Archive for May, 2010

Natural Running Workshop with Newton Running

Posted May 31st, 2010 by Doug in Multisport Training No Comments »

Tom Curran and Ian Adamson from Newton Running

Newton Running a Boulder, CO based running shoe company has been putting shoes on the feet of runners and triathletes only since 2007, but they have been developing the technology for more than a decade.

Newton Running Co-Founder, CTO

Newton Running products were conceived and designed by Danny Abshire through his experience as a runner and designer of lightweight custom orthotics. Working with elite athletes, Danny dreamed of creating a shoe that would help runners of all levels get back to natural running techniques. Danny has been a running coach and the Director of Biomechanics and Injury Prevention for Multisports.com since 1993.

We asked Newton to come offer a Natural Running Workshop to help people wrap there heads around all of the buzz about barefoot running, Chi Running, Pose Method and Evolution Running.   What Newton does best is to take ideal running form and and support the body’s natural movement with a shoe that allows for Natural Running.

Natural Running: Land Lever Lift

What is Natural Running and how does our Action/Reaction Technology™ encourage it? We like to think of it as a LAND LEVER LIFT scenario. Here’s a quick rundown:

Action/Reaction Technology.

Action/Reaction Technology™ Keep your ankles and knees flexed. Look 20 yards in front of you. Lean slightly forward. Shorten your stride

Landing with your foot parallel to the ground.

LAND lightly with your foot parallel to the ground under the center of your body mass. This keeps impact shock off your heel, preventing braking action and reducing muscular damage.

Engage the Action/Reaction Technology.

As your midfoot/forefoot impacts the ground, you engage the Action/ Reaction Technology™. The membrane supporting the four external lugs absorbs shock and stores energy. As you LEVER your foot forward, the lugs act as levers loaded up with energy.

Lift your foot off the ground.

Instead of using excessive muscle power and pushing off to begin a new stride, simply LIFT your foot off the ground. The lugs will thrust out of the midsole chambers with a burst of energy that turns into forward propulsion.

Ian Adamson demonstrating Natural Running form.

Ian Adamson is seen here teaching the body position of Natural Running. He explains that you must keep a straight spine, reduce side to side motion and allow the body to lean forward.  With proper form the body is just ding a controlled fall forward, letting gravity be the propulsive force.

“Ian is the most successful adventure racer of all time with seven world championship wins, 22 world championship podium finishes and 18 international adventure race championship titles. He is a three time and current world record holder for endurance kayaking (262 miles in 24 hours.) Ian has competed internationally in adventure racing, canoeing, kayaking, orienteering and sailing.”

We were very fortunate to have the chance to learn from Ian and Tom and all who attended the seminar had a chance to try on a pair of Newtons for themselves.

Newton Natural Running Clinic

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Biodynamic Bike Fitting at Cronometro

Posted May 23rd, 2010 by Doug in Multisport Training No Comments »

(se) got schooled at Cronometro during a biodynamic bike fitting.  Colin O’Brien owner of Cronometro (located on the isthmus in Madison, WI) was wonderful to work with as he used a combination of grids, levels, tape measures and goniometers to check out my current bike set up.  He took an impressive intake asking for any current pain when riding, numbness or tingling and asked about previous injuries.  I was able to give him a good long list of injuries and pointed out that my left arm is a good inch shorter that my right as the result of a broken arm while still growing.  After putting my bike on a compuTrainer and having me get my RPMs up into the 90’s we looked at the power of my right leg vs. my left.  We were also able to identify that I had a very dominate power surge as I came over the top of the pedal and lost power as the pedal was lifting, this became one of the bench marks as we looked for improvement to pedal stroke with different geometry.

I could not help myself, as a biomechanics geek, I was in hog heaven.  I picked his brain for the whole three hour fitting about ideal wattage, cadence and technique for the Ironman course to have a good ride.  In the Ironman it is a tricky balance of not wanting to be on the bike all day, but also not wanting to spend any amount of energy that you don’t have to. After all, you still have to run a marathon.

My New Saddle SMP Lite 209

I ended up with a different saddle, one that allows my weight to rest on the bony rim of the pelvis instead of the muscular floor.  I also ended up with a straight pair of aero bars, off set to accommodate for my shorter left arm and set wider to reduce strain on my neck.  What I was fascinated by is how much the (se) number pattern fit in to the adjustments we were making.  I could feel more space in my neck when we changed my cleat placement.  My comfort on the saddle improved when we lifted up y handle bars with a longer stem and a change in my saddle finally got me to pedal much more smoothly.

Profile Designs t2 Aero Bars

Photo taken with iphone and lines drawn with “The Body Level” iphone app

There is no amount of strength and conditioning that was going to keep my neck from hurting with my old set up.  My hips could be perfectly neutral but it would never have mattered until we changed the seat angle.  My point being….It is Dynamic.  Even the best of bike fit and the best of running form still require a well balanced body….which is where Structural Elements fits in…..but good mechanics and a good bike fit from someone who knows what they are doing is well worth the time and money.
Thanks again Colin! I look forward to bringing you to the clinic to lecture on what is different about a Biodynamic Fit.

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Proud Sponsor of…..

Posted May 21st, 2010 by Doug in Events No Comments »

……(se) is proud to anounce the sponsorship if the 2010 Tour of America’s Dairyland.

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Who “we” Are….

Posted May 21st, 2010 by Doug in Uncategorized No Comments »

Structural Elements is getting closer everyday to an official public launch.  Now…..most people will have a hard time wrapping their heads around who we are……not because “we” are not clear, but because “we” are dynamic.  The clinical side of the company is pretty straight forward- we are a network of providers who have trained in the modality of Structural Elements.  Structural Elements is a modality developed by me, Douglas Bertram, L.Ac., MTCM- “Acupuncture Geek and Endurance Athlete”.  (se) is focused on the tissue health of endurance athletes.  The (se) modality is a combination of hands-on manual therapy and the tissue mapping/ medical philosophy of Chinese medicine.  What is unique about (se) as a modality is that there is a never seen before mapping of systematic focal adhesions that has been charted into a numerical grid making learning this work exquisitely simple.  Which brings me to the next part of this company…..education.  Structural Elements is taught to practitioners of different disciplines in seminar format (both online and live) and in clinical settings.  We offer certification as an (se) provider, as well as individual course work.

Structural Elements is also developing clinical assessment tools and self care products.  For example, we developed the iphone app “The Body Level”. The other products are so close to hitting the market that I can’t say more….but stay tuned.

We also will be posting oppurtunies for certified providers to pursue Instructor level certifications, giving them the ability to teach this course work.

I am excited to watch decades of hard work finally take shape as this company celebrates inexhaustible human potential.

“Realize Your Body’s Potential”.