Brooks Green Silence: Taking the Eco-Running Shoe to The Next Level

It has been argued that the greening of athletic shoes is often the most difficult because of all of the different components involved in creating a shoe.

That fact didn’t stop The Brooks Running Company who just released The Green Silence Running Shoe made from 75% post consumer materials and non-toxic soy-based dyes. In fact, the Green Silence uses less than half as many parts compared to a regular running shoe. The components are even biodegradable and whatever needs to be held together is done with water-based adhesives. Basically, when it comes to sustainability, this shoe has set the “Green Standard.”

All of these environmental strides are great, but only if the shoe really works. As you may know we’ve launched the We Run Green Campaign here on YDT as I train for the Los Angeles Marathon, so as a part of my training regimen I took these puppies out for a spin.

The first thing I noticed was how light weight the shoe felt; I use to think my Asics were pretty light, but they seem like clogs compared to these. I also enjoyed the breathability the shoe provided, keeping my feet cool and comfortable. There was plenty of cushion and support too, no different than my regular gear.

The verdict: Brooks achieved its goal of creating a shoe that “incorporates sustainability, without sacrificing performance.” I’m going to keep training in them and use them for the big day. After the 26.2 miles, I’ll let you know if I still like them.

There is just one request I have from a more stylistic perspective – more color selection please! Perhaps if I were part of the German national running team I might feel different, but red, yellow and black are not my favorite color combos.

You can purchase the Brooks Green Silence Online for $100.

Learn More: Check out Brooks’ commitment to the environment and what happens to the lifecycle of your shoe on its website.

Don’t forget, when you’re done with these or any athletic shoes, be sure to recycle them.

This entry was written by Soma Get Fit Guest Writer, posted on February 23, 2010 at 4:19 pm, filed under Green Lifestyle, Los Angeles, Products and tagged , , , , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Is Having Good Posture a Drag?!!

Is having good posture a drag?  Good posture can be easier than you think.

Most people donʼt know how to sit or stand with good posture in a way thatʼs comfortable. We have never been taught how to balance our bones and move with the least amount of stress on our bodies. In fact, not only can it comfortable to sit and stand but it can feel easy and very freeing

How about walking?  Wouldnʼt you like to be able to walk anywhere, either a hike or into a room with poise and confidence and fluidity?  It has nothing to do with age.  It has everything to do with learning how.

Do you find yourself getting short of breath?  You can learn how to breathe freely , giving yourself more energy and a better voice!

The principles of the Alexander Technique enable us to change anything thatʼs getting in the way of our mind and bodies having lightness and ʻfree flowʼ, throughout our day, no matter what our activity.  Our overall health changes and top to toe pains and strains diminish dramatically.

For more info visit: www.alexandertechniquewithjune.com or www.alexandertechnique.com

This is a guest post from  June Chadwick, Image via bgh.com


This entry was written by Soma Get Fit Guest Writer, posted on February 16, 2010 at 1:19 pm, filed under Alexander Technique, Bodywork, Lifestyle and Spa, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and tagged , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Common knee discomfort issues and what to do about them!

by Rich Fahmy

I’ve been getting asked a lot lately by client and trainer alike about knee discomfort for exercisers. You know, the knee discomfort that appears usually as the subtle tugging feeling or tightness felt at the outer side or front of the knees. And can at times escalate to pain.

Let’s talk about the knee a little. It essentially is a pretty helpless joint. By this I mean it does what the ankles and hips tell it to do, the knee is at their mercy.

So what’s the point? The point is that when a client or you has knee discomfort, it almost always is never the knee itself, but what lies above and/or below it. To put it quite simply: the motion I don’t have in my hips and ankles will be found in my knees. Remember when we move, our body will get us from ‘point A’ to ‘point B’. It may not look pretty and it may not be the most efficient or optimal motor recruitment pattern, but it will find a way. So it is quite common that my knees take the hit for the lack of mobility of the joints around it. This sets up overuse patterns, and structures that normally would be responsible for let’s say, stabilizing the knee in a particular plane of motion, end up doing even more work than needed. This often leads to some form of pain and tendinitis.

**READ THIS** It should be noted that our job as fitness professionals and as active individuals is NOT to diagnose or treat medical conditions, including tendinitis. This is NOT to serve as a guide for diagnosis, but an article to recommend some flexibility exercise choices for clients that report discomfort in the knee. If you at all suspect tendinitis or other structural issues, always refer the client or yourself to a qualified health-care provider. Remember folks, our world is about motion and exercise not medical conditions. “We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.”

While traditional muscle group exercises for the quads and hamstrings, usually in the form of leg curls and extensions, will do fine at strengthening the muscles surrounding the knee, they may not do much, if at all, to increase motion in the joints that are impacting the knee.

So what do you do exactly?

1) The idea is to increase the mobility of the hips and of the ankles so they can do their jobs, and the knees won’t have to pick up the slack. There are all kinds of ways to do this but to keep things simple, seek out good stretches for hip flexors and calves, these are the most common muscle groups that reduce the available motion in the hips and ankles respectively. And if you or your client doesn’t even have any knee issues, these are good to do anyway.

2) It’s a good idea to also build stability in the joints of the lower body. It is one thing to increase the available motion in a joint with flexibility exercises, it’s entirely another thing to train the body to actually know what to do with the new-found motion once it has it. For the sake of keeping things simple again: for the lower body this just means get your clients standing and actually bearing their weight. If they are sitting on machines all workout long, the body isn’t learning to manage and stabilize their body weight with their lower body. You can then try staggering a stance, narrowing the width of the stance, or even trying single leg exercises if they qualify for them.

Until next time…

Rich

About the author
Rich Fahmy MS is the Director of Education for Oracle Fitness Education, a company that specializes in continuing education for health and fitness professionals (more info can be found at www.oraclefited.com). He is a trainer’s trainer, and some, although very few, would say he’s a handsome man’s man. And by some, that usually refers to himself and his mother. Contact him at rich@oraclefited.com.

This entry was written by rfahmy, posted on February 15, 2010 at 5:50 pm, filed under Bodywork, Fitness, Life is Fitness, Los Angeles and tagged , , , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

ANGELENO MAGAZINE, Feb 2010

ANGELENO MAGAZINE FEB 2010

This entry was written by scrawford, posted on February 6, 2010 at 6:11 pm, filed under Experiences, Fitness, Hiking, Lifestyle and Spa, Los Angeles, Outdoors, Press, Retreats, Santa Barbara and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

« Previous Entries
» Next Entries