Daily Running: Day 11
Unknown benefits of running on a treadmill
Wow.
I never knew running on a treadmill would help me work on my posture.
It's been more than 2 months since I have been running on a treadmill (moved to a new job 2.5 months ago, and they have a gym, and I run and workout during lunch time).
Although I am in love with running, running indoor has been getting extremely boring.
I love running outdoor. I love seeing different people on the road.
I love chasing bicycles and running away from the dogs who go crazy at me.
I love change of the light in the sky and looking at the trees in different light spectrum.
But indoor, you get none of that.
It's just me, the numbers on the treadmill, and a window that looks out to a road...
But today, I found a gem.
On my first ever running post on Steemit, I talked about how you can play with the incline and speed on the treadmill.
Until today, I always played with incline between 1~2%.
Because, more incline, harder the run becomes.
But today, I was so unwilling to run on the treadmill, and thought to myself, maybe running at 3% might do something for my posture.
If you ever ran hills, you probably have noticed how your posture naturally changes.
Your knees go up more naturally.
Your chin tucks in, and you utilize more of your core muscles.
Your hip gets tucked right under your center of mass, and the hips drive the running, not the legs or arms.
So I started the run at 3%, at 8km/h, and I noticed an incredible difference immediately.
I noticed the very natural change in my posture that I only could feel running on natural hills.
My arms and legs relaxed, and let the hips do the work.
Legs and feet simply worked as medium between hips and the ground.
A strong arch was formed on my lower back.
All of my back muscles and abdominal(core) muscles were stabilizing my body.
I was light and nimble. It was almost effortless.
At 6km, I wanted to keep going, but had to stop for strength workout and lunch.
So, there it is.
Next time you run on a treadmill, try running at 3% incline, and see how your posture changes at a speed that is not too slow for you. You are in for a sweet surprise :D
Running and workout details
Distance: 6km
Where: Indoor gym, treadmill
Time: 30min (I put the treadmill on 1km/h, got a phone from the locker, and took the picture :D)
Speed Range: 8km/h ~ 14km/h
Run type: Easy
Incline: 3% throughout (oh yeah!)
Feeling before the run
Well, I was okay.During the run
Strong arch on my lower back and I was in full control. Moving, moving.Feeling after the run
Very happy I found a way to enjoy running on the treadmill.
Strength&Flexibility
- Pull-ups: 9 sets of Wide grip. 4 reps until 9th set (5reps). Total 37.
- Jefferson-curl: Forgot to do this gem today. Tmrw, for sure.
- Bench press: 45 lbs bar.
10kg x 5
12.5kg x 5
15kg x 5
17.5kg x 5
20kg x 2
(on both sides)
Daily Meditation: Day 14
It is 14th day of my daily meditation.
Can't believe it's been two weeks since I committed to this practice.
Today, I wanted to experiment, so I put on music while I meditated.
I have been really enjoying this guy FJK's jam.
There is no lyrics, just good tune.
If you are into jazzy, flowy music, this could be your jam too.
This video was about 16 minutes long, so it was perfect for my meditation time.
Time: 16 minutes
Thoughts:
Feeling Before The Meditation
Just had dinner. Good time to refresh myself.Meditation
Very weird. I used to play a lot of computer game when I was young.
I especially played a lot of Diablo 2. Thoughts or images of this game came to me while meditating today. So weird, because I don't think of this game at all. Maybe it's because I used to play jazz music in the background while I played the game... mainly that of Pat Metheny and Bill Evans.Feeling After The Meditation
Ready to look at some codes now.
Little extra: Weight b4 and a4 run&workout at the gym
There is a weight measuring thing in the locker room, and I measure myself whenever I am curious about it.
Today I happened to have a phone on my hand before wearing workout clothes, so I measured my weight and
took a photo of it, curious to see the difference after the work out.
So below are the B4 and A4 photos of my weight.
Turns out, I lost exactly 800g of good mix of water, fat, and what not...
Happy running and meditating!
Sung, a running turtle
Running background:
I got hooked to running in 2013. Running barefoot on grass, slowly, I learned how to be one with the movement. I loved running so much that I wanted to see how world's best runners live and train. So I went to Iten, Kenya in the summer of 2015. I read a sort of ebook with a Korean content start-up called 'PUBLY' about my 5 weeks in Iten (link). I want to share my experience with people who speak English as well, so I have started translating the prologue chapter. I hope to share my story with you soon. Oh, until then, you can check out some of videos I took in Kenya. You will especially love this video of 10km race in Iten, which I filmed myself on the back of a motorbike.Meditation background:
I did a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat in 2011. There, I experienced a center of peace within myself. However, college, grad school, and real world slowly took me away from the practice. I am giving myself some social accountability by committing myself to meditate 15min before going to bed and upload a post about it on Steemit, along with my running post.
I chose to do 15 minutes because it does not feel too long nor insignificant. It feels very manageable, but at the same time long enough to induce me some equanimity and mindfulness.