Why Running Isn't The Best Way To Get Fit, How The Running Craze HARMED Fitness Enthusiasts & Why Walking Is Essential To Health & Longevity, With Mark Sisson.

Ben Greenfield

Feb 1, 2025

Episode description

The romanticized notion that humans are "born to run" has buoyed the so-called running boom of the past 50 years: well-intentioned fitness enthusiasts lacing up their cushioned shoes and plodding down roads and trails in pursuit of the runner's high, a trim physique, and the fountain of youth.

Unfortunately, "born to run" is a big, fat ruse—a marketing gimmick and a gross misappropriation of evolutionary biology's insights into Homo sapiens' genetic attributes for endurance. While any movement away from a sedentary-dominant lifestyle is laudable, the truth is that humans are actually born to walk, not run.

Ready to get fitter, leaner, and stronger than ever without the pain, suffering, and sacrifice of the typical approach to endurance training?

Full show notes: https://bengreenfieldlife.com/borntowalk

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Mindsip insights from this episode:

Rethink running: prioritize fat loss over glycogen depletion

For many, running burns stored glycogen instead of body fat, which triggers cravings for carbohydrates to replenish those stores and can lead to losing muscle instead of fat.

#exercise

#metabolism

Seek 'foot candy' to enhance walking benefits

To make walking more beneficial, seek out varied and challenging surfaces like cobblestones or uneven trails, which Mark Sisson calls 'foot candy' for strengthening your feet.

#foot

#walking

Avoid intense running to protect gut health

Intense, prolonged running diverts so much blood flow away from the digestive system that it can cause the gut to become ischemic (starved of oxygen), leading to severe issues.

#gut

#running

Understand origins of cushioned shoes for elite runners

Thick, cushioned running shoes were originally created not for the public, but to help elite, skinny runners with perfect form log more miles without getting injured.

#footwear

Discover marathon's royal origins and its 26.2-mile distance

The modern marathon distance of 26.2 miles was not set by ancient Greeks, but in 1908 so the Olympic race could conveniently start at Windsor Palace for the Queen of England.

#exercise

#Olympics

Discover C15:0 as a powerful geroprotector for cell health

The nutrient C15:0, available in a product called Fatty15, is a newly discovered 'geroprotector' that strengthens cell membranes and may outperform drugs like rapamycin on some health markers.

#C15

#longevity

Escape the black hole of training for better running performance

Most runners train in a 'black hole' where their heart rate is too high to burn fat but too low to improve VO2 max, meaning they are just 'practicing hurting' without getting better.