June 27, 2024

 

4-Minute Magic--The Best Interval Workout

Two new papers look at a familiar and important question. You’ve trained yourself into good shape. You’ve got 4 to 6 weeks remaining before a big race. 

Now what? What should you do to boost your fitness and performance potential in those remaining weeks?

Here’s the payoff first, with supporting details to follow. The best way to improve your vo2 max and sub max threshold is probably with 4-minute intervals run at about your 10k race pace. 

Longer, slower intervals don’t provide enough stimulus. Faster intervals don’t last long enough.

That’s the conclusion reached by a research team that took matched groups of male and female subjects, and trained them for 6 weeks to see who would improve performance the most. Each group did a specific training session 3 times a week during those 6 weeks. The sessions ranged from “moderate,” to several of “heavy” intensity, to outright “sprinting.”

The “workout loads” were also matched. In other words, the slower your intervals, the more total time you had to run. The faster your intervals, the fewer minutes you ran.

Result: The moderate training group made essentially no gains in 6 weeks. If you keep doing the same training you’ve been doing, you won't get fitter. 

Also, running a bunch of 30-second “sprints” was suboptimal at improving vo2 max and lactate threshold. The winning workout consisted of 4-minute intervals run 10 percent faster than threshold pace (tempo pace). 

Subjects did 5 to 6 of these, with 3 minute recoveries between. The researchers noted that this type of effort produced good results for almost all subjects. They even argued that it should be adopted by cardiac rehab programs, since the lower intensity training of such programs doesn’t improve fitness very much. 

Previous studies have also found that 4-minute intervals appear to be the right length for improving vo2 max. More at Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise with free full text.

But could you get even better results with more strength training rather than more interval sessions? A Brazilian team investigated this question with a group of “well trained runners.”

Half the runners did 4 weeks of hard intervals while the other half did 4 weeks of heavy/explosive resistance (strength) training. Result: The interval training improved 1500 meter times by about 2.4%, and the resistance training improved 5000 meter times by 1.6%-1.7% Conclusion: “Both resistance training and high intensity [interval training] constitute an alternative for training periodization.” More at J of Sports Sciences.

Super Shoe Secrets: Make Plate “Stiffness” & “Curviness” Work For You

Super shoes are faster than non-super shoes. One reason could be the stiffness or curviness of the carbon-fiber plate in the midsoles. Two new papers look into these factors.

If super shoes make you faster because they contain stiff carbon plates, then you might assume that even stiffer shoes would make you still faster. Sky’s the limit!

But, no, that doesn’t seem to be the case. As with most interactions between mechanical systems and the biology of human running, it’s the timing that matters--not the simple mechanics.

In this study, researchers asked 21 trained male runners to run in: A) a traditional, flexible running shoe; B) a super shoe with a stiff carbon plate; and C) a super shoe with an even stiffer carbon plate. The runners had the best running economy in the B shoe. There was no difference between A and C.

Conclusion: “Moderately stiff shoes have the most effective stiffness to improve RE compared to very stiff shoes and traditional, flexible shoes.” More at Scandinavian J. of Medicine & Science In Sports with free full text.

Another paper examined the difference between two Asics super shoes: one with a relatively flat carbon plate in the midsole, the other with a more curved carbon plate. Subjects were 12 “highly trained male athletes.”

Conclusion: The runners were more efficient (ie, had a better running economy) in the “low curvature plate.” More at Sports Engineering with free full text.

Fast Track To Strength Gains: Get Stronger In Less Time

I know there are plenty of high-fit athletes who really enjoy their time in the gym hefting weights. And I know we all need to do regular resistance (strength) training.

But there must be many folks like me who want the shortest, simplest program to get their strength work done. That way we can return quickly to our preferred cardio training. Several new papers provide helpful guidance. 

The first, a not-yet-published preprint, compared the effects of traditional strength training vs super-set strength training. The traditional routine involved 4 sets of one exercise, followed by several minutes rest, then 4 sets of the next exercise. When doing super-sets, subjects did one set of the first exercise, followed immediately by one set of the second, then took several minutes rest. Both routines eventually completed sets on the same 6 popular strength exercises. 

Result: Strength grains were equal both ways, but the super-sets took 36% less time overall to complete the full routine. Thus, “supersets  appear to be a time-efficient alternative for eliciting muscular adaptations.” More at Sport RXiv with free full text. 

The next paper, a systematic review and meta analysis, compared traditional strength training to “drop set” training. When performing drop sets, the subject lifts a weight to volitional failure once, then slightly decreases the weight, and lifts to failure again. 

Result: Muscle gains were equal with both forms of strength training, but drop sets took 33% to 50% less total time. Thus, “Drop sets present an efficient strategy for maximizing skeletal muscle hypertrophy.” More at Sports Medicine Open with free full text.

Don’t Get Bushwhacked By These Running Myths

Here’s an intriguing subject that comes up every once in a while. What do we actually know about running, what do we think we know, and what’s absolute BS or mythology? Three big buckets.

Let’s start with an example of each. We know that running is a vigorous activity that provides multiple health-fitness benefits at moderate doses. Okay, that’s endorsed by every scientific group around the globe.

We think that running can actually slow cognitive decline including progression of Alzheimers. But we need a lot more research in this arena before we can be certain. There’s bucket # 2.

Now, how about bucket # 3--the myths? These might include the “10 Percent Rule” with regard to increasing your training mileage each week. Or maybe this briskly debated topic: Do ice-water baths improve muscle recovery from hard workouts, or decrease muscle adaptation after hard workouts? (Please let me know when you’ve got a definitive answer to this one.)

Anyway, I like these Truth vs Myth debates. They force us to think more clearly about important topics, and to re-evaluate our personal convictions. Sometimes we might even change our mind as the evidence evolves.

The Myths question has come up in several places recently. At LetsRun, message-board posters have questioned: NSAIDs, the “No Pain, No Gain” philosophy, training with double workouts, the 180 strides/minute guideline, heart-rate training, 20-mile long runs for marathons, the best pace for “easy-day runs,” rearfoot vs forefoot landings, and much more. You might be interested in the different perspectives here and here.

Over at Endure IQ, exercise physiologist and top Ironman coach, Dan Plews, digs in hard on “6 Endurance Sports Myths” that he doesn’t believe. Several of these include the currently popular strategies of taking more carbs and sodium during long training and/or racing efforts. Plews lists 36 references to support his positions, so he seems to have studied the subjects in great depth.  

The Step-Up Solution: Build More Speed & Hill-Running Power

It’s easy to understand why step-up exercises can improve your running, especially your hill running and speed efficiency. First, they’re a one-legged exercise that simulates the way we hop from one leg to the next when running.  

Second, stepping up is basically the same as running up a hill, or pedalling your bike hard. Third, step-ups build the knee and hip muscles you need for strong, injury-resistant running. 

Here’s an article explaining simple, effective step-up exercises and routines you can do in the gym, a room of your house, or outdoors. It recommends that you try to incorporate some step-up training once or twice a week. More at Triathlete.

Healthy (Exercising) Pregnant Mother = Healthy Baby

It’s been a long time, thank goodness, since we discouraged women from running during pregnancy. It’s a time for caution and listening carefully to the body, for sure, but overall there are many positive effects. Here’s a recent systematic review that finds “numerous favorable health outcomes.”

The more interesting recent research looks into outcomes for the child rather than the mother. These are termed “intergenerational effects.”

A new study reports on the association between a pregnant mother’s exercise habits and the energy expenditure of her child. If the child has a low energy expenditure, that would seem likely to increase his/her chances for packing on extra weight--a global concern, given ever rising rates of obesity at all ages.

On the other hand, if the child has a high resting energy expenditure (“calorie burn”), that should prove protective against weight gain. And that’s precisely what was noted in this report. The researchers measured resting energy expenditure of 1-month-old infants born to women who exercise during pregnancy vs those who did not.

Conclusion: “These findings associate maternal exercise with increasing infant energy expenditure which could be protective of subsequent infant adiposity gain.” More at International J of Obesity with free full text.

The Making of Champions: How Roger Federer & Katie Ledecky Got To The Top

When many of my friends began sharing links to Roger Federer’s graduation speech at Dartmouth, I had to take a look for myself. I’m glad I did.

On the other hand, I didn’t hear anyone talking about an expansive NY Times article on superstar swimmer Katie Ledecky. I stumbled across it in the print edition. It also is noteworthy.

Federer had three main messages for the graduating Dartmouth students: 1) Effortless performance is a myth; 2) It’s only a point; and 3) Life is bigger than the court.

Meaning: 1) Effortless follows only on the heels of grueling hard work; 2) The game and match are more important than any single points; and 3) His work promoting education for African children means more than all his tennis victories. 

Federer offered one unforgettable sports stat: He won 80 percent of his matches, but only 54% of the points during those matches. Some points may be “only a point,” but they are apparently more important than other points. Champions win when it counts.

He also made countless funny comments to keep his message lively, and, in closing, demonstrated the best grip for the forehand stroke. Because … well, it was comical, and the perfect counterpoint to his 3 big messages. 

The article on Ledecky, who has won 7 Olympic gold medals and 21 World Championships golds, didn’t even appear in the Sports pages. It was in the Styles section. Not that there is anything the least stylish about Ledecky, although her new book came out several weeks ago--“Just Add Water.”

Ledecky says she has never consumed a drop of alcohol. She doesn’t mind swimming endless laps every day until she hits 5 miles or so. She’s quiet, doesn’t enjoy parties, and doesn’t talk about herself. Everyone admires her. “I can name on one hand the number of swimmers that nobody dislikes,” said Rowdy Gaines, the three-time Olympic gold medalist who is now a swimming analyst for NBC Sports. “There is nobody that dislikes Katie Ledecky.”

That’s enough to put me in her rooting section at the Paris Olympics. Why don’t you join me? More at NYTimes.

The Sex Debate: Who’s Better In Ultra Endurance Races?

The sexiest question in running is literally the sex question. Are females catching males in endurance performance, particularly in ultra-endurance?

The discussion was first broached in a 1992 “Scientific Correspondence” in Nature (with free full text.) The authors pulled together a few data points to show that women marathoners would likely catch their male counterparts in 1998, and soon surpass them.

Well, no, that didn’t happen. But a lot has changed in running, particularly women’s running, over the last 30 years. So where does the male-female sex difference stand in 2024?

If we look at the sex difference between the current world marathon records (2:00:35 and 2:11:53), we see that it stands at 9.4%. That’s close to the 10% gap that has long separated male runners from female runners. 

However, these real-world comparisons face a significant problem: There are far fewer women than men in ultra races, usually just 10 to 30% of the total field. This tilts the scales of fairness, so to speak. Things might be different if females made up 50% of all ultra runners.

That’s an issue that researcher and ultra-runner Nick Tiller tried to answer in a recent journal paper and online article. Tiller’s a “skeptical scientist” and book author, as well as a columnist at Ultrarunning Magazine, so his ideas carry substantial weight.

Tiller began by digging into ultra-running race results until he found two events with essentially equal numbers of male and female finishers. His subsequent analysis produced both an academic paper at Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism and a lengthy column titled “Are Women Closing The Gap?” at Ultrarunning.

What did Tiller find? In a 50-mile race, there was no significant overall finish-time difference between the sexes, but the top-10 males were much faster than the top-10 females.

In a longer race,100 miles, there were no significant differences in either analysis: overall, or top-10. Conclusion: “The sex-based performance discrepancy shrinks to 1-3% in ultramarathons when males and females compete in comparable numbers.” 

If that number holds up, it’s a lot less than 10%, and lends credence to the female-endurance hypothesis. For social-cultural reasons, women were slower than men to begin entering traditional road races, 5K to marathon. But now they have mostly caught up. 

The ultra world lagged still farther behind. It was once seen as the province of strong, testosterone-driven men. That too is changing rapidly. As the change accelerates, we’ll learn more about the sexy subject of sex and endurance performance. 

SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss 

>>> Build more bone: How to use cardio exercise, strength training, and balance to improve your bone health 

>>> How CPR saved a veteran marathoner’s life: An inspiring story from a physician who interrupted her marathon last fall to perform CPR on a stricken runner. (He’s okay, back to running again, and they might even run a marathon together this year.)

>>> Back on track: Strategies to help you limit low back pain while running 

GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”

--Mahatma Gandhi

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. RLRH will not be published next week. You’ll receive your next newsletter on July 11. Amby

June 20, 2024

Training Secrets Of The World’s Best Endurance Coaches

In a wide range of recent international endurance-sport championships, Norwegian athletes have won more than 350 medals. That’s an impressive result for a small country, and it has happened, at least in part, because the Norwegian sports system encourages strong communication of scientific principles among coaches. 

Now Norway is sharing its story with the world. In an epic new report, several well known Norwegian researchers have pulled together the strategies that worked in major sports like running, triathlon, nordic skiing, rowing and swimming.

They used an interesting model to get at this key information, following “the key informant technique in ethnographic research.” After gathering lots of preliminary data, they interviewed each coach for at least 3 hours to get the real nitty-gritty.

Below, I pull together the most important findings … with bullet points. This takes a bit longer than most summaries, but I think you’ll want to follow everything closely.

# Most training programs included 75-80 percent of all “sessions” at a Light (easy) intensity. This is equivalent to almost 90% of all “time” spent training.

# The duration of these Light sessions ranges from 30 minutes to 7 hours, and is highly sports dependent. Cyclists do loooong daily rides, because their sport doesn’t produce body “pounding” against gravity. Runners do much shorter sessions because of the pounding involved in running.

# Training programs averaged about 10-15% of sessions at a Medium intensity--tempo/threshold effort. In Norway, these are generally performed as interval workouts that include 20 to 90 minutes in the zone. Again, this is very sport dependent. The work:recovery ratio for these interval workouts is 6-4:1. In other words, 6 minutes of running is followed by a 1-minute recovery.

# Training programs included 5-10% Hard training at a high intensity--speed work. These are either interval sessions or races. The faster the workout, the lower the total distance covered. The work:recovery ratio drops from 3:1 for modestly hard sessions to 0.1:1 for very fast training. Norwegian coaches use racing as an important part of training programs, entering their athletes in 15-20 races per year.

# Also, training programs follow a “hard-easy rhythmicity,” use lactate measurements for intensity control, include few all-out sessions, and mix zones within sessions, with a preference towards passive rather than active recovery during interval training, 

# There is a “prevailing notion that most Light sessions must be sufficiently easy to ensure that the subsequent Hard sessions can be conducted with sufficient quality.”

# The Norwegian approach believes it a mistake to call Light sessions “recovery” workouts for two reasons: 1) There’s no scientific evidence that Light training produces a recovery effect; and 2) Light running provides “an important stimulus for peripheral aerobic adaptations.” That is, while Light training doesn’t provide a true recovery, it does enhance your fitness. Don’t denigrate easy runs; they are important.

# Many Norwegian coaches and athletes use cross-training, but it might not be particularly valuable for elite runners. Why? Because running is so very “specific” with its fast, hard-pounding strides. Many Norwegian coaches do not believe any cross-training exercise is specific enough for runners. An interesting but little noted phenomenon: “Running is unique among endurance sports in that cadence does not and cannot be manipulated much.” Cadence changes more in training and racing of other sports.

# Half of the coaches surveyed have adopted “double threshold” training--some training days with both morning and afternoon workouts that may include relatively long amounts of threshold work. They believe threshold intervals allow for running at faster and more race-relevant speeds “without the negative consequences of HIT in terms of fatigue and recovery.”

# Norwegian coaches prescribe a wider variety of interval paces--especially slower, but also sometimes fast--than the classic intervals described in the scientific literature. These classic intervals almost always advise a speed of at least 90% and more of vo2 max speed. Norwegian coaches worry about approaches that are “nonsustainable, and are careful to keep intervals controlled, so the athlete is never “floundering” toward the end. 

Conclusion: For mechanical loading reasons, different sports require different approaches. Most coaches prescribe a high percentage of Light training. “Intensive sessions (Moderate and Hard) are considered paramount for performance progression, and all sports perform considerably more M than H sessions.” Also: “Best practice interval sessions are characterized by a controlled, non-all-out approach, a high total work duration, and a slight progressive increase in intensity throughout.” As an end result, they are “less exhaustive” than much previous interval training. Also, “We observed a trend towards lower work:rest ratios with increasing intensity.” More at Research Gate with free full text.

Don’t Ever (Never, Ever!) Do This One Thing

All runners know that there are certain basic rules of training adaptation that must be followed. These are often summed up as “The Terrible Toos”: Don’t do too much, too soon, too fast.

In all likelihood, it is the too-frequent violation of the “Too” rules that causes many running injuries. Sure, we love to blame our shoes, and hard surfaces, and lack-of stretching, and foot strike … and anything else we can think to blame when we get injuries.

But there’s little evidence to support all our excuses, and quite a bit that points a finger at “training mistakes.”

Alan Couzens, a physiologist and endurance coach, has a knack for taking training rules and summarizing them in the simplest, most succinct way. That’s what he does here in constructing “one of the wisest little tidbits I ever heard.” It came from the coach of successful Olympians.

The rule? “NEVER increase volume and intensity at the same time.” Couzens adds: “This is an incredibly powerful strategy to keep the athlete focused.” That could be another rule: Focus on one thing at a time.

As a runner, you can gradually increase distance, or gradually increase speed work. “Never both,” says Couzens.

I’d be tempted to go a little farther. It’s probably a good idea, at least initially, to reduce either distance or speed while you are increasing the other. More at X/Alan Couzens.

Do Male Endurance Athletes Have Damaged Sperm?

Many decades ago, I began hearing anecdotal reports that male marathon runners fathered more girls than boys. I’m not sure this has ever been deeply researched,, but apparently there’s some evidence from the soccer world. One study found 57% female births to 43 % male, and the ratio was even higher during times of more intense training.

Of course, there have been many reports that those hard, narrow bicycle seats are not the greatest invention for male sexual response. Now we’ve got a larger look at these questions from a systematic review that investigated “The Effect of Endurance Exercise on Semen Quality.” 

Don’t worry, guys. You’re going to be okay. 

From 13 studies including 280 male subjects, researchers concluded that there’s “limited evidence” regarding “endurance exercise and male fertility.” Also, While “endurance exercise can have a negative effect on semen quality,” this rarely results in “a clinically relevant impact on male fertility.” 

For the most part, “endurance sports alone do not seem to critically disrupt spermatogenesis.” Problems are most likely to develop among those who begin hard training with low normal sperm quality, and/or those who do high volume or high intensity training. 

Conclusion: “Sperm concentration and motility” are the most important qualities with regard to pregnancy rates, and these generally “remained above World Health Organization defined thresholds” in endurance athletes.” More at Sports Medicine Open with free, full text.

Best Ways To Continue Exercising After Knee Replacement

Knee replacements happen. According to some data, up to 8% of adult Americans will eventually seek the surgery, known as “knee arthroplasty.”

Knee replacements happen to athletes and non-athletes alike. Many experts now believe that a sedentary lifestyle combined with obesity is a greater threat to knee health than normal inline exercise like walking and running. 

Still, knee replacements happen because so many are living with chronic pain and limited mobility. After surgery, the smartest and most motivated seek a return to activities they know will provide optimal health and fitness--moderate aerobic exercise.

A new report has investigated which activities (sports) are most likely to prove successful post-knee-replacement, and which will prove difficult. The researchers managed to gather self-reports from more than 1000 subjects who had undergone knee replacements. 

The good news: “Return to sport is feasible with high satisfaction.” However, activities requiring full-body-weight support (like running) “demonstrated the least favorable participation rate changes.”

Conclusion: “Swimming and cycling represent manageable postoperative activities with high return-rates, while runners and joggers face increased difficulty returning to equal or better activity levels. Patients should receive individualized, sports-specific counseling regarding their expected postoperative course based on their goals of treatment.” More at Archives of Orthopedic & Trauma Surgery.

All Body Types Can Be Healthy. But Careful About Your Weight

When I look around me at road races these days, I see many body types quite different from the old days when we were all lean, mean, and fast. This is a good thing.

We know this is a good thing, because much research has supported the idea that “fat but fit” individuals are significantly healthier than fat and unfit. The latest looked at more than 160,000 middle-aged Japanese adults who were followed for almost 6 years. During that time, fat but fit subjects (over BMI 25.0) had roughly the same stroke, heart attack, and mortality risk as thinner but fit subjects. 

Conclusion: “Obesity, when accompanied by a healthy metabolic profile, did not increase the risk of cardiovascular outcomes and all-cause mortality.” We should encourage all family and friends, regardless of their weight or body type, to do more healthy exercise. The payoff is clear, and significant. More at International J of Obesity.

That said, without exercise, a higher BMI is linked to dramatically higher rates of unhealthy cardiovascular measurements. In this study, that meant increased odds (by 532%) of higher arterial stiffness, and worse left ventricular performance (by 704%).

No body measurement is perfect--BMI has many critics because it is a very crude tool that basically divides height by weight. Another measure, called Body Roundness Index (BRI), places more emphasis on waist circumference. Which might move it closer to a good assessment for health outcomes.

A new paper evaluated BRI trends among 33,000 adult Americans over the last 20 years. It found that BRI is increasing, and that all-cause mortality is higher among those above the middle than those in the middle. (The very thin also faced higher risks than those in the middle.) More at JAMA Network Open with free full text.

What Sports Drink To Use. Or Make Your Own At Home

When I first began running road races and the Boston Marathon in the 1960s, we didn’t have drink tables. Race organizers just let us “wilt” out there on the steamy roads as we became more and more dehydrated with each passing mile.

Then came water, then Gatorade, then drinks with glucose and fructose, then maltodextrin and now something called cyclic dextrin or cluster dextrin. At the same time, we’re urged to consume as many carb-calories per hour as possible while not getting stomach sick from all that sweet stuff. 

It’s a tricky balancing act, and the drink that works best for your training partner might be the worst one for you. That’s because we’re all so different in how we sweat, and how we 

react to fluid replacement. 

If you want to know more about all these issues, here’s a great journalistic-but-scientific summary of the topic. The article, provocatively titled “Sugar Wars,” covers everything from Red Bull and the approach used by Olympic triathlon champ Gwen Jorgensen to the physiologic challenge of absorbing sugar waters without stomach/GI distress.

An additional, almost insoluble problem: How are we supposed to know if our sports supplements actually contain what they claim? This question caused a major ruckus recently when it was shown that one mega-carb drink named “Awesomesauce” wasn’t quite so awesome as claimed. In fact, an independent chemical analysis showed it had less than 40% of the carb calories noted on its promotions and packaging. 

No wonder some runners prefer to make their own sports drinks at home. Here are 5 simple at-home recipes that include the most recommended carbohydrate amount by volume (6 to 9 percent). More at Marathon Handbook.

What!!?? Slow/Moderate Running Speeds Produce The Most Soccer Goals

So far as I know, soccer is the world’s most popular sport with the rowdiest fans and huge TV audiences. That makes it fascinating to read almost any exercise research that applies to “the beautiful game.”

This paper is even more interesting than most because it implies that a good distance runner should make a good soccer player. Maybe you have a chance of making it to the next World Cup Final. How’s that? What about sprinters?

Here’s the deal: A group of Polish researchers measured the amount of running that team members did in the 5 minutes before a goal was scored. As you know, there are few goals scored in most soccer matches. So any measure that links to goal-scoring is super important.

Result: In the key 5-minute pre-goal time period, the team that did the most running was mostly likely to score. Teams that ran less were more likely to give up a goal. Okay, that seems reasonable so far.

But here’s the surprise: High-speed and “sprint” running were not associated with goal-scoring. The goals followed “the volume of medium- and low-intensity running efforts.” Rather like the running you do when training for a half-marathon or marathon.

Conclusion: “The significant difference between teams scoring and conceding a goal lies in the distance covered during low-to-moderate intensity running.” This seems counterintuitive and is different from some other soccer research that favored high-speed running and scoring. But it could mean that goal-scoring is related to “organized movement of the entire team.” More at Nature Scientific Reports with free full text.

SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss

>>> Improve your running economy: A nice illustrated guide (from Tom Goom) based on the latest running-economy study. 

>>> Sleep well pre-race: Scientific strategies to calm your nerves and improve your sleep before a big race.

>>> Complete calf muscle guide: 20 experts provide a 6-phase approach that “could provide the best preventative effect.” Very deep, with exercise illustrations. Free.

GREAT QUOTES Make Great Training Partners

“I need solitude. I need space. I need air. I need the empty fields around me; and my legs pounding along roads; and sleep; and animal existence.”

--Virginia Woolf

That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading. See you again next week. Amby