Ready to Run by Dr. Kelly Starrett and TJ Murphy, (02) Born to Run, Notes

Post date: Nov 29, 2016 11:18:51 AM

Ready to Run

Chapter 2. Born to Run

• • 1. We have what it takes. We have the design to run like the warrior-hunter-gatherer we are.

    2. Survival of the swiftest. Running was the best solution prior to the invention of weaponry. Run to the site of a kill and eat what is left over. Run away from predators. Running was for hunting as well. Humans sweat to remove heat. Other animals pant. Humans were not faster than these animals but could outlast them. This was known as persistence hunting.

    3. Your Running Weaponry.

       1. We have springs. Walking, the feet,legs and body use a pendulum like motion. Running, all the miraculous machinery we were born with vaults into action. The hips, knees, ankles and feet work in concert with the muscles and connective tissues to use gravity and elastic energy to efficiently bounce along.

          1. “A running human’s legs store and release energy so efficiently that running is only about 30 to 50% more costly than walking in the endurance-speed range.”

       2. We have stable springy arches. Our feet are not only designed for running, they are designed for running fast--as well as for quick agile changes of direction. The human arch, with its energy returning spring action, helps reduce the energy cost of running by up to 17%.

       3. We have super elastic achilles tendons. Six inches long in humans, when we run we show off the true power of humans. They store and reproduce 35% of the mechanical energy produced when running. The achilles is all about helping us run.

       4. We have a powerful butt. We can walk around with the glutes essentially asleep. Break into a sprint and the butt becomes essential to overall stability. The largest muscles in the body, put to full advantage, we use muscles that are relatively inexhaustible.

    4. We have short toes for stabilization, a narrow waist relative to the shoulders to create optimal rotation, a powerful butt, gyroscopes in the skull and skin that radiates away excess body heat thanks to millions of sweat glands because we were designed to run like the wind.