Nice job with your recent article: Why I Stopped Running After 51 Years | Phil Ringman
I remember reading the first piece you wrote a few years back. Running is definitely an addiction and I can't argue with anyone about my past struggle with it. I think what hit me from your recent paper was how the Dr. did not encourage or discourage you with your injury. You may have still been able to run, but was it worth it? I tore my meniscus in my last marathon a few years back and I had surgery. I know I can run and I know I can hang with the best of them at my age even after surgery, but like you, I wonder if it is worth it to beat my body up like that. Case in point, I ran this week in the Naugatuck Valley Woods in CT. I figured I’d give it a try as I love the woods in the rain. The point, however, is that I woke up the next morning after a 5 mile run and I felt like I was hit by a truck and sore everywhere. To make it worse, when I got home I downed an entire container of Pringles and I was so tired I could not even get my lifting started, let alone finished.
I have never come even close to being tanked and sore from using the prowler, Echo bike or rowing machine. Those machines give great cardio workouts with HIIT or LSS, without being miserable the next day. Even better, if I have the urge to go out in the woods, I just hike or walk a lot more now and can actually enjoy the scenery instead of breathing heavy while missing it all.
I just want to let you know that you’re not alone in hanging up your running shoes. I know it’s tough, but you made the right choice. I have stated before on the forum and I am sure you will agree, when I ran a lot, I was only good for one thing and that was running. When I lift I am better at everything and more useful for so much more than I thought possible.
Oh and by the way, being able to squat or deadlift 405 at any time at my age of 47 makes me feel more awesome than running ever did.
Enjoyed this article. But I've got to ask - what parameter of "fitness" are you maintaining or improving by doing so much cardio? Do you think it’s making your heart healthier? If you just enjoy the activities, then enjoy on...but if you think you need to do that sort of stuff for health and longevity of the heart and lungs, I think you need to question your reasonings. Again, thanks for the article.
This is a very good point. I think we need to be more aggressive with this approach, instead of reacting defensively by saying that strength training works too.
I agree with you Rip. It will be an uphill battle but one that can change over time with help from runners like Phil, myself and others. If we continue sharing our personal experience with strength training and its positive transformation in our lives I am hoping things can eventually change. If not, well at least I will still be strong.
As a Vet all I did was run. My Dad was a cop and it seemed like all he did back in the 80s was chase people on foot and therefore he ran. He was fast, but also sprained his ankle 3 times in pursuit. Imagine if he squatted and just drove the damn patrol car instead. Aerobic training is ingrained deep in people as it was with me and my Dad and it’s hard to shake off.
I think what I related to most with Phil’s articles, both of them, is we are runners deep down inside. So, I connected right away. We never did your program as you lay it out and still there were and are extremely positive changes in strength that we have made. I am sure there are many more stories like ours. So be aggressive with your approach.
My first memory of running was with my dad and mom and my brother. I was 3. We lived in Miami and we would go to the University and my dad and brother would take off running. My mom would walk and I would play...and then I would run the track. They would stop me and make me rest because they were afraid I would hurt myself. My father ran marathons in the early 70s. He ran across the Everglades once. He did "ultramarathons" in several countries. Pushups and pullups and Ab-wheel exercises and more situps than you can possibly count. He and my brother would come back from TaeKwondo class and go for a run. We lived in Africa for a few years and they ran. Both of them ran Marathons in that horrible heat. When I was about 11 I wanted a weight bench and some weights. My father was afraid it would "stunt my growth." In retrospect, that is funny to me because everything he did physically was a form of self torture. I ran cross country in junior high and high school. I sucked. I lack the genetics to be great. I trained, and trained, and trained., I also lifted weights....but more like an endurance event than a reasonable strength program. There is something attractive about the torturous nature of distance running and obstacle races and "mud-runs", especially when you lack athletic ability. If you can take more pain, you can be "tougher". Who doesn't want to be tougher? At 51, I look back and I wish I knew how badly it would wear away my joints. I would still have run and lifted, but I would have run much less miles and performed much less repetitions and sets and maybe my joints would still be a mess, but at least I wouldn't have wasted so much time. I never got stronger....mile after mile and repetition after repetition and set after set....I never got stronger. And ultimately, that is what I wanted. To be stronger.
I noticed in the latest Practical Programming that front squats have been replaced with light squats in the advanced novice program.
What was the reason for this?
Front squats are unnecessary for novices. They are an exercise specifically for competitive Olympic weightlifters that leaves the hamstrings largely untrained.
When I started doing squats in college in the 80s, the coach treated front squats as a sort of introductory exercise to do with lighter weights before "moving up" to back squats. (High bar back squats, naturally.) I gather that was idiotic, but I'm wondering if it's also a commonly-held belief.
In some circles, I'm sure it is.
A question in the same vein: If one sees themselves training the full Olympic lifts in the very near future, would you advocate adding in front squats on the light day (be it Advanced Novice, TM, Starr, etc....) now or later when the lifts themselves are being practiced on a structured basis?
When you become an Olympic lifter, start doing front squats. While you're still dreaming about it, dreams of front squats are adequate.
Strength Training IS Hypertrophy Training –Robert Santana
You Must Understand the Gravity of Your Situation –Steve Hill
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