Physical performance is a product of good posture (joint alignment), muscle strength and stability, joint range of motion, efficient cardiovascular function, and cooperation between those components. Traditional strength training can increase muscle strength but can decrease joint range of motion and have negative effects on posture. Yoga can bring improvements in joint range of motion but cause decreases in muscle strength and stability. Swimming or cycling can improve cardiovascular fitness but while causing compromised muscle stability (swimming) and joint range of motion (cycling). 

This Strong and Lean Workout designed and narrated by Pete Egoscue brings improvements in physical performance by bringing together all the components of joint alignment and range of motion, muscle strength and stability, and efficient cardiovascular function. These simple movements bring immediate and tremendous benefits which you'll be able to see and feel. Try this 14 minutes of fun!

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"You weren't just born to run, you were born to run pain free." - Matt Whitehead

That's the famous line I started telling people after the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall came out which told the story of Barefoot Ted, Caballo Blanco, Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, Ann Trason, and their experience running with the Tarahumara Native Mexican tribe in the Mexican Copper Canyons. That book discussed barefoot running, ultra marathons, and how everyone is born to run. I want you to understand that you are born to run without injuries, without pain, without strain, and without stress. Your body is designed perfectly. 

Running is supposed to be fun!
Running is supposed to feel good!
Running is supposed to be easy!

All children experience the joy of running but many people quickly lose this because we lose our design posture. Many children lose good posture by the time they are 7, 8, or 9 years old because they are sitting at school, sitting in cars, sitting at home watching TV and playing video games, specializing in sports, and slouching over iPads, iPods, and iPhones. 

Many people can remember running as a child being fun and easy, but by the time you were a teenager, young adult, or in your 40s running became painful, hard, and labored. You just thought you weren't born to run, or the pounding had caught up with you, or you were just getting old. 

While these are statements that running and fitness magazines, friends and neighbors, healthcare practitioners, and  orthopedic doctors will agree with, I believe them to all be myths and untrue. We were all born to run. Anthropologists and human evolutionary biologists have shown that humans evolved to run and that running is what helped the human species survive and thrive. Research has shown that the pounding of running is actually a good thing as it strengthens our bones, muscles, and cartilage making it more resilient. Our bodies do not have an internal clock that can tell the difference between 40 and 50. Our bodies do not know how old we are. 

The key to running pain free and having running feel easy, fun, and good is maintaining good body posture and alignment. When our body posture is compromised running is heavy, hard, and hurts. When our body posture is vertically aligned running is easy, light, fun, and pain free. 

This warm-up and cool-down routine is a good way to keep running feeling good. If you currently have pain or are recovering from injury, contact me today for a free posture evaluation and consultation and I'll help get your body aligned and ready to run pain free again!

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Having a tough week? Stressed out? Feeling overwhelmed? Dr. Mike Evans has some easy things you can do to feel better, calm down, and get through a crappy week. 

One more thing I would add to this list is doing your Egoscue Postural Alignment Therapy menu from Oregon Exercise Therapy. 

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