The painful truth about trainers: Are expensive running shoes a waste of money? Thrust enhancers, roll bars, microchips...the $20 billion running - shoe industry wants us to believe that the latest technologies will cushion every stride. Yet in this extract from his controversial new book, Christopher McDougall claims that injury rates for runners are actually on the rise, that everything we've been told about running shoes is wrong - and that it might even be better to go barefoot...
By CHRISTOPHER McDOUGALL Created 2:37 PM on 15th April 2009 Every year, anywhere from 65 to 80 per cent of all runners suffer an injury. No matter who you are, no matter how much you run, your odds of getting hurt are the same At Stanford University, California, two sales representatives from Nike were watching the athletics team practise. Part of their job was to gather feedback from the company's sponsored runners about which shoes they preferred.
Unfortunately, it was proving difficult that day as the runners all seemed to prefer... nothing. 'Didn't we send you enough shoes? ' But why? Exercise Training Programs & Fitness Workouts. GAIN Fitness - Personal Trainer Quality Workouts. Military Workout Plan: Burn Fat and Build Muscle. Train Like a MarineThe U.S. Marine Corps keeps its combat-conditioning program engaging by frequently mixing in cool new workouts and physical challenges. The routines aren't designed to wage war on a man's body, but that's exactly what they'd do if you jumped into the program headfirst. So we created a plan to gradually prepare you physically and mentally for the demands of its military training. (For more ways to get strong and fit fast, pick up a copy of Huge in a Hurry today!)
During the first week, you'll master the cornerstone combat-conditioning exercises. (Unsure what exercises you should focus on? Directions:Complete three workouts a week, resting at least a day between sessions. Week 1Perform each exercise in the Marine Corps arsenal in the order shown. Week 2Using the Week 1 exercises, you'll perform a strength move followed immediately by a sprint. For each set of sprints, run as fast as you can for 8 to 15 seconds. Day 1: Do 2 doubles of pushups and sprints.