Matt Metzgar

Feldenkrais Experience II

I had my second Feldenkrais session yesterday.  For the good news, a lot of the changes from last week stuck.  My right side is now supporting force almost as much as my left.  For the bad news, my right side is weaker from protecting it over the years.  The teacher did a number of strength tests, and my right hamstring and hip were significantly weaker.

I was given a simple prescription of squats, single-leg squats, and side step-ups to equal out the strength levels on each side.  I like this because it is a natural, simple solution to the problem.

In terms of bodywork, what I thought was a knot in my upper back actually turned out to be a tilted vertebrae.  This issue was worked out during the session.  The tightness that was there in my upper back is now completely gone.  I have no idea how long it was there, but it feels like my upper back is perfectly healthy now.

I still have some lower back pain and stiffness.  Hopefully, this will get worked out in the next session.

Natural Core Training II

Thanks to Phillip Snell's blog for pointing out this video.  It features Stuart McGill showing four simple exercises to strengthen the core.

Landings

I toyed around with some different foot landings tonight when running barefoot on grass.  One thing that often gets overlooked in running is the design of the foot.  The foot obviously has an arch with two points of support - the heel and the forefoot.

If you're running in the Pose method, where you are supposed to land squarely on the forefoot, the arch will only have one point of support.  If you land midfoot (or forefoot and then the whole foot), you get the advantage of having the two points of support for the arch.

I think if someone looked at the design of the foot without any preconceived notions of running technique, it is likely they would suggest a midfoot landing, or at least have both points of support eventually touch to provide mechanical advantage. 

Instinctual Training

Lately, I've felt like I've been reaching the limits of what science and research can show about effective training.  It seems like the more I learn, the more I find out that things I did by instinct years ago were correct.

This morning for example, I went outside and did some intermittent running in the rain.  It felt great!  Then I headed down to the basement for some lifting.  I did some deadlifts with no counting of reps or sets.  I just lifted as I felt.  I also grabbed a plate and carried it around for a while.

Is there a scientifically better way to train than what I just did?  Possibly, but I'm now reaching the point where I think, "who cares?"  I enjoyed my session and that's the most important thing long-term. 

When I was out running, I saw an elderly person with a walker.  It sort of hit me that the ability to move is not a given in this life.  It also occurred to me that what I love is movement, not performance.  Performance is using movement as a means to an end; yet natural movement by itself is enjoyable.

I have always loved movement, and the best kind of movement is free-flowing when little thought is involved.  3 sets of 10?  Effective, but boring.  Running laps for 20 minutes?  Check the boring box again.  Isn't it more fun to make it up as you go?

It's pretty obvious there is a huge difference in attitude towards movement between children and adults.  I'm almost starting to believe that adults have inadvertently "imprisoned" movement.  The underlying reason is (once again) money.  Selling the need for health clubs, selling the need for expert instruction, etc., - it all works to undermine people's enjoyment of moving.

No one needs a license to move.  It is our natural birthright.  In the simplest way, movement is life.

Natural Core Training

I spent some time this weekend looking into the issue of core training (training the abdominal and posture muscles).  Unfortunately, I had to cut through a mountain of nonsense to get to any real information.  You would think training the core would be relatively simple, but I found that trainers are prescribing all sorts of complex moves.

My other motivation was to tie in natural hunter-gatherer movements with core training.  In the modern world, many people often have weak core muscles due to prolonged sitting.  However, I feel that hunter-gatherers must have performed certain movements that naturally strengthened the core.  It's probable that these moves are missing from modern fitness routines.

It seems that specific moves used to train the core are separated out from a natural whole movement.  For example, the "bird dog" move is often prescribed to strengthen the lower back:

 

What does this look like to me?  Part of a crawling movement.  I have seen my toddler stop crawling partway many times and end up in a similar position to this.  Also, if you rotate the image 90 degress, it also looks like somone climbing upwards (like rock climbing). 

Another movement that is prescribed is the plank:

To me, this looks like part of quadrupedal movement.  The plank has a person resting on their forearms, but resting on the hands would have the same effect.

Finally, a move that isn't often prescribed for the core (but should be) is the farmer's walk: 

 

A new study by Stuart McGill shows that moves in strongman competition like the farmer's walk strengthen the core.  And clearly, the farmer's walk was a move performed by hunter-gatherers.  I'd bet that the weight was occasionally lifted overhead as well, providing more challenge for the core muscles.

If you put this all together, you have a routine of primal movements that can strengthen the core:

• Crawling
• Quadrupedal movement (on hands and feet)
• Climbing
• Walking while carrying weight (farmer's walk)
• Walking while carrying weight overhead

Interestingly, these moves are likely to be covered in MovNat training.  I feel that a series of natural movement such as these should be sufficient to train the core muscles.  Of course, a person can start with poses such as the plank and the bird dog to initially strengthen the core before integrating them into the whole movements.

Feldenkrais Experience

Yesterday, I had a one-on-one session ("Functional Integration") with a local Feldenkrais teacher.  It was quite an experience.  At the beginning of the lesson, he had me run across the parking lot to check my running form.  He noticed a number of things right away, such as my right elbow swinging back normally but not my left elbow.

Inside on the table, he quickly found that I was out of alignment.  My left side was directly supporting force, while my right side tended to collapse and shift to the left.  The reason (we think): I injured my right knee back in high school.  It wasn't a big injury or anything, but it looks like my body has been compensating for it by shifting weight and force to the left side.

After this, he did some bodywork to try and even things out.  By the end of the session, I could feel my right side now supporting force.  There is still some work to do, but I am impressed by the changes in just one session.

Now for the topper: near the end of the session, he held my head in place.  It immediately felt correct but not what I was used to.  I asked, "was my head out of alignment?"  He said that yes, it was slightly off-center!  Looking in the mirror afterwards, my head and neck alignment did look significantly straighter.

One other odd thing: after putting me into proper alignment, both he (and later someone else) noticed my voice was slightly deeper!  Strange, but true.  I guess misalignment can affect voice production.

Needless to say, I was very impressed with the whole experience.  I felt I received significant value for my time and money.  How all this will affect my running, I'm not sure, but it seems like it can only help.  I will be going back next week for another session.

Project Alignment

I really didn't want to have to look into the issue of alignment.  I feel like it could be a "black hole" of sorts, where you end up spending time and money but not getting the solution in return.  I know Jim over at Recover Your Stride has looked a lot into this issue, and I think he's still trying to sort it all out.

My first attempt at improving my alignment was last week, when I had an Alexander Technique lesson.  I have to say, it didn't seem to do anything.  I felt no different after the lesson or in the following days.

My next attempt was to look into Feldenkrais.  I went to an "Awareness Through Movement" class on Monday night.  At least this had an impact.  Even though the class consisted of gentle moves, I felt tired by the end.  I was told that this was because my body was "reorganizing" or finding better alignment.  My legs and hips felt noticeably looser the next day.  Whether this is a transitory change or a long-term change, I don't know.

My next attempt will be to see a Feldenkrais teacher for a one-on-one session.

Delayed Damage

I have noticed an unfortunate side effect with my running.  After a few weeks of steady running, I seem to get some pain in my lower back.  Then I usually take some time off, and start again.  However, the cycle seems to repeat itself, and I end up in pain again.  The obvious solution would be to quit running, but I'm stubborn.

All this tells me that I'm still running wrong, despite my best attempts not to do so.  I have done a lot of experimenting this summer, with running barefoot or on grass, but I think my form is still suspect.  Part of the problem is that I've had decades of walking and running in thick shoes, while only a couple of years in minimal shoes.  Just removing shoes from the equation doesn't automatically produce a perfect gait - at least in my case.

This is why I have decided to take a detour and look into my alignment.

The Paleo Diet and Diabetes

It looks like a new study on the Paleo diet has been done.  This study compares the Paleo diet versus a typical diabetes diet in patients with Type 2 diabetes.  Of course, the Paleo diet came out ahead on all the major measures - lower triglycerides, reduced waist circumference, higher good cholesterol, etc.

You can check it out for yourself, the full-text is available online.

Running and the Stress Response II

Another issue with running that is often overlooked is alignment.  I found this older post that looked at the effects of poor alignment:

"All of these people (successful long-term runners), when I had them on the treatment table, were obviously in good alignment. There was no scoliosis (or very little), or pelvic torque or twisted ribs. On the other hand, when I see runners who are not "in line" they invariably have lots of joint pain issues.  They may or may not have connected it with the running." 

"Repetitive, forceful-shearing-pounding on all the weight bearing joints - when alignment is faulty - is a great stress on the body, the brain and the psyche. It can certainly be considered a form of self-abuse if is long continued, using  lots of will power and determination to heroically push through injuries.  Any osteopath, chiropractor, PT, experienced Feldenkrais Practitioner, sports physician, trainer, competent coach or well-trained massage therapist can tell such a person what is really going on." 

Faulty alignment sets up another avenue for running to trigger the stress response.  From what I've read, many more people are out of alignment than they were decades ago.  I'm sure sedentary living and too much sitting contribute to this problem.