Running and Fitness Intuition

This week’s theme at Runners’ Lounge is “running green.” 

If running green includes doing things natural and organic, this might be a good time to point out an interesting running focus called Fitness Intuition.

The author of Fitness Intuition, George Beinhorn, examines the remarkable impact of following the wisdom of the heart in running.  Science, trial-and-error, and the experiences of other runners are all ways we learn as runners.  However, it’s the “Science of the Heart” that opens up the greatest opportunity for running success because it’s custom-fit to our needs and capabilities.

I appreciate the way he introduces the concept of fitness intution:

Science has given us a great deal of useful information that can help us plan our training. The experience of great athletes can also help . But when we’re out on the roads and trails, we’re on our own. Good training requires that we answer many questions as they arise, without assistance from books or coaches. We need to know how to “listen to our bodies.”

The problem is, athletes are notorious for doing it badly. Too often, they let themselves be misled by inner voices of desire and faulty reasoning that lure them into training too hard, too long, or too often.

What’s needed is a way to hear what the body is really saying. The body’s “still, small voice” is a wonderful guide to training. Trouble is, it’s easily overwhelmed by restless thoughts, personal desires and ambitions, and the attractive-sounding theories of others.

Fitness Intuition is a way to listen to what the body is actually saying - and really hear. The body talks to us continually through the feelings of the heart. Hearing that inner guidance requires that we filter out personal prejudices and pay careful attention.

The heart is a wonderful guide to training. It’s a built-in monitor that can tell us what the body needs. The heart is also the place where a higher wisdom can guide us, if we invite it to. All spiritual traditions teach that prayer is the “loudspeaker” through which we can talk to the universal intelligence of which we are a part, and that the heart is where we can hear its answers.

Readers can enjoy the first two chapters of the book online for free.

More praise for Beinhorn and “running green” as he prints his book "on demand," saving trees and energy until customers order copies.  Plus it’s available as a pdf file.

As pure as running should be, we can still clutter our running lives with plans, gear, technology, races, and obsessive behavior. 

So is scrapping some (not all) of the external training stuff a good idea to achieve the greatest running success and enjoyment?  Probably.  Is relying on the heart—both the organ and the intuition—a meaningful compass to running well?  Absolutely.

We have a complimentary copy of Fitness Intuition to give away.  If you’re interested in exploring how following the heart can lead you closer to maximizing your running, and would agree to write a review about it, just email me at tom@runnerslounge.com.

After all, we have a running environment inside us that needs to be appreciated and preserved too—it’s called our body and soul.

Comments

[kara]

Thanks Tom for the heads up on this book. Checking out the preview chapters now.