The Yak Attack

by Neil Anderson

One of the best things about GPP is, to workout here means leaving your ego at the door.  We do ROUGH stuff.  It is not for the chicken-hearted.  Neither is it for the weak willed.  Every inch we gain, every inch we lose and every inch forward we move toward our goal is tedious and deliberate.  And we'll take that inch.  After all, an inch is mountains more progress than others make.

That's how we roll.  

If we can take more than that inch we will, but its a sketchy proposition.  We've learned there is a price to pay for getting greedy.  Greediness at GPP can be messy.  It can stink.  It can hurt and we've seen it's putrid awfulness put off the most hearty of souls.  

And since it is so omnipresent around here.  And since it looms over us with such disdain and utter contempt, we have decided to formally acknowledge our worthy adversary with a name. Let him forever be known as...

THE YAK!

Although we all hate the Yak, it is useless to fear him, because meeting him is inevitable.  By working out here, by pushing to discover our limits, by striving to go to the edge and see what we are made of - the two of us are likely to meet.  Not face to face over tea and crumpets.  More like, his horns - our arse. 

When that happens, man you gotta just take it.  Prison style.  Because after you get cocky and wave that big green cape of greed in front of his face, there is NOTHING you can do about what comes next.  When it does, here is some advice: smile. Just grin through it.  Ever see that cartoon of a mouse about to be eaten by an eagle?  Grinning helps, trust me.  

Many, many have asked why it is that we don't have those primping and posing mirror monkey types down here at GPP.  We think there are a lot of reasons. 1) They can't take their shirts off. 2) Thirty something y/o mommas of 4 keep beating them at workouts. 3) They are afraid of the YAK.  

We also think they must hate how they look in green. (double meaning alert)

It's too bad, because they are missing out.  

Not that I am advocating taking a horn to the backside.  If this can be avoided, it must.  But we both know it cannot.  Not if we are to see where our limits lie.  Not if we are to learn, deep down, who we really are.  

To avoid the Yak is to miss out on several important elements of self mastery.  A few of these are: Freedom, Acceptance & Community.  

Freedom from the fears that have been holding us back.  Acceptance of the consequences of those fears.  Missing out on a beautiful community of like minded individuals charging forward together, equally committed to virtuous goals and values.

This is the magic of GPP.  On any given day, EVERY one of us are merely ONE workout away from a Yak attack.  While the uninitiated rookie might worry about what others think of him or her if they get sick or have to quit a workout early to burst into the parking lot and construct a puke pile, he or she would feel much more relieved to know, as all vets know, that instead of judging them weak or insufficient - we are only feeling lucky.

Lucky because we know next time it might be one of us.  And we welcome them (and their outstanding effort of intensity) to our committed little community! 

Protein After 6:00?

Question from Court on MY FaceBook page (thanks Court):

"I have always heard not to eat anything after 6pm...until recently.  Now I'm told that you should eat some protein right before bed so your body doesn't break down muscle tissue while you sleep...What are your thoughts...?"

A: There is definitely something to be said about keeping "pro'd-up." Doing so helps regulate blood sugar, spare muscle and regulate appetite. It does a lot of other things too.

You are right.  Scientists and professionals are now saying you should have some protein on board at bedtime. More specifically they suggest casein (it digests more slowly). Having protein in your stomach while sleeping may help repair mechanisms in your body do their jobs more efficiently. This may help you become stronger, leaner and younger looking. It may also dramatically improve immune function.  We suggest 20-24 grams within 30 min of falling asleep.  That is, if your stomach can handle it.  For this reason we suggest VERY high quality protein.  We sell THIS.     

BTW - That whole "Eat after six and it sticks" thing is a myth UNLESS you are the type that eats a boat load of food after six.  If this is the case, you should apply its principles with haste.

Barefoot Running: Not for Me Thanks.

by Neil Anderson

I read "born to run" 4 years ago.  After doing so, I was thoroughly convinced that if God had wanted us to run with 2 inches of padding under our heels, he'd have put it there to begin with.  I immediately began searching for some Vibram 5 fingers.  Had to drive to Provo to find them.  Salt Lake Running co. had some, but they were an awful green and orange color.  Hell, I was already going to feel pretty dumb in these things.  Last thing I wanted was to draw even more attention to my weird new obsession.  

I was careful when I got them.  I did everything right.  I realized that I'm a tenderfoot and it would take months to break in to using them.  So for the first 2 weeks I wore them for no more than 15 mins per day.   Never during workouts.  Never running.  After 2 weeks I began increasing my time in them to 20 min, then 30.  After a month I did my first workout.  A lifting workout.  It was 2 months of gradually breaking into them before I attempted my first run.  It was a 400 m run around the old Fitzone.  Was pretty pumped to do this.  I had been studying and practicing P.O.S.E running techniques and was excited to put some of that stuff to the test.   I only allowed myself to do 1 workout per week in the shoes, but was still gradually increasing my time in them.  Then it happened.  At about the 3 month mark, I woke up one morning to a twinge in my R heel.  

Plantar fascitis sucks.  I went into full rehab mode.  Unfortunately, I had to stay there for over 9 months.  People to this day still think I'm a tree-hugging, granola muncher due to the fact I had to wear Birkenstocks (for the arch support) for 9 months while trying to get better.  It spawned a nickname I hate and fear I shall never live down.  

Me and barefoot running have parted ways.  

During this time, Lizz and I were doing a weekly health and fitness talk radio show.  Our guest one night was John Wojciechowski Co-owner of Striders Running in Layton.  I happened to ask him what he thought of this new barefoot running craze.  He gave us an earful.  Said it was silly.  That there was once a time when running 26.2 miles was considered the limit of human capacity.  That is was only about 40 years ago that people couldn't really run a marathon.  Back then our recreational/athletic foot wear was limited to canvas shoes with no padding.  Those who used that type of foot wear to train for a marathons back then would generally and quite literally fall apart.  They'd blow up.  The jarring was just too much.  Joint damage and stress fractures were quite common and the only guys/gals who could finish a marathon were those who were quite gifted physically.  They literally were built differently than the rest of us and/or had very different running styles.  Styles that if adapted by most of us would also cause injury and joint damage.  

"Improved shoe technology with padding changed all of this." He said.  

Hmm.  It makes a lot of sense.  A WHOLE lot of sense.  I figured I need to do some more digging.  Might not be smart to take barefoot running advice from a guy who makes a living selling shoes, right?  

While digging, I learned that after the proliferation of shoe technology and padding in running shoes, running a marathon became something within the wheelhouse of just about anybody with the perseverance to put the time into training.  In fact since the invention of the padded shoe, millions and millions of people have finished marathons.  It is estimated that there were 25,000 marathon finishers in 1976.  Last year it is estimated that 518,000 people finished marathons.  A testament to good shoe tech?  I think so.  I mean could it just be coincidence that marathon popularity and shoe technology seem to be running (haha) parallel?  

Ok, so maybe shoes didn't have everything to do with the growth of marathons.  You could argue that training techniques have changed and that is the reason for the proliferation.  You could also argue that fitness wasn't as necessary back then, and people just weren't as interested.   Maybe so, but at the bottom of both of those arguments (where the rubber meets the road) is a good shoe.  

The question I think you have to ask yourself is, "If barefoot running is really so much more beneficial and productive, how then is it that the pro's at the highest levels of running sports aren't ALL running barefoot, ALL the time?"  Also, "If running barefoot was really so superior, how did we ever come to put shoes on our feet in the first place?"  I mean, I'm no idiot.  If wearing shoes while I run is slowing me down, injuring me or hampering my performance in ANY way, wouldn't I naturally gravitate back to what works better?  One time I tried to run a few miles in some cowboy boots I used to wear.  It was a miserable experience.  It really didn't take me long to figure out I was NEVER going to do that again.  Just sayin...

Speaking of "works better," it has been interesting to see all the runners switching back to their padded, high tech running shoes.  Have you noticed it?  Many, many serious runners tried very hard and quite earnestly to make the switch to barefoot running.  Most of them are back.  Many have even opted for MORE padding in their shoes.  Which they immediately loved.  No learning curve.  Hmmm.  Interesting, isn't it?   

I'm a non-conformist.  Lord knows I wanted this barefoot running thing to work for me.  It really appeals to my contrarian nature.  But it didn't.  I was grateful for the new tips and tricks I learned from the experience of trying.  Many of these have stayed with me.  Turns out barefoot running advice works pretty well for some.  What's cooler, for me, is it works even better for those of us still using padded shoes.  

Here me when I say this.  Barefoot running works, for some.  I have no doubt of this, because I have seen it first hand.  The claims proponents of this running style make about improving foot shape, durability and toughness are real, for some.  That barefoot running improves posture to some degree and encourages a lighter foot strike while running is also true.  And, for some, it truly improves their experience.  For me it added nothing but pain and misery.