Secrets of long-distance running from a mysterious Mexican tribe
Sport And Fitness / / December 19, 2019
For Homo sapiens race is valuable in itself. It is necessary due to our physiology, there may be a beautiful and meditative occupation. How to begin to live a more active lifestyle? What is the real benefit of running? And what secrets will help to learn to run more and better? This tells Christopher McDougall in the book "Born to Run".
The author believes that the capacity for this sport lies in each of us. Our ancestors survived precisely because they can run for days on the savanna and to hunt wild animals. In addition to the innate propensities, McDougall interested in a lot of other questions: why do people run a 100-kilometer marathon, which makes Some of us train, conquer yourself and go on another run in the rain and snow, and most importantly - how to reduce the risk of injury.
In search of answers, the author applied to the mysterious Tarahumara Mexican tribe, which lives in the Copper Canyon. For these people its fame as endurance athletes that can run through the mountains for a few days. American journalist wanted to find out why the members of the tribe did not receive any injuries, moving the stones, and even without special equipment. Maybe the ancient people know what you do not know the Western world?
Here are the important ideas that can be learned from books.
Idea number 1. Our body is well adapted to sprinting
McDougall talks about how our ancestors even before the invention of weapons able to hunt wild animals. It is obvious that man is weak and slow in comparison with the animals. But what, then, was decisive in the struggle for survival?
A professor of evolutionary biology Dennis Bramble and his student David Kerrer came to the conclusion that the man survived because of its ability to run. Researchers began to look for confirmation of the fact that we have evolved as creatures running around. It was a novel idea, since, from the point of view of traditional science, the person is perceived as being a walking. Bramble argued that the presence of the Achilles tendon and the large gluteal muscles suggests that we were born to run, because these parts of the body as if specially designed for running and active use of during it.
Bramble realized that mistakenly view the ability to run, concentrating only on the speed - for this indicator a person will lose much other animals. Then scientists began to explore the other side - endurance. He drew attention to the Achilles tendon, which permeate our feet and legs. If you simplify the process of running, it is a kind of jumping from one foot to the other. And it tendons ensure the effectiveness of these jumps - the more they are stretched, the more energy produces leg. This led Bramble on the idea that each of us has the ability to run long distances.
But even if a person is born from nature marathon runners, this must be an explanation, not only from a physiological point of view but also from an anthropological. What gave this power and what good endurance, if any predator can catch up with our ancestors in the two accounts.
Then he joined to the study of evolutionary anthropologist Daniel Lieberman, who began to study the cooling system in mammals. It soon became clear that all the non-human, are cooled by breathing. Animals need time to stop and catch my breath. Man, however, is cooled due to sweating. So we can continue to run, even though the start puffing and panting.
It is this ability to use the primitive hunters, which drive the antelope was commonplace. Antelope surpasses us in speed, but not endurance. Sooner or later, the animal stopped to cool, and at this point it will overtake the hunter. So, with the help of running and endurance of humanity has managed to not only survive, but also to conquer the animal kingdom.
Idea number 2. In the north-west of Mexico lives a tribe, whose members are able to run for several days at a distance of more than 100 kilometers
Randomly hitting to Mexico for work, Christopher Magdugl came across an article about the mysterious Tarahumara tribe. It explains that its representatives live in one of the most dangerous and poorly populated places on Earth - Copper Canyon. For centuries, passed down the tradition of extraordinary endurance and equanimity of these mountain people. One researcher wrote that it took 10 hours by mule to climb the mountain, while the Tarahumara climbed up on it for a half hour.
The members of the tribe led a modest lifestyle - engaged in agriculture and did not leave their homes.
Running was part of their life - it was a means of entertainment, to travel between the mountain paths and a kind of defense against intrusive visitors.
Thus Tarahumara running on the steep slopes and cliffs, where the average person is terrible even to stand. The members of this tribe extremely hardy.
McDougall wondered why the Mexican savages do not receive any injuries, while Western runners, with all modern equipment, over and over again crippled. But the secret of his skill Tarahumara kept secret. Firstly, they had no contact with the outside world. And secondly, to get to their habitats, it was necessary not only physical strength but also courage. Secluded place Copper Canyon fraught with many dangers, ranging from jaguars and ending with local drug traffickers, who guard their plantations. Among other things, it is easy to get lost in repeating the canyon trails. All this led to the fact that not many people have seen Tarahumara live.
Idea number 3. A typical way of life of Western man prevents him develop a natural human tendency, including the ability to run
It is known to only a few cases where the Tarahumara have agreed to participate in the competition. One of them - a 100-kilometer ultramarathon in Lendville. The complexity of the race was that the route passed along the paths of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado - complicated the movement of five-thousandth height difference.
1994 was a particularly exciting race of the year, when the superiority of the Mexican tribe intervened only one American Anne Treyson runner-up.
From first-class coaches only watch Joe Vigil arrived for the race. He studied at running long distances and trying to learn everything possible about the secrets and tricks of runners, especially if they were from distant tribes and settlements. In addition, he was attracted by the unpredictability of results. Athletes had to recruit and dump height to pass the fords and run cross-country. As shown, in this race did not operate any calculations and rules - women are more likely to reach the finish line than men, and old men overtook the young guys.
Vigil wanted to look at this race with my own eyes, but he was interested not so much running technique, mental attitude as participants in the marathon. Obviously, they were obsessed with running. After all, competition in Lendville did not promise them any glory or medals, nor wealth. The only prize was a belt buckle, which is presented first and the last participant of the race. Therefore Vigil understood that, to solve the riddle marathon, he will be able to approach an understanding of what it means to run for the whole of humanity.
Vigil has long tried to understand what lies behind human endurance. Looking at the smiling faces of the Tarahumara after the 100-kilometer race, the coach realized what was happening. Tarahumara honored as the ability to run and enjoy it, regardless of the pain and fatigue. The coach concluded that the most important thing in the race for long distance - is the love of life and to the point, which is engaged.
Tarahumara are run with respect and consider it not just a pastime, but a part of his life.
The Western people generally see it as a means to an end. For us this is the best sport in the worst - a way of gaining the benefits of medals to the elastic buttocks. Running has ceased to be an art, but it was not always.
McDougall describes how marathon runners 70s in many respects like the Tarahumara - practicing all night, often in groups, encouraging each other and compete amicably. They wore light shoes without special lotions, vaguely reminiscent of homemade sandals Tarahumara. Athletes did not think about injuries and almost did not receive them. Their way of life and training were primitive western analogue life of the tribe. But with time, everything changed.
The author explains this change of the arrival of money in the world of sports. At the time, it felt Vigil and warned his disciples that the main thing - it does not require the run and just run. Then you wait for the results and achievements. He believed in those who ran for the sake of the process, get real pleasure from it, as if the artist at the moment of inspiration.
Idea number 4. Tarahumara art can be learned
With the support of his publishers, McDougall decides to conduct its own investigation. He had heard that the Tarahumara are secretive and do not like strangers, especially when they break into their personal space. Then, the author learned about a certain American who lived many years ago in the mountains of Copper Canyon to grasp running skills. No one knew who he was or how to find it. It was known only by his nickname - Caballo Blanco.
Caballo first I learned about the competition in the Tarahumara Lendville. He volunteered to help the runners to stage a distance to observe them and to become better acquainted.
Caballo felt sympathy for these strong athletes who differed little from ordinary people - they are also guided by fear, doubt, and inner voice whispered to retire.
After marathon Lendville Blanco went to Mexico to track down the Tarahumara and learn their running technique. Like many runners, Caballo suffering from pain, and no funds are not helping. Then see how smartly run these tanned and strong men, he decided that this is what he needs. But he did not try to comprehend their secrets, he just began to live the way they are.
His life has become as primitive - he wore homemade sandals, and its diet consists of dishes made from corn, beans and chia seeds. Animals in the mountains inhabited by little, so the Tarahumara eat them only on holidays. Also, the tribe has a few secret recipes that they use during a race through the mountains - and quill iskiate. Pinole - a corn powder, which runners are included in the pouches on the belt. A iskiate - beverage chia seed and lime juice, which has a high nutritional value. These recipes allow light Tarahumara stay on his feet for long hours of running and do not stop for a long time to eat.
Similar to a vegetarian diet, according to McDougall, held shifty and our ancestors, which greatly differed from predatory Neanderthals. Plant foods are quickly assimilated without taking a lot of time and without burdening the stomach, which is important for hunting.
Caballo built himself a shack in the mountains, where resting after a grueling races on slippery and steep slopes. In the third year of their voluntary training, he still continued to explore winding and invisible to the eyes of ordinary people trails. He told me that risked stretching and tendon rupture at any time, but it did not happen even once. He became only the healthier and stronger. Conducting experiments on yourself, Caballo realized that overcomes the mountain distance even faster than a horse.
The history of this exile intrigued McDougall, and he asked for him to run, where once again convinced that the technique adopted Caballo Tarahumara running. It was the fact that he walked with a straight back, making small jumps. Caballo well versed in the reliability of the surface on which the run, and the eye could determine which stone roll under load and which will be a reliable support. He advised Magduglu not strain and do everything at ease. The key to success - it is smooth, and then speed. Tarahumara secret is that their movements are accurate and the most effective. They do not waste energy on unnecessary actions.
If Tarahumara succeeded so well run without any special knowledge and tools, why not learn from them, and not to arrange the race on their territory, to see who will win - runners of the new wave of the Western world, or traditional athletes. So Caballo began its crazy idea - to arrange a race in the Copper Canyon. And it McDougall helped in the implementation of this daring plan. As the experiment showed, won Tarahumara and their traditional methods of running.
The idea of number 5. Modern sports shoes can severely hurt while running
Sneakers seem an inherent attribute of the run, which at the same time raises many questions. After Tarahumara ultramarathon running in sandals made from car tires, and modern African tribes use thin leather shoes giraffe. McDougall tried to figure out what is most suitable shoes for jogging and how to avoid becoming a victim of modern marketing.
Our stop is a body that performs its function only under load. Therefore, reducing the load on the foot that occurs in soft shoes, leading to atrophy of muscles.
Too soft shoes weaken the foot, resulting in injury.
If you watch the natural behavior of the foot without shoes, you will see that foot first lands on the outer edge, then slowly rolls from the little finger to the thumb. This movement provides a natural cushioning. A shoe blocks this movement.
Jogging man did not need springy shoes, feet that weaken and become perpetrators of injuries. McDougall mentions an interesting fact - the company Nike until 1972 producing sports shoes that looked like slippers with thin soles. And while people were getting far fewer injuries.
In 2001, Nike also follows a group of Stanford athletes. Soon, marketers have found that athletes prefer to run barefoot, but not send them sneakers. Authoritative coach, Wines lanans explained by the fact that without his shoes athletes get fewer injuries. People did not use the shoes for thousands of years, and now the shoe companies try to lock the foot in a sneaker tightly, that is fundamentally wrong.
In 2008, Dr. Craig Richards from the Australian University began exploring sneakers. He wondered whether the shoe company give the slightest guarantee that their products reduce the risk of injury. It turned out that there is. Then the question arises, for what we pay when we buy expensive sneakers with air cushions, double amortization and other odds and ends. McDougall surprised by the fact that it was in 1989 conducted another study, in which it became clear that the runners in expensive sneakers get more injuries than those who use cheaper options.
Another way to avoid injury - is not only to use less expensive running shoes, but do not throw out the old ones. Scientists have found that in shabby sneakers less risk of injury. The fact is that over time, wear springy soles and the athlete feels better surface. This makes it run more gently and carefully. Becomes a crucial psychological aspect - the less we have confidence and stability, the wiser we perform an action and thus become more attentive.
In today's world is difficult not to use the shoes, especially in cold regions, but, armed with the knowledge about the industry of sports shoes, you can save money and reduce the risk of injury. McDougall recommends a light and cheap running shoes, which will be a kind of sandals Tarahumara.
The idea of number 6. Many do not like to run out of the fact that our brain is misleading
Why run so painful for many, despite its usefulness and natural to the human body? Studies show that regardless of the age people can run and even compete with each other. The young man 19 years old has the same potential as that of an elderly man. It is a myth that with age, we lose this ability. On the contrary - we age, when the cease running. And men and women have the same abilities. This is due to the fact that the running - it is a collective activity that brings together our primitive ancestors.
But if our body is designed for movement, in particular for running, then there is also the brain that constantly thinks about efficient energy consumption. Of course, everyone has their level of endurance, but all have in common is that it is brain says us about how we are hardy and strong. He assures us that, since he is responsible for energy conservation and efficiency. Such subjectivity of mind can be attributed to the fact that some people like to run, while others do not. The fact that the consciousness of people who are sure they do not like the sport, played with them a cruel joke, and assures them that jogging is an excess consumption of valuable energy.
Man has always needed the unspent energy that he can use in an emergency situation. For example, when there was a predator and you need to quickly run for cover. For this reason, the brain tries to minimize power consumption. And as for the modern human race is not a means of survival, the mind gives the team that this activity too. To love this activity is possible only when you understand why it is needed. Also, you must develop the habit of running, but as soon as she is weakened, for the work is taken instinct of conservation of energy.
If in the past passive recreation make up a small part of the time, but now it prevails. Basically, in their spare time, we sit back while lying on the couch. And our brain justifies this behavior by the fact that we save valuable energy, but in fact we provide our body a disservice.
Our bodies were designed for movement and physical activity, so when we put them in non-smoking environment them, they react differently - there are physical and mental illness. Many people do not like to run and find it painful. But if you delve into the evolution of racing and its history, it becomes clear that this is a natural activity for us. Due to this ability of mankind passed to a new stage of development.
The successful combination of an exciting narrative, investigative journalism and non-obvious practical tips to make the book by Christopher McDougall required reading for athletes and everyone who interested healthy lifestyle.
Learn to enjoy themselves running the process, we can greatly improve our mental and physical health, making a life in harmony. At the same time we do not need to splurge on expensive shoes and other "gadgets" that are considered necessary for today's runners. In fact, studies have shown that a simple shoe that, for example, use the Tarahumara, is much better suited to our feet, than the expensive sneakers.
Overview of the bestselling Christopher McDougall "Born to Run" prepared by a team of service of the key ideas of the literature on business and self-development MakeRight.ru.
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