OCT 31, 2024 xx
Biology Of Training: Do You Need More Miles Or More Speed?
Most runners like daily workout plans. They tell us what we’re supposed to do today.
We also appreciate the importance of tomorrow, the rest of the week, and next month. They help us see where we are headed, and the path to get there.
But sometimes it’s helpful to zoom up to 10,000 feet where we can see the larger forces at work. The biological forces.
For example, two primary aims of endurance training are: to increase muscle mitochondria, and to increase blood vessel capillaries. It would be nice to know the “Effects of Exercise Training on Mitochondrial and Capillary Growth in Human Skeletal Muscle: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Regression.” Hence this mind-boggling paper.
Let’s simplify a bit. More mitochondria lead to greater and more efficient energy production. More capillaries lead to greater oxygen delivery. Put them together, and you can run farther and faster.
Next we ask the ultimate training question: What kinds of workouts boost both mitochondria and capillaries? That’s the question this paper digs into.
Let’s look at capillaries first, as we’re going to abandon this pathway quickly. Why? Because: “Gains in capillarization occurred primarily in the early stages of training (the first 4 weeks) and were only observed in untrained to moderately trained participants.”
If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably not a beginning runner. So you should narrow your training focus to mitochondrial gains.
However, if you’re advising someone on how to increase capillarization in their beginning running efforts, tell them to take it slow and steady. That sort of effort “is more effective in increasing capillary density” than hard intervals.
Now, let’s move to your own quest for mitochondrial gains. Should you increase your weekly mileage or put more emphasis on speedwork?
The answer, essentially, is both. In any given 60 minutes, the more speedwork you do, the greater the payoff in “mitochondrial content.”
However, the same can be said about more training. Higher training frequencies were also “associated with larger increases in mitochondrial content.” Six training sessions a week were superior to 4, which were superior to 2.
Where does this leave us in putting together a training program rather than a biology lesson? Bottom line: “Training load (intensity × volume)” is the “most suitable predictor” of a successful approach. This means “that higher exercise intensities can compensate for lower training volumes, and vice versa.”
The more you run and the faster you run, the greater your chances for improvement. But you can’t run long and fast all the time, so you have to find the balance that's most effective in your own life and training. More at Sports Medicine with free full text.
Run Hard To Reduce Alcohol Hangovers
It was no surprise that a study about exercise, alcohol consumption, and hangovers showed up just about everywhere last week. It made for an irresistibly grabby headline.
According to the researchers, “hangovers have not historically received much attention,” especially not how they might be linked with exercise. Learning more could provide useful public health information, so they put together a suitable questionnaire.
The resulting paper looked at more than 1600 college students from two large U.S. universities. All subjects had experienced at least one hangover in the last 3 months, and all exercised at least 30 minutes a week.
First finding: The more alcohol subjects consumed, the worse their hangovers. Doh.
However, students who exercised seemed to have less severe hangovers. And the more intense the exercise, the bigger the hangover-reducing effects.
In fact, vigorous exercise weakened both the association between “drinking and hangover likelihood,” and “the association between drinking and hangover severity.”
I suppose that’s good news if you like tough interval workouts, and big Saturday night parties. But there are also other smart ways to avoid hangovers. More at Addictive Behaviors.
Build Your Stride Against Fatigue And Injury
In an ideal world, we’d like to run races with basically the same form and stride from start to finish. With maybe one exception: It would be great to increase stride frequency and length at the end of a race to produce a strong finishing kick.
[This is what scientists call an “end spurt”--one of the worst English language uses in the science lexicon. I’m not kidding; take a look. But I digress.]
Of course, we don’t live in an ideal world. The farther we run, the more we fatigue, and the more our stride changes. This was shown in a recent systematic review titled “Influence of Fatigue on the Modification of Biomechanical Parameters in Endurance Running.”
The researchers first looked at 275 papers, which they winnowed down to the 12 most directly related to their inquiry.
To make sure they were narrowly focused on endurance running fatigue, they only looked at studies where runners covered more than 10K.
Here’s what they found: Stride length tends to decrease from about 1.3 meters at the beginning of a race to 1.1 meters later; contact time increases, mostly in the first hour of running; vertical oscillation decreases in the first 30 minutes.
There was controversy about stride frequency. Some researchers claimed it decreased with fatigue. Others found it increases, possibly to reduce impact forces.
No doubt the strength of brain-muscle connections decreases over longer distances. This suggests “a correlation between perceived fatigue and neuromuscular impairments which are known to be the underlying mechanism responsible for the alteration of running technique.”
So, what are we supposed to do? That’s simple (but not easy.) Trained runners suffer less fatigue and exhibit lower levels of biomechanical change than untrained runners. The more long runs you can do, the less you will deteriorate at the end of each one.
And in your next marathon. More at International J of Exercise Science with free full text.
11 Essential Do’s And Don’ts Of Marathon Recovery
The always amazing New York City Marathon takes place this weekend, and there are plenty of other fall/winter marathons coming up soon. So various media are writing about the best advice for marathon recovery.
This article makes some excellent points, including the author’s mea culpa: “Don’t be an idiot like me.” She made some classic mistakes after her first marathon. Many of us have done the same after one of our marathons.
Here’s my favorite tip: “Don’t force anything.” Too often we think there’s a particular strategy we must pursue. Eat this, drink that, stretch this, massage that.
Nope. You don’t have to do anything but listen to your body. It will be begging you, “No Mas,” so follow that feedback.
Another great idea here: Veteran marathon runner and physician Mark Cucuzzella suggests: ““I would thank every single person who supported you to accomplish your goal.” Just do it.
A final suggestion: You’ll almost never regret a gentle walk--from 10 minutes to as far as feels good. Repeat and adjust on subsequent recovery days. Ahhh, feels good. More at Outside Online.
Planks Are Great For Core Strength, But More Variety Is Better
It’s hard to argue against planks as a great core-strength exercise: They’re simple, they’re safe, they’re effective. That’s why I do them every day.
Now I’m thinking I should add more variety to my routine. As this article points out, planks don’t do much for the dynamic stability you need when running over uneven surfaces or perhaps getting thrown off balance.
To increase dynamic stability, you need to move while you’re maintaining a strong, balanced position. Extra points if you can do this while standing on one leg, as in exercise number 7, the “Kettlebell Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift.”
Here are 9 exercises, with clear illustrations, that can help you build your dynamic core stability. More at Outside Online.
RIP: Barrier-Breaking 108-Yr Old Julia Hawkins
We all have a few age-group heroes--runners in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and beyond--who inspire us. We hope to be as energetic, youthful, and joyful when we reach the same landmark decades.
But Julia Hawkins stood alone. When she entered USATF Masters Track Championships in recent years, she forced the organization to recognize a new age-group: 105+.
Hawkins died last week at 108, receiving a full-fledged obituary in the NY Times, and articles in many other media. One listed her 5 “longevity tips.”
I particularly appreciated the last two: 1) Find the "magic moments" in life ; and 2) Marry the right partner.
Older individuals need to have “magic moments and passions to look forward to, something to be ready for, something to care about,” she said.
Julia and her husband, Murray Hawkins, were married for 7 decades. She met him on her first day in college, and later said, "As soon as I saw him, I knew that was the person I wanted to spend my life with." More at Business Insider.
You can learn more about Julia Hawkins from her memoir, It’s Been Wondrous.
Running’s Darkest Truth: Women Fear Attack
The most unpleasant, repeating story in running is “violence against women.” It’s worse than doping, because it affects each and every one of us.
Many women run for the sense of liberty, freedom, and empowerment it gives them. However, running can also restrict the same, and even end lives.
It’s so horrendous, we’re tempted not to report it. But that would be counterproductive and dishonest.
Here Candian Running did a fantastic job pulling together some of most terrifying recent stories and statistics. Alyssa Lokits was murdered in Nashville TN in an apparently random attack by someone who didn’t know her.
Adidas has reported that 92% of women runners from 9 countries reported feeling concerned for their safety, with half (51%) afraid of being physically attacked, compared to 28% of men. A published survey of trail runners found that “more women than men reported a fear of other people while out running.” Women were particularly concerned when they didn’t have cell service on the trails.
Here are 8 self defense strategies from Women’s Running.
Are Fast Food Veggie Burgers Improving Personal & Planetary Health?
Some people choose to eat mostly plant foods because they believe this a healthy personal approach. Some choose mostly plants because they believe this a healthy planetary approach, especially tied to less water consumption. Some of course embrace both.
Plenty of people eat at fast food restaurants, which often feature low cost meats, ie, burgers. A question: What’s the big picture regarding plant-based offerings at fast-food chains? Are veggie burgers gaining a foothold and perhaps previewing a better personal/planetary health?
Doesn’t look that way. This paper examined “Trends in the availability and nutritional profile of food items featuring different meat sources on menus at 75 large chain restaurants in the US from 2013-2021.”
Result: There has been no change in the “availability of meat-based versus meat-free items.” Chicken-containing foods have increased.
Also: The plant-based foods had lower “total calories and calories from protein, unsaturated fat, and saturated fat.” That’s good. However, the plant items also contained more sugar than meats.
The paper didn’t delve into the ultra-processed question--a big issue in current nutritional analysis. Other recent research has found that ultra processed ingredients are “significantly more prevalent” in plant burgers vs meat burgers.
Conclusion: “While meat-free items had fewer calories and some aspects of nutritional profile were more favorable, the availability of meat-free menu items has not increased in large chain restaurants.” That means there has been “limited improvement on reducing climate impact” at fast food restaurants. More at American J of Preventive Medicine.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
>>> Go longer, easier: 5 strategies, one quite surprising, to build endurance for your next marathon.
GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners
“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”
--Albert Einstein
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby
OCT 24, 2024 xx
Yes, There IS A “Free Lunch:” The Miracle Of Muscle Cross-Education
Cross education has got to be one of the most amazing aspects of human physiology. Not only that, but it’s simple and useful too. I’m currently using it for a minor shoulder injury, but it works just as well for the legs.
Here’s the simplest statement of “cross education:” When you exercise one leg or arm, it also strengthens the other limb--even when you don’t exercise that other limb.
This is marvelously easy to test. You just enroll a bunch of subjects, and give them a 4- week program of strength exercises for one limb or muscle group only. The other limb doesn’t do any work at all.
Then you test both limbs to see if they have changed since baseline. Of course, the limb that has been exercising has gotten stronger. That’s why we train.
What about the other leg or arm--the lazy fellow? Surprisingly, it also gains strength, or at least resists a strength decline when subjects are old and losing muscle.
In effect, the non-exercised limb gets a free ride. It violates that old adage that there’s “no such thing as a free lunch.” In this case, there is.
Knowing about cross-education can be enormously helpful when you’ve got a leg injury on just one side, or after a knee replacement, etc.
Don’t give up. Don’t quit exercising. Simply train your healthy limb; the other one will get stronger as well.
That’s what happened in this study where subjects exercised the wrist flexor muscles of one arm, but not the other.
Result: Those who exercised their free wrist lost only 2.4% of their strength in the other wrist (which had been put in a cast). Those who did no wrist exercises lost a whopping 21.6% of their strength in the casted wrist.
Conclusion: “Eccentric training of the non immobilized limb can preserve size of the immobilized” limb.”
You might have an injury on one side. But there’s still much you can do to prep for a successful return: Exercise the other side. More at J of Applied Physiology with free full text.
Tiny Workouts With Big Gains: The Secret Of Microdosed Speed
When I see the term “microdose” it usually refers to doping, and raises my hackles. But here’s a training article that sings the praises of microdosing. I like the story, and this approach to training.
Veteran coach/author Rick Lovett admits that he has often used that old standby, the 8 x 400 workout, with his athletes. Classic sessions like this can improve muscle strength and stride efficiency.
But 400-meter repeats can also leave a runner with beat-up legs that require days for full recovery. The workout could push a runner into the “danger zone” where injury risk increases dramatically.
So … is there a better way to achieve the desired goals? Maybe.
Microdosing speed could be the answer. Proponents suggest that microdosed speed can be less intense, but perhaps more frequent. For example, a runner could do 4 to 6 strides several times a week. Lovett also likes fartlek workouts that include some short, fast runs. More at Outside Online.
Here’s a possible paradigm, my own, for endurance training: When it comes to easy volume (miles/week), aim for as much as possible without overdoing it. For speed, do as little as possible to get the necessary results.
Can You Beat Marathon Muscle Cramps?
I have several good age-group friends who are outstanding marathon runners. But they also face an often-debilitating problem: muscle cramps late in the marathon.
Me? I guess I’m lucky. I don’t have this issue. However, it doesn’t help me much. My friends, despite their cramps, always beat me.
Several recent publications deal with the vexing muscle cramp issue.
The first explored associations and trends for athletes experiencing exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC) in ultra endurance competitions. The authors analyzed medical records from more than 49,000 race participants in the Ironman World Championships from 1989 to 2019. About 6 percent of them suffered from Exercise Associated Muscle Cramping (EAMC).
There was no difference between men and women. Also, those with EAMC lost more weight during their races “but did not differ in serum sodium and serum potassium vs those without EMAC.” Those with EMAC had a history of: “dehydration, exhaustion, hypotension, abdominal pain, headaches, and a previous evaluation for cramping.”
Conclusion: “Dehydration is associated with muscle cramping.” This “contradicts current literature” and may suggest a path forward. However, electrolyte status per se was not an issue. More at Clinical J of Sports Medicine.
A heavily referenced article at EndureIQ likewise notes that there’s little evidence that electrolyte imbalance causes cramping. Indeed, one paper even concluded that consuming electrolytes could lead to cramping.
The EndureIQ article points to another possible cause: “Altered neuromuscular control theory.” But this is hard to study and hasn’t led to strong research conclusions.
So what can you do? There’s always the “pickle juice” cure as looney as that sounds. (The author actually favors those mini packs of soy sauce at Chinese/Japanese restaurants.) You don’t have much choice but to experiment and see what works for you.
But whatever you do, don’t start too fast in your long races. That’s really asking for trouble. Plan a slow start, and aim for negative splits.
The Best Knee-Pain Fix: It Takes 2 To Tango
Knee pain, often caused by patella tendon issues, is a frequent complaint among runners and other athletes. A new paper suggests the best way to deal with patellar tendinopathy.
Two strategies have proven successful in the past: heavy but slow strength training exercises, and therapeutic ultrasound. In this review, researchers compared the two to see if one was superior, and also considered a combination of the two.
Result: Both strategies “demonstrated significant improvements” after 8 weeks. However, continued improvement in the ultrasound group dipped a bit after another 8 weeks.
Best approach: The group that followed both strength training and ultrasound programs showed the greatest improvement.
Conclusion: “The combined application of both methods yielded the most significant improvements in pain relief and motor function enhancement.” More at BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation with free full text.
What Exercise Is Tops Against Chronic Inflammation?
One goal of regular exercise, and one of its major benefits, is to reduce chronic inflammation within the body. Acute inflammation, like sore muscles after exercise, is generally a good thing. Because your body rebuilds and grows stronger/healthier after acute inflammation.
But chronic inflammation implies that your body is under constant, unremitting attack that can lead to various unhealthy conditions.
This is why researchers want to know: What kinds of exercise are most effective against chronic inflammation?
That was the goal of this systematic review and meta analysis of randomized controlled trials on exercise and inflammation. The subjects were overweight and obese subjects, who often suffer from chronic inflammation.
Result, from 123 RCTs: Aerobic exercises (AE) like running and cycling are good. High intensity (HIT) exercise is good. And aerobic exercise combined with strength training (COM) is also productive.
Different exercises did have various effects on specific inflammation markers. But basically you can’t go wrong with aerobic exercise in combination with strength training. More at International J of Obesity.
Running And Depression--Fact Vs Fiction
Ultra running is far more popular now than several decades ago, and we don’t necessarily conclude that ultra entrants are bonkers. Maybe they’re simply runners with an adventurous spirit?
On the other hand, they could be driven by various forces, especially mental stresses. A recent paper on depression among 265 ultra runners found that 21.9% of males and 30.8% of females self-reported with moderately severe depression.
The depression was not related to training mileage, and was lower among un-injured runners, and also among older runners. More at Injury with free full text.
But isn’t exercise supposed to lower depression rates? There’s a good bit of evidence for that.
Popular author and podcaster Dr. Peter Attia recently authored a serious take-down of a much-quoted exercise and depression paper. The paper, with free full text here, claimed to show that running was as effective as well known anti-depression drugs while it also included the extra bonus of improved “physical health variables.”
Attita notes several technical, statistical reasons (yet easy enough to follow) why we shouldn’t accept the running-is-as-good-as-drugs conclusion. He writes: “The claim that exercise could match the effectiveness of medication in treating mental health conditions is not supported by this study.”
He doesn’t argue against the power of exercise. In fact, he says: “Regular physical activity has been demonstrated to support health in numerous ways, including enhancing mood, improving sleep, and reducing stress, anxiety, and feelings of depression.”
He just thinks we should be careful not to overemphasize what exercise can accomplish, especially in cases of severe depression. I agree. More at Peter Attia MD.
Staying On Top: How To Sustain Health-Fitness Excellence
Most of us want to stay fit and healthy as long as we can. Sure, we strive for a peak when we try to qualify for Boston, or when we enter a new age-group category.
But we also realize that maintaining a consistent fitness level for many years is more important than one or two big races that are followed by a long decline.
That’s why we look for advice that can help us sustain our health and fitness. Here are 10 such “rules”
I like them all. But especially: “Focus on consistency over intensity.” And also: “Simple does not mean easy (beware of online gurus).”
I recommend you check out all 10. And also incorporate them into your lifestyle and performance routine. More at The Growth Equation.
Peel Back The Benefits: Bananas And Running Performance
I don’t have to tell anyone that bananas are by far the favorite fruit in the world of runners. Especially marathon runners.
In big marathons, you have to be careful not to slip and fall on tossed-away banana peels. As well as those icky gel packets and discarded water/ade cups.
Bananas are loaded with carbs and potassium--nutrients that runners love. They’re also fascinating in ways I had never thought much about. Until I read the article linked below.
For example, do you know why bananas are curved when most other fruit is circular or oval? I didn’t either. Only now I do.
Quick: What’s the word for a cluster of bananas? Answer just below.
There’s an actual world record for eating a banana with no hands. It’s faster than Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world record. Also, the largest known bunch of bananas included 473 bananas.
When it comes to carbs and potassium, a typical, medium size banana contains 27 grams of carbs, or 108 calories. It’s got 422 mg of potassium--about 9% of your recommended Daily Value.
More interesting banana facts at Interesting Facts (where else?) A cluster of bananas is called a “hand.”
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
>>> That’s a lot of tips: 20 training tips that can help you run stronger
GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners
Paula Radcliffe, 3-time winner of the NYC Marathon
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby