Mobility issues
The first injury I had in 6+ years caused me to review my habits. I strength train, eat right, don’t drink much, and cycle training with high/low intensity. I had picked up a new chair about 7 or 8 months ago for my office. Typically, I stand all day, but recently I had been working out in the morning then sitting the rest of the day. It’s what we do the majority, not the minority that causes the most damage. What does your shape diet look like? Are you eating junk shapes all day by sitting in the same position?
How do we fix it?
I realized I just had to go back to standing no matter how hard I worked out. For the past 2 months, I stand on my yoga mat, and I’ve noticed I’m fidgeting, and moving way more. I’ll spontaneously grab a kettlebell and start swinging it, or maybe do some toe raises or downward dog. Guess what? My plantar fasciitis went away!
I also just ordered one of these balance blocks to increase my foot drills to strengthen all the supporting muscles in my feet.
Sitting is the new smoking, but why?
“If you sit with your legs at 90 degrees all day and rarely extend your hip flexors, hips and quadriceps can become short and tight. Your hamstrings are also affected, which limits your range of motion and will therefore affect stride length when you run. The same applies to your calf muscles”.
Ask a high-volume runner to touch their toes you will see tight hamstrings and poor hip mobility firsthand. You need to fix your “shape diet” to avoid injury and lead a long and healthy life! We were meant to move, walk, and be on the go. A standing desk lowers the barrier to movement. If you are standing you are more likely to just walk around. Do you have some weights nearby, well you are more likely to walk over and do a few reps. Always be moving! Muscles are use it or lose it! When you’re at your standing desk throw in some 100 ups to help your form! This is the most amazing single drill that all runners should do!
The idea of the shape diet was discussed on the recent Tim Ferris Podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AacAkUamfs5m4GGN49ZRK?si=Y5L6qfOsQICGE49XMdYq_Q&nd=1
Patrick is an ultrarunner and coach from Philadelphia who loves documenting his running career. His mission is to provide useful tips and tricks to assist others along their ultra journey. You can find his coaching services at https://ultraruncoach.com.