Diet and fitness: I was born to be wild
An outdoor training regime promises to transform desk-bound slaves into lithe hunter-gatherers. Dan Roberts unleashes his inner caveman
It's not every day that someone calls you a ''zoo human". But that, apparently, is precisely what I am - and it is why I find myself standing on the Regent's Park running track on a soggy spring morning, listening to Lee Saxby explain why the way I sit, stand, walk and run is all wrong. As technical director of Wildfitness, Lee has devised the training techniques that will soon transform ''zoo humans" into ''wild humans".
So is Wildfitness really different from other training techniques, or just a marketing gimmick? And what on earth is a ''zoo human" anyway?
''You're a classic example," says Lee bluntly. ''Because you sit at a desk for eight hours a day, gravity is bending your spine forward. And when you stand up, you still have a bent spine and slouched posture - it's your default setting."
Western urbanites such as myself are, according to Wildfitness, living in ways that are completely at odds with our evolutionary development: we are desk-bound, slouch on sofas, drive everywhere and bombard our systems with stress, booze and unhealthy food.
Osteopath Danny Williams of London's Third Space Medicine, agrees. "Modern life causes all sorts of problems," he says. "We are becoming too sedentary and this strains the natural structures of the body. This, in turn, causes problems with our back, breathing, internal organs and even our bowels. And the gadgetry we use exacerbates this. I constantly see people who use laptops suffering chronic back pain and headaches."
According to Wildfitness, to counter the evils of modernity we must change back into wild humans, our hunter-gatherer ancestors who were strong, lean and fast - picture the Maasai for a modern-day equivalent. In real terms this means twice-weekly sessions based around three key skills: wild running (flight), boxing (fight) and kettle bells (lifting). Wildfitness claims that it can effect drastic change in 80 per cent of people - those who can quickly grasp the techniques - in just six weeks.
To correct my running style, Lee first films me jogging in my usual fashion, then explains where I'm going wrong. ''The zoo-human running style is smacking the heel down with your head bent forward. Look," he says, pointing to my lumbering progress on screen, ''here you are thudding along. That's why you've got so many injuries."
I have had a lengthy list of running-related injuries and, watching my clumsy gait, it's easy to see why. Lee then makes me run barefoot through the wet grass, taking me through a series of short drills. He instructs me to run lightly on the mid foot, pulling it from the ground on each stride and leaning forward from the waist, thus letting gravity propel me forward. The difference is remarkable - I feel lithe, light-footed and athletic.
Lee's technique is based on the ''pose running" style invented by Russian scientist Nicolas Romanov. Before attending the hour-long, outdoor session, I quizzed Kerry Sampey, a running expert and national fitness manager at LA Fitness, on the pros and cons of pose running. ''It is a very efficient running style, because there is less friction with the ground," she says. ''It's especially well suited to middle-distance running, but it's hard to learn - you are completely changing the biomechanics of the way you run."
Any drawbacks? "The main problem is that it shortens the calf muscles and Achilles tendon. That could be a problem if you have to stand all day - it's a bit like wearing high heels all the time and then finding flat shoes uncomfortable."
Luckily, high heels don't feature in Matt Walker's section of the workout. A powerhouse ex-Marine, he is one of the coaches who lead the outdoor classes. He takes me through the next two elements of Wildfitness's key skills - boxing and kettle bells. The boxing is, well, boxing. Matt refreshes my memory on how to move, jab and cross as I pummel the pads.
More noteworthy is the kettle bell training - a series of lifts in a fluid motion designed to replicate throwing a just-speared antelope over your shoulder, apparently. Kettle bells, for the uninitiated, are the cannonballs-with-handles currently in vogue with many personal trainers. Wildfitness employs the Russian approach - 10 minutes of non-stop lifting, swinging, throwing and catching designed to strengthen the whole body, especially the core, lower back and the oft-neglected gluteus maximus (aka the buttocks).
Matt is big on glutes, so has me thrusting in a slightly disconcerting fashion with my groin, driving the kettle bell upwards, then letting it arc back down, tensing my buttocks each time. It's hard work and after my workout I'm a dripping mess - more wet than wild. But I'm also endorphin-filled and excited, especially about the running.
As I get changed Matt espouses the other aspects of Wildfitness's philosophy - minimising stress, getting sufficient rest and changing to a ''wild eating" menu rich in lean meat, raw fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds and only the carbohydrates our ancestors would have found while foraging, such as root vegetables and fruit.
I leave the park wiped out but, in spite of my initial scepticism, am suddenly convinced I was, indeed, born to be wild. On that note, I resolve to swap my cramped, stinky gym for a twice-weekly workout in the fresh air. As for spearing that antelope and swapping the hedgerow for the supermarket, however, that might be a challenge too far.
|
