As you probably know, Wild Movement is primarily focused on teaching you how to gain strength and vitality through natural and functional movement. It’s about teaching you how to run efficiently, climb powerfully and feel vibrantly healthy in your body. About helping you transform into the strong, fit and happy human you were born to be.
But movement alone is only part of the puzzle. Truth is, as humans living in the modern world, we face a much bigger problem than a sedentary lifestyle or inadequate nutrition. It’s a problem that is nearly universal yet virtually unknown. AND, it sits at the very heart of Wild Movement philosophy.
What problem am I talking about? Simply this: Inadequate exposure to the natural world. Or, as Richard Louv describes it, “Nature Deficit Disorder.”
The world we live in is foreign to our bodies. Evolutionary signals within us are screaming for air, earth, water and movement. We need nature. It’s time we heed this calling.
Rat Park
The harmful effects of “nature deficit disorder” are best illustrated by a fascinating study done in the 1970s by a Canadian psychologist named Bruce Alexander. The study, typically called “Rat Park,” was designed to test the researcher’s hypothesis that drugs do not cause addiction, and that the apparent addiction to opiate drugs commonly observed in laboratory rats (who were exposed to the drugs) is attributable to their living conditions, NOT to any addictive property of the drug itself.
Prior to this study, researchers had come to the conclusion that humans, if left unchecked, would naturally resort to compulsive drug consumption. After performing a great number of experiments where rats displayed an unstoppable desire to inject themselves with a morphine to the point of death, researched theorized that this behavior was “natural” and attributed human drug addiction to a similar form of internal wiring.
But Alexander thought differently. He believed that the real source of addiction lay not in faulty cognition, but rather in unnatural living conditions. He believed that these prior experiments (in which laboratory rats were kept isolated in cramped metal cages, tethered to a self-injection apparatus) demonstrated only that “severely distressed animals, like severely distressed people, will resort to drug use if they can.”
To test this hypothesis, Alexander built “Rat Park,” a 95 square foot rat wonderland — 200 times larger than a standard laboratory cage. In this “park” he placed over 20 rats of both sexes, balls, wheels, an abundance of food and natural surroundings. He then gave the rats a choice between plain tap water and water laced with morphine. To the surprise of many, when placed in their new natural environment, most of the rats chose the plain water! As Alexander wrote, “Nothing that we tried produced anything that looked like addiction in rats that were housed in a reasonably normal environment.” Even more astounding, rats who were previously addicted to morphine slowly weaned themselves off the drug when placed in “Rat Park.”
While this study focused primarily on drug abuse, I believe numerous connections can be made to the widespread atrophy we see in humans today. While obviously not as extreme, our modern environment slightly resembles a metal cage. We are isolated from each other. We are separated from our natural environment. We no longer perform innately human activities.
While natural movement and a Paleo style diet can help bridge this evolutionary disconnect, exposure to the natural world — to our natural environment — is absolutely vital to our health and wellbeing. In order to reach our fullest potential as human animals, we must adhere to the evolutionary drivers within us. In order to counteract “Nature Deficit Disorder” we must escape from our cages and embrace the park we were born to embody: nature.
As this video accurately concludes, “Drug abuse can come not from the drug, but from living in a cage.”
3 Ways to Embrace the Wild
If you are a “zoo human” looking to dive into the world of evolutionary living, here’s a short “quick-start” guide. It can be difficult to live naturally in our modern world, but with the right knowledge, insight and consistency, it can be done. Here are three ways to get started.
1) Run/Walk Barefoot: Find a field, park or trail. Walk or run without shoes for 10 or more minutes.
Nothing promotes present moment awareness better than bare-footing. Nothing brings you fully into your body and wakes you up to the sensations of life better than a walk, run or hike shoeless. Though seemingly treacherous at first glance, bare-footing really isn’t as dangerous as it sounds. Stick to grass at first, pay diligent attention, and bask in the feeling of the Earth beneath your feet.
To help you relearn your most basic movement skill (bare-footing), I’ve created two comprehensive resources for you.
- For a complete guide to barefoot running technique, click here.
- For a free 8-week training plan that walks you through each step of the transition, click here.
2) Climb a tree: Find a tree (In nature) and climb it. Be careful. Play it safe. Have fun.
As kids, most of us spent days climbing trees and creating imaginative battles and adventures. Unfortunately, most adults, constrained by responsibilities and busyness, have lost their sense of childish enthusiasm and haven’t climbed a tree in years. Tree climbing gets you in touch with your body and your natural enviornment and is one of the most powerful exercises for building functional strength. Plus, it’s ridiculously fun!
To download my free guide, “The Ultimate Guide to Barefoot Tree Climbing,” click here.
3) Have an Epic Adventure: Go out in the woods (or any other natural setting) and explore. Move freely, be creative. Like Huck Finn, seek reckless adventure wherever you go.
In the summers, my friends and I like to go on what we call “epic adventures.” We venture into the woods for hours, climbing trees, swimming in the river, fording streams and chasing deer like wild boys. These adventures are some of my fondest memories, some of the times when I felt the happiest, strongest, and most alive. Even today I exercise in this way, scrambling up hills, under bushes, over porcupines… I’ve yet to find something as fun or health promoting as an epic adventure.
Bottom Line
While each of these activities can act as a gateway into vibrant health and wellbeing, the BEST thing you can do is simply spend time in nature. Get out of the house, office or car. Step into your natural environment. Move freely. Naturally. Eat foods that come directly from the earth. Breathe clean, fresh air. Sleep beneath the stars. Respect your evolutionary heritage and live wild in the modern world.
As we near the one year anniversary of Wild Movement, I thought it would be fun to take a look back over the last 11 months and compile a list of my most useful, inspirational, and transformational posts so far. Unless you’ve been an avid follower from day one or have spent hours scouring through the archives, there are sure to be a few jewels in this list that will be completely new to you.
Take a few minutes and read a couple posts now and feel free to refer back to this list whenever you have time.
Again, these are my most useful, hold-nothing-back posts that I truly believe can create some remarkable transformations in your life. Hope you enjoy them and let me know what you think :)
7) Dancing With Bigfoot- Another true story and the basis for much of what Wild Movement is all about. Learn what an “Epic Adventure” is and why it’s the most GLORIOUS workout ever imagined.
You have an idea. You’re going to get in shape. Filled with a palpable enthusiasm you run out the door and head to the gym. Your eyes are bright, there’s a smile on your face, you are motivated… ready to conquer anything holding you back from having the body you’ve always dreamed of.
Two weeks later you are back on the couch. All motivation sucked from your very bones, a dull grimace of self pity plastered across your face. If only I had more will power, stronger reserve, or more self respect you tell yourself, embarrassed by your lack of commitment.
Have you ever wondered why 90% of people who try to get in shape fail? Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but not by much. The majority of people who start an exercise routine, regardless of their initial enthusiasm, end up back where they started–frustrated and wondering what they did wrong.
Why? Because exercise is boring. There, I said it. The thought of slaving away on a exercise bike or elliptical machine in a stale and crowded gym makes me instinctually grimace.
In reality, you probably don’t need more drive. Your self respect level is most likely adequate to maintain any habit. The real problem lies in lack of excitement, variation, and oscillation. Imagine how much more likely would you’d be to follow through with your commitment to improve your health if you looked forward to working out all day.
We don’t need motivation to play.
Boredom is a killer, here’s how to avoid it.
Crushing Boredom. Embracing Awesomeness.
If fitness centers and exercise routines almost certainly mean failure when it comes to getting in shape, what’s the alternative? As you probably know, I like to look back a few thousand years for the answer, to a time when humans and nature coexisted in perfect harmony, when native americans rode the plains searching for a meal, when physical boredom was not an option.
To ancient cultures, the whole concept of exercise would have probably been laughable. Why would you dedicate a period of time to perform repetitive and regimented exercises when you can achieve the same result by running, walking, jumping and climbing trees? Why would you “exercise” when you could move?
In order to regain our motivation and passion for physicality, we need to change our mindset from exercise to movement. From working out to play.
What’s the difference between exercise and movement?
In addition to exercise, boredom pervades our work lives as well.
Regrettably, boredom in the workplace is the culturally accepted norm. Despite the feelings of uneasiness conforming to this maddening conventionalism creates, most people never question their listless reality, accepting boredom as the only available option. Falling subject to this trap slowly crushes the creativity and spontaneity all of us had as kids, dampening our spirits until all traces of motivation and optimism have been squeezed out of us.
Imagine waking up excited each day, knowing you get to spend your time doing something you love. Imagine the feeling of happiness and motivation that would accompany this reality. And this isn’t some far off fairy tale reserved for a select few geniuses. All around the world people are leading fulfilling and unconventional lifestyles. From reinventing your career, to making a living blogging, you can find away to be paid to do what you love.
Life
At some point in our lives, all of us had dreams for the future. Maybe you wanted to travel the world, go to college, or travel to Hollywood to pursue your dream of becoming a movie star. Admitting that your life hasn’t lived up to your dreams can be a hard thing to do, however it can also be incredibly powerful, allowing you to recreate a life of excitement and fulfillment for yourself.
Imagine showing up in rural Thailand without knowing a word of Thai and without a plan. Imagine spending a month living side by side with monkeys and scarlet mcCaws in the heart of the Costa Rican jungle. Last year I embarked on a voyage around the world that radically transformed the way I see life and instilled in me a childish enthusiasm for living that I haven’t lost since.
Eradicate boredom with new experience, with challenges that force you to adapt and grow. If a world trip seems to big, start smaller. Do something you’ve always wanted to do, something that gets you excited like a kid on christmas morning.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, motivation is less about natural drive and more about crafting a life for yourself that gets you excited to wake up in the morning. If you love what you do, you will do it not because you have to but because it’s fulfilling and it makes you happy. If you love moving, you will stay healthy and fit. If your life is exciting, varied and altogether awesome, the entire concept of motivation will fade away like an old photograph.
In my last post, I gave you half of the secret behind strong and healthy barefoot running–a complete guide to mastering your running technique. In this post, I want to offer you the second piece of the puzzle: how to transition safely to barefoot running. For those of you who are just getting started with natural movement and want to make the transition to barefoot running, I highly advise you follow the plan I describe in this post. Just because “transition injuries” are so common among barefoot beginners doesn’t mean that they have to happen to you. If you are smart, proactive and diligent, you can quickly and easily make the jump to a healthier, more sustainable way of moving…and have a ton of fun doing it.
DISCLAIMER: As someone who has been running wild, free and barefoot for many years, I do want to warn you that once you make the switch, you will never want to go back to wearing shoes ever again. Bare-footing adds a whole new level of sensation and excitement to running and WILL reignite your passion for movement. If you are content with slogging away on a treadmill, please do not read this article. For it will cause you to leave the gym and never return.
Making the Barefoot Leap
Without a doubt, the number one reason why people get stress fractures (or other injuries) when transitioning to barefoot running is because they start too quickly. Eager to embrace their inner persistence hunter, most people simply kick their shoes off and start running. This is a potentially dangerous mistake for several reasons. First, if you’ve spent the majority of your life wearing cushioned shoes, you must give the unaccustomed muscles in your legs time to adjust to the new form of strain. Like your first time lifting weights (or rocks) in a while, bare-footing instantly engages dormant muscles and causes muscular degeneration that can easily lead to strains, pulls or fractures. Secondly, you must give the skin on the bottom of your feet time to toughen up (although this can be avoided by purchasing a pair of Vibram Five Fingers or other select minimalist footwear). Lastly, if you don’t take the time to master proper barefoot running technique, you substantially increase your risk of injury both in the immediate future and further down the road.
In this post you are going to learn how to counter these common obstacles and cross the chasm of barefoot injuries in one carefully calculated leap: landing strong, free and wild on the other side. Let’s get started.
Getting Started: A Training Plan
What you’ll find below is an 8 week training plan designed to gently transition you into barefoot running. In addition to descriptions for each week, I’ve also included a downloadable pdf that lays out the whole 8-week plan on one page. Feel free to print it out and refer to it often along your journey. Click the link below to download your training plan.
Week 1—> Walk Barefoot
The first step I would advise you take when transitioning to barefoot running is to walk barefoot. As much as you can, simply walk around without shoes. This will naturally strengthen your leg and foot muscles without the risk of injury. This doesn’t mean you have to show up to work shoeless, but as much as you can during the first week or two, try to get used to moving without shoes.
Week 2—> 5 minutes of LOW INTENSITY barefoot running followed by more running in shoes or rest. 3x a week.
Don’t overdo it. Even if you feel good, stop after five minutes. Nearly all barefoot running injuries occur during the first week of training so it is imperative that you start very slowly and listen to your body. Assuming you feel good, try to complete three VERY SLOW five minute barefoot runs during week one.
When beginning, I also advise you to start on soft natural surfaces like dirt, grass or sand. These softer surfaces naturally reduce the impact and the strain on your legs and feet. If you don’t want to go completely barefoot, you can invest in some minimalist footwear like Vibram Five Fingers that will give you the benefits of barefoot running while protecting your feet from rocks, glass or other dangerous items. However, if you can go completely barefoot…I recommend it.
Week 3—> 10 minutes of LOW INTENSITY barefoot running followed by more running in shoes or rest. 3-4x a week.
Focus on low intensity jogging–the greater the intensity, the more stress you put on your legs. Avoid tempo runs, fartleks, and other high intensity workouts until your feet have fully acclimatized to barefoot running. Again, I want to stress the importance of listening to your body during these initial stages. There is absolutely NO RUSH whatsoever. If your legs feel sore, take a day off. If ten minutes feels too long, run for five.
Week 4—>10 minutes of low intensity barefoot running followed by 2-4 100 meter strides at moderate speed and more running in shoes or rest. 3-4x a week.
Time to add in a (tiny amount) of quicker movement. Just like last week, complete your normal 10 minute barefoot run and then perform 2-4 100 meter strides at MODERATE speed. We aren’t talking sprinting here. Simply run at a comfortably quick speed.
Week 5—>15 minutes of low intensity barefoot running followed by more running in shoes or rest. 3-4x a week.
During this whole process, especially as you begin to increase the duration of your barefoot runs, it is very important to learn and practice proper barefoot running technique. Barefoot running naturally creates a more natural stride by causing you to land on your forefoot and deceasing your stride length. However, it’s not quite as simple as just taking off your shoes. It’s also important to focus on running with good form. For everything you need to know about mastering your barefoot running technique, check out this article.
Week 6—>15 minutes of low/moderate intensity barefoot running followed by 3-5 100 meter strides at MODERATE intensity and more running in shoes or rest. 3-4x a week.
Again, to facilitate muscular development, add in 3-5 100 meter strides after your normal. During these strides, pay particular attention to your form: your foot-strike, forward lean, arm positions…By this point your legs will be close to fully adjusted, but going barefoot is only half the battle. It is still very important to run CORRECTLY.
Week 7—> 20 minutes of low/moderate intensity barefoot running followed by more running in shoes or rest. 3-5x a week.
Week 8—> 25 minutes of low/moderate intensity barefoot running followed by more running in shoes or rest. 3-5x a week.
Congratulations, your transition is now complete! Rejoice in the newfound freedom of barefoot running and the shift you have made towards a healthier and happier life! By this point your legs should be well adjusted, however it is still important to progress somewhat tentatively. Don’t suddenly decide to run a half marathon barefoot on hot asphalt during week 9. Be smart, play it safe, have fun.
Final Thoughts
Throughout the entire process, it is absolutely crucial that you listen to your body. You can spend hours reading articles and watching videos on barefoot running but when it comes down to it, no one can teach you more than yourself. Be present and really tune into the messages your body is sending you while you’re running. This added mindfulness is a critical aspect of safe, injury free running and your body and mind will thank you for it.
Start today by taking the first step towards a stronger and healthier body by initiating a change that will serve you your entire life.
And remember, you’re in this for the long haul. There’s no rush. Don’t try to make your feet grow up all at once.
P.S – Remember, taking off your shoes isn’t an instant cure to all your problems. Mastering the art of barefoot running comes down to TWO THINGS: technique (your form) and transition (easing in slowly). This post will help you avoid injury while transitioning to barefoot running, but if your technique is incorrect you may still become injured. Click here to learn barefoot running technique and injury-proof your body.
Sign up Alcohol and zoloft for a Amoxicillin dosage Definition of ally for cats FREE Membership! Receive updates, free giveaways, and insider Pravachol dosage information about the Wild Movement!
Humans are meant to be strong, healthy, and capable. I invite you to revolutionize your entire being, and regain your primal heritage. You can be the strong, confident person you’ve always dreamed of becoming. And this change can start today.
