Intense “block” training produces “superior results” Training programs allow for an almost infinite variation in the key elements--distance, pace, and recovery. One promising but little studied approach can be called the “short block” or “microcycle” method. It challenges endurance athletes with several days of consecutive hard training followed by several days of relative rest. A training program that lasts 3 to 4 months could then include a number of these blocks as it builds toward a peak.
Here researchers worked with elite athletes--a group that can’t easily improve fitness. They happened to be cross-country skiers. Judging from their vo2 maxes, these skiers were roughly equivalent to runners who could cover 5K in 15:00. While half the skiers served as a Control group that maintained normal training, the other half were asked to do a 6-day Block of hard intervals. [The 6 days actually included 3 hard, 1 recovery, 2 hard.]
After the 6-day block, the skiers had 5 recovery days, and were then tested for pre- and post-comparisons. The tests showed that the Block skiers improved more than Controls in a 1-minute speed test, and in pace at a predetermined blood lactate level. In this sub-max test, they also had a lower heart rate and perceived exertion.
Conclusion: “BLOCK induced superior changes in indicators of endurance performance compared with CON.” More (free, full text) at Frontiers in Sports & Active Living.
Run with an “expert” stride--not a “novice” stride You can’t always “eyeball” a modest, midpack runner vs an elite runner and discern differences in their running economy. You might think you can, but it’s not that easy, since oxygen-consumption takes place internally--not at the foot or elbow or shoulders. It’s especially interesting, I think, to note that a number of today’s top female marathon runners seem to have a lot of wasted motion, particularly in the upper body. They would fail any “expert” appraisal of good running form. But they win the big races.
Notwithstanding the above, good (efficient) running form tends to follow key principles. In a new paper, researchers looked for differences between “expert” and “novice” runners. Here’s what they found. The experts had a lower duty factor,meaning they spent less time on the ground. They also exhibited less vertical oscillation; ie, they bounced less than novice runners.
These seem to be valuable running-form goals. And probably more significant than what your upper body is doing. More at Bioengineering.
When to return to running post-marathon We all know that the marathon can inflict significant body damage--almost always of short duration--and that we need a good recovery period afterward. But lots of things can get in the way of that recovery, including both exaltation (after a good race) and disappointment (after a bad one). Either might induce you to begin training again too soon and/or too hard.
There’s no single rule to cover all situations in running, but this is a good time to adopt a simple, all inclusive rule for post-marathon recovery. Better safe than sorry. Here an experienced physical therapist offers sound advice for Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and beyond. You’ll smile over the instructions on how to walk backwards down a stairway. The author says, “Been there. Done that.” I can echo the experience, especially post-Boston Marathon. More at Finish Line PT.
Why you shouldn’t do sexy fast intervals or tempo runs British trail runner Jon Albom has been training in Norway in recent years, sometimes with the unmatchable Killian Jornet. And Albom believes he has learned a few important lessons. I appreciated one in particular.
Albom notes that Jornet doesn’t necessarily aim for the fastest sessions he could run--on easy terrain after a relaxed warmup. Instead he trains himself to run strong when tired. He mimics what racing will feel like.
Example: Jornet runs tempo-like efforts after pushing himself through some steep uphills and downhills. “It teaches you to run at your honest threshold speed as opposed to your sexy threshold speed,” says Albom. You might not feel good about the read-out from your watch. On the other hand, you might really enjoy your race-day result. More at Athletics Weekly.
Best therapies for iliotibial band syndrome Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a frequently seen injury among runners, triathletes and cyclists, producing pain and stiffness on the lateral (outside) edge of the knees. Physical therapists have many tools and modalities to work on ITBS. This systematic review delved into the most successful.
It concluded that “deep transverse frictions” didn’t seem to work, and “are not recommended.” Trigger point decreased pain and improved function. Both shockwave therapy and dry needling “showed improvement in pain and limb function.” More at Int J of Advanced Health Science & Technology.
When to skip and when to skip skipping If you’ve got an ankle injury, don’t do skipping as an alternative movement. It produces more force around the ankles than normal running, and will likely aggravate any ankle injury. On the other hand, if you’ve got a knee injury and/or would like to increase your ankle strength, then skipping might work very well. When it comes to the hips, both running and skipping produce “no differences in hip contact forces between gaits.”
Conclusion: Skipping is “a viable alternative to running if the primary goal is to reduce joint loading at the commonly injured patellofemoral joint.” But not for the ankles. These findings can help clinicians, coaches, and runners choose “activities most appropriate for a patient’s individual training or rehabilitation goals.” More at J of Applied Biomechanics.
The best exercise routine when you’re 65+ … or even 85 Whatever you age is today, some day you’re going to be 65+. And at that time, you’ll probably be wondering what’s the best combination of aerobic exercise and strength training for the rest of your life.
A new study looked into that question to provide the answers you want. More than 115,000 “seniors” were followed for 7.9 years to discover what amount of aerobic and strength exercise would provide the greatest longevity benefit. The aerobic benefit was linear--with more being better. Those who logged more than 5 hours a week enjoyed a 32 percent reduction in mortality risk. The strength curve was U-shaped with a 21 percent reduction at 4 to 6 “episodes” a week. At 7+ episodes, this bounced back up to just 2 percent.
The investigators concluded that continued exercise “is important for all older adults, including those aged 85 years or older.” More at JAMA Network Open.
High fat dairy = good heart health in Framingham males. Plus, beer for recovery After years--decades? centuries?--of trying to figure out how our diets affect various health markers and outcomes, it sometimes seems we’re more confused than ever. I stuck to the low-fat dairy approach for a long time despite my wife’s protestations and her claims to be reading authoritative authors who are full-fat fans.
Recently, I switched over, and this new paper from the famed Framingham heart health studies is making me feel good about the decision. It notes that there are different sources of saturated fat, and they might not produce the same outcomes. Here, “Males with higher intakes of dairy-derived saturated fats had a less atherogenic profile than males with lower intakes of these fats.” More at Amer J of Clinical Nutrition.
Also, on the subject of beverages, let’s look at beer. We know it’s globally popular and often consumed after hard exercise, particularly competitions. But is it actually an okay recovery drink? You probably guessed that someone decided to investigate this question. Here’s the outcome.
In a comparison of 300mL of water vs beer post exercise, the researchers concluded that “Ingestion of 300 mL of beer did not significantly affect HRV [heart rate variability] and cardiovascular parameters.” But maybe you should stop at one. And be careful if driving home. More at Int J of Environmental Research & Public Health.
Prior strength training improves hip/knee replacement outcomes Here’s hoping you won’t need a knee or hip replacement any time soon. But since bad things can happen to good people, you might as well be prepared. How? By making sure that leg strengthening work is part of your regular routine. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials, researchers concluded: “Prehabilitation efforts involving progressive resistance training provide an effective means to improve post-operative outcomes.” The more you do beforehand, the better you do after surgery. More at Frontiers in Sports & Active Living.
The latest on blood boosting with EPO There have been quite a few failed doping tests recently, especially among Kenyans, one or two of whom have links to Eliud Kipchoge. I don’t think this means anything vis a vis Kipchoge, who has a two-decade long record of excellence in the sport. But it is worrisome.
As are some recent scientific reports. One paper investigated “frequent, small” doses of recombinant EPO. This is the so-called “micro-dosing” believed to be favored by athletes who want to boost their blood while avoiding positive drug tests. The trial was a “counter-balanced, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study design stratified by sex”--nice work. And it concluded that the small-dose EPO shots were sufficient to “enhance aerobic-dominated performance in both trained males and females.” More at Med & Sci in Sports & Exercise.
You might wonder: What would happen if you let a group of runners inject themselves with a blood-boosting drug called “OxyRBX?” Yep, they’d get faster by a modest but racing-significant 1.2%. Even though the OxyRBX was a sham. A placebo. A nothing-at-all saline injection. More at Med & Sci in Sports & Exercise (2015).
Important new insights on the exercise-brain connection You don’t take tennis lessons to improve your baseball skills, or expect that bicep curls will lower your half marathon time. Yet we have tended to make overly simplistic links when it comes to exercise and the brain. Until now.
A new paper on physical activity, memory, and mental health employed “roughly a century’s worth of fitness data” pulled off Fitbits to find that “different physical activity patterns or fitness characteristics varied with different aspects of memory, on different tasks.” In other words, the kind and intensity of exercise you do has different effects on various brain functions and your mental health.
This is a bit of an eye-opener as few have considered these different connections before. The researchers found, for example, that more active participants scored higher on many memory recall tests, but less active participants performed better on “foreign language flashcard tasks.”
Stress levels floated in and out of the analysis. “Participants who reported higher levels of stress” tended to be more active, which should have a calming effect. However, those doing light activity were less anxious and depressed.
On the whole, the researchers found that “engaging in one form or intensity of physical activity will not necessarily affect all aspects of cognitive or mental health equally (or in the same direction.)” Clearly there’s much more to come from this new frontier.
The paper concludes with a very broad statement, meant to be both provocative and far-reaching. “Our work may have exciting implications for cognitive enhancement. Just as strength training may be customized to target a specific muscle group, or to improve performance on a specific physical task, similar principles might also be applied to target specific improvements in cognitive fitness and mental health.” More (free, full text) at Nature.
SHORT STUFF you don’t want to miss
>>> Treadmill recommendations directly from runners who use them
>>> Sprint the straightaways, jog the curves. Because body forces are much higher on the curves
GREAT QUOTES make great training partners “We are what we repeatedly do. Therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.” --Aristotle
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading. See you again in two weeks. Amby