While running, I subscribe to the method of nose breathing as opposed to mouth breathing. Among the benefits of nose breathing is that it allows the oxygen to mingle in the lungs for a bit longer, creating a more efficient breath. I also find that it allows me to pace myself better, since I can only go as fast as I can take in air. When more oxygen is needed, as in sprinting, mouth breathing is necessary, but over a longer distance, nose breathing is better. That is just my opinion which I've discovered through various articles, as well as my own testing. The first place I heard about nose breathing was in this article by a high school track coach. (Scroll down to "Hold Your Breath" for the relevant paragraph.)

Today I read an article in the New York Times about high-end mouth guards, or "performance mouthpieces", that allow relax and align the jaw, prevent teeth-clenching, and open up the airways. Paying anywhere from $500 to $2,500 for a mouth guard seems a bit outrageous to me, but I am intrigued by the idea. While their main touted benefit is opening up the airways, running or working out with a relaxed jaw helps the whole body stay relaxed, conserving your muscles and energy for the exercise at hand. It's a very interesting concept, and I hope the price of these will come down in price so skeptics like me can test it out without breaking the bank.

Running is an acquired skill, and the best way to learn that skill is through the Pose running technique, created by Dr. Nicholas Romanov.  Just because you run barefoot, it does not necesarily mean you're doing it in the most efficient and injury-free way possible, which is why learning the principles of Pose is so important.

One of the most important concepts of Pose is to lift your feet off the ground, as opposed to pushing off from the ground to propel yourself forward.  By leaning from the ankles and lifting your feet, you're essentially falling forward, letting gravity work to your advantage.  The more you lean, the ankles (don't lean from the waist unless you want back pain!) the faster you have to pull your legs off the ground, and the faster you go.  It's that simple, and it's a lot more easy to learn when you're either barefoot or wearing shoes that don't have a heel which gets in the way of the natural forefoot landing.

Dr. Romanov has addressed barefoot running a few times on his website via short articles, and I'd like to share a few quick points he states about it:

There are many beneficial aspects of barefoot running, it:

• Helps to develop better perception of the contact with the ground, which allows us to interact with support more efficiently, place the body weight on the foot more precisely; have better timing of the contact with the ground.
• Develops muscle strength, particularly in those groups of muscles of the feet, and related muscles of the legs and hips, which are out of use when we are in shoes.
• Helps to release psychological stress through the reduction of electricity charges in the body, which can now serve as a kind of lightning rod.
• Helps to improve the body temperature regulation due to the adaptation to the lower outside temperature.
  

Dr. Romanov also discusses the importance of running barefoot correctly, instead of just going out there without proper technique:

There is no special barefoot running technique and no particular moves. There is only one right technique, which takes into account the existing gravity field and uses gravity as its main source of energy, trying to assist it by channeling all the other forces in this direction instead of struggling with it. I would like to mention that barefoot running is not a panacea for avoiding running problems, it is not an automatic guarantee of running proper. It is just another tool for learning to run proper, because of more elements of a proper running technique present there than anywhere else.

Check out the whole article for a more in-depth explanation from Dr. Romanov.

I just finished watching a talk by the author of Born to Run, Christopher McDougall, summarizing parts of his book.  His talk is about 30 minutes long, and the q&a session is about the same length.  I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you're too lazy to read the book.  Check it out here:

Tomorrow night at 7:30pm will be one of the last Barefoot Benny Boot Camps of 2009, and it will probably be the best weather for it too!  The first ten people to sign up will get to attend free, so send me an email at [email protected] and I'll let you know where we're meeting.

One of the blogs I check daily is called birthdayshoes.com, a site dedicated to Vibram Five Fingers (VFF's).  Today there is a post by an NASM certified trainer named Tim, who is also a competitive power lifter.  In his articulate post, he outlines the benefits of training and competing in VFF's, and how cushy sneakers actually inhibit maximal efficiency while lifting.  Check out the full article here.

Welcome to the Barefoot Benny Personal Fitness Blog!  Throughout the week, come here to read up on exercise tips, barefooting strategies, and interesting fitness links.  Please leave comments and feedback if you have any questions, or just want to inform me of some great new exercise you learned!