The Jersey Shore is well-known for its Guidos and Guidettes, but there are more horrific things down at the beach than Snooki and “The Situation.” “Painful Jogger Syndrome” is on display everywhere you look this Fourth of July weekend.
Do you know what a Painful Jogger is? My bet is you do, but just never thought of the term. A Painful Jogger is the typical jogger, you see them on the roads and beaches, boardwalks and tracks all across the country. It’s really hard to know where to start as far as picking the biggest flaw in the Painful Jogger’s “form.” The general “bad stride” kind of sums it up, but there are many elements that contribute to this designation.
The Painful Jogger (PJ) has a heavy stride and you can hear them running even if they weigh 100-pounds, doesn’t lift their knees, swings their leg from the hip, has poor upper body mechanics, displays Valgus deformity, “runs” with a short stride (my kids say PJs run like they have to go to the bathroom). World-class sprint/jump coach and biomechanics expert Frans Bosch says, “Distance runners are sprinters with bad form,” so send him your hate email. But I agree.
Frans also likes to point out that humans are the only animals who choose to run more than 100 meters. He says other animals are smart enough to give up the chase after running a short distance. I agree, but remember, look him up and send him your disagreements.
Jogging, yogging or slogging doesn’t help you, doesn’t improve your fitness. It just beats you up. Impact forces on the body are three times that of body weight with every step you take, every move you make. So if you weigh 100-pounds, every step results in at least 300-pounds of force being applied to your bones, ligaments and tendons. Take 140 strides per minute for 30-minutes and you’re stressing your body to the tune of 1,260,000 pounds. A Boeing 747 weighs 900,000 pounds when it’s all loaded up for take-off.
Look at Tiger Woods jogging in the picture. One of the biggest unanswered questions in the whole Tiger Woods saga – his injuries, not his personal life – is just why in hell was he doing distance running? I defy any so-called “expert” to explain why Woods should distance run. But that’s grist for a different mill.
So this Fourth of July holiday weekend go for a nice brisk walk instead of jogging. Whether or not you are down the Jersey shore, your body will thank you and you’ll look – and feel – much better for doing it.
We’ve had some nice fall weather over the past few weeks here in New Jersey and that means joggers are out in force. It’s very similar to what happens when spring springs and the first batch of 70 degree sunny days show up after a long, ugly winter; joggers take to the roadways and sidewalks en masse.
The problem is that most people are what I call, “Ugly Joggers.” Now don’t jump to conclusions – especially you, Marianne – as I’m not talking about a person’s looks, but rather their running “form,” and by using “form,” I’m being very kind.
Over the past week or so I’ve seen at least 40 joggers, but only 2 or 3 could be considered to be running with proper form. The form breaks run the gamut; short stride length, no hip extension, improper (or no) arm swing, leg drag, valgus and varus, limp. Think of a flaw and you’ll see it when Ugly Joggers are in season.
Do yourself a favor and stop jogging. Get exercise, but leave the jogging and running to the real runners – no offense. If you want to go out and pound your skeletal system into powder at least seek out an expert that can teach you how to run.
I find it funny when people ask me what they can do to improve their cardiovascular fitness and I tell them to swim, and they tell me, “Oh I don’t want to swim, what else can I do?” I get the same kind of response from folks who want to know how to improve their distance running, like they can’t be bothered to do the right thing. As if it’s an insult to be told that they need to learn how to do something as simple as running.
Actually, running properly is difficult for most people, even athletes. I spend a lot of time teaching high school and college athletes how to run properly and correcting their form. Show me 100 high school athletes and I’ll show you 95 kids who don’t know how to run. And for adults the percentages would be even worse.
So if you aren’t jogging the right way, don’t do it at all. Go for a brisk walk, do calisthenics, or take a swim, but lay off the jogging. When you consider that each step of running places a force on your joints up to 3 times body weight, your body will thank you for exploring low-intensity/low-impact options.
I’ll probably annoy some people by saying this – so what else is new? – but I think there are few things that are more destructive than long-distance running. If you can stand the truth, keep reading.
The running/jogging craze was a major fitness phenomenon of the 20th Century, and running is still “da bomb” for tons of people as we sit here in 2009. As the jogging generation has aged and they have become hobbled and hamstrung by overuse/over-training injuries that result from the years of pounding.
Furthermore, running has created a whole bunch of people who are physically “one-dimensional.”
Check out the crew at any local track. How many older, healthy joggers do you know? When you do find an older jogger they usually look older than they are and run with an altered, ungainly gait brought. These folks are the lucky ones, as they at least are still able to run.
I have extensive experience working with runners who have done nothing but run. As a result I have coined a phrase to describe the hard-core runner, “functionally unfit” or an “FU.” People who do nothing but lift weights also fall into this category, but I’ll talk about them at a later date.
A “functionally unfit” jogger is someone who has regularly participated in road races, consistently logs heavy-duty weekly mileage, has little if any flexibility and little strength to boot.
An “FU” can’t do a calisthenics circuit, sprints, shuttle runs or agility drills. When I get my hands on a jogger who claims to be in great shape because they run 3 miles, but can’t complete ten body weight squats, ten push-ups and/or a pull-up, I tell them “FU.”
To a runner who suffers from stress fractures, tendonitis, feet problems, back ailments, joint issues and/or shin splints, I say “FU.”
To serve as a contrast to “the runner,” I submit “the swimmer.” The hardcore swimmer of the same age will look healthier, have less in the way of nagging ailments, and will be able to do what they do longer and better.
The swimmers that I have encountered are hearty, have great muscle tone, posture and endurance. They are lean, not gaunt. They are capable and not frail. They are quicker to improve with resistance training, since the swimmer doesn’t have the litany of nagging ailments to deal with and work around.
With the “blame everyone else” mentality that has given us the suits against fast-food providers, will it be long before the anti-running movement picks up steam and lawsuits are filed against sneaker makers? Will those who have had joints replaced because they ran countless miles sue Nike and Brooks and New Balance? Will shoemakers be blamed for promoting an activity that undoubtedly led to countless, painful injuries? How many people have been motivated to run, and run a lot, by the Nike advertising campaigns? You may laugh and think that I am exaggerating, but stranger things have happened.
Don’t agree with me? FU!
