Hispanic female, 59 at the time.  I was overweight, flabby, in chronic pain, and I slept poorly at night.  Three of my sisters had undergone stomach reduction surgery yet with each year their weight was slowly creeping back.  My younger brother had a heart attack and suffered from diabetes.  “Poor health runs in my family,” I reasoned.  On top of that, in my fifties I’d had three major surgeries: two right knee surgeries for torn meniscus on both the right and left side of the same knee; rotator cuff surgery for my shoulder, and a left hip replacement.  My knee injury came from a fall on an icy Washington DC street.  The hip problems resulted from a fall down narrow, steep stairs.  My shoulder injury came after twenty years of lugging suitcases and supplies for work as I traveled all over the country.  With the hip injury specifically, I struggled for five years with endless trips to doctors and therapists who told me that nothing was wrong with my hip.  They said it was only “mild arthritis” even though I was limping badly and in severe pain.

So, on that day in late December, when I couldn’t even walk two blocks, I found myself seriously depressed, defeated, and disillusioned.  I’d become this way because of family history, injury, and old-age.  Postmenopausal women have a much slower metabolism and a significant loss of muscle, as everyone knew.

It’s not that I hadn’t tried dieting and exercise.  I’d done it all: membership diet centers (two different ones, which worked temporarily); I bought treadmills, exercise bikes, exercise DVDs, and free weights. I paid for fancy gym memberships, trainers, therapeutic massage, even rolfing and acupuncture.  In fact, my expensive trainer at my expensive Austin gym once failed to spot me as I did a tricky exercise. I fell and broke my tailbone! I was lifting a bar bell with weights as I simultaneously sat and stood up from an exercise ball.  When I complained of severe pain, she assured me that I was fine and then she had me get on an exercise bike (sitting right where I was hurting). Not surprisingly, my husband and I were very leery of gyms and trainers after that.  Although this incident was the first broken bone I had in my life, there have been other experiences with gyms and trainers that have resulted in sprains and other setbacks.

In My Sixth Decade . . .
In February, I turned 60.  Family and friends from across the country humbled me with a surprise birthday party and it got me thinking.  What would I need to do to live a life without the constant aches and pains I felt with every movement?  I wanted strength and endurance.  I wanted to be able to pick up a future grand baby. I wanted to be able to go for a long walk with my husband.  I wanted to kneel at church without hurting. I wanted to be able to have a full night’s sleep where I wasn’t tossing and turning and waking up from pain every hour.

My Chiropractor, Dr. Daniel Gonzalez, recommended that I see Jesse James Retherford for deep tissue massage. I looked at Jesse’s web site, The Art of Fitness, and was impressed with his philosophy, especially the fitness for life aspect.  I’ve found that many massage therapists are geared for athletes, not women like me. I’d gone to massage therapists before, but women, not men. Yes, it’s true, as an older Hispanic female I didn’t feel comfortable having a male massage me. But, I made an appointment with Jesse anyway, just to try it out.

Well, I have to say that Jesse was a breath of fresh air.  With me he was polite, respectful and above all, he was simply interested in my good health, not in turning me into a super athlete. He listened carefully, he asked about my goals (no pain, being able to move, strength and stamina). He probed further and I confided that I’d love to be able to do squats and knee bends but that I didn’t think that was possible.  He explained myofascial massage, scar tissue formation, and that humans did in fact lose muscle as they aged, but that muscle can be regained. Family health history, past injuries and surgeries, and age were not as big of an issue as I had thought. If I put in the work I would realize my goals.  His confidence was infectious. “If you stay with it, you will be amazed what your body can do in one year,” he assured me. He also didn’t pull any punches. “You have to lose weight. “ And, “the massage will be painful, but it’ll be pain that you can tolerate.”

Where I am now
So began my journey to good health.  I learned to eat well and lost 25 lbs (20 inches of fat and two dress sizes).   I eat more fruits and vegetables, eat several small meals a day, drink lots of water and have greatly reduced the amount of “white” and fast food I eat.  Jesse has weighed me once a week to keep me honest and motivated.  I am still on this journey, and will be. I have not regained any weight over the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays.

I have been seeing Jesse once a week throughout the course of our work. Yes, the massage is painful, but tolerable. He adjusts the pressure and helps me breathe through it (which helps so much, just like Lamaze in natural childbirth). I need to drink lots of water after a massage to flush out the toxins released by the massage.  I was shocked that after four sessions I was able to do a squat without pain.  It had been 25 years since I’d been able to do that.

Under his guidance I began walking.  He’d dictate the length, intensity, and setting (flat surface, hills, etc.).  I walked 5 – 6 times a week.  I could almost feel the fat melting away.  He showed me how to do self-massage using a foam roller.  He showed me how to stretch.  He introduced me to Casa de Luz, a fabulous, delicious, macro-biotic restaurant. I’d never had kale before, now I enjoy it several times a week. My family benefited as they began walking and eating better too.

I remember being overwhelmed as I was walking late last April, thinking, “I’ll have to be doing this in November!”  That mindset has changed from “I have to walk” to “I get to walk!”  Today, I love, love, love walking.  I feel so alive, right down to the cellular level.  Walking makes me very happy and I have absolutely no pain.  Twenty five years ago, when my daughters were small, I entered the Capitol 10,000, a 6.2 mile race. My goal then was to finish and not be the last person doing so.  I will enter the 2012 Capitol 10,000 with the same goals and I know I will achieve them.  Life is good.

So, if you have a older female in your family that you love, or know anyone that is unhappy with her/his fitness, I enthusiastically recommend Jesse. In fact, Jesse gave my 87 year-old father-in-law a massage over the Thanksgiving holiday.  My father-in-law had injured himself when his basement flooded months earlier. When my in-laws came to visit, my husband and I were alarmed at how badly he looked. He’d seemed to have aged dramatically since we’d seen him last. Turns out, the “aging” we’d seen was really the pain he was feeling.  He came back from his massage feeling and looking 100% better!  “I really like that guy, he’s fantastic! “ he said.

Looking Forward
As I look forward to the next year, I have no New Year’s Resolutions.  I will, however, continue to move. I think that this is the key to lifetime fitness. Yes, it’s difficult to move when you have debilitating pain. Especially if you don’t know if moving is making things better, or worse. Jesse has taught me that you have to go through the pain to get to the other side. Being Jesse’s client has been one of the best things that has happened to me. I’ve learned you don’t need a fancy gym, exercise equipment, lame excuses, etc. I no longer feel that my life is over. My life is just beginning.

Happy New Year!

-Maria


Get Through the Season

It’s when times are the toughest that everything seems to fly out the door – your priorities, your health, your wellness, and your waistline.  Well, the Holiday Season is now in full swing. Between the shopping, parties, family, travel, and food, Food, FOOD!, the holidays are probably the most difficult and stressful time of the year. That said, it is also the most difficult season to remain focused on improving your personal health and well-being. Giving and receiving are a big part of what the holiday’s are all about. But for most of us, we give at the detriment of our long term health and we receive unwanted body weight, stress, and physical discomfort that remains with us through the following year. Why? What is this season all about if you cannot stay committed to exercising and eating well, while at the same time enjoying the merriment of the season to the fullest? What is this season all about if the first person on your list is not YOU? 

You are not going to be perfect.
Did I mention the food? Every year I hear the weight loss experts say, “it’s easier to lose what you don’t gain.” This is so true. But let’s be realistic. This is a really high stress time of year. If you were struggling to find the time to exercise a month ago, you’re time has dwindled even more. Add to that the amount of delicious high calorie yummies that will be shoved in front of your face day in and day out. Goodies that are absolute torture to pass up. No, you will not be perfect, but…

You don’t have to be perfect.
It is O.K. to indulge. At the same time, don’t let this be an excuse to throw everything out the door. Don’t give in to the mentality that you can simply defer exercise and healthy eating to your New Year’s Resolution. (Hint: this doesn’t work!) Instead remain focused on healthy eating and limit the amount of food you over-indulge in – this month… this week… right now! You are certainly going to be tempted with lots of food.  Lots of really good food. In that case, be extra diligent to not go nuts with the food. And when you do, be okay with it. Be kind and forgive yourself, but don’t give up. Work harder to get your workouts in knowing full well that family is going to come into town. Maybe you’ll be traveling and really limited with the time and places available for working out. Get your workouts in when you can. Do your best. Check out my Holiday Fitness Gift Guide, and buy a set of TRX straps. They are perfect for squeezing in a quickie workout at home or on the road.

Go the distance.
This may mean that you’ll need to wake up earlier. True, you might not ever wake up at 5am during the rest of the year, but if it is the only time for you to take care of yourself then use it. There will be so many conflicts of time: shopping, eating, family. Don’t put your health, or sanity, on the back burner. Do try and make it a priority. At the same time, give yourself a little bit of room and don’t beat yourself up over it. This may be a holiday of giving but nobody is asking for you to give up your health and wellness. There is no person more deserving of your giving than yourself.

This is your life.
Come January 1st, how do you want to feel? If you remain committed and focused, if you put in the effort to take care of yourself through the holiday’s, your New Year’s Resolution will look more like a New Life Resolution. If you can make it through the toughest time of the year remaining true to yourself, you will show that you can make it through anything. Dig deep, stay committed and there will be no challenge in life that will come between you and the most important person in your life… You.

Jesse James' Holiday Fitness Gift Guide

 

Another Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and what was once a beautifully roasted turkey has become the base for this week’s sandwiches. And yes, Christmas shopping season has officially begun.

If you’re anything like me, the availability of ridiculous amounts of sugary treats has been the reason to let your belt out a couple more notches and you feel the need to burn off more than a few extra calories and redouble your focus on your physical health and well-being. With that in mind I would like to take this opportunity to offer my top health and fitness related gifts. These are the items that I consistently recommend to my clients year round and that I personally cannot do without. So to help you avoid the risk of pepper spray to the face over a $2 waffle iron, here are my top gift picks for health and fitness products for that special someone, or maybe even yourself.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am an affiliate for most of these products. This means that if you purchase one after clicking one of these links, I will get a small commission. That said, the only reason I am an affiliate for these products is because I believe in them 100%.

1. Foam Roller

I was introduced to foam roller therapy in 2003 and was an instant convert. Over the past eight years, the foam roller has helped me and my clients treat and prevent chronic pain, injury, and surgery. Including foam roller therapy into your daily or weekly health and wellness lifestyle will reduce the amount of chronic pain and injury in your life.  This will have enormous effects on your long term well-being and health care costs. A good foam roller is the best investment you can make for your long term fitness, health, and wellness.


The Grid by Trigger Point Therapy
The Grid is currently my favorite foam roller. It is much more firm than other foam rollers.  It is great for travel as it fits inside most carry-on suit cases. The center is hollow and you can pack clothing or other items inside of it, making it a great space saver.

The Grid 2.0 is a new, longer version of the grid. The extra length is nice if you have the floor space to maneuver and it is useful for doing the corrective exercises I describe in the article, The Scapula: The Mast and Sails.

To learn more about foam roller therapy, benefits and use, check out Foam Roller Therapy For Beginners and How to Treat and Prevent Injury.

 

2. TRX Straps

I love my TRX straps. There is no other piece of equipment that has as much versatility. With a pair of straps you can work on full body flexibility and full body functional strength training.

They weigh about a pound and fit in a small bag – they are great for travel. They mount easily to a door, wall, ceiling, tree, or outdoor jungle gym. I have a few clients with very busy travel schedules. They struggle to get to a gym while on the road. With a set of straps they can workout in their hotel room and are less likely to miss important workout sessions.

Regardless of your current conditioning or ability, you can use the TRX. The workout is suspension training, which means your own body weight provides the resistance.  The beauty about the TRX is that adjusting the level of resistance is simple: all you have to do is move your feet back or forward. You can make exercises super easy, super hard, or somewhere in between. Every exercise engages your core from your fingers to your toes in ways that are unmatched by traditional strength training equipment. The TRX is the number one piece of workout equipment that I recommend and I suggest it to every one of my clients.

(2.5) Rip Trainer
The Rip Trainer is a new piece of workout equipment from the TRX company. It has quickly become one of my favorites as well. The Rip Trainer is great for adding multi-plane rotation and anti-rotation training into your workout. If you are creating the perfect home workout studio, I would suggest taking a look at the Rip Trainer, right after you buy the TRX straps.

3. Barefoot/Minimalist Shoes

If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know by now that I am a huge advocate of a barefoot/minimalist lifestyle. As a deep tissue massage therapist, I specialize in the treatment and prevention of chronic pain and injury. I find that most injuries stem, in large part, from postural dysfunction. The majority of postural dysfunction that I treat is rooted in the feet, and it began with the very first shoes you put on.

I made my transition into barefoot/minimalist footwear about four years ago when I came across the Vibram Five Finger shoes at Whole Earth Provision Company, a local outdoor living store in Austin, Texas. At the time there were only a handful of barefoot/minimalist shoes on the market. Today there are over 64 and growing. Here are my favorites:

Merrell Trail Glove

In the times that I actually wear shoes, these are currently my favorites. They are stylish, light, fit snugly, have a ton of toe room and a nice protective plate underneath the forefoot that protects my feet from the sharp Texas trail rocks.

 

Vibram Five Fingers

They may look a little funny, but they are great shoes. What I love most about these shoes is they are a great conversation starter. Over the years, I have helped convert dozens of people into a barefoot/minimalist lifestyle just by having these on my feet.

Soft Star Shoes makes some simple yet super comfortable shoes. I have a pair of the Ramblers, basically a moccasin. They are warm and dry in the winter, and cool and dry in the summer.

To read more about the benefits of a barefoot/minimalist lifestyle you can read Free Your Feet, Not Just Any Movement, You Need Functional Movement and Heel Strike Compared to Forefoot Strike Gait Pattern and How it Relates to Pain.

Jesse James Retherford is a licensed massage therapist, certified personal trainer and barefoot movement coach. He specializes in the treatment and prevention of chronic pain and injury.

Jesse writes a weekly blog with insights on the treatment and prevention of chronic pain and injury.  lt is also a great way to stay up to date with his availability and the best way to have access to occasional specials, offers, and announcements. You can sign up here.

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