Health From the Ground Up Workbook

I just posted my new Foot Fitness workbook!  I'm really excited about it.  I know it will help people with their feet.

The focus of my workbook is on the everyday person that wants have healthier feet and shoes.  While my colleagues in fitness and health can also benefit--the workbook is not written in a complex or clinical language.  My final assessment is what people do with their fitness and food when I am NOT in the room.

If the information is easy to understand and practical—more will engage with healthier options on their own which is my goal.

When it comes to health and fitness, I want everyone to play.  I hope the workbook helps people to simply stand, walk, and move through life...with better “health from the ground up.” --Ron Jones

View "Health From the Ground Up: A Practical Guide to Feet, Ankles, & Shoes" by Ron Jones

The Fit Formula with Ron Jones

I've joined forces with some other fitness professionals in the US and UK to put out a new book called "The Fit Formula."  We all brought our best game to the table.  I brought my secrets to kick starting the rest of your life with regular exercise through The Lean Berets 30X30 Challenge.  It's my bottom line.  The best that I've got to get people moving.  I know it will help those that are ready to begin but don't know where. 

You'll find my new chapter in the Mindset section under
"Igniting Shifts to Solutions: 30 Minutes for 30 Days!" 

Enjoy--a life of MOVEment.
--Ron Jones, MS, RKC, Corporate Wellcoach

• Buy The Fit Formula-Get Moving NOW!

Barefoot Running Safety & Start Up

After years of working on my own fitness from my feet up, I did my first actual "barefoot" run last week on pavement and concrete.  It did not last long—only 1/4 of a mile which was PLENTY!  I need to share some comments on barefoot running—and running in the VFFs (Vibram Five Fingers) or any other minimalist shoe such as the New Balance Minimus Trail and others out or that will be coming out soon…to keep everyone informed and safe.

I have said for a few years there are many benefits to increasing your "foot fitness" with barefoot walking around the house, barefoot workouts especially with ballistic power activities like kettlebells or martial arts, and just generally increasing the fitness from the ground up.  I have always stopped short of actually recommending "barefoot running" (or running in VFFs) although often report on the developments of this trend regarding injury prevention, shoe design trends, etc.

Please take note—there is a HUGE difference between walking barefoot and actually running barefoot or running with minimalist shoes!  Make no mistake—running barefoot is serious foot fitness!  I've got a friend really into barefoot running.  His recommendation even for me with years of barefoot walking and kettlebell training was to limit my initial barefoot run to just 1/4 of a mile—no more!  While that sounds insignificant, I can tell you it is not.  After only 1/4 of a mile, my feet were sore that evening.

From a safety perspective, there are some serious injuries that can occur if you just go out without a build up process and start running without shoes.  To be honest—the result will not be good.  Actual barefoot running (No VFFs or shoes of any kind) can cause serious burns, abrasions, and other biomechanical issues sometimes in less than ONE MILE.  Bypassing the safety recommendations can likely put you in the hospital or at least in the podiatrist office treating the wounds on your feet.

I've been reading and hearing about some overuse injuries from hitting the pavement unshod without the proper preparation, so again, while I don't actually recommend that people run in bare feet or minimalist shoes, if you do, please limit the exposure and have plenty of practice just walking for MONTHS before you ever actually run.  If you do start running completely barefoot, don't go over 1/4 of a mile to start and never begin on hot pavement!!!  What I do recommend is that people run with a Nike Free shoe or equivalent because this is a "step" in the right direction as these shoes are more flexible.  Even with the Nike Frees, you have to gradually increase your exposure because your feet will be working much harder than with traditional running shoes.  I also like people to walk in the Nike Free shoes because everyone so far that I've had buy these has reported less or no foot pain.  Flexible shoes in general are better for feet.  While there are going to be a few exceptions, I've seen great results when people were more flexible shoes—sometimes the very first day.

If you want to learn about barefoot running from a really knowledgeable source, Michael Sandler, the author of "Barefoot Running" and foot force behind the RunBare.com website, is doing numerous FREE clinics in the SoCal area in June before heading to NorCal in early July.  I will be attending at least one of them—the one at Adventure 16 in West LA or Runnergy in Sherman Oaks.  The clinic links are below:

http://runbare.com/category/events/upcoming 

I'm also launching a new "Foot Fitness" workshop in June.  While not a specific workshop on barefoot running, I will address the topic, barefoot and shoe trends, and make some recommendations.  My workshop will be focused on the general fitness of the foot and ankle regarding Z-Health mobility drills, how to use some valuable therapy tools for correcting plantar fasciitis, and how to determine "foot-friendly" shoes. 

For more on what I've up to in the world of feet, here's my Foot Fitness section:
http://www.ronjones.org/Feet/index.html

Take care of your feet, and when it comes to feet especially, safety first!  If you do want to run with completely bare feet, that's fine and your choice—just understand the potential risk if you are not prepared or exceed your body's capacity for the extra challenges.

In Health, Coach RJ

Embrace Your Range-Over 40 Female Fitness & Nutrition

I attended the 2011 American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Summit this spring in Anaheim.  I was fortunate to hear Dr. Liz Applegate, Director of Sports Nutrition at UC Davis present again on nutrition. She is one of the top sport nutritionist in the country. She had some great updates specifically for women 40+ that I'd like to pass along. She will likely be sharing some more formalized reports on her study with this age group, but this is a nice preview for now. I have followed her work for years. She is an excellent reference--heck of an athlete too! The following is based on a pilot group she worked with in Davis, CA plus decades of experience working with all categories of women.

General Observations & Recommendations: Women are very social and respond better to weight loss when they have a social support structure whether it be routine personal group meetings, blogs, e-mails, or other modes of contact and support. In Western culture, women are dissatistified with body shape as they age. Her position is for the 40+ woman to "embrace her range" meaning that there is not "one" ideal body weight for every woman of a specific height and that "health" should be the focus rather than weight alone. There are natural and genetic shifts with fat distribution as a woman ages--rather than fight--embrace and work to age healthfully. 

Controlling Abdominal Fat: These are researched-based recommendations for controlling fat specifically in the abdominal areas of women over forty.

Exercise & Abdominal Fat: Fat cells have been shown to shrink with about 60 minutes of regular exercise per day. An important exercise message repeated throughout the conference was the benefit of consistency over time when it comes to not only weight management, but also health in general. There are certain types of exercise that have more fat burning effects than others, but I will be getting more into those with future posts as Dr. Applegate's presentation focused more on the nutritional management of abdominal fat. More and more research is pointing towards the benefits of strength training for weight management and optimizing metabolism. Ideally if a woman wants to control abdominal fat after forty efficiently with exercise as one option, she needs to be getting 2-3x strength sessions per week (higher rep and lighter weight fine for beginners), higher heart rate training sessions, and doing about 60-90 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. *There are some interval protocols that can cut down the time to under 60 minutes total workout time, so look for future posts on these updates.

Eating Plan for Controlling Abdominal Fat: In addition to the main four points below, caution was given about alcohol consumption in this age group which can exceed 2-3 servings per day. Alcohol creates specific abdominal fat gain issues as it promotes fat production especially around the waist...just something you should be aware of regarding alcohol.

1. Protein @ Every Meal: (70-90 gm/day) To optimize weight loss, 20-25% of your calories per day should be from protein. Think about 25% of your plate at every meal--or 15 minutes of a clock.
2. Eat Whole Grains ALWAYS! At least 3 servings per day. Whole grains are more than just whole wheat! There are many very healthy alternative grains like quinoa, freekeh, amaranth, black rice, and more.
3. Eat 3 Cups Veggies & 3 Pieces of Fruit DAILY: Fruit consumption (normal not excessive) has been shown to decrease weight gain over time. Beans were really underscored as a very healthy fruit that women should be eating to reduce abdominal fat. Get at least 3 different colors per day of fruit and veggies.
4. Daily Dairy + Probiotics: Yogurt has been shown to block some calorie absorption. There are some healthier yogurt options like Greek and Kefir. 1 out of 2 women will suffer from osteo/bone problems, and women can lose 2-6" of height over 30 years!

So these were the basic recommendations for women 40+ at this specific presentation. Get some social support for your weight management and exercise. Be careful of excessive alcohol because it directly contributes to belly fat. Pump up your exercise--be regular over time. Be sure to strength train. Get your heart rates up too! Get enough protein, whole grains, fruits/veggies and take care of bone health with dairy and probiotics...and don't forget to "Embrace Your Range" too!

Kids & Heat Tolerance

Each year, I put out some information on kids and heat tolerance, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke.  Below is a great condensed post by the American Academy of Pediatrics.  If you have kids exercising in the heat, you should read it.  I have also attached some links of my own on Hydration Safety for Kids and my podcast on Heat Illness Prevention & Hydration for athletic performance or high-intensity work situations.

• Kids & Heat Tolerance (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Hydration Safety for Kids (Ron Jones)
• Heat Illness Prevention & Hydration-MP3 (Ron Jones)

Enjoy the spring and summer.  Be safe.  Coach RJ

Bag It Film Documentary-Do Something Reel

I got an interesting message the other day from Whole Foods about the "Do Something Reel" Film Festival happening across the country.  They are showing six films in one month in seventy cities.  The first one on the list for SoCal was this weekend--the "Bag It: Is Your Life Too Plastic?" movie about the horrendous issues we are having on this planet with disposable plastic bags.  It was time to ROLE/ROLL, so I snagged the family, and we headed for Encino this morning.  I've been using less and less plastic bags for years--and rarely use any of them now.  We have been recycling more and more the last five years too.  Our twins are seven and plenty old enough to learn about ecology issues like plastic bags.

I quickly purchased tickets this morning once we decided to attend for sure.  I was worried about getting a seat since Encino is a fairly progressive part of Los Angeles.  We arrived just seven minutes before show time!  We met a friendly management rep from Whole Foods inside the door who gave us a reusable shopping bag and pointed us to the correct theatre door.  We rushed inside--to an EMPTY theatre!  Amazing since there are about TEN MILLION people in Los Angeles County. According to the Bag It website, "In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make the plastic bags that Americans consume. The United States International Trade Commission reported that 102 billion plastic bags were used in the U.S. in 2009." Other sources I found informed me that the bags cost much more to recycle than they can ever be resold for; therefore, the real root cause solution is to STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS. Yet on Sunday, April 3rd, with ten million in LA County, only four people were at the Bag It documentary in Encino. Hopefully there were many more at the other showing site in Santa Monica. Welcome to LA where some of the women probably have more plastic in them than some of the scavenger fish in the oceans!!!

We we learned? We CAN and WILL make a difference. We can and will make changes at home--today--not tomorrow. We can and will do better. There are too many chemicals in our world today--in the air, food, clothes, cars, and just about everywhere we turn in modern society. We have used our fair share too. We will always use plastics now--welcome to modern civilization. The movie was not trying to tell people never to use plastics--but the movie did make us all realize that the irresponsible use of "throw away" singe use plastic bags and single use containers is reckless for the environment. Why the hell do I need a plastic bag for an item that I can carry in my hand and home just so I can throw the bag into the trash perfectly clean and basically unused? It's stupid--and irresponsible to our environment. Shame on myself for being duped so many years! Enough!

Another MAJOR point that was brought to light--if we don't fix this mess, nature will. Nature always wins. We either make it right, or we will simply choke ourselves out over time, then nature will take over the clean up for another few million years without humans around to screw it up more. It reminds me of the Wall-e movie...one of the most "serious" social statement films I've ever seen yet thought by most to be a cute animation by most. Ha! 

Get REEL...Do Something Reel...see Bag It or one of the other five films showing across the country.

Make a change--one bag at a time, one body at a time, one breath at a time, and more importantly, ONE CHILD at a time. I hope you see the movie. It will change my life...and already has.  

In ACTION, Coach RJ

• Bag It Documentary Film
• Do Something Reel Film Festival

Adidas Copa Soccer Shoes

 

In my ongoing quest for Foot Fitness, I was chatting with my neighbor Fernando the other week about soccer shoes.  Fernando grew up with soccer so knows a lot about the game, coaching, and other issues related to potential soccer injuries.  I was telling him about how flexible shoes are better for feet which caused him to mention the Adidas Copa Mundial soccer shoes.  He told me when kids have feet problems, they put them into the Adidas Copa shoes, and nearly always the foot pain goes away! Why? Apparently the Adidas Copa is more flexible than many of the newer soccer shoes available--not only the actual soles but also the upper materials since they are made with kangaroo leather. Additionally, the cleats in the Copa are a bit shorter which is better for us in SoCal or Central California where we have much drier climates with harder grass--apparently, the shorter cleat reduces the force into the bottom of foot from what the players report.  The reviews are interesting. People swear by these shoes in terms of comfort and performance--even some Pros.

I thought the Adidas Copa soccer shoes were a good find for overall foot fitness since I have so many clients with kids that play lots of soccer.  If your child is having problems with feet, ankles, and even knees or more up above, you might consider switching to this old school shoe model that has been around unchanged since 1979. If it's been around that long with the same design, it must be worth wearing!

View Amazon link to Adidas Copa soccer shoes with some nice reviews

In Foot Fitness, Coach RJ