Easy on the brakes!

Posted In: ChiRunning | Fitness | Running September 26th, 2011 divider No Comments »

I was out for a nice mountain bike ride through the backwoods of Conroy Pit on a humid Saturday afternoon and I got to thinking. Shocking, I know!

I realized after a while that I was applying the breaks quite a bit. It wasn’t that steep or dangerous so I was wasting a lot of energy and grip strength on the downhill portions. Once I realized it, the ride was much more enjoyable.

This point also came up recently when I was taking Lab Fitness’s recent hill clinic. It seems that so many people are so scared to get hurt that they unwillingly put themselves at a disadvantage by holding so much tension. They hold back and start heel striking to combat the force of gravity.

When Dave (not a fair example I know) showing us how to do it properly, he was barely touching down and he was simply carrying his momentum onto the next obstacle. So relaxed and efficient!

Mountain biking, or running for that matter, is such a great microcosm for life. If you go with the flow, relax and point your wheel in the right direction, you will most likely go where you want to go with energy to actually enjoy yourself when you get there!

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I’m doing a talk on Tuesday night (September 27) at Lululemon Rideau Centre about one of my favourite subjects: ChiRunning. We will be meeting at the store on the third floor at 7pm. Bring your questions and your friends!