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Originally Posted by Joemoplata  Running can be bad on the knees, lower back, ankles, shins...yes, all this is true. A lot of this has to do with form and posture, surface, and footwear. But the most critical factor for prolonged wear and tear is frequency and duration. Running everyday for 45 minutes is going to cause you some problems most likely later in life. And for martial arts training, jogging (running in an aerobic state) is not that useful anyway. You should be doing HIIT type of training, intervals of high intensity for shorter periods of time. So you should be sprinting, then walking, then sprinting, then walking for like 20-25 minutes. This will get you better results and have less impact on your joints and you don't need to do it everyday.
As for equipment, the treadmills today are NOT a hard surface, they have cushioning mechnisms in them that absorb impact and would be far better than running on the street (but about as good as a good track). Elliptical machines are zero impact when used correctly and as a result are easier on the joints but not as "taxing" usually on the body overall (it's very hard to simulate full sprinting on an elliptical machine).
And to qualify myself, I worked in a gym for a while and was studying for my PT certification. |
Joe I cant +rep you but you def hit the nail on the head. Martial artists should push their anaerobic threshold and interval training (getting your heart rate above 80%) is key.
On the shoe side of things. I think New Balance has the game locked down. I've started to run a lot since I seperated my shoulder. I was wearing some really old shoes. My feet were aching. Went out bought a 70 dollar pair of New Balances, I really wasnt picky, and havent had a single pain since. I can feel the cushion with each step. If you really want to make the sales person work they will custom fit your shoe, although the stock model is just fine for most people (as we generally arent hardcore runners). Personally I run half a mile warmup then a full mile as fast as I can. My goal is to get under a six minute mile.
Also ellipticals are no where near full range of motion. Go as fast as you can for as long as you can on one, then do the same thing on a treadmill. The mileage will be vastly different. Unless you have knee problems stay away from these machines.