Thursday, March 3, 2016
The Whens and Whys of Barefooting. 1.
But like all things in life there is a time and place, spend a LOT of time out of shoes and socks primarily because I find the sensation pretty unpleasant over a sustained period of time. I also know when to eschew and when to embrace shoes. Shoes are a tool and tools are a part of being human just the same as opposable thumbs and an excess of pudding in the cranium.
I would like to start with....
-Kettlebells
I want to start by critisising some nonsense that I have heard many times repeated amongst those who barefoot while using kettlebells. It is said by these folks that the best way to use your feet while doing anything is to claw at the ground with your feet by pressing the toes down and basically tightening up the foot as much as possible. This is utter nonsense, the best way to use your body is to constantly shift between states of relaxation, stabalisation and contraction in a manner that suites the activity you are engaged in. A state of constant tension in your feet is going to eventually lock you up from foot to hip and literally makes no sense whatsoever.
The type of shoe used is quite important, the best bet is to have NO CUSHION WHATSOEVER in the sole of the shoe. Basically the cushion will destabalise your base and compromise your trajectory and fixation.
Sport- My time of study with World Kettlebell was a real eye opener. Basically the standards of fixation and alignment required to get certification made it clear to me that the sport of kettlbell lifting is not a time or place for barefoot. To create consistently fixated lifts, and therefore completed repetitions, requires a tool. That tool is a shoe. This is for the same reason that we don't see olympic lifters lifting competitively barefoot. The stress's and requirements for training simply will not allow for it. I know there are those in the community who will disagree but these also tend to be lifters who do not fixate or engage in the primary lifts but who instead specialise in accessory work.
Swings (complete and incomplete) are a great activity barefoot as the consistency of of speed and dynamic inherent to the activity is an excellent "laboratory" to explore the possibility's and mechanisms of the foots interaction with the rest of the body. Also the weight used does not need to come down barefoot as opposed to snatch. Snatch is quite good for barefooting but in my opinion the weight needs to come down from what one would use for test sets.
Stay tuned for more whens and wheres in part 2.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Kettlebell: A Mild Primer and Some Fun Workouts
Thursday, May 15, 2014
The next time someone tells you when you barefoot that "X" is the proper way to walk remember this. The ways the foot can be used are absurdly varied. 36 joints with 24 of them being voluntarily mobile not to mention all of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles in the foot and lower leg annndd there interplay with the kinetic chain.
In club turning traditions the soles of the feet and the weight displacement potential within are often referred to as the bubbling well or pot because the number of variances is like counting bubbles in boiling water. Heel toe, toe to heel, knife edge forefoot to heel to big toe, knife edge to big toe to heel, heel pivot to big toe to knife edge and the list goes on and on and is perfectly applicable to everything from picking you nose while waiting for the bus to running marathon distances.
There are overlaying patterns but really considering that we don't even all have the exact same proportions, nervous systems and number of muscles getting overly pedantic is not going to help the situation.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
When diagrams are great
I have been exposed to a lot of really crappy anatomical diagrams through the years. This is not one of them, seriously look at that! Clear and consistent with amazing printing standards and even clearer labeling. I recently paid 80 bucks for materials and membership to a local trainers network and frankly their standards (all of them) are crap. So looks like its the same (personal) course as always but with one change. Teach myself, as I know that I won't get shortchanged, then I am going to go and challenge me some courses with an advanced standing. So that, optimistically, I don't have to listen to anyone try to spoonfeed me bullshit.
But seriously, look at that fucking diagram!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Meat my lunch
I love my local store. The package says lamb head or liver. In actuality I think they just scoop out a lamb.