Born to Walk

Born to Walk is designed to help movement therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists, and bodyworkers understand gait and its mechanics, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in evolution and movement. It offers a concise model for understanding the complexity of movement while gaining a deeper insight into the physiology and mechanics of the walking process. This second and revised edition provides new research on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment approaches to enhance gait efficiency. Changes include: * Updated information and research on myofascial continuities * More clearly arranged according to planes of movement * New informative illustrations based on phases of gait with EMG readings * Clear listing of the 'Essential Events' The ability to walk upright on two legs is one of the major traits distinguishing us as humans, In Born to Walk, author James Earls explores the mystery of walking's evolution by describing the complex mechanisms enabling us to be efficient in bipedal gait. His model uses the latest research in paleoanthropology, sports medicine and anatomy, coupled with a functional understanding of the human form, to demonstrate how the whole body collaborates as an interconnected unit in walking, Earls explores the efficiency which is part of our natural design, distilling the complex actions into a simple sequence of "essential events" that engage the myofascia and utilize its full potential. Born to Walk helps identify areas of the body that, if dysfunctional, may reduce efficiency of gait. With this knowledge we can help ourselves and our clients regain a flowing elasticity within gait.

Born to Walk is designed to help movement therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists, and bodyworkers understand gait and its mechanics, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in evolution and movement. It offers a concise model for understanding the complexity of movement while gaining a deeper insight into the physiology and mechanics of the walking process. This second and revised edition provides new research on assessment, diagnosis, and treatment approaches to enhance gait efficiency. Changes include: * Updated information and research on myofascial continuities * More clearly arranged according to planes of movement * New informative illustrations based on phases of gait with EMG readings * Clear listing of the 'Essential Events' The ability to walk upright on two legs is one of the major traits distinguishing us as humans, In Born to Walk, author James Earls explores the mystery of walking's evolution by describing the complex mechanisms enabling us to be efficient in bipedal gait. His model uses the latest research in paleoanthropology, sports medicine and anatomy, coupled with a functional understanding of the human form, to demonstrate how the whole body collaborates as an interconnected unit in walking, Earls explores the efficiency which is part of our natural design, distilling the complex actions into a simple sequence of "essential events" that engage the myofascia and utilize its full potential. Born to Walk helps identify areas of the body that, if dysfunctional, may reduce efficiency of gait. With this knowledge we can help ourselves and our clients regain a flowing elasticity within gait.

The romanticized notion that humans are "born to run" has buoyed the so-called running boom of the past 50 years: well-intentioned fitness enthusiasts lacing up their cushioned shoes and plodding down roads and trails in pursuit of the runner's high, a trim physique, and the fountain of youth. Unfortunately, born to run is a big, fat ruse--a marketing gimmick and a gross misappropriation of evolutionary biology insights about our Homo sapiens genetic attributes for endurance. While any movement away from a sedentary-dominant lifestyle is laudable, the truth is that humans are actually born to walk, not run. Mark Sisson, New York Times bestselling author, forefather of the ancestral health movement, entrepreneur founder of Primal Kitchen and Peluva footwear, and former 2:18 marathon runner, is officially proclaiming an end to the running boom. For the vast majority of enthusiasts, running--even slow-paced jogging--is far too physically, metabolically, and hormonally stressful to promote health, weight loss, or longevity. Alas, the elevated, heavily cushioned modern running shoe enables ill-adapted people to run with poor technique, increased impact trauma, and a truly embarrassing rate of chronic overuse injuries. Born To Walk will help reshape fitness culture to reject flawed and dated "no pain, no gain" ideals, and replace them with a simple, accessible, sustainable program to increase general everyday movement, improve aerobic conditioning the right way, avoid the risks of injury and burnout associated with running, and promote a healthy, happy, energetic, long life-one step at a time. In Born To Walk you'll learn: How the "endurance runner hypothesis" of evolutionary biology is irrelevant to most modern citizens, whose genetic endurance gifts are buried under excess body fat, insufficient daily activity, weak musculature, and dysfunctional feet caused by a lifetime in shoes How the running boom was made possible by the invention of the heavily cushioned shoe. Without this, most people would be unable to run more than a short distance (especially on pavement) before succumbing to discomfort or injury How elevated, cushioned shoes actually increase impact trauma, enable poor technique, and are the driving cause of overuse injuries How to avoid the shocking 50 percent annual injury rate among regular runners by slowing down, improving foot functionality and implementing a correct midfoot landing technique How running does not help you lose excess body fat, and in fact can prompt genetic signaling for increased appetite, carb dependency, fat storage, and poor metabolic and hormonal health How running can promote a "skinny fat" physique: deficient strength and muscle mass, poor posture, and an accumulation of health-destructive abdominal fat-even if you run lots of weekly miles How an extreme devotion to endurance training can increase cardiovascular disease risk, compromise gut health, and suppress immune and hormonal function How the misplaced competitive intensity and struggle & suffer ethos of modern running culture can promote and unhealthy obsession and a high risk of burnout How marketing hype, distorted cultural values, and unsavory peer influences lure you into events like marathons and ultras that are inherently antithetical to health How aerobic conditioning at comfortable heart rates is the foundation of all fitness endeavors, and improves performance at all higher levels of intensity How to identify your ideal training pace using "fat max" heart rate-likely a brisk walk for most runners How the world's greatest endurance athletes train in a relatively less stressful, more sensible manner than the average novice, and how you can refine your approach to honor their protocols Why humans have a genetic imperative to walk extensively every day to support cognitive, immune, hormonal and mitochondrial function How walking can be a great catalyst for fat reduction by improving metabolic flexibility, regulating appetite and

The romanticized notion that humans are "born to run" has buoyed the so-called running boom of the past 50 years: well-intentioned fitness enthusiasts lacing up their cushioned shoes and plodding down roads and trails in pursuit of the runner's high, a trim physique, and the fountain of youth. Unfortunately, born to run is a big, fat ruse--a marketing gimmick and a gross misappropriation of evolutionary biology insights about our Homo sapiens genetic attributes for endurance. While any movement away from a sedentary-dominant lifestyle is laudable, the truth is that humans are actually born to walk, not run. Mark Sisson, New York Times bestselling author, forefather of the ancestral health movement, entrepreneur founder of Primal Kitchen and Peluva footwear, and former 2:18 marathon runner, is officially proclaiming an end to the running boom. For the vast majority of enthusiasts, running--even slow-paced jogging--is far too physically, metabolically, and hormonally stressful to promote health, weight loss, or longevity. Alas, the elevated, heavily cushioned modern running shoe enables ill-adapted people to run with poor technique, increased impact trauma, and a truly embarrassing rate of chronic overuse injuries. Born To Walk will help reshape fitness culture to reject flawed and dated "no pain, no gain" ideals, and replace them with a simple, accessible, sustainable program to increase general everyday movement, improve aerobic conditioning the right way, avoid the risks of injury and burnout associated with running, and promote a healthy, happy, energetic, long life-one step at a time. In Born To Walk you'll learn: How the "endurance runner hypothesis" of evolutionary biology is irrelevant to most modern citizens, whose genetic endurance gifts are buried under excess body fat, insufficient daily activity, weak musculature, and dysfunctional feet caused by a lifetime in shoes How the running boom was made possible by the invention of the heavily cushioned shoe. Without this, most people would be unable to run more than a short distance (especially on pavement) before succumbing to discomfort or injury How elevated, cushioned shoes actually increase impact trauma, enable poor technique, and are the driving cause of overuse injuries How to avoid the shocking 50 percent annual injury rate among regular runners by slowing down, improving foot functionality and implementing a correct midfoot landing technique How running does not help you lose excess body fat, and in fact can prompt genetic signaling for increased appetite, carb dependency, fat storage, and poor metabolic and hormonal health How running can promote a "skinny fat" physique: deficient strength and muscle mass, poor posture, and an accumulation of health-destructive abdominal fat-even if you run lots of weekly miles How an extreme devotion to endurance training can increase cardiovascular disease risk, compromise gut health, and suppress immune and hormonal function How the misplaced competitive intensity and struggle & suffer ethos of modern running culture can promote and unhealthy obsession and a high risk of burnout How marketing hype, distorted cultural values, and unsavory peer influences lure you into events like marathons and ultras that are inherently antithetical to health How aerobic conditioning at comfortable heart rates is the foundation of all fitness endeavors, and improves performance at all higher levels of intensity How to identify your ideal training pace using "fat max" heart rate-likely a brisk walk for most runners How the world's greatest endurance athletes train in a relatively less stressful, more sensible manner than the average novice, and how you can refine your approach to honor their protocols Why humans have a genetic imperative to walk extensively every day to support co