Ready to Run by Dr. Kelly Starrett and TJ Murphy, (00) Introduction-A typical day in the life of a human being, Notes

Post date: Nov 13, 2016 3:09:38 PM

Ready to Run

Introduction - The human body is an amazing, adaptable, nearly unstoppable survival machine designed to absorb the wear and tear of millions of duty cycles.

• 1. A Typical Day in the Life of a (modern) Human Being: Rushing through life, there is little focus on the tiny things, which leaves the body achy, dehydrated and not being adequately rested. Add to that inadequate and in-efficient preparation for workouts, exercising through pain & taking pain pills to get through workouts and the body is ripe for injury.

     1. Having a routine requires self discipline and desire. Channelling energy into several small new habits leads to improved performance and reduces injury risk. Find new ways to explore the signal flares that various tissues and structures of the body send up. These signals are a clue to unleashing more performance. By solving the underlying problem, not only is pain extinguished and injury prevented from rising to the surface, but an added measure of speed, power and efficiency are gained.

  2. A Better Day -

• • 1. Water first. Wake up and drink 16 ounces of water with electrolytes (Osmo, Nuun) before coffee. If well rested, we may not even need coffee.

    2. Perform brief mobility drills to open up hip extensors and unglue the sliding surfaces around the heel cords.

    3. If running:

       1. Instead of wearing an over built motion control shoe that shortens the heel cord, slowly transition to a flat or zero drop minimalist shoe that allows the foot to behave like a foot has been made to behave.

       2. The first part of a run mixes dynamic movements with 100 meter jogs to engage and warm up the muscles and connective tissues that will be called upon for the day’s session.

       3. Only when thoroughly warmed up and hot with the juices flowing do we launch into the run for the day or into the practice of any athletic discipline.

       4. The last five minutes of any workout is spent cooling down with something as simple as a walk to assist the lymphatic system in doing the job of removing wastes from the interstitial fluids surrounding the muscles and connective tissues just used in the workout.

    4. Throughout the day:

• • • 1. Sit as little as possible so as not to shut off the lymphatic system and shorten the muscles.

      2. When standing and walking, mind the position of the feet (straight in neutral), the position of the spine and pelvis (also set in neutral.) The butt muscles and core lightly engaged.

      3. When sitting, stay especially aware of maintaining a neutral posture.

      4. Build mobility drills in to every hour to fix faulty patterns, improve spinal position and work above and below any missing bits of motor control and range of motion that may be impeding performance and increasing injury risk.

• • 5. Eat a nutritious diet and hydrate with electrolyte fluids. Add compression socks to help open up the pipes so the lymphatic system replaces waste products with nutrient flow.

    6. Dump the Advil and replace it with voodoo floss compression to zap inflammation.

    7. At night, dedicate 10 minutes of effort to ferreting out any warning signs the body is sending--not treated as fires to be put out but as problems to be solved with the mission to correct missing range of motion and poor movement patterns. Any weakness in motor control and range of motion are opportunities to improve performance, boost running efficiency and reduce injury risk.

• 3. No Magic Pill - Seek health and high performance over the lifetime. Be willing and able to perform basic maintenance on the body. We have a right and responsibility to know what’s going on inside the body, take care of as much business as we can and harvest any performance hiding in the shadows. We have the power to make real and lasting changes. Performance is not about the shoes. It’s about the person.

  4. Ready to Run - The running standards in this book are related to shoe type, physical readiness, ability to use good positions, efforts to prepare for and recover from training sessions, as well as lifestyle choices that affect overall health and physical condition. To be ready to run commit to:

• • 1. Drinking 100 ounces of electrolyte enhanced water per day to keep joints and tissues properly hydrated.

    2. Maintaining a normal amount of hip extension, a key to enabling optimal hip function, for more power and better mechanics throughout the musculoskeletal system.

    3. Being free of hot spots. This includes daily ongoing attention to maintenance and no longer trying to run through nagging injuries. Listen to signal flares from the body that tell us positions, mechanics and tissue health need to be improved before venturing into more rigorous forms of training.