They are in the news, they were on the trade show floor, and they are going to be on many feet – probably the most revolutionary foot wear of the decade. The Vibram FiveFinger barefoot shoe.

The FiveFingers sole is designed to flow with the contour and shape of your foot. It is thin and flexible and allows the foot to move naturally. There are individual toe pockets to help strengthen and stretch the muscles in the feet and to improve balance and agility when walking, fitness training, during yoga, trekking, running, kayaking, sailing and in many other activities. And they come in a variety of colors and styles

It has been documented that those who run barefoot, or in minimal footwear, tend to avoid “heel-striking,” and instead land on the ball of the foot or the middle of the foot. This running technique incurs significantly less impact force as compared to runners when they heel-strike.

You can check out the FiveFingers and try on a pair at Summit Hut here in Tucson, Arizona.

I think it’s going to be a barefoot revolution!

body bars and plates

kettlebells

Finally, the dirty, dismal, black dumbbell is disappearing and is being replaced by a bouquet of colorful plates, bands, bars, and balls to stimulate your senses and motivate your muscles. Yesterdays musty gyms have been refurbished and garnished with bright red, yellow, blue and pink equipment to energize you into motion. So move into action with your favorite color What are you waiting for?

rubberized tubing

machine and barbell weight plates

weighted balls

barbell weight plates

stability balls

hand weights

And every one of them was at the largest global health club trade show that I just returned from in San Diego. Oh baby, talk about equipment! The show was loaded with every new fitness, tool, gadget, gimick, prop, and peice of fitness equipment you could ever imagine. All designed to motivate, inspire, tone, taper, burn, buff, slim, shape, hypertrophy, metabolize, make you sweat and to work that body for better health and fitness. Hey, look at me after just one day…

My next several blogs will be dedicated to sharing with you the latest and greatest in fitness equipment and toys. So stay tuned.



We know from research that laughter and joy boost immune functions, especially the production of the natural killer cells that help protect the body from illness and cancer. Laughter also increases the release of endorphins, it boosts energy, decreases pain, and gives you a sense of well-being. Plus humor is infectious, it binds people together and creates happiness and intimacy. Without a doubt, joyful people live longer and healthier lives.

So laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with them.

Surround yourself with events, activities, and people who bring a smile to your face and go ahead – just laugh out loud!

And just in time for summer…..

Drafting, feed stations, shape of the pack, tactics…bet you thought I was talking about cycling. Nope – I’m referring to a very different sport. Open water swimming uses many similar strategies as cycling when it comes to pack swimming and drafting. And you must train for the unexpected in the water, just as you would on the bike.

Working the draft when swimming in a pack takes skill and practice. A more cylindrical shaped pack will create more draft than a wide box shape or oval shape. For optimal draft swim like geese and position yourself alongside the hips of the swimmer in front of you. Look for a swimmer with a strong kick as this will increase the wake and create more propulsion in the draft. If you position near the middle of the pack you will be able to flow with the group and spend less time and energy lifting your head to sight. Carrying gel packs in your swim trunks/suit also allows you to fuel between feed stations or in shorter distance events provides glucose to maintain a strong second half of the race.

Open water swimming was added to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and more pool swimmers are taking to the open waters. The English Channel is the premier open water-swimming venue and was first crossed in 1875 by Mathew Web in 21:45. He swam breaststroke the entire distance. The first woman to cross the English Channel was Gertrude Ederly, swimming the 21 miles in just over 13 hours.

Three open water swims that will be attempted in 2010 will provide additional information on training, technique, fueling, hydration, and what can be tolerated by the body.

1.  A 6-person team will attempt to swim across the Sea of Cortez. Each team member will relay swim in 1-hour bouts

2.  A solo triple crossing of Lake Tahoe

3.  A 1-mile swim in the Himalayas at 17,000 feet. The swimmer will trek to the lake.

The best read on open water swimming is Swimming to Antarctica – the story of Lynn Cox and her heroic training and open water swimming accomplishments. Fascinating!

Wild has many definitions, but I am referring to the unrestrained, unbridled, untethered, living in a state of nature – or what is natural – kind of wild.

What if you really let go of some of the constraints that surround your life, lived more naturally, expressed yourself with full freedom, released the restraints that confine your actions, behaviors, thoughts, and feelings? Stuff like cultural and societal norms, work, or family, friends, and colleague’s views, judgements, or expectations of you. And then there is all that internal personal stuff you carry around everyday. Let go of the resistance to it all.

It sounds so easy, but involves being OK with yourself, risk-taking, trying things that are different, strange, novel, scary, or intimidating. What I’m saying is that we tend to live constrained lives, unnatural lives in many ways and it may be time to consider opening up the space, expanding, and elongating the possibilities to live life more fully.

Consider –

Saying YES more often – instead of coming up with reasons for NO or why it won’t work or you are unable to.

Explore new territory – somewhere that makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, maybe where they don’t speak much English, or the currency and signage is in a foreign language and unreadable.

Travel solo – chances are you will meet people along the way that will enrich your life.

Seek new adventures – a sport, a new group, or trip.

Step out of our comfort zone – try a new class, like drawing, drumming or pole fitness.

Spend an afternoon in nature – a canyon, on a hike, in a field, forest, or deserted shoreline. Savor the wild-erness.

Make it a slow day – drive slow, walk slow, eat slow, make love slow. Forget the rush.

Kiss passionately – with warmth, caring and love from the heart.

It’s time to re-wild you and connect with your inner self  – just let it fly…so  liberating!

March 3rd and only in Tucson! No wonder so many cyclists and triathletes come to train in Tucson in the winter. Eat your heart out Pittsburg, Detroit and Minneapolis. And it was a day to be on the mountain. Water, water cascading everywhere, crisp air, brilliant blue sky, and warming sunshine. All the senses fully engaged. Nothing I would have rather been doing this morning.

Hey, Ruth is was great to catch you at 7 cats! Girls on bikes!

What an exciting finish to the men’s Olympic 50K XCountry ski race! 50K in 2:05 – why that’s almost as fast as I ride my bike. But XC skiing is quite different than cycling – it  is a 100% total body sport and these skiers are some amazing endurance athletes. Propelling the body on skies requires intense work by both the arms and the legs.

The interesting thing about XC is that there is no “perfect” body type as there is in other sports such as long distance running and swimming. World champion male skiers have ranged in height from 5′ 6 (1.68 m) to 6’6″ (2.0 m) with the elite skiers having little body fat, but not to an extreme.

The single physiological variable that most clearly distinguishes the champion cross-country skier from the average person or even a well-trained skier is maximal oxygen consumption. These endurance athletes have amazing cardiovascular systems with a powerful and efficient heart pump to deliver oxygen rich blood to the muscles and a well developed oxidative capacity in the muscles with finely tuned mitochondria to use the oxygen and support the continuous high rate of exercise.

The guys winning the medals in the Olympics will have max VO2 values between 80-85ml/min/kg, maximal cardiac outputs of over 40 liters/min, and stroke volumes over 200 ml/beat. For comparison the average maximal oxygen consumption for an untrained male in the mid-30s is about 40-45ml/min/kg, a CO of about 15liters/min, and SV around 100ml/beat for similar amounts of exercise.

These athletes just have some mighty big and exceptionally trained engines!

http://home.hia.no/~stephens/skiphysi.htm

A large body of research shows that sports are associated with all sorts of benefits for girls and women, like lower teenage pregnancy rates, better grades, higher self-esteem and better health. But until now, no one has determined whether those improvements are a direct result of athletic participation or if the type of girl who is attracted to sport already has certain qualities that will help her succeed in life — like ambition, strength, focus, and risk taking.

New data has shown that increasing girl’s participation in sport had a direct effect on achievement later in life in regards to their education and employment. It was found that the changes set in motion by Title IX explained about 20 percent of the increase in women’s education level and about 40 percent of the rise in employment status for 25-to-34-year-old women.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 required schools and colleges receiving federal money to provide the same opportunities for girls as they did for boys. One of the areas that were directly impacted was the opportunity for girls to participate in competitive sports. Just six years after the enactment of Title IX, the percentage of girls playing team sports had jumped from 4 percent to 25 percent at the high school level. The tremendous growth in women’s collegiate athletics is a direct result of the implementation of Title IX.

This new information on women and sport supports the theory that “it’s not just that the people who are going to do well in life play sports, but that sports help people do better in life.”

So you go girl, get out there and play, and continue to soar!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/15/as-girls-become-women-sports-pay-dividends/



Well, some like to work out in a more conventional manner – like with clothes on – while others prefer the less conventional, free spirit, and o’natural feeling of just going naked. If you are of the latter persuasion here are a couple of events you may want to take in.

The annual nude sledge race was held earlier this month in Germany with over 12,000 spectators. Looks a bit nippy to me.

And then there’s the painted naked ride with every type, color and body design you can imagine. Along with every body shape and size. I wonder what happens when you start to sweat? Anyone know where this event is held?