Barefoot running - Both sides of the story

Here at Primal Movement, we are big advocates of barefoot running, but we insist in a controlled and educated transition for those used to the 'conventional' running techniques and footwear.

For this blog, we will briefly discuss the different styles of running and how they relate to running performance, we will discuss the recent explosion in the popularity of barefoot running and discuss the positives and potential negatives of attempting to run barefoot (or in barefoot style/minimalist shoes). I will then wrap up with discussing the Vibram 5 Finger shoes (look at our other blogs for more details on those!), which are a popular barefoot style shoe, and how to incorporate running in them. While there is a plethora of technical information contained in this article, if you want, skip to the summaries and conclusions of the article, which contains the information that is important to you, the runner.

Soles of Barefoot Ken - by Luis Escobar

There are three types of runners:


1. Rear-foot strike (RFS)
2. Mid-foot strike (MFS)
3. Fore-foot strike (FFS)


It has been shown that the fastest endurance runners tend to be FFS runners (2). The reason for the different types of running styles is not clear, but a recent article published in Nature (The full paper can be seen here: issuu.com/primalmovement/docs/foot_strike_patterns_and_collision_forces), one of the top ranked peer-reviewed journals in the world, may shed light on the differences and may support the idea of barefoot running. In this study the authors looked at foot strike kinematics in five groups of runners while they ran on a track at their preferred endurance speed. The groups consisted of 1) runners from the USA that wear shoes 2) Kenyan athletes that grew up running barefoot but now wear shoes 3) runners from the USA who grew up wearing shoes, but now run barefoot or with minimal footwear 4) Kenyan adolescents that have never worn shoes and 5) Kenyan adolescents that have worn shoes for most of their lives. Lieberman et al found that runners who wear shoes and who grew up wearing shoes have a RFS when wearing shoes and also barefoot, though they tend to have a flatter foot placement while running barefoot. Runners who either grew up barefoot or switched to the barefoot style of running were predominately FFS runners. The authors state that while high-heeled running shoes are more comfortable, they do limit proprioception and make it easier to heel strike. Furthermore, many running shoes have high arch supports and stiffened soles. This may weaken foot muscles and reduce arch strength, which then leads to excessive pronation, greater demand on the plantar fascia, and lead to plantar fasciitis.


While running, at foot strike, there are ground reaction forces that occur. In RFS runners this collision force can be 1.5-3 times the body weight of the runner (3). The impact transients travel rapidly up the body and may contribute to injuries such as tibial stress fractures (4) and plantar fasciitis (5). Lieberman, et al (3) found that at similar speeds, the peak vertical force that occurs during the impact period of the run stride are approximately three times lower in habitual barefoot runners who FFS compared to runners who habitually wear shoes and RFS while barefoot or in shoes. On average, the impact force in RFS runners either barefoot or with shoes is roughly 1.75 to 2 times body weight compared to FFS runners who are barefoot who experience impact forces approximately 0.5 times their body weight.


With the increased interest in barefoot running, shoe manufacturers have developed products to mimic barefoot running while protecting the athletes from stones, pieces of nails, glass, etc. One such shoe is the Vibram Five Finger Shoe. Recently, a study compared the running gait in experienced barefoot runners while they ran barefoot, running with Vibram Five Finger shoes, or in a conventional neutral protective shoe (7). The authors of this study found that stride length and stride frequency were shorter and higher respectively when running barefoot compared to wearing the Vibram Five Fingers and conventional running shoes. Furthermore, there were significantly lower values of peak vertical force at impact while running barefoot compared to running with standard running shoes. Compared to running barefoot, stride frequency was lower while running in the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Stride frequency was 91.2 strides per minute while running barefoot compared to 88.3 strides per minute while running in the Vibram Five Fingers. There was a trend for the stride frequency to be higher while wearing the Vibram Five Fingers (88.3 stride per minute) compared to conventional running shoes (86 strides per minute). Furthermore, of interest is the authors found a difference in peak vertical force at the impact across conditions. The peak vertical impact forces were 1.59 times body weight while wearing Vibram Five Finger shoes, 1.62 times body weight while running barefoot, and 1.72 times body weight while wearing conventional running shoes. The impact forces were statistically significant lower while wearing the Vibram Five Finger shoes compared to running in conventional shoes (7).In looking at how the foot strike occurred, it was found that the foot strike occurred similar in the Vibram Five Fingers to barefoot running in that the foot was more plantarflexed compared to the conventional running shoes. This leads to more of a forefoot strike compared to the rear-foot strike that is common while wearing running shoes. This leads to reduced impact forces on the heel of the runner.


An important finding in this study (7) is running with the Vibram Five Finger Shoes led to a significant decrease in oxygen consumption compared to the conventional running shoe. Values of oxygen consumption were similar between barefoot running and running while wearing the Vibram Five Finger shoes.


The authors concluded that the Vibram Five Finger shoes are an effective means to imitate barefoot running and provide protection. This protection allowed the runners to push off more vigorously compared to barefoot running. Evidence for this is the higher pressure under the metatarsal head, higher step length, lower step rate, and higher thrust peak force compared to barefoot running. It appears the Vibram Five Finger Shoes offer the benefits of barefoot running, while offering the protection of a running shoe (7). Furthermore, running in Vibram Five Finger shoes does improve running economy, and this is appears to be due to a combination of decreased shoe weight (compared to conventional shoes) and running gait that is similar to barefoot running.

To summarize up to this point, it may be that fast runners adopt a fore-foot strike pattern to avoid the high impact forces that would occur with a rear-foot strike. Furthermore, the fore-foot strike mimics barefoot running, which is known to improve running economy. While the fore-foot strike, reduces the braking action that occurs with a rear-foot strike (heel strike), this author will acknowledge part of the improved running economy associated with barefoot running is partly due to lack of shoe weight. Running economy improves .5-1% for every 100 grams of reduced shoe weight (1)


A similar article appeared in Triathlete Magazine that put the blame of increased running injuries on the barefoot running phenomena on minimalist shoes and barefoot running, despite the fact that injuries rates in runners have remained stable despite the advent of shoes with more cushion and motion control (6).


If you decide to run with the Vibram Five Fingers, it is critical that you ease into the shoes. The first run in them should only be about 5 minutes. One way to ease into them is to run for five minutes and then switch back to your regular running shoes for the remainder of the run. Then each week, add a couple of minutes to each run with the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Once you have reached about 30 minutes of continuous running in the Vibrams, then increase the volume by 10-15% of each run that involves the Vibram Five Finger shoes. Of course, there will be run workouts that do not involve the Vibrams. Depending on the length of the long run, you may want to complete your entire long run of the week in your regular running shoes. Furthermore, due to the increased thrust peak vertical forces (how hard you push off) and corresponding increase in peak pressure on the metatarsal heads (pressure on the balls of your foot), I would hold off on wearing the Vibrams for track workouts until you are completely comfortable in them. The bottom line is moderation is key. Take your time getting used to them!


So, should you try the Vibram Five Fingers? The answer really depends on the individual athlete. The most important considerations are the biomechanics of the athlete as well as body composition. While being a heavy pronator does not necessarily preclude one from running in minimalist shoes, such as the Vibram Five Fingers, extra caution is warranted and extra work should be performed to increase the stability of the runner, i.e. ankle strengthening and stability, as well as improved core strength (in particular hip abductor strength). If one is carrying extra body weight, I suggest first focusing on increasing the percentage of lean body mass, thus decreasing the amount of impact that occurs while running in minimalist shoes. While Vibram Five Finger shoes have been shown to decrease the impact forces, there is still very little cushion compared to conventional shoes to protect one from the impact forces that do occur.

In conclusion barefoot running and running in minimalist shoes decrease the impact that occurs during running, increases running economy (as shown in decreased oxygen consumption at a given running speed), and may decrease the likelihood of injury. However, patience is warranted, and one must transition slowly to minimalist running.


Thanks for reading,


We Are Primal


1) Burkett LN, Kohrt WM, Buchbinder R. Effects of shoes and foot orthotics on VO2 and selected frontal plane knee kinematics. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 17:158-63, 1985.

2) Hasegawa H, Yamauchi T, Kraemer WJ. Foot strike patterns of runners at the 15-km point during an elite-level half marathon. J Strength Cond Res. 21:888-93, 2007.
3) Lieberman DE, Venkadesan M, Werbel WA, Daoud AI, D'Andrea S, Davis IS, Mang'eni RO, Pitsiladis Y. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature. 463(7280):531-5, 2010.
4) Milner CE, Ferber R, Pollard CD, Hamill J, Davis IS. Biomechanical factors associated with tibial stress fracture in female runners. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 38(2):323-8, 2010.
5) Pohl MB, Hamill J, Davis IS. Biomechanical and anatomic factors associated with a history of plantar fasciitis in female runners. Clin J Sport Med.19:372-6, 2009.
6) Richards CE, Magin PJ, Callister R. Is your prescription of distance running shoes evidence-based? Br J Sports Med. 43:159-62, 2009.
7) Squadrone R, Gallozzi C. Biomechanical and physiological comparison of barefoot and two shod conditions in experienced barefoot runners. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 49:6-13, 2009.

The truth about Abdominal Conditioning

The aim for us as practitioners at the Primal Movement Clinic is to provide a strategy for our patients to get out pain, stay out of pain and get strong. There are hundreds upon hundreds of books, articles and experts giving their insight into the correct method of abdominal conditioning, and the vast majority of them are incorrect, promoting faulty motor recruitment patterns.

Abdominal training myths:

We come across several common myths about abdominal conditioning, and these 3 in particular don't look like they will be disappearing from our gyms anytime soon. In light of this phenomenon, we thought it would be a good idea to let our readers and clients know about them.

Myth 1: Abdominal exercise reduces your midsection:

As Paul Chek describes in his book, Scientific Core Conditioning, there is no direct metabolic pathway from the muscle cells in your abdomen to the fat cells surrounding them, so relying on abdominal 'crunches is unfortunately not going to remove that spare tyre.

Myth 2: Training your abdominal daily:

The abdominal wall is made up of striated skeletal muscle, and as Charles Poliquin describes in his book, The Poliquin Principles, the abdominals are fast twitch muscle fibres. What does this tell us? It tells us that the abdominal wall will respond best to heavy resistance, low repetition sets, which as my colleague Andrew Johnston states in his book,  Holistic Strength Training for Triathlon, what could you possibly be achieving with your three sets of one hundred or the pilates one hundred...? Nothing - you are simply detracting from the function of the abdominal wall. It is the job of the transverus abdominus to act as the endurance, stabilising muscle out of the abdominal wall, but that is for another time.

Andrew goes on to state:

High reps and inadequate recovery are a prescription for poor performance. Repeatedly breaking down your abdominals without allowing the necessary time for repair will eventually lead to adaptive shortening of this muscle group.

This can then as Paul Chek states, disturb the normal respiratory excursion of the ribs, increase the workload on the accessory respiratory muscles, and encourage poor posture, detracting from performance.

Myth 3: There is no lower abdominal

We can assure you this is not the case. The rectus abdominus is split into 8 sections, all with its own neurological input, as Paul Chek always says, it has not 1 brain but 8 brains! The Rectus Abdominus also has a distinct separate innervation below the umbilicus, allowing it be a prime mover from one end, and a stabiliser at the other.  This is stated as far back as 1934 by Joel E.Goldwaithe in his book, Body Mechanics in Health & Disease. 

Basic anatomy:

Something which people don't seem to realise is that the abdominal wall is split into 6 different sections:

1. Left internal oblique

2. Right internal oblique

3. Left external oblique

4. Right external oblique

5. Rectus abdominus (this can be split into L & R)

6. Transversus abdominus 

Essential biomechanics:

So for those who rely on an 'Ab Cruncher' or the abdominal crunch from the floor as their sole method of abdominal training (6 pack - Rectus Abdominus), you are missing out on not only all the other remaining abdominal muscles named above, but you are only training between 0 - 30 degrees of movement of your Rectus Abdominus!

The standard crunch is complete within 30 degrees, which only targets the upper rectus abdominus fibres. In this exercise, trunk flexion and extension is limited to anterior to the mid frontal plane (from 0 degrees lying on your back, to 30 degrees flexion and back to flat surface, 0 degrees). From a functional perspective, there is very little carry over for an abdominal crunch from a flat surface be it lifting at the home or work place or in a sporting environment, or pretty much any activity at all - it's completely redundant.

The abdominal musculature are active as both prime movers and stabilisers through 45-80 degrees extension behind the mid frontal plane. This is a very important fact as many spinal injuries occur in a position of spinal extension and rotation - exactly where the majority of abdominal exercise does not occur. If you think about most sports, this position is very common (leaning back and twisting your body): tennis, rugby, cricket, baseball, volleyball, american football the list goes on. For instances of plain daily living, getting into and out of your car is a movement where so many people hurt their backs. The movement pattern of getting into a car is a complex combination of side bending, extension and rotation.

Basic training tips:

Most of you who have been doing abdominal crunches wrongly as described, will have ample upper abdominal strength, they will be alive and functioning. But what about the lower abdominals, the ones from your belly button down? The lowers will without doubt be under-activated. Florence Kendall in her book, Muscle Testing & Function, states that from the point of good posture, the lower abdminals are more important than the uppers.

This is particularly a BIG problem for those who are involved in sport or activity that demands a lot from the human body. When your body is teetering on the edge after being pushed to its limit, it will migrate to its position of strength, in fact, it will always migrate to the position of strength regardless of what you are doing. This leaves big areas of vulnerability that will be exposed when you push your body, inevitably injuries will occur.

If you have been training your abdominals incorrectly, not only will the lower abs under-activated, your lower back, your posture and your performance of daily living or sport, are vulnerable.

Taking this on board, you should train your abdominals accordingly

1. Activate your lower abdominals through coordinated and precise control, before the complex movement patterns required to do them become impaired by fatigue.

2. Train the obliques next, both left and right external and internal obliques. 

3. Upper abdominal, which involve simpler movement patterns, should be performed last, or not at all depending on your ability to control your lower abdominal. Essentially you need to de-train you upper abdominal to bring them into sync with the rest of your abdominal wall. 

Lower abdominal -> Obliques -> Upper abdominal

What do you do with all this information???

1. Place your abdominal specific training last in your gym workout.

2. Forget about abdominal crunches from the 'Ab Roller' or from a flat surface. 

3. No more 50 - 100 sets of abdominal crunches of any kind - use a weight ball or a weight plate to reduce your reps and increase the load.

4. If you are upper abdominal dominant, de-train them until the lower abdominal has nullified the deficit.

5. Remember Lower abdominal -> Obliques -> Upper abdominal

Thanks for reading,

We Are Primal

Paul Chek: Scientific Core Conditioning

http://shop5.mailordercentral.com/thechekinstitute/Scientific-Core-Conditioning/productinfo/7201D/

Andrew Johnston: Holistic Strength Training for Triathlon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Holistic-Strength-Training-Triathlon-Johnston/dp/1456724037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311943675&sr=8-1

Top Tips about Barefoot Running & Vibram 5 Fingers

As you have probably guessed by the name of our clinic, Primal Movement Clinic, and the name of our blog, We Are Primal, we are interested in all things natural, holistic, and the parts of the world that bring us closer to how we are truly meant to be mentally, emotionally and physically. We see running as no different.

Our friends at PrimalLifestyle.com, have been extolling the virtues of barefoot running and singing their philosophy from the rooftops for quite some time now, and they sell and provide the rest of the UK with the brilliant Vibram 5 Fingers. They have also kindly provided us with some facts and figures that are discussed below. The Vibram 5 Fingers offer a tangible solution to the obvious issues associated with barefoot running. They offer protection, comfort whilst still not reducing the foots mobility, and provide the next best thing to running barefoot for those not quite brave enough to go the whole way.

Patients and friends of ours often say, 'they look weird...!', or 'don't they hurt your feet...?'. well in answer to all of those kinds of questions - no and no again. Change or something that is different can often be difficult for people to accept at first glance or thought...!

We can all appreciate, although we often forget, how good it feels to take our shoes and socks off and feel the ground beneath our feet. If you haven't done it in a while (and if it's suitable!), take the next opportunity to go and walk on the grass barefoot. I am sure you will feel a sense of wholeness with the earth and feel a positive lift in your energy and your aura that being in contact with the ground provides.

According to our knowledgeable friends at PrimalLifestyle.com, a study carried out by Wharburton in 2001 shows of gathering evidence that walking barefoot results in enhanced performance and decreased injury risk.

Evolutionary evidence tells us that the human foot has been evolving and modifying for over 270,000,000 years. This spans from our earliest ancestors, the Ardipithecus group, all the way to what we see before us today. The human foot is an incredibly malleable and capable structure that is the first point of contact with the ground on which we land. It is designed to absorb the forces safely, therefore reducing the shock that passes through the ankle, knee, hip and lower back. The human foot also stores and releases energy for each step we take.

Liebermann et al (2010) produced a piece of research to find out how and why humans can, and do, run comfortably without 'modern' running shoes. They confirmed that experienced barefoot runners tend to avoid landing on the heel and instead land with a forefoot or midfoot strike. They showed that forefoot and midfoot strikes (with or without shoes) do not generate the sudden, large impact forces that occur when runner's heel strike (with or without shoes). This tells us that runners with correct technique do not need those trainers with big thick cushioned heels, and therefore the modern trainer is precipitating this faulty running pattern.

The feet are hugely important in providing essential natural biofeedback (gathering of information from body receptors in order to monitor and fine-tune body function). There are an estimated 200,000 receptors in the sole of each foot, making it one of the most nerve rich areas of the body - doesn't this striking fact tell us how important the proper movement of our feet is!?

If you take a traditional shoe, it has a rubber sole, a soft cushioned insole and generally there is a sock around the foot. These materials provide an inch or so of distance from the ground and silence the receptors in your feet. You could call this 'Shoe Induced Neuropathy' as there is such a lack of biofeedback coming from the foot. 

10 Reasons to go Barefoot

1. Enhanced running efficiency

Research shows that barefoot running results in a 4% increase in efficiency.  

2. Improve circulation in your legs

Blood is pumped more efficiently back to the heart through enhanced muscular use in the lower leg.

3. Decreased ankle sprains

Increased foot awareness of foot position by the brain due to the increased biofeedback, therefore less likely to stumble.

4. Lowered risk of shin splints

Through not heel striking when running, there is less demand on the muscles in the front of the shin

5. Minimise back pain

Any change in the position of our body and our feet when we walk, away from walking barefoot, is to detract from our original, most efficient design.

Wearing shoes changes the arches in our feet and therefore negatively affects the mechanics of the lower back, leading to decreased function and eventually pain. 

6. Enhance proprioception

70% of the body's nerve endings are in the feet and hands. If you use your feet, more information is given back to the brain and the body's ability to balance and move is improved.

7. Strengthen intrinsic foot muscles

Using the feet as nature intended rather than wrapped up in a shoe, allows the muscles to act as nature had intended, therefore the muscles will strengthen.

8. Maximise biomechanical performance

Our arches do more than just 'shock absorb', they actually store energy and then return that energy to the gait cycle in the next step. Barefoot improves the function of the arches, which improves teh body's mechanical function as a result.

9. Lower risk of bunions

Shoes inevitably push the toes into a point. That combined with a heel puts even more force into the big toe joint. Both of these combined with a generally weakened foot can cause a pronation dysfunction which can further exacerbate the problem.

10. Optimise balance and prevent falls

Improvements in balance through increased biofeedback from the feet will inevitably prevent falls.

We hope you will join us or at least try to include more barefoot stuff in your life... We are more than confident you will love it!

Thanks for reading,

We Are Primal

Top Tips about Gluten intolerance and your Diet

Diet is an essential part of our treatment plans here at the Primal Movement Clinic. We find that grains are becoming increasingly involved in our patients dietary and overall health problems, so here is some information on why and how you can help to make changes to your diet if necessary.

Grains have only been part of the human diet for approximately 10,000 years which is not nearly enough time for an evolutionary adaptation. As such, many of us are unable to properly digest grain based foods. Compared to to dairy foods, which are arguably a much more natural part of the human diet than grain, nearly all dairy is exposed to the destructive pasteurisation process which significantly alters it’s natural composition. While pasteurization is intended to kill germs and improve the safety of dairy products, it also destroys and deforms beneficial nutrients making them less beneficial and potentially difficult to digest

During digestion, gluten and casein are digested into smaller peptides. With compromised intestinal health, these peptides can easily enter the bloodstream where they’re likely to be recognised as antigens and attacked by the immune system. This can result in autoimmune disorders, and because some gluten and casein peptides are opioids, they can alter brain function. An immune response to gluten and casein can occur within the intestines, causing inflammation, which ultimately can lead to more intestinal damage. This then leads to an increase in intestinal permeability, perhaps even leaky gut syndrome, resulting in a higher susceptibility to the problems associated with gluten and casein.

As most people eat grain or dairy with a vast majority of their  meals, it should come as no surprise that these digestive issues can eventually destroy the intestinal lining. This then leads to the immunity of the intestines shutting down, affecting the rest of the body, and eventually opening the door to major disease.

Autism and being Gluten free

The gluten and dairy free diet is commonly included in natural treatment protocols for autism because of the excessive immune activity and alteration in brain function that gluten and casein can cause. There’s an especially strong association between autism and a specific type of casein called A1 beta Casein. Autism is often associated with chronic infections, immune deficiency, and even autoimmune disorders. As such, giving the overworked and rundown immune system a rest from having to fight off reactive foods often provides symptom relief and gives the body a much better chance of healing itself.

Gluten and Dairy Aren’t the Only Culprits

As intestinal health declines, we become more susceptible to developing food sensitivities. Unfortunately, this can and typically does include healthy foods such as meat, fruit and vegetables. As such, avoiding gluten and dairy isn’t always enough and it’s often important to be tested for food sensitivities. Doing so will enable you to eliminate unnecessary immune activity within the intestines by specifically identifying the foods that you react to and should avoid.

Gluten and Dairy Replacements

While it’s best to avoid grains completely when gluten intolerance is a concern, there are several gluten free grains that can usually be eaten without a problem. They are amaranth, rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa and millet. However, if you’re very sensitive to gluten, keep in mind that these grains are sometimes contaminated with small traces of it.

Excellent replacements for dairy include coconut milk, coconut oil and ghee. While soy is often used in place of dairy, it’s far from the health food that it’s advertised to be and can cause worse problems than the dairy it’s replacing. For more information on the risks of soy, visit the Weston A. Price Foundation’s Soy Alert Page or read The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla Daniels.

Get the Entire Family Involved

The modern diet is extremely high in grain based foods, and unfortunately, we’ve developed quite an appetite for them. In fact, many people are literally addicted to highly refined grain based foods such as bread and pasta. Although dairy isn’t quite as popular as grain, it’s not far behind. As such, following a diet that eliminates these two foods can be extremely difficult from both a mental and logistical perspective.

Due to the popularity of grain and dairy, intolerances are very common and most people would benefit from trying, even if temporarily, a grain and dairy free diet. If you or someone in your family needs to avoid grain and dairy, having the entire family follow the diet will not only provide support, but will likely improve the health of everyone involved as well.

If you are looking for dietary advice or holistic lifestyle management, please get in touch :-)

Thanks for reading,

We Are Primal

Top tips about Osteopathy

At the Primal Movement Clinic, we offer osteopathy to all of our clients. Combined with naturopathy, C.H.E.K and dry needling, it is a powerful tool for improving the mechanical function of the human body, for both high performance and daily living.

Osteopathy is a primary health care profession focusing on the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal disorders, and the effects these disorders can have on general health. It works with the structure and function of the body, and is based on the principle that the well being of the individual depends on the skeleton, muscles, ligaments and connective tissues all functioning smoothly together. 

Osteopathic philosophy emphasises that alteration of the structure of musculo-skeletal tissues (from misuse, injury or disease) may cause a change in mechanical function, and it is one of the osteopaths aims to restore the body to a state of balance. Osteopathic treatment is believed to help musculoskeletal tissue by improving fluid movement, maintaining good tension relationships between connective tissue and myofascial tissue, releasing specific segmental joint restrictions, and altering neurological reflex responses. This is achieved through the application of soft tissue massage, stretching, mobilisation and manipulation of joints to relieve muscle tension, enhance the blood and nerve supply to tissues, and to help an indivduals own healing mechanisms.

Osteopathy combines well with other treatment types, especiailly corrective exercise and western acupuncture as it helps to relieve pain and discomfort. This reduction in pain enables the body to respond more efficiently to exercise rehabilitation, leading to a faster rate of recovery and well being.

Thanks for reading,

We Are Primal

Top Tips to improve your running

Many people enjoy running on a weekly and/or daily basis. Our question to you, here at the Primal Movement Clinic is:

‘Are you training intelligently and correctly for your specific skeletal frame?’

Far too many people or trainers are copying very generic exercise programs without actually assessing the runners needs. There is a huge misconception that to run a marathon or a distance, all you need to do is get out and simply run and run alone for training.  Strength training, a very important aspect of any runners training programme is often overlooked.

Strength training is very important to ensure that forces traveling up the foot, ankle and knee converge within the core muscles as the weight of the head upper limbs and upper spine travels down. This energy needs to be dispersed within the core muscles as this is the bridge between the two areas of the body. If there are muscle imbalances within the body, injuries are inevitable. When jogging, there is around 4 - 8 times body weight going through a single leg. Consider if you have flat feet - where is the spring in your step absorbing these forces coming from?

An efficient body is designed to move and to not break down, so it is important to closely look at runners who suffer from knee pain, shin splints, ankle pain, hip pain or back pain. The simple answer is everyone is structurally different. Just like some diets work for some people and not for others; chemically, physically and mentally, we are all different.

At the Primal Movement Clinic we have seen and treated many clients with running complaints. An efficient running technique is very important, but this can be forgotten, as like walking, running is simply a ‘do’ exercise, you just decide you want to run and you just do it. Whilst all other exercises and sports require an adequate technique to succeed, running seems to be exempt from that rule. When running technique is applied in conjunction with strength training there is only one outcome: Healthy movement, the sparing of joint wear and tear, and avoiding the dreaded injury that is so commonly associated with running.

The next time you go training in the gym by yourself or with your trainer, ask yourself why are you doing this particular exercise and if your running will benefit from it. Will the exercises you are doing slow you down or knock time off your personal best? Does the exercise simulate running? Is the speed of the exercise inhibiting your movement? Are you a 5k, 10k or marathon runner? Is this exercise correct for my skeletal shape? Is my trainer considering my old or current injury?

At the Primal Movement Clinic, we have the ability to assess the client as an individual. We ensure proper clinical testing that ensures any subclinical injuries waiting to happen are picked up,  and other joint restrictions and skeletal deviations will be found and corrected. 

Consider this; If any joint whether the ankle, knee or spine is malaligned and you go for a run just three times per week. That particular joint will be taking 4 - 8 times its body weight at each step, the cartilage will be taking a beating, the nerve structures compressed or stretched. This is a fantastic way to getting closer to injury and in the long term having an arthritic joint.

Posture plays an essential part also. If you have a healthy upright posture then breathing won’t be a problem, but a slightly forward bent upper spine can decrease your ability to inhale and exhale correctly and optimally. That is the last thing you’d want when you’re running...! Poor breathing also overloads the neck muscles which creates tension and tightness, which then creates poor posture. Its a never ending battle... At the Primal Movement Clinic, we can assess faulty breathing and correct poor posture that will enhance not only running but your lifestyle too.

Next time you go running, try these simple pointers and see what difference it can make:

1. Relax your shoulders and arms

2. Keep your head steady

3. Shorten your stride or step, but maintain the same speed. Think of your pelvis gliding rather than your hip dipping on each side with each heavy step.

4. Keep your chest lifted for optimal breathing and lung capacity 

5. Try to land softly, gently and quietly on your feet!

Good luck and thanks for reading.

We Are Primal

Top Tips to improve your Golf swing

Here at the Primal Movement Clinic, we have been helping the frustrated golfer for quite some time... So help is here!

Believe it or not, choosing the correct exercise is absolutely key in developing a good quality golf swing. Exercise as a result, can therefore make or break your golf game. Golf is about postural endurance, rotation, acceleration, deceleration, strength and having the ability to effectively shift your body weight from one leg to the other.

Golf is an open and closed chain, free movement based sport, therefore training on machines in the gym is fairly futile if you are trying to optimise your golf swing. Gym machines force you to train in limited planes of motion as this is the only movement that they will allow your body to do. When you sit in a machine, your central nervous system becomes dampened as there is literally no stability required and as a result, no postural muscle excitation. Machines oppose postural muscle tone and prevent stabiliser muscle activation, and they more often than not isolate muscle groups. When playing Golf, or any other sport for that matter, it is impossible to isolate muscle groups, so why would you train your body to do the opposite to what is actually required in your given sporting environment?

Muscles are designed and developed from our time as a developing embryo, to act as functional, connected units. Using machines will decrease and inhibit these connections, working against all the principles that a good golf swing works with. If you look at Golf simplistically, all you are doing is swinging a stick with a weight on the end, with the aim of hitting in the direction you are pointing and making the distance you desire. The Golfer therefore should train accordingly to move this weighted stick as accurately, precisely, using the most optimal power to weight ratios as possible.

Here at the Primal Movement Clinic, we provide our clients with the skills to improve their golf swing. Muscular strength, stability, and muscular length assessments will discover what muscles are hindering your game. We then accordingly provide our clients with a system to address these deficiencies. We then will target these areas to maximise your Golf games potential:

1. Improve your flexibility with a personalised stretching programme

2. Improve your posture alignment and endurance

3. Improve your game by reducing stiffness and pain

4. Eliminate faults in your swing, we can do this with the help of your golf pro.

5. Increase your strength to generate more power in your swing

6. Avoid common causes of injury

Use us to help you improve your Golf swing!

We Are Primal