The Ultimate RESET?

Categories: Blog Mar 30, 2016

It’s no secret that we believe that you should be up and moving around on two feet. We just know that it takes us awhile after years (decades?) of butt-sitting to move correctly - efficiently - without risking injury.

So when you’ve had enough of crawling around, what should you do?

(Sure, we’re not “meant to” crawl around on hands and knees or even hands and knees as adults. But we’re also not “meant to” sit on our butts for the majority of our days either. So it shouldn’t surprise us that we need some kind of intervention to help us move the way we were designed instead of the way we currently do. And yes, crawling “transfers” very well - we cover the rationale by doing a “deep-dive” into neurophysiology in our advanced level ProRESET course.)

I personally think you should strive for the Ultimate Reset.

What’s that?

Sprinting.

It’s the supreme manifestation of balance, posture, and coordination, and it’s arguably the most challenging way to load the gait cycle - high force, high velocity.

Plus it’s exhilarating, fun, and practical. (If you ever have to run from something, it pays to know you can do it instead of ending up a potential statistic.)

However, don’t just start sprinting willy-nilly, especially if it’s been awhile (say, 20+ years…) or ever since you’ve done it.

Start off slow.

Sure, Leopard and Spider-Man Crawling will prepare your feet and ankles somewhat, but you still need to train them to absorb the ground impact forces associated with sprinting.

Here are some simple and relatively easy ways to get started:

Running on your mid foot (with heels off the ground) stride for 60 yards or so at about 50% effort. Repeat this until your effort level rises to about 60%. Over the course of time push that threshold to 80%.

Run up hill. Preferably grass or dirt and not pavement. This trains you to drive with your arms and decreases the impact on your joints.

“Fartlek” walking. Similar to fartlek running where you jog then break into a sprint, you walk and then break into a run, staying on your mid foot, for however long you want, then return to walking. Do this for as long as you can comfortably breathe through your nose and stay on your mid foot. When you can’t, you’re done.

As far as frequency goes, start off slowly, especially if it’s been awhile.

I’d recommend once a week for the first 6 weeks of training.

Then, I’d progress to twice-a-week, using a Monday-Thursday type schedule.

After about 12 weeks of twice-a-week, feel free to push it to three times per week. However, only make one of these training sessions “hard” - that is, anywhere near maximum effort. The other two should be comfortable. A “light” session and a “medium” session would be best.

And then take a week off every 12 weeks or so.

Keep your sprinting sessions purposefully short. You should walk away feeling exhilarated, not crushed.

Most of all, have fun.

After all, sprinting is something you’re meant to be able to do and do well.

Just not daily*. We call that “walking” - the “Automatic RESET.”


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*One can sprint daily. Most elite sprinters sprint almost daily. However, they vary their intensity (effort) levels and focus on their ability to recover.

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