SEPT 19, 2024 xx
These 2 Form Fixes Can Prevent Injuries
A new running-injury study has produced several clear results that can help you avoid injury. To do so, you may need to retrain your running form.
Researchers reached their conclusions by analyzing the “running posture” of 105 injured runners vs 50 who had never been injured.
They investigated a number of anatomical and posture measurements, but didn’t use high-tech sensors. Instead, they employed a simple video camera. This implies that similar results might be possible by “eyeballing” a runner on a treadmill, or taking still photos.
Here are several measures that did not contribute to injury: height, weight, BMI, footstrike (rear vs forefoot), or average weekly training distance.
In the comparison of injured vs non injured runners, two measures stood out. The first was “forward head posture,” sometimes called “turtle neck.” This results when the head tilts forward from the average trunk lean angle.
Turtle neck can lead to “imbalances between the hip flexors and extensors.” It was found to increase risk of injury by about 50%.
Far worse was “hip hike” which is often called “pelvic tilt.” It refers to a line drawn from the top of the pelvis on one side to the top of your pelvis on the other side.
This line should be parallel to the ground, or very close. It shouldn’t “tilt” one way or the other. In the study group, non-injured runners had a tilt of 1 degree or less.
Injured runners had a tilt of 3 degrees or more. This resulted in a 17 times greater risk of injury.
The authors suggested several ways to improve pelvic tilt. These included standing on one leg for balance, and strengthening the gluteal muscles. The simple, popular “hip hike” exercise is another alternative, and can be performed on a staircase, sidewalk, or step platforms.
Conclusion: Looking at running body posture “can aid in understanding factors associated with RRIs, offering valuable insights for rehabilitation, muscle strength enhancement, and injury prevention.” More at Medicina with free full text.
Plyometrics Can Boost Your Performance By 11 Percent
A new systematic review of strength training for distance runners updates what has been learned since 2014. It found that “plyometric, complex, and strength training” for at least 6 weeks could be expected to improve performance by 2.5% to 11.6%. (Subjects were 92% male.)
Importantly, runners who followed the “plyometric training program obtained the highest average of 11.6%.” The plyometric exercises often included box jumps and squat jumps.
The researchers believe that strength training improved “coordination of the lower limbs and muscle coactivation” while it also reduces ground contact time. In concert, these produce an improvement in running economy.
Bottom line: Strength training should be carried out twice a week for at least 6 weeks as runners are entering their peak fitness phase of training. If that’s too much, “It is possible to obtain benefits in running performance with just 1 [strength] training session per week.” More at Retos with free full text.
Two Processed Foods You MUST Avoid
We’re practically drowning in processed foods, often called “ultra processed foods” in the media. And they aren’t doing us any good. It seems that we read almost daily reports about adverse health outcomes and even cognitive impairment related to processed foods.
It has gotten so bad that some are looking for a silver lining or common-sense approach. A lengthy story in Time magazine points out that not all processed foods are equally bad, and some can be part of a healthy diet.
National Institutes of Health researcher Kevin Hall did one of the first and most damaging studies on processed foods, showing that they increased daily calorie consumption by a whopping 500 calories a day. But even he acknowledges, “You could have situations where you have healthy ultra-processed foods.”
Truth is, virtually all endurance fuels--drinks, gels, bars, etc--would fall into the ultra processed category. After all, it takes a good bit of processing to make them lightweight, portable, and high energy.
A new and widely reported paper in The Lancet offers some simple, helpful advice. The research showed that “ultra-processed savory snacks, cold cereals, and yogurt/dairy-based desserts” actually lowered risk of heart disease.
It pointed a finger at two major culprits: sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened drinks; and processed meat, poultry and fish (like bacon, hot dogs, breaded fish products, chicken sausages and salami sandwiches). These are the processed foods you should severely limit in your diet. More at The Lancet Regional Health--Americas.
HIT Training Vs Low Intensity: Which Wins?
You’ve probably asked yourself the above question at some point. Or perhaps you put it this way: “I don’t like interval training. Can I get the same benefits from running farther at a slower, more enjoyable pace?”
Good question! And here’s an answer from a top Norwegian research group.
They aimed to measure the improvements gained among cyclists who worked out at two widely different intensities. The Low Intensity group did 88% of their training in Zone 1, and 0% in Zone 3. The High Intensity group did 36% in Zone 1, 38% in Zone 2, and 26% in Zone 3.
The LI group worked out 6.7 hours per week, and the HI group only 1.6 hours.
The researchers wanted to find out how the two training programs affected: A) Lactate threshold and fat burning, which can be important in long races like marathons and beyond; and B) vo2 max, which contributes to success at any distance beyond pure sprinting, but especially in the middle distances from 800 meters to 5000 meters.
Who won? Both training programs. Low intensity training (LIT) boosted A, while HIT boosted B.
Conclusion: “The main finding was the specificity of training.” That is, slow training makes you better at slow running, and fast training makes you better at fast running.
So, your training should include both LI and HI efforts. And you need to tailor it to your specific racing goals, especially as your race date grows closer.
Importantly, you can’t aim for optimal performance by doing more slow training. Because “a very high volume alone cannot compensate for the lack of sufficient intensity for the overall development of endurance performance.” More at Plos One with free full text.
How You Can Become An “Ageless Runner”
Running is a lifetime sport, but we go through different epochs on our long journey. This was emphasized in a very precise way by a surprising new paper showing the “nonlinear dynamics” of human aging. Here’s a news story based on the paper.
It found that the human body appears to hit distinct pitfalls--ranging from an increase in muscle strains to an increase in diabetes risk--in the mid-40s and again at age 60. These indicate that the “functions and risks of aging-related diseases change nonlinearly across the human lifespan.”
So, too, with running, though no one has measured the exact changes and challenges we face. Except perhaps for this one: At age 70 or so, our rate of slowing down gets faster. Our performance suffers a sharper drop than in previous decades.
What can be done as we get older and slower? After all, we still want to continue running to maintain good health and vigor.
This article argues that older runners “should prioritize injury prevention, joint health, and recovery.” This can be accomplished with more gentle exercise like yoga or Pilates, more cross training (especially non-weight-bearing exercises like swimming, cycling, and elliptical work).
Also, strength training remains crucial for older runners, as it helps maintain muscle mass, improves bone density, and reduces the risk of falls.
Remember what Ken Cooper said: “We don’t stop exercising because we get old. We get old because we stop exercising.” More at Sport Coaching.
Splash Away! You’ll Run Faster
It’s one of the road racing photos you see most often: Someone grabs a cup of water from a fluid table, and splashes it all over himself/herself.
Sometimes the resulting shot produces a rainbow of reflective colors.
But does that splash help the runner finish faster? The answer is “Yes,” according to a new study that evaluated “water dousing” of runners.
The paper used a randomized, crossed-over trial with 13 runners who completed one hot, humid 10K with “dousing” and an identical one without.
Result: The runners finished significantly faster, by 27 seconds, in the dousing condition. They improved from 44:38, on average, to 44:11. This improvement could, of course, be much greater in a longer race.
The improvement occurred without any difference in heart rate, core body temperature, or relative perceived effort. Rather, “The positive change in thermal perception (via lower skin temperature) during the time trial likely drives this benefit.” More at International J of Sports Physiology & Performance.
It’s important to note that water can also have negative effects on runners. It increases the friction between the body and various fabrics. This could lead to more rashes and blisters, etc. It will also make your apparel and shoes weigh more.
How To Maintain Marathon Motivation
Sometimes we all need a pat on the back and a few reassuring words. Something like this: “It’s okay. You might feel down now, but you’re going to feel much better soon.”
I find this is particularly true when you’re training for a fall marathon through the hot summer months. Every run feels difficult. Long runs are downright depressing--slow, sweaty, totally draining.
We hear many stories about the marathon’s mystery and magic. They make the distance sound so alluring, so enticing, so rewarding.
But it’s not always that way in your training buildup. That’s why I appreciate articles acknowledging that we all feel like “garbage” at times.
And then, like this one, offer positive encouragement to help you persist. You’re not burned out or almost injured, but you might be “functionally overreaching.” Which is okay, because you’ll bounce back soon with appropriate recovery and tapering.
Remember: “If every day of training felt easy, everyone would be running marathons. When the going gets tough, you have to zoom out and trust the process. After all, it’s making you more prepared for race day.” More at Outside Online.
Ice Is Nice … But Only For 6 Hours
To ice or not to ice? Similarly, to take a cold-water bath after training, or not to sit in the tub? These questions have been vexing endurance athletes for the last decade or so.
Why? Because some studies, mainly in animals, have indicated that ice/cold water can actually inhibit the healing process and the subsequent training effect that should follow hard training. After all, early hunter-gatherers didn’t have much ice or freezing water. We didn’t evolve to get fitter that way.
On the other hand, many hard-training runners swear by their ice and cold-water baths, counting them a key to recovery. What’s the smartest strategy?
A new review article tackles the subject. It notes that the goal should not be “obliterating the inflammatory and regeneration processes but instead aim to restore an adapted/normal regulation of these processes to improve function and recovery.”
The authors reach this conclusion: “Cryotherapy may be recommended in the first 6 hours following an injury to reduce pain (and possibly haematoma.)”
After that, step back and let your body’s natural processes take over. Ice “should be used with caution beyond 12 hours.”
They don’t discuss the similar paradox with NSAIDs that limit inflammation but may also limit subsequent muscle protein synthesis and adaptation. But a similar approach seems logical. Use as needed for a short period of time, but not chronically over days and weeks. More at British J of Sports Medicine.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough.”
– Muhammad Ali, as quoted by Sifan Hassan before she won the Paris Olympic Marathon