WAG Shin splints??

[Aero]

Now, Aero, <puts on glasses and a stern look>, you do know that the Five Fingers people had to settle a big lawsuit based on false claims about the benefits of their shoes, right? If barefoot works for you, more power to you, but don't go out and spend $200 to do it!

I certainly wouldn't spend $200.00 on it, since it can be done for free! When I mentioned barefoot running, I actually meant really barefoot, as in no shoes whatsoever. I understand that true barefoot running takes a while to develop proper technique with (because there is no heel striking, which is what people are used to doing after wearing shoes), and can be dangerous to do in the wrong areas due to potential hazards on the ground. However, it puts the foot in varied environments, really builds up the leg muscles in ways that would never be possible with shoes, and it toughens up the feet, all while preventing trauma based injuries like shin splints and stress fractures.

I am not a runner at all, but I have two friends who barefoot run and are amazing at it. I also met a guy at a parkour jam in New York City a few years back who walked around barefoot all day, and was training some pretty intense stuff. I asked him about it and he said he had spent the last ten months completely barefoot. I was amazed and didn't completely believe him. Then I saw the bottoms of his feet. THEY WERE LIKE FREAKIN' LEATHER! Literally indestructible feet. He mentioned the only time he would wear shoes is on job interviews, and other special occasions that required it. He had no injuries in all that time, even with training and regular running. It certainly changed my view on shoes.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

My girls gym has recently started having the girls run 4 miles for conditioning on Tuesdays and Fridays. Coaches run with them so they are fully chaperoned so I am fine with it. Today my youngest DD (10) came home hysterical crying over her shins saying they "felt like they were going to go through her skin". She only cried in the car on the way home because she didn't want her coach to know she was crying. She is homeschooled so practices in the morning then again at night, so she is in the gym working out more than the other girls that run. I told her that I am going to tell her coach I don't think she should be running that much and that I want her to just do conditioning in the gym instead, and she freaked out screaming that she's fine and wants to run. I trust her and I trust her coaches, I just don't like to see her in this much pain.

dumbest thing i read today. has nothing to do with gymnastics conditioning or cardio at floor. you can run until the cows come in...and you still won't be able to do a double back at the end of a floor routine.

gymnastics conditioning has to be event specific...so doing stairs or bleachers? yes!

running 4 miles?? a big fat useless NO!!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Thank you for all the great suggestions! We are going to the podiatrist tonight. As for the amount of running they do, the coaches at our gym are a married couple, HC was an elite gymnast, and her husband was a college runner. The gym has been doing lots of running for years now and report that they've only seen it help the girls. She's never had a problem with running in the past, usually enjoys it, and I think the fact that she went from 4'5-4'7 in the past month or two has a lot to do with this. Ugh growing pains!

balderdash. seen it help them how? with their bars? NO. beam? NO. vault? how could it?? vault is a max 80 foot sprint. you don't train running or its technique for vault by running 4 miles.

floor? to reiterate...this is NOT how you get cardio to put double backs or more at the end of a floor routine.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

I certainly wouldn't spend $200.00 on it, since it can be done for free! When I mentioned barefoot running, I actually meant really barefoot, as in no shoes whatsoever. I understand that true barefoot running takes a while to develop proper technique with (because there is no heel striking, which is what people are used to doing after wearing shoes), and can be dangerous to do in the wrong areas due to potential hazards on the ground. However, it puts the foot in varied environments, really builds up the leg muscles in ways that would never be possible with shoes, and it toughens up the feet, all while preventing trauma based injuries like shin splints and stress fractures.

I am not a runner at all, but I have two friends who barefoot run and are amazing at it. I also met a guy at a parkour jam in New York City a few years back who walked around barefoot all day, and was training some pretty intense stuff. I asked him about it and he said he had spent the last ten months completely barefoot. I was amazed and didn't completely believe him. Then I saw the bottoms of his feet. THEY WERE LIKE FREAKIN' LEATHER! Literally indestructible feet. He mentioned the only time he would wear shoes is on job interviews, and other special occasions that required it. He had no injuries in all that time, even with training and regular running. It certainly changed my view on shoes.

so, empirically speaking...so if the gymnast were to do the above...you think that every girl in the country could then do Amanar's or lay double doubles on floor??

folks, running 4 miles to improve gymnastics is like doing laps in a pool to improve bars. IT'LL NEVER WORK!

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Dunno trying to be patient squeezing hair with both fists...

 

[Deleted member 17723]

dumbest thing i read today. has nothing to do with gymnastics conditioning or cardio at floor. you can run until the cows come in...and you still won't be able to do a double back at the end of a floor routine.

gymnastics conditioning has to be event specific...so doing stairs or bleachers? yes!

running 4 miles?? a big fat useless NO!!

Just curious.... why doesn't running help?

 

[strawberries]

It's a fast twitch vs. slow twitch thing, yes?

 

[Paint A Melody]

cali_48, running builds up slow twitch muscles. When doing tumbling, vaulting, ect you need fast twitch muscles. It's better to do more sprinting and less distance because sprinting builds up the fast twitch muscles that gymnasts need.

 

[Deleted member 17723]

Will running long distances actually "hurt" your gymnastics?

 

[Canadian_gym_mom]

cali_48, running builds up slow twitch muscles. When doing tumbling, vaulting, ect you need fast twitch muscles. It's better to do more sprinting and less distance because sprinting builds up the fast twitch muscles that gymnasts need.

So those dreaded shuttle runs at the end of conditioning?

 

[Paint A Melody]

Long distances won't hurt, buts it's kind of a waste of time and I think stressed too much in WAG. Shuttle runs are a very good, but painful, example.

 

[Aero]

so, empirically speaking...so if the gymnast were to do the above...you think that every girl in the country could then do Amanar's or lay double doubles on floor??

folks, running 4 miles to improve gymnastics is like doing laps in a pool to improve bars. IT'LL NEVER WORK!

You're preaching to the choir my friend. Not sure if you read my first post earlier in this thread, but I 100% agree with you that distance running is essentially useless for gymnastics. The post of mine that you quoted was based strictly on running, and didn't have anything to do with gymnastics. The only type of running work gymnasts need to do is sprint training, plain and simple.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

Will running long distances actually "hurt" your gymnastics?

yes

 

[gymmomtoo]

yes

Just curious--how does it affect gymnastics?

 

[Paint A Melody]

It does actually hurt? How?

 

[2G1B]

yes

All 3of my kids enjoy doing fun 5Ks (color runs and such). All 3 are gymnasts. I imagine genetically they are predisposed to being distance runners rather than sprinters as I was a distance runner until my knees just couldn't take it anymore. Their dad and I have do e the 23andMe genetic testing done and both got "not likely a sprinter". Considering the genetics that they are working against, is it actually a bad idea for them to run 5 Ks? (They are 8, 10, and 10 years old.)