Hey. This is Sock Doc and today I’m going to talk about a common running injury called Achilles tendinitis. This is an injury that many people suffer from if they’re training hard, if they’re racing a lot. It’s a pain in the lower part of your leg, right where your …
Archives for March 2011
Sock Doc Training Regimen
I often get asked, “How does the Sock Doc train?” – what heart rate, what duration, what intensity, etc… There’s so many different coaching ideas, perspectives, theories out there, sometimes it’s hard to sort through it all. Well, here’s the general run-down:
Is Your Recovery Drink or Nutrition Bar Toxic?
Could your energy bar, fluid replacement drink, or post-workout recovery meal ultimately be hindering your performance? It’s very likely due to the many artificial processed ingredients out there. Many foods athletes consume contain the infamous MSG. We all know that person who can’t eat Chinese food because they’ll get a …
Easy on the Carbs – Get Lean, Get Fast
Carbohydrate intolerance/insulin resistance are terms often used interchangeably because they usually go hand-in-hand. These conditions can significantly affect the health and fitness of any runner, cyclist, or triathlete. Excess carb intake, or not metabolizing carbs very well, will result in weight gain, (or the inability to lose weight), aerobic metabolism …
Sock Doc Paleo-Plyometric Workout
Strength training, whether performing traditional weight lifting exercises like a dead lift, plyometric exercises like box jumps, or simply body-weight exercises such as pull-ups and abdominal crunches, all have their place in most exercise regimes. Ultimately, the decision to do any strength training, or not, should be based off of …
Sock Doc: Treatment & Prevention of Shin Splints
Video Transcript Hey, this is Sock Doc. Today I’m going to talk about a common running injury called shin splints. So shin splints are the pain that you had maybe once in your life, maybe in high school, maybe you’ve got it now where you’ve got pain in the …
Aerobic or Anaerobic? – The Right Way At The Right Time
Most athletes exercise anaerobically the majority of the time, rather than aerobically. Aerobic exercise (not aerobics, such as “aerobics” class), is when you are exercising within a specific heart rate zone, (a certain intensity), which will be discussed. Please see the Sock Doc Training Principles for a thorough understanding of …
The Aerobic Lifestyle – Your Ticket to Superior Health & Fitness
Do you live aerobically? It’s not just about the training. It’s about your entire day – your entire life. You can keep your heart rate within the aerobic zone, but if you’re an athlete under a high amount of stress, eating poorly, and not recovering, you’re going to be anaerobic, …
Sock Doc Video: Treatment & Prevention of ITB Syndrome
Video Transcript Hey, this is the Soc Doc, and today I’m going to talk about a common injury. It’s called iliotibial band frictional syndrome, also known as ITB syndrome. It’s pain on the outside of the leg, most often in a runner’s knee. It’s like an ice pick sticking in …
Out of the Gait: A Sock Doc Review of Running Gait
The interest in minimalist and barefoot running shoes has shifted runners’ attention from banging out long training runs or speed work to something more fundamental: how to naturally improve one’s form. This is not as easy as it sounds, since it involves more than knowing where your foot lands. To …
Dietary Danger: Partially Hydrogenated “Trans” Fats
One food item that every athlete should avoid is trans fats. They are not beneficial in any form and they are not necessary for any reason biochemically. Avoidance of these fats is the one thing that anybody can do and it has the most widespread benefits. You’ll recover faster from …
Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles Tendonitis is a pain in the Achilles tendon often where it attaches to the heel bone. Another name this injury goes by is Achilles tendinopathy as there is question to whether there is actually inflammation (the ‘itis’) in the injury. Retrocalcaneal bursitis is sometimes diagnosed too, signifying that the …
Lick the Salt to Kick the Competition
Come every racing season there is a good amount of news about decreased sodium concentration in the body, also known as hyponatremia, and most all talk about how to eat and drink before, during, and after training (exercise). As simple as it sometimes sounds, most people get confused by the …
Orthotics – Supportive Beds For Your Feet to Grow Weak In
Proper footwear is essential when exercising and even just walking as you do your daily activities. Today many shoes are made to look cool and flashy, but they are unfortunately making foot function worse. There are numerous shoes with anti-pronation devices, arch supports, ankle supports, and motion control devices & …
Sleep – The Other Half of That Training Equation
If you sleep well you most likely take it for granted, as many athletes out there would do anything to fall asleep in a short matter of time and stay asleep until morning. Not only do many runners, cyclists, and triathletes not sleep well, but they think their common sleep …
Diet vs. Gait: What You Eat Affects How You Run
In this second part series on gait, I examine the importance of nutrition. Good form requires the right kind of fuel. You’d be surprised at how rapidly one’s gait begins to fall apart when the gas tank is low. Often a runner has a fluid motion in the gait when he …
Slow Olympic Swimmer
Chi Wo Daniel Lee of Hong Kong has a slower reaction time than the rest of his competitors at the start of the men’s Triathlon Olympics final. Lee, ranked 92 in the world, is seen in red swim wear on pontoon #12 ready to take his dive, while the …
Breathe Better: Understanding Exercise-Induced Asthma
Asthma, including exercise-induced asthma (EIA), is the diagnosis given to more and more people everyday, from kids to overfat individuals and yes, even to the very fit athlete. This condition is defined as a spasm or constriction of the bronchials causing diminished airflow resulting in wheezing, tightness of the chest, …
Nutrition & Energy Bars – Know What You’re Eating
Nutrition (energy) bars have come a long way from the days when their manufacturers only catered to weight lifters. Today’s energy bars come in wide variety of ingredients, sizes, textures, and prices. Not all energy bars are the same and like all food, you should choose wisely when deciding which bar …
Your Best Training Partner – The Heart Rate Monitor
From the weekend exerciser to the professional athlete, heart rate monitors are the most ideal way to make your workouts much more effective, thereby increasing your fitness level while creating a healthier lifestyle. In my opinion, everybody should be wearing a HR monitor every time they exercise. A heart rate …
Plantar Fasciitis: How Runners Can Learn How To Step Out of the Pain
Plantar fasciitis is a type of foot pain that occurs in the heel and sometimes in or around the arch of the foot as your plantar fascia is the thick connective tissue on the bottom of your foot. Symptoms are usually worse in the morning, and tend to ease off …
Iliotibial Band Frictional Syndrome – Is Your ITB Killin’ You?
If you’ve had Iliotibial band (ITB) Frictional syndrome, then you know how much it hurts, and how it feels like it’s never going to go away. I’ve had it more than once many, many years ago before I knew how to train and eat properly. It’s one of those pains …
Kuru Footwear Gonna Help Your Plantar Fasciitis?
Kuru Footwear is the latest example of superficially treating the symptoms of a foot injury without addressing the underlying cause. In this case, Kuru has planted its feet-first flag on plantar fasciitis, the scourge of runners. If you’ve had plantar fasciitis, you know what an icepick-jabbing-in the-bottom-of-the-foot nightmarish pain it …
Sock Doc: Treatment & Prevention of Plantar Fasciitis
Video Transcript Hey, this is Sock Doc. And today I’m going to talk about plantar fasciitis, a common problem that many people have, pain in their foot, pain in the heel. Typically, it’s worse as you get up in the morning and step down out of bed. People get …