Week 30 Update

Can it be that I've been at this for 30 weeks already? Jeez. Doesn't seem that long honestly. My weight started migrating down again, thank goodness, setting a new record low just yesterday at 172. That's 26 pounds lost in 30 weeks. So, I have 10 weeks to lose those final 7 pounds. Given the recent pace, that might be an optimistic goal...

One recent problem I've encountered is squats. Not one specific kind of squats either, but rather all squats. The comical problem I'm having is that I keep falling backward while doing them. This, as you may have guessed if you're a personal trainer with knowledge of how I learned them, is a result of switching shoes.

I mentioned last time that I got those funny looking Vibram Five-Finger shoes. They're not just for running, but for lifting too. They're flat, and the lack of cushion means more power gets sent into the floor rather than dissipated. I learned to squat wearing -- in my opinion the most comfortable shoes available -- New Balance 992s. These have a wedge in the heel like most all shoes. I had been accounting for that wedge when learning to get back in my heels for squats. Now that the wedge isn't there, I'm still going back that far, but it's now too far. Therefore, I spend a lot of time getting myself up off the floor.

Even more time has been spent doing body squats. In fact, instead of my usual "leg day" exercises, I've been exclusively doing body squats. Slow, focusing on form, up and down and up and down and get up off the floor and up and down... It gets a little tedious, then the remaining 25 minutes just creep by. Oddly, flexibility is one of the factors that make this exercise easier. Trainer Dean showed me a few stretches that really helped get me back on the right track

The first one stretches the inner thighs. For this one, start out by laying down on the floor with one hip right up against a wall (that you can put your feet on without getting in trouble). Turn 90 degrees so that your butt is up against the wall and place both feet together flat against the wall as close to your body as you can get them. Now, place your arms, elbows out, between your knees. For 8 seconds, push your elbows against the side of your knees while simultaneously pushing your knees against your elbows. Then, for 8 seconds, push your knees out using both your elbows and your legs, keeping your feet flat on the wall. Move your feet a few inches apart, and repeat. Keep doing rounds of this until you're in an actual squat stance. Of note, this is exhausting on the hips. Also, immediately after I did this stretch the first time I was able to squat properly. Your mileage may vary, but it was a marked improvement for me.

Hamstrings time! For this one, you'll need either your gym towel or some rope. Lay down on the floor with your feet together. Holding the rope with both hands, bring one knee up toward your chest, and arch the rope around the middle of your foot. Choke up on the rope, leaving 4 to 6 inches of rope between your foot and your hand on either side. Now, keeping your hips against the floor, attempt to straighten your leg, pushing with the heel, while pulling hard on the rope. Your leg will shake doing this, it's normal. Hold it for 8 seconds then bring your knee to your chest for a few seconds. Repeat this 2 more times, then do the other leg. This particular stretch was incredibly effective on me. In a normal toe touch stretch right after doing this the first time, I was able to reach more than an inch further. Not bad for a single stretch.

Increasing flexibility and practicing will fix my squat. Now, it's on me to do just that.

It's high time I learned how to run

I believe I've regressed a bit...with running. One thing I never really knew until spring semester of my senior year of high school is that I am a fast runner. Not blistering, football player competitive, mind you, but fast considering my training...consisting of nothing at all. I was the fast guy on the flag football team, usually charged with running down their fast guy with the ball. Then, graduating from college meant that flag football ended, along with my excuses to run like that. Combine that with the programming lifestyle, and things get forgotten. Thus we have where we are today.

As mentioned previously, my knees would hurt when I ran. Especially when I ran for extended periods (ok, maybe like 5 minutes). Conflict! I want to run; I have fun running fast; I'm terrible at distance running; my knees hurt when I do it. With the help of my personal trainer, Dean, we're ironing out most of the bad parts about my running.

So, to fix the knees hurting, I had to work on my technique. Specifically, I have to avoid what they (the people who invent these terms) call "heel striking" or landing with my heel first. I've mentioned that before, but it was important to reiterate. In addition to the change, I've purchased some shoes to help with it. They are Vibram FiveFinger shoes. These promote the barefoot style of running in a seemingly brutal way: they have no padding. They have rubber on the sole to protect your feet, but they run just like you're running on whatever surface you're on.

With those, the knees are fine but apparently my calves are convinced they should rebel. Oh my goodness, this switch in technique has killed them. Dean recommended stepping down the time running and work my way back up. That worked fine until 25 minutes. With that, one calf stayed sore for over a week. Thankfully, I realized I was being stupid.

I relearned a valuable lesson...warm up before you run! Why, why, why did I forget that? Anyway, now my running consists of 5 minutes of very brisk walking before I run (4 to 5 mph on the treadmill). With that change, that obvious, obvious addition, my calf woes have been virtually eliminated. Plus, I can literally run an extra time per week. Lesson learned.

As for running for longer, it goes back to two things I've learned with my cardio: pacing, and breathing. I really have to focus on slowing down, especially for the few minutes until I'm in my rhythm. Now we're on to breathing, big deep breaths and pushing that air out so I can get enough back in. I try to pace it with my steps. In for two steps, out for two steps. If I get winded, in for one and out for one for about one minute. That gets me back in control so I can keep going.

After all this, I've gone from barely finishing the 3/4 mile lap around the neighborhood, to nearly 3 miles nonstop. If you're out to learn to run like I am, focus on technique first. The increased time and distance will come. Warm up first, run correctly while you're going, then stretch when you're done. You'll be good to go.