ShowStealer Fitness LLC

Spirit of The Run

The Barefoot Runners NYC Run with Christopher McDougall

I recently participated in part of an eight mile run from Harlem to Brooklyn with the group Barefoot Runners NYC, lead by John Durant, founder of hunter-gatherer.com. Christopher McDougall, author and icon of the barefoot running movement, joined the group. McDougall's book Born to Run has spawned an entire new generation of runners committed to returning to "the spirit of the run" so vividly captured in his tale of elusive super athletes. On a hot summer afternoon in New York City, more than sixty barefoot, nearly barefoot, or barefoot-curious runners set out on a journey through three boroughs to capture and share that spirit. I was lucky enough to be among them.

For those of you who don't know, I gave up sneakers, flip flops, and just about every other type of shoe a little over three months ago in favor of something more like a foot glove called the Vibram FiveFingers. Vibram has been making soles for a wide array of shoes for decades. The FiveFinger line is unique in that it is designed to provide optimal barefoot like experience during activities. It does this with an anatomically correct and massively minimalist design.

The shoe has toe sockets for each of your digits, allowing them to splay and grip surfaces with greater ease, and the sole (which to date is thickest in their outdoor trekking show The KSO Trek at 4mm thick) provides "plating protection against stone bruising" yet is still thin enough to allow the foot to flex, and engages much more tendonous material throughout the lower leg and foot. Increased ground feedback provided by the thin soles benefits balance and encourages the wearer to move in ways that are less stressful to your kinetic chain. I love them, and am pretty happy wearing them in lieu of any other shoe. But I digress...

My FiveFingers have helped me rekindle my love of running, but never have I felt more rewarded by the experience than I was while running in a pack of other mostly barefoot runners. Being with a group of "outsiders" who didn't care that they were, and who welcomed all - new runners, veteran runners, shod, semi-shod, barefoot, bare chest, anyone seeking the spirit of the run - was like... coming home. It was a day where the heat didn't matter and the lactic acid felt good, running with others, running alone but never isolated, a pack moving together and enjoying the sheer exertion of our bodies in space together. Like magic in a bottle.

I ran with and talked to a woman who's been barefoot running for years and a guy who just started. I'd be plugging along up some incline, sucking some wind and thinking, this would be a nice time to slow down, when someone would come along and say, "Hey, how you feeling?" or "You mind if I run with you for a while?" And when I was feeling good coasting along, it never felt like slowing to chop down my stride and run along someone who looked like they could use a distraction or a little encouragement.

John Durant and Chris McDougall were both amazing on the roads. Every time I saw them, they had huge smiles on their faces. When I crossed the Queensboro bridge and saw Chris McDougall, standing there whooping and hollering for people as they made it across, with a big grin on his face and his hands alternating between wildly waiving above his head and clapping, I thought, Man, I could do this all day. Hands down, best run I've ever had. Thanks again to John Durant and Maggie from Barefoot Runners NYC and Christopher McDougall for an amazing experience. Can't wait to do it again.

You can check out a video of the run shot and edited by Kristopher Wood at http://www.vimeo.com/14138175

Join me and other members of Barefoot Runners NYC for our weekly runs in Central Park. I'll be at VFF Saturdays. I look forward to seeing you out and about, getting active.

-Kevin

 

I recently joined the group Barefoot Runners NYC. In addition to special events such as the recent three borough run with author Christopher McDougall, and the upcoming New York City Barefoot Run, a run your own distance race to be held on Governors Island on October 10, 2010, the group also hosts reoccurring weekly runs several days a week at locations in the city (usually Central Park). Following my awesome experience at the McDougall run, I was extremely excited to join the group for their weekly Saturday run. Unfortunately, I was unable to make it on time and had to miss it. However, having just blogged about "Showing Up," I felt it was especially important to do what I could that day, regardless of any limitations or restraints on my part. With that in mind, I warmed up, met up with my buddy Mark, and did a great four-mile run along the West Side Highway.

Running with Mark is awesome. He's a beast on the road. Former Australian military, he is one fit dude. In his early thirties, Mark routinely gets his heart rate up into the 200 beats per minute range and can stay there for extended periods of time, while cruising along. Mark is the type of guy who can't sit still. He's always looking for somewhere to run, or something to climb or some challenge to face. He's also like a lot of adults, who enjoy using their bodies, but hate working out indoors, especially in a gym.

Like Mark, I also prefer to train in a context that fits life. Outdoor training provides a variable atmosphere to incorporate into your training scenario. For my druthers it also reflects more realistically the way we use our bodies in the world, often under less than perfect and sometimes unexpected conditions. This is why I recently constructed a new small group outdoor training class called "Origins."

"Origins," is an outdoor, ten- week program to work on core conditioning, running form and technique, and muscular as well as cardio-respiratory endurance. The class content is based on the idea that as humans, our world has changed greatly, but from a physiological viewpoint, we have not. Fundamental movement patterns that all humans without specific disabilities should be able to perform such as squatting, lunging, pushing, pulling, and of course running are the foundation of human health and the proper functioning of the kinetic chain. However, many people have no idea how to run in a way that will produce less injury, or how to properly stabilize their cores before they push or pull something, so as to protect their backs or other vulnerable body parts. More than that, because people view "working out" as, well, work, they never have the experience of enjoying the use of their bodies, and don't follow through with their plans to get or stay active. This course has been designed to help participants reconnect with the joy of exertion.

While Mark and I were out on our run, I thought I would take the opportunity to scout locations for the upcoming class. I had several areas in mind along the West Side Highway, near Battery Park. As we ran along, I'd stop at a location to take a closer look, only to find that the area was specifically designated for children to play. Now, don't get me wrong, I would never begrudge a child the opportunity to go outside and play, but do you know what I saw when we were out there? Empty playgrounds. We saw four or five little children out with their parents or caretakers in one park, and a handful of slightly older kids playing ping-pong at another children-only area. On the whole there were far more adults out and about running, kayaking, playing tennis or basketball along the West Side than there were children. And all along the West Side Highway, there were men and women plugging along running or biking or walking, and I couldn't help but notice how many of them weren't smiling. It was a little like riding the train at 6 or 7 am, with the unhappy or less-than-thrilled looks on most peoples faces as they head to the office for another days work. What didn't make sense to me was that we were all outside, on a beautiful day.

When Mark and I got back from our run, we stopped at the gym located in our residence to cool down, and found out where the kids were. They were playing inside. Kids in the building conference room playing video games, and in the 12 foot by 8 foot "kids play room" located in the gym, throwing a ball around. I could not for the life of me understand why a child or parent of a child would rather have their son or daughter play indoors in a relatively small space with no windows, fresh air or natural light, than outside, literally across the street, and enjoying a playground. Then I thought about all the children in this country who are sitting around playing video games, surfing the internet or doing any multitude of other things on their smart phones and eating fast food and getting fat, and itmade me angry. Angry because we live in a country and a society in which kids prefer to play virtually than to engage in a real life visceral experience. A city and a country where public space is not used and public health and well-being is done a disservice by its misappropriation.

When I was a kid, a nice day outside was an all-access pass to fun. I grew up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn when it was still a relatively isolated neighborhood, and I come from a single parent home with no siblings. I didn't have thousands of cable channels or hordes of video games to occupy my time, so I did things. I read great books, which enriched my imagination and lead me to acting and performance. I joined jazz band and marching band and my schools running and tennis teams. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a time when public schools still had funding for physical education and extra curricular activities. On weekends or during the summer months when I wasn't in school, I'd actually go outside and play games with other kids from the neighborhood like freeze tag or WAR with water guns. Some days I'd take a trip to the other side of town and play tennis at McCarren Park, and some days I'd just hit against a wall down the block from my house. And while I wasn't a model of health as a kid, mostly due to poor eating habits, I was never out of breath from running a block or walking up a flight of stairs. I never had issues with high blood pressure or cholesterol, and while my family doctor always suggested that I get on a diet and lose some weight, he also always gave me a perfect bill of health outside of the weight issue.

It is time to look at the reality of what is. Americans are getting fatter every decade and experiencing more fat-related health issues every year. Children are less and less engaged in the world around them, and more enamored with the virtual world they can create. Today, more than one-third of all American youth are overweight or obese. The same is true for adults, with approximately 34 % of adults qualifying as both overweight and the same percentage regarded as obese, according to figures taken by the CDC between 2007 and 2008. The average adult sticks with a new fitness routine an average of four to eight weeks without guidance or support. The average young person spends approximately five hours per day on screen media including television, internet activity, and gaming, according to a study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. We are physical beings, lost to one another and to ourselves. The world is changing faster than we can and in order to remain on course, we must acknowledge where we come from as being just as important as where we are going.

So I say, come on people - remember the joy of being a kid outside in the world, and share that experience with your children. If you don't have kids, consider joining an organization like the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America, and affect your life as well as the life of a child in a positive way. Connect to your past and connect them with a future of health, possibility, and human interactions. Building a relationship with a young person can enrich both of your lives, increase your prosperity in health and help build a brighter future. Remember what you learned in the sand box: it's important to share. That's a lesson that applies to the self as distinctly as it applies to the stuff we acquire.

-Kevin

 

First and foremost, I'd like to congratulate my clients and friends Michael and Erica on their recent nuptials. I wish you both a long, happy, and healthy life together.

In contrasting news - well, sort of - the NYC Urban Race (not to be confused with the Great Urban Race) has been cancelled...again.

I was trying to prod one of my buddies into doing the event with me by responding to his latest run log on Twitter with a little jibe about him being race-ready for the NYC Urban coming up. I wrote a great little post and went to add a link to the race page. I clicked the link to make sure it would work, and was directed to a page saying the race was cancelled. No other information, except that registered participants should contact the organizers at e-mail xyz. Ridiculous!

Another friend of mine tells me this is actually the third year in a row they've tried to do this, and the third time they've cancelled the event. He's decided to go to Chicago for The Men's Health Urbanathlon instead.

As my obligations in NYC wont allow me to head to Chicago for that event, I've found another fantastic challenge to undertake. I'm doing "The Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run," on October 3, in Pelham Bay Park, Orchard Beach. It's a 5K or 10K (take your pick) off road race with military styles obstacles like cargo nets to climb, wild water crossings, and lots of mud. It culminates with a mud pit and a post-race BBQ! OMGoodness in a box! For more information check out http://www.downanddirtymudrun.com/ny.cfm

I'm totally stoked and hoping that some other folks will join me for the race. In fact, I'm launching a new class called "Origins" to help people prepare for that race and another coming adventure you should check back to hear more about. However, you won't get to hear about the adventure unless you come back and visit my blog. This means you have to commit to something and follow through if you want the desired outcome associated with it. All of that was to bring me to my main topic today: Showing up.

Showing up, or doing something in the face of a less than perfect circumstance, is the hallmark of a winner in my book. I was training a client recently who was bummed she was feeling under the weather and unable to train at her normal intensity level. She was bummed about what she couldn't do, but I was psyched that she showed up.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying train when you're sick or injured, but it is important not to get fixated on what you CAN'T do or what's WRONG. It's easy to come up with reasons why something isn't viable or worth the effort when it's outside of our comfort zone. "I'll work out tomorrow, I've got too much to do today," or "I'm tired, I'll just grab some pizza on my way home."

If you want great successes in life, you have to be willing to achieve them by staying focused and doing what you can, on any given day, to move forward towards your ultimate goals. Just because your plans go astray doesn't mean you have to get off course or lose your way. Just because something doesn't materialize in the way you thought it might in your life doesn't mean it won't come to you. Do what you CAN do today, and celebrate today's successes. Recognize limits not as shortcomings or detractions but as gifts to guide you to new explorations of yourself and what IS possible.

So congratulations once again to Mike and Erica on their union, and their new Grand Exploration, together.

Congratulations to my buddy Nelson, for deciding to get on a plane to Chi-town, traveling almost 800 miles to fulfill his dream when it seemed it might be dashed.

And to anyone and everyone else who decides today, you know what, Yes I Can.. .I'm going to do Something today,...

Congratulations and welcome to the winning team.

-Kevin

 

So, if you haven't heard of or read Born to Run by Christopher McDougal, I highly recommend that you get a copy. I read - well, listened to the audiobook - a couple of months ago and loved it! It's an inspiring and really engaging read - er,.. listen. If you hate running, or have never been able to understand why other people love it, this book could be your light switch. Additionally it's filled with great anthropological and biomechanical insights, framed in a way that makes them taste more like swordfish than cod liver oil.

A great follow up read is Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich. It was previously published as Racing the Antelope: What Animals Can Teach Us About Running and Life. While Why We Run actually predates Born to Run, I personally enjoyed reading / consuming them in reverse order.

Both books touch on a number of very interesting topics, from the evolution of man and our biomechanical predisposition towards being runners, to the ways sneaker companies have ripped-off millions of consumers with "high performance running shoes" for almost 50 years.

Another exciting piece of information that has landed in my lap recently came out of a study done at Harvard regarding foot strikes while running and the consequent impact forces that follow each variation. (Okay, well maybe it's just exciting to nerds like me!) The study basically says that heel to toe running creates major impact force that specifically stresses bones, joints, muscles and tendons in a way that they weren't designed to be used, or rather, that heel to toe running creates more impact force than forefoot running with natural pronation. Basically running ball to heel is less stressful to your body than heel to toe running. This makes a lot of sense if you have a basic knowledge of anatomy and engineering, or biomechanics. Your feet have two arches in them. Anyone, who knows anything about building can tell you, arches are strong because they spread the load, nice and evenly. When you run toe to heel, you get the benefit of that "arch support," in addition to all the elastic energy and natural shock absorption capabilities loaded in your foot, ankle and lower limb tendons, muscles and fascia. By running heel to toe, you bypass your arch support, slam your boney heel into the ground and try to cushion the blow to your body with stretched and often disengaged muscles which places massive repetitive stress on the skeletal system that it wasn't designed for. For more information about the study go to http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/

The books and the Harvard Study inspired me to take a leap I'd been thinking about for a while now. I bought my first pair of Vibram FiveFinger Shoes - well, two pairs actually, The Bakila (running shoe) and The KSO (Keep Stuff Out). I call them shoes, but for anyone who hasn't seen a pair, they're more like foot gloves than shoes. The FiveFinger Shoe is a minimalist shoe with individual toe pockets for your digits. They have thin, flexible soles and a wide array of shoe uppers, designed for a multitude of purposes.

I picked them up because I'd been having some heel and calve issues over the last year, which I thought might be plantar fasciitis. In Born to Run, there are several references to people who'd gotten rid of their plantar fasciitis with barefoot or nearly barefoot running, so I thought I would give it a try. I figured what the heck - I was fit as ever, training 4-6 days per week, eating well, resting, light as ever at around 140-145 lbs, with a 4-8% body fat in general. I couldn't have asked for more from my body or felt more rewarded for my efforts. Yet every time I went out and played a few intense sets of tennis, or did some jump training, I'd end up limping for the next three days and in pain for next three weeks. I never went to the doctor to talk about my heel, I just broke out my foam roller, ice packs, and got my stretch on for a while until I felt better. Then for an hour before and after all my activity, I made foam rolling and stretching mandatory. The pain diminished so I could play the sports and do the training that I wanted, but didn't go away, and two hours of foam rolling and stretching every day was just too much.

I'm happy to say that six weeks into my FiveFinger adventure, I am LOVING them! Heel pain, gone! Foam roll and stretch time, 30 minutes total body! I maintain good posture naturally and with no effort on my part, simply because my heels aren't elevated all the time, tilting my alignment and throwing everything else out of whack. This in turn has made a lot of physical activities easier and more enjoyable. Don't get me wrong, there was definitely an adjustment period. I was working different muscles in different ways and there was some soreness from that. Also, it felt so good running in them, that I overdid it the first couple of times I went out. However, all in all, that pain was nothing compared to what I was going through.

I currently own three different kinds of FiveFinger Shoes and I can't wait to get the rest of the collection. They make me want to try a lot of new and some old things because my experience of movement and my sense of my body in space is so different and enjoyable in them. When I feel the ground beneath me, I feel connected to a sense of freedom and exploration that I remember when running down dirt roads in DR and across Hard Tru courts in NYC as a kid. Those were the days when running 8 hours on a banana and some water seemed easy and normal, and I was never sore, and never tired, and the hardest work was the greatest fun. I welcome those days back.

I'm planning to do The NYC Urban Marathon in my FiveFingers. Hopefully in the Trek Sports if I can get some in time. If not, in my Bakila's . Look for stories and pics of me and my FiveFingers doing all sorts of interesting things in a coming special section of my blog called "The ShowStealer Toe Chronicles." Until then, move your body because it's fun, and I'll see you around town.

-Kevin

 

Duke isn't what anymore?? They can't what, anymore?? They haven't won what since when? All I can say is Congrats to The Duke Blue Devils on another well deserved National Championship. Coach K and his team really showed what you can accomplish by recognizing what your strengths and weaknesses are, playing to your strengths and your opponents weaknesses and facing resistance with a unified front, as a team. There were hard fought victories and some scares along the way, but all and all a stellar tournament and an amazing year for Duke. Also, very nice of you guys to win a National Championship for my dear friend Josh's 30th birthday. We all really appreciate it. ( Happy Birthday Buddy!)

In other meanderings of my mind,.. I recently gave one of my extended service clients his new cardio requirements, which have him doing cardio four days per week, in addition to seeing me twice. After I went through the new requirements, he looked at me like I was crazy and asked, as if he knew but didn't want to, "so you mean, I need to work out six days per week?" I very calmly looked at him and said," well you could always do four days per week, and do doubles on the days that we work out :>)

You guys, it is NOT insane or obsessive to work out six days per week, Nor is it necessary for everyone or every goal. However, to put things in perspective for a minute, think about what your life would have been like during the Middle Ages, or even as a new settler in America, striking out to explore the land and carve out your own niche in it. If that seems like too far to reach, then think about what life was like around 1900. There weren't planes, trains, escalators, and elevators carrying people everywhere. There weren't frozen dinners and microwaves. People had to move to live. Today, there are people who go days, weeks, even months or years without moving, and very few people are using their bodies in the extraordinary ways that our ancestors did. No one is walking from New York to Boston tracking some herd of Buffalo to kill and bring back for food and clothing. So why can't we use our bodies for an hour per day at least six days per week. If for hundreds and hundreds if not thousands and thousands of years humans have been using their bodies daily to do things like,.. escape a saber tooth tiger, what makes us think that today, we don't need to move. Since we can have most stuff delivered or otherwise spoon fed to us, why put forth any unnecessary effort. Well, I'll tell you why,.. because you're alive Today, and effort lets you know that in addition to being alive, there is something worth living for. So, get up off your couch, put down the re fried beans and cheese dip, Tivo your favorite sitcom and set the remote aside, and remember what it means to be alive!

-Kevin

 

First and foremost Hands Up for the Duke Blue Devils Men's and Women's basketball teams. Very nice work teams!

Second I've got to give a shout out and a hand to Jamie Oliver, and his "Food Revolution," project. I am not an advocate for sitting around and watching television, but I think everyone should catch this show. I am so happy that someone else is out in the mainstream media trying to get the message out that our eating and nutritional habits are killing us. From processed foods, to out of control food portions and food regulations that have more to do with economic gains for a few than the health and prosperity of the masses Americans are killing themselves with food. Good luck to Jamie with his production, and may it truly be the start of a Food Revolution!

Finally, while I don't generally do product endorsements, I figured if I was putting my thoughts out there about Jamie Oliver's Food revolution, I could slip this one in as well. This comes because a client of mine recently spent a small fortune on a memory foam bed from the major brand name supplier and it broke my heart because I have the same bed from an American company and I spent a third of what he did on it. If you're thinking about a memory foam mattress or topper for your bed may I suggest that you check out Bragada beds. I did a lot of research before I bought my bed and while I was a little concerned about buying a bed over the Internet, it's honestly been the best sleep I've ever had. Just my experience but I would check them out if considering a memory foam mattress.

Plugs and Shout Outs done, it's back to work!

When the time comes to start, begin and the pressure will be off.
-Kevin

 

Birthdays are an interesting thing. The person who didn't do anything at all except show up, gets lots of gifts, while the person who actually went through nine months of back breaking labor culminating in a marathon of muscle contractions and organ expansions gets to buy them for you. Interesting how that happens. Happy Birthday Mom!
-Kevin

 

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm back from a wonderful holiday vacation and can't wait to start training again. If only I could breathe through both nostrils, and my ear didn't whistle every time I blew my nose, I'd be ready to go. But alas, I will simply have to start slow with some light cardio and yoga and wait until I'm feeling 100% before I get back to hardcore training. Perhaps while I am recovering I can figure out how everyone in Amsterdam is so fit in the face of all the chocolate-covered waffles and delicious cheese treats they've got everywhere. Must be all the biking...
-Kevin

 

Well, having been inspired by the movie, "Julie, and Julia," I am ready to start blogging. Although, honestly I'm not sure exactly what I'm supposed to do. Let me start by stating the purpose and mission of ShowStealer Pro Fitness. Our mission is to empower and enable individuals and by extension, society through health and fitness education and the opportunity to engage in progressive goal oriented fitness training at any level. A lofty goal, I know, but one I know is worth the time and energy it will take to accomplish. Right now however, I'm about to enjoy the holidays and a little R&R before we hit the New Year running. All my best to you and yours this holiday season and a happy, healthy New Year.
-Kevin

 

Thanks to everyone who helped launch the new website. It looks great and we are ready for you to spread the word. We will be updating this section frequently so please check back often.

We would like to hear from you, please feel free to contact us using the contact form.

- Kevin