Minute 1: These small fish pack a big nutritional punch

To boost your confidence, being a big fish in a small pond is a good thing. To boost your nutritional intake, small fish are the way to go. Many dieticians say that if you want big nutritional benefits, littler fish should be the catch of the day: “We Should Be Eating More Tasty Little ‘Forage Fish,’ Study Finds.” Sardines, anchovies, and herring are all examples of forage fish, and they’re considered to be much cleaner than bigger fish like salmon or tuna. That’s because of their shorter lifespans and low place on the food chain, limiting their exposure to heavy metals like mercury. Not only are they safer to consume, but they also contain a ton of Omega-3s that offer all sorts of benefits. Runners in particular should pay attention to their Omega-3 levels, and you can read why in: “Can Omega-3s Improve Your Run?” Some research has indicated that Omega-3s are hugely beneficial in supporting recovery. They can lower inflammation to reduce post-workout soreness, as well as increase protein synthesis, which allows your body to turn food into muscle. Forage fish are a quality source of Omega-3s, but if you prefer to take a supplement like a fish oil pill, you’ll want to check out this: “Omega-3 Supplement Guide: What to Buy and Why.” Natural fish oils are less concentrated, but more easily absorbed into the body when compared to processed fish oils. However, if you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can pick up a processed supplement that’s been re-esterified to get the best of both worlds.

#BetasToOmegas

How To Strengthen Your Feet Naturally

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The main way to improve foot function and reduce pain and injury risk is to dedicate as much time as possible to going barefoot in your home and other safe areas or wearing barefoot-style shoes for walking, low-impact fitness activities, and in everyday life. This will help you optimize the function of your foot, the muscles and joints in your legs, and all kinetic chain activity that starts from the ground.

Research confirms that barefoot and minimalist shoes strengthen feet better than a devoted foot-strengthening program. When you use specialized shoes, for endurance running, your feet will be more resilient against their negative effects and more functional overall. 

SMM's favorite barefoot-style footwear comes from the minimalist shoe brand, Peluva. They are our favorite walking shoes: zero drop, flexible sole, sufficient cushion to minimize impact load, and the distinctive feature of five articulated toes. Peluva's are a stellar option for low-intensity or Zone 2 workouts. 

Visit Peluva and use the code "6MINUTEMILE" to get 15% off your first pair

Minute 2: How often should you do a full body workout?

There are more than 650 muscles in your body, so when a gym class or workout app offers a full-body routine, is it a good idea to hit all of them? Apart from avoiding soreness and discomfort, there are several reasons it makes sense to split up your workouts, according to: “Quick Question: Is Doing a Full-Body Workout Every Day Actually Good for You?” Experts advise against back-to-back full body workouts because it can interfere with recovery and growth. Rest days are where a lot of muscle building happens, and without providing ample time between each session, you’ll limit the amount of progress you can make. That can lead to burnout or plateauing, which is why some athletes prefer to make use of a split program like the one described in “The Upper Lower Split Workout Plan: Your Complete Guide.” An upper / lower split is exactly what it sounds like: you target the muscles in your upper and lower body on different days so that there’s always time for your muscles to recover. Upper / lower splits are popular because they’re easy to follow and allow you to dedicate equal amounts of effort to all the major muscle groups in your body. Of course, runners may want to spend a little extra time on their lower body, and adding these “5 Ways To Squat Without A Barbell” can make leg training a walk in the park.

#SplitHappens

Minute 3: Getting active can lower your risk of chronic pain

Some experts say that we don’t stop moving because we get old, but rather, we get old because we stop moving. It’s an interesting thought, but is there any evidence to back it up? Well, we just may have come across some in an article titled: “Did you know that physical activity can protect you from chronic pain?” A recent study from Norway found that the more people moved, the less chronic pain they seemed to feel. Researchers noticed that the higher the activity level of a participant, the higher their pain tolerance was. Additionally, staying highly active was associated with as much as a 16% reduced risk of experiencing severe chronic pain. That's pretty compelling evidence to try and stay active as you age, but that’s not to say you should always run through your pain. Acute pain, as opposed to chronic pain, can be your sign that it’s time for a break, and to learn how to distinguish between the two, check out “Running Pain: Should You Keep Running Through It?” If you start a run and feel a general achiness in your muscles and joints, don’t call it quits just yet. A little motion might help loosen you up. If the pain disappears over time, you’re probably safe to continue. On the other hand, if pain appears in the middle of a run suddenly and intensely, you may be experiencing a stress injury or fracture that requires immediate attention. It’s times like that when you’ll want to know the “Best recovery method for runners, RICE or MEAT?” Just like a runner opting for a carnivore diet, experts are throwing out RICE in exchange for MEAT, which stands for Movement, Exercise, Analgesia, and Treatment.

#MoveItOrLoseIt

How WHOOP measures alcohol's effect on your health

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It’s no secret that consuming alcohol is fundamentally not healthy. We’ve all heard the benefits of not drinking–things like better concentration, more energy, improved moods, greater long-term cardiovascular health, etc. But what actually happens to your body if you quit drinking for a month?

Whether it’s Sober October, Dry January, or Hard 75, here are eight positive changes you’ll see from giving up alcohol, even if it’s just for a short period of time (like 31 days): 

WHOOP is letting Six Minute Milers get one month of their service for free, wrist monitor included. Try it here.

Minute 4: Three Tips to Become a More Sustainable Runner

Only three days out from Earth Day, we are reminded of the accomplished runner and author Tina Muir, who has co-written a well respected book entitled: “Becoming a Sustainable Runner: A Guide to Running for Life, Community, and Planet.” Tina and her co-author are funny, insightful and personal in this book, but at 248 pages, it may seem a little daunting to a runner looking for a few simple steps to help the planet. For that solution, our favorite shoe reviewer, Brian Metzler, weighs in today with three ways to improve the toxic process of making and disposing of running shoes. The highlights are below, but you can read the full details on our website.

Monday, April 22 is Earth Day, that annual day we like to celebrate all things green and sustainable as runners, even though the shoes on our feet are typically a very noxious problem. How so? The manufacturing of running shoes is a dirty business that uses virgin materials and ships products all over the world. Furthermore, every running shoe I’ve ever run in is still likely on the planet, in relatively good condition, given that it takes several hundred years for a shoe to break down and biodegrade. Considering I have been wear-testing running shoes for the past 25 years, it means there are a lot of my old shoes that haven’t started rotting away yet. Ugh, that’s a rough thing to think about.

Here are three ways to take a more sustainable approach to running shoes:

• Recycle Your Running Shoes
  It might take anywhere from 50 to 1,000 years for a pair of running shoes to break down and begin to biodegrade. On average it takes natural materials 25-80 years to break down, but the synthetic materials of a shoe made from plastics and petroleum take much longer, going up to 1,000 years to decompose. That should be all the reason you need to donate your shoes to an organization that will find someone who can continue using them before they are discarded, or better yet, use those shoes to implement bigger changes.

• Buy Recyclable Shoes
  The running shoe industry has a long way to go to make its manufacturing processes more sustainable, but progress has been made. ASICS recently launched the Nimbus Mirai, a cushy everyday trainer made from green materials that are completely recyclable. Salomon launched its Index.01 recyclable shoe in 2021, while On unveiled its Cyclon subscription program and its fully recyclable Cloudneo shoe in 2022. Nike rolled out its sustainably-oriented Air Zoom Alphafly Next Nature in 2021 and then last year debuted its ISPA Link Axis sneaker made from fully recyclable interlocking components. In 2022, Adidas and Allbirds collaborated to make the Adizero x Allbirds running shoe with a 2.94 kg CO2e score. There’s also the Saucony Triumph RFG, a neutral-oriented everyday trainer with an innovative bio-based midsole, a cotton upper colored with plant-based dyes and an outsole engineered from 80 percent natural rubber. Lastly, a new brand called Hylo Athletics has just released its Impact training shoe with a corn-derived lining and a supercritical nitrogen-injected foam with added bio-EVA to increase responsiveness and a 8.63kg/CO2e score.

• Do the Little Things Better
  Doing the little things matters. Running errands around town instead of driving, installing energy-efficient light bulbs, choosing reusable shopping bags, conserving water, and, in general, reducing, reusing, and recycling whenever possible. For trail runner, artist, and filmmaker Max Romey it’s about taking small creative steps that include messaging, changing manufacturing norms, and developing products that can be repaired, recycled, and reused. In the short film, “No Lost Shoes,” Romey highlights, collects, and illustrates hundreds of shoes he finds washed ashore at Katmai National Park and Preserve. In doing so, he points out that the footwear industry has inadvertently become one of the biggest ocean polluters in the world because people discard old shoes. 

Brian goes into more depth in his full story, including naming several creative organizations working on the challenge running shoes pose to the planet. You can read the full details on our website.

Minute 5: Quick Intervals

• Our favorite DJ Rebecca Trachsel may have just finished the Boston Marathon, but she’s not stopping there, because she’s got another stellar song recommendation for us: Today's song is “Our Time Is Now” by NONONO. I love this band. I first stumbled on them back in 2013 when their song "Pumpin Blood" came out. Also a great cut and worth adding to your run playlist. The Swedish, indie-rock trio are known for their high energy vibe and lead singer, Stina Wäppling's, songbird voice that has a ridiculous range. This upbeat gem makes you want to stop what you're doing and call a friend to tell them you want to do that thing that you've always talked about but never done. Because your TIME IS NOW. Or, at the very minimum, go for a run. Because it's always time for that. Listen on Spotify or Apple Music. #TurnItUp

• While photographing runners near the top of Heartbreak Hill on Monday, we spotted Coach Trax, our musicologist and sub-3:00 marathoner. While we were happy to see her, we were not pleased to see her slowly walking to the top of the hill. Wow, that’s not how we normally see Rebecca on the course. We set the camera down and jogged into the road to give her a hug. “I can’t seem to breathe well,” was all she said. We cautioned her to be smart and take it easy, but we also knew that’s not the way she’s wired. For a gripping account of how this sport humbles all of us sooner or later, check out Rebecca’s excellent recap: “Race Review: Boston 2024.” In case you didn’t hear, the heat on the day of the event made this year a real heartbreaker and she wasn’t the only one who had a tough race. One local influencer from Boston named Davis Clarke found himself in a real crappy situation. Literally. Check out: “Local influencer Davis Clarke breaks 3 hours in Boston Marathon, pushes himself… maybe a little too far?”

• You may have heard at one point or another that you should avoid drinking coffee first thing in the morning. Some nutritionists claim caffeine doesn’t mesh well with your early morning cortisol levels, which are highest when you wake up. Others say drinking coffee too early can lead to a crash. Well, one group of scientists are calling these claims into question, and they say that: “Waiting to Drink Your Coffee Until Mid-morning Is a Useless 'Hack'.”

Minute 6: Daily Inspiration

Did you really even run a marathon if you don’t mention it a thousand times? If you ask @ezraweisz, the answer is a resounding no, and that’s why he’s wearing medals all around the office in this hilarious Instagram clip. We’d be lying if we said we never humble-bragged about completing a race ourselves, and quite frankly, we think everyone who puts in all that work deserves their moment in the limelight. Whether or not you agree, we’re confident you will get a kick out of the video below.