More Fuel is the Key to Racing?

Dublin Marathon 2012I found this study fascinating. I’m always trying to figure out the proper balance of nutrition during a marathon–how much is too much? Sometimes I find myself hungry during a race and have obviously let my tank get too empty, but I worry I will take in to much and cause stomach problems. But that may not be the case…Now it looks like I need to fuel more.

A new study published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise shows aggressive fueling may be the key to optimal performance. Researchers recruited runners training for the 2013 Copenhagen Marathon and told them to finish a 10K time trial about seven weeks before the race. Runners were grouped into pairs based on speed. From each pair, one runner used the fueling strategy developed by the researchers, while the other was told to fuel however he or she wanted. All runners completed a half marathon five weeks before race day and so everyone could practice their particular fueling strategy.

Next came marathon day and the results were surprising:

In the 2013 Copenhagen Marathon, the 28 runners who were using the fueling plan ran an average of 4.7 percent faster than the 28 who didn’t. No one reported gastrointestinal issues–which to me, is the most curious result of all. You’d think the opposite would be true, but I was pleased to discover that’s not the case.

Each runner on the scientists’ fueling plan took in about 25 ounces of H20 and three High5 EnergyGel Plus gels  per hour. Each of these gels contains 30 milligrams of caffeine, a known performance enhancer.

High5 EnergyGel is not available in the U.S., so to replicate the study, look for a gel that contains caffeine and more than one type of sugar (glucose, fructose, maltodextrin, etc.) If you are not a caffeinated beverage drinker, this much caffeine may have poor results and give you the shakes. Try to ease into it.

Sources:

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/aggressive-fueling-plan-means-faster-marathon-times

http://journals.humankinetics.com/ijsnem-current-issue/ijsnem-volume-24-issue-6-december/improved-marathon-performance-by-in-race-nutritional-strategy-intervention

The Superbowl Workout

race-day-720x288In less than two weeks, the Patriots will meet the Seahawks on the Gridiron for the Holy Grail of football games: The Superbowl. Did you watch the Seahawks game yesterday? What an amazing comeback and rally by the team.

How many times have you had to rally in a race? I’ve done it in almost all of my marathons. I hit the proverbial wall and dig deep to finish. One of my goals is to become a better endurance athlete by building up my speed in 2015 so I don’t spend the last hour of a marathon rallying. Here are a couple of Superbowl-sized workouts to help with your running goals for this year:

Speed workout for the treadmill:

If the weather is still a little too cold for outdoor running, here’s a workout option:

Option 1: 

Warm up: 5 minutes jog
Tempo: 5 minutes
Interval: 2 minutes
Repeat drill 4 x of 5 minutes tempo run and then 2 minutes interval run. You can come back to the same speed on the tempo run, but always try to go faster on the interval speed.
Cool down: 5 minutes (walk if you need)

If the weather allows for track running, try out this workout:

Option 2:

Warm up: 2 x 400m
Tempo: 400m
Interval: 800m with 200m pickups (go faster every 200m). You need to pace yourself to get faster at the last 200m.
Recover: 60 seconds no running
Interval: 800m with 200m pickups
Tempo: 400m
Recover: 60 seconds no running
Repeat entire workout twice.
Stretch at end for 10 minutes to help with lactic acid.

For hill training, try this workout:

Option 3:

Warm up: jog for half a mile to a hill
Speed work up a hill for three minutes, jog down
Reverse: jog up and speed race down. Immediately race back up and jog down.
Keep reversing this for 30 minutes
Cool down: jog for half a mile back

 

 

Manage Stress By Accepting It

As athletes, we tend to focus primarily on physical stress – the way that our daily lives and our training affects our bodies. Unfortunately, the tendency is to largely ignore the mental aspect of this equation.

In reality, mental stress can have a huge impact on your health and physical performance. Short bursts of the so-called “stress hormone” cortisol are a natural part of your body’s fight-or-flight response and are intended to suppress certain biological systems that are not absolutely essential in an emergency situation. While this changes everything from your immune system to your reproductive system, the impact of real interest to athletes is what cortisol does to body composition. Just in case you’re going to need it down the road, cortisol tells your brain that it’s time to start creating – and holding on to abdominal fat. At the same time, cortisol triggers a state of catabolism which causes your body to breakdown muscle for fuel. While this happens on a small, nearly undetectable scale nearly every day, when cortisol levels are chronically high – as can happen through extended physical and/or emotional stress – body composition and athletic performance can be severely affected.

Of course, there are tons of different techniques to manage stress out there. A recent study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology looked specifically at something called “dispositional mindfulness” – the ability to be aware of your experiences in an accepting and nonjudgemental way.

 

The Way You See It

Specifically, the researchers were curious as to why two people can experience the same level of self-rated mental stress and yet have such varying physiological responses to it. For four mornings, the group of 43 female subjects were asked to describe their levels of perceived stress, anxiety and negative feelings. The researchers also asked the women if they were able to accept the negativity without judgement. Perhaps most interestingly, the researchers also monitored the subjects’ cortisol levels within the 45 minutes after waking up.

Once the data was compiled and analyzed, it became clear that the women who were more articulate about their thoughts and emotions had lower cortisol levels then those who had difficulty expressing and accepting their internal experiences.

Of course, this is just a preliminary study – limited by the use of self-reporting and small sample size – but it still proves an interesting point: The key to managing stress is not avoiding negative thoughts altogether. Instead, we have to learn to process these emotions in a healthful way.

A related study out of Brown University also found that dispositional mindfulness can improve your overall health, even reducing markers of cardiovascular disease.

 

How To Do It

Unfortunately, this is not a skill that comes easily to everyone. Many people find it difficult to simply experience negative thoughts or emotions, rather than fighting them. With practice, though, this habit can be changed through meditation and mindful exercise. Apart of these disciplines, however, there haven’t been a lot of options for people wanting to improve their dispositional mindfulness.

Interestingly, a study published in Mental Health and Physical Activity compared the impact of both relaxation training and aerobic exercise on the mindfulness of 149 men over 12 weeks. Surprisingly, the relaxation group saw no improvements in dispositional mindfulness. The aerobic group, however, did – lending support to the idea of running to clear your head.

Learning to process emotional stress, instead of ignoring or rejecting it, can help to reduce the severity of cortisol spikes and improve your overall health. While there are many ways to do this, sticking to your routine of cardiovascular training could be a big step. Of course, if that isn’t doing it for you, you might try a mindful exercise style like yoga or Pilates.

 

 

Sources

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24971591

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037

https://news.brown.edu/articles/2014/10/mindful

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755296614000076

Tips to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution

Well, here we go again. New Year’s. The topic of resolutions is flooding websites, talk shows and magazines right now, with everyone discussing what they want to change and how they’re going to do it. But, as you’ve doubtlessly read in myriad pessimistic articles, the vast majority of resolutions fail. In fact, the official statistics claim that only 8 percent of people actually follow through on their resolutions. And, since most resolutions have to do with health and fitness, this is of particular interest to us. What follows, then, are some basic tips you can use to keep your New Year’s Resolution.

1. Set Good Goals –

The primary downfall of resolutions is that are simply not well-planned goals. As we’ve discussed in previous posts, the American Council on Exercise likes the S.M.A.R.T acronym for proper goal design. This means that good goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

So, simply saying “I’m going to lose weight,” doesn’t pass the test. While it is absolutely measurable and attainable, none of the other criteria is satisfied. A much better goal would be “I’m going to lose 5 pounds in a month.” This meets all the requirements to be a SMART goal.

2. Get Quality Advice –

The is an incredible amount of just plain bad advice available to you. It’s everywhere. For example, last week we covered a recent study that exposed the startling amount of false information being spread by means of popular and trusted medical TV talk shows. Often, it’s well-meant. But, perhaps just as often, it’s intended to sell you something. Either way, it’s important to be picky when deciding who to listen to. Not only could following faulty advice impede your progress, it could even serious harm to your health.

If you decide to work with a trainer, don’t be afraid to ask about their credentials since it’s very common for people to work as personal trainers with no education or certification in the field. When it comes to diet advice, though, even more caution is necessary. Everyone has an opinion on what constitutes a “healthy” diet and what works for them may not work for you. For accurate personalized dietary advice, seek out a registered dietician.

Whether its a trainer or a dietician, having a trained professional on your side can be a huge motivation for you to stick to keep your New Year’s Resolution – especially if you’re paying them.

 

3. Think Long-Term –

Another issue, closely related to the SMART requirements discussed earlier, is that many New Year’s Resolutions are last minute, emotional decisions. There’s no planning behind them, nothing to support them and no real, lasting neurological connection to them. And, while that last bit might sound a little ridiculous, consider this: Healthy eating and exercise are habits. Behind the scenes, habits are nothing but reinforced thinking patterns that form new neural pathways. After about 18 to 21 days of repeating a behavior, these new patterns become hardwired into your brain and form habits.

Keeping your resolution, then, is a matter of sticking to it for close to a month and retraining the way that your brain functions. This requires discipline and planning.

 

 

Sources

http://www.medicaldaily.com/new-years-resolutions-are-doomed-fail-why-your-healthier-lifestyle-should-start-today-315508

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2014/12/27/research-says-most-fail-at-new-years-resolutions/

 

How to Help with Back Pain

heat_0Pain in runners’ bodies is usually tied to the leg (knee, hip, IT band), but often runners incur back pain at some point. With spending time in front of computers, slouched over the steering wheel, and lazily sitting on the couch watching television, most of us have developed improper posture over the years. When we run, we take that bad posture into our exercise. Thus comes the back pain. Here are a few remedies I discovered to help combat the inevitable back aches after a long run:

1. With an office job, you sit for hours in one particular position hunched over a computer. Bring in a towel or a small pillow and place it behind you. Also, try to keep your feet flat on the floor to stay in the most upright position possible.

2. Extra core work. One of the best ways to work your core is by incorporating a stability ball into your workout routine. This requires you to engage your core simply for balance alone. I like to do as much weight lifting while on it as possible because it works multiple muscles groups at once–you get more out of a gym session. Also, I like to do my standard crunches on it (much tougher than lying on a floor).

3. Not resting too much with back pain. If you are suffering from simple back aches, the worst thing you can do is nothing. Surprised? I was. Turns out, not moving can make back pain worse. The best thing to do is a non-weight baring exercise, such as swimming.

4. Tailored stretching. I’m used to stretching my legs after a long run, but I’ve tried to incorporate more back stretches. I lie on my stomach and raise my legs and arms straight into the air. This engages my back and core. I hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat five times. It’s a body part I didn’t pay attention to until recently and noticed a difference.

Sources:

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/recurring-pain-11/slideshow-relieving-back-pain?ecd=wnl_hbn_122914&ctr=wnl-hbn-122914_nsl-promo_5&mb=KQxFZGnmvqgu9s2sqdu9eOHnVev1imbCZ62JbeZjvq8%3d

http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/2-exercises-eliminate-back-pain

How Accurate Are Medical Talk Shows?

It’s pretty common that I get asked various health and fitness questions – and this is likely true of most fitness professionals – that begin with the words “Doctor Oz says…” or “I saw on the Doctors…” And, most of the time, this puts me in an awkward situation because I usually disagree with the advice being dispensed on medical talk shows. But, since I don’t regularly watch those shows and definitely don’t research each and every claim they make, I’m not exactly fair or unbiased.

A new review published in the British Medical Journal, however, took the time to do exactly that. For the article, a team of researchers randomly selected 40 episodes of The Dr Oz Show and 40 episodes of The Doctors. Every recommendation from each episode was then isolated. Of the resulting pool of recommendations, 80 were then randomly selected from each show. The team then went to work evaluating the research on each of those 160 recommendations to conclude whether the science supported the claims, contradicted them or was simply non-existent.

 

The Results

Taken as one large sample, the talk shows did not stand up well under scientific scrutiny. Of all 160 recommendations made on the two shows combined, only 54 percent of those claims actually had science to support them. But the paper also looked at each show individually.

For The Dr Oz Show, the evidence supported about 46 percent of his recommendations, contradicted 15 percent and simply did not exist for the final 39 percent. The paper also reports that Dr. Oz makes about 12 recommendations per episode on average. Lower quality evidence, termed either “believable or somewhat believable,” was found for 33 percent of the claims made by Dr. Oz.

The Doctors had slightly better results – but it was a very small advantage. A total of 63 percent of their recommendations had solid scientific backing, 14 percent were opposed by the research and the remaining 24 percent had no related studies to be found. However, 53 percent of the Doctors’ recommendations could be tied to believable or somewhat believable evidence.

It’s also worth noting that any potential conflicts of interest were disclosed only .4 percent of the time, between both shows.

 

 The Take-Away

Clearly, then, medical talk shows don’t seem to fair well when placed under scientific analysis. Although a 15 percent error rate might not seem like much, think about it this way: That equates to 12 incorrect recommendations made in every 80 – the sample size. On average, Doctor Oz makes 12 recommendations each episode. This means that, statistically speaking, one entire episode of The Doctor Oz Show could be incorrect.

The numbers work out about the same for The Doctors, as well.

Of course, there’s still the fact that over half of the information provided on these two medical talk shows is correct; It’s not all bad. But the paper rightly concludes by saying, “The public should be skeptical about recommendations made on medical talk shows.”

Instead of taking the recommendations presented on medical talk shows as absolute truth, then, allow it to be your starting point. If you hear something that piques your interest, do your own research.

 

 

Sources

http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g7346

 

 

Running and Yoga: New Goals for 2015

I want to love running again

I want to love running again

“Namaste” is not a word in my daily vocabulary. I don’t cart around yoga mats and wake up each morning feeling centered and at peace; I lace up my running shoes and click on my iPod to Metallica or Muse. As a finality to this year, I vowed to lock up my yoga timidness and sign up for a class–without any negativity and an open mind.

Runners sing the praises of yoga everyday. “Yoga changed my running,” I heard countless times. I hear of half marathoners who cross the finish line and head straight to the yoga studio to stretch out that lactic acid.

I was not one of them.

Why? Because a gymnast I am not.  I also suffer from workout ADD, which explains my love of running–it suits my lack of flexibility and need for speed. Therefore, I felt sincere trepidation stepping into a yoga class. The students’ sinewy arm muscles screamed “yoga devotees” and their perfectly toned backsides left me even more self-conscious. How would I survive?

As I arrived, the yoga instructor laid out her mat, took off her socks and shoes, laid them carefully to the side and walked over to an iPod dock and pushed play. Soothing spa music filled the air–definitely not my loud, normal workout music.

I mirrored the other students and removed my socks and shoes and stood face forward on the mat. The teacher asked us to move into a series of poses with names like Downward Dog and Forward Bends. I’d actually completed most of these very poses in my stretching after a long run. We then shifted into plank poses, which I do almost daily to strengthen my core.

I started to feel empowered, as if I just experienced the best stretching workout of my life. I didn’t feel intimidated any longer. Most of the yoga session consisted of moves I already incorporate into my running routine. Only this time I tried harder and pushed my body a little further into each stretch–the skillful students with ballerina litheness made me desire to keep up and come as close to their level as possible. Perhaps the running competitor in me felt pressured to keep up.

In the past, I looked at yoga as a non-sweat form of burning some calories, not as exercise. Exercise means sweating! I take it back. Yoga caused my muscles to shake, which because of running, could take the pain.

Had I not been a runner, that yoga experience would’ve felt entirely different. Running helped me appear a yoga devotee.

Now maybe someday I will be.

Shortness of Breath After A Workout

Vitamin C has been a star player on the natural remedy scene for a long time now. The humble vitamin, found in many otherwise healthy fruits and vegetables, has been touted to cure just about everything from cancer to nail-biting. Unfortunately, many of these claims just don’t hold up under the lens of scientific study.

A recent review of the available research, however, suggests that vitamin C might just be the answer to a frustratingly common problem among athletes and casual exercisers alike: Shortness of breath.

Post-exercise Shortness of Breath

Specifically, what the researchers were looking at is called exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). As the name suggests, this refers to the cluster of respiratory problems that happen after strenuous exercise and are caused by a narrowing of the airways. Typically, this manifests itself as a cough, sore throat and – of course – difficulty taking deep breaths.

Most commonly, EIB is an issue for asthmatics but many endurance athletes struggle with it as well – regardless of whether or not they have asthma.

For the purposes of the review in question, nine randomized trials were analyzed and all of them had positive results. Looked at together, the studies found that vitamin C supplementation – in fairly small doses that we’ll discuss later – halved the duration and frequency of EIB in both trained and untrained individuals.

Obviously, these findings are pretty encouraging for those of us who deal with asthma or other respiratory problems associated with exercise.

 

Putting It Into Practice

So, if you fall into the group of people who deal with EIB, should you start taking vitamin C. And how much?

Much more research is needed before the experts out there can really pin down any dosage recommendations. That being said, the positive results cited above were all found with doses ranging from .5 to 2g daily. Unfortunately, I could not find any information regarding the timing of the dose – whether the vitamin must be taken within a certain time-frame of the workout or can be taken at any point during the day.

It’s also true that you could be suffering with respiratory problems not associated with EIB. If that’s the case, you may see no relief at all from vitamin C supplementation. Here’s the good news, though: Vitamin C is cheap and has a fairly short list of risks associated with it. Especially when compared to other supplements. Because of that, you may want to experiment to see if a little extra vitamin C could help you deal with shortness of breath after a workout.

 

 

 

Sources

http://www.aacijournal.com/content/10/1/58

Setting New Running Goals

B2lCRhvCEAEI-BO.jpg largeIt’s been said before and I’ll say it again: Goals are achieved when properly set. With the new year right around the corner, this time of the year is best to revisit the goals you set this year and assess how you did. It’s also time to set new ones–starting the year with fresh objectives and new aspirations.

The best way I believe in setting goals is following S.M.A.R.T.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

I don’t believe in lofty goal setting, such as “I want to make it to the Olympics.” This is a realistic goal for a select few. I also like non-abstract goals. “I want to do a marathon” isn’t specific. “I want to do such and such marathon in 2015” is specific.

Let’s go through S.M.A.R.T.

Specific: To set specific goals Top Achievement, recommends asking the “W” questions:

Who:      Who is involved?

What:     What do I want to accomplish?

Where:    Identify a location.

When:     Establish a time frame.

Which:    Identify requirements and constraints.

Why:      Specific reasons, purpose or benefits of accomplishing the goal.

See my paragraph above. “I want to run such and such marathon in 2015.” This is specific.

Measurable: Add in something concrete to your goal, such as “I will run a marathon in under four hours.” This is quantifiable and you know you will need to add speed workouts in, probably tempo runs, etc. to reach your goal.

Attainable: You cannot set a goal out of your reach. You’ll become frustrated and give up. Don’t shoot for something you know you can’t do. If you know 26.2 miles is out of the question, but a 10K is realistic and will get you off the couch, set that goal. You’ll achieve it and feel empowered.

Realistic: Same as above. Don’t shoot for the moon.

T
imely: Set goals within a certain time. “I’ll run a marathon in 2014” or “I’ll hit the gym three times a week for three months straight.” You can even add in a month: “By June 1st, I’ll have completed a half marathon in under two hours.” That’s a perfect example of a goal.

Happy goal setting for 2015!

Sources:

http://topachievement.com/smart.html

Running Tips

race-day-720x288As mileage piles high, calories burn off and hydration disappears, it’s tough to keep mental toughness–really tough some days. So what can you do? Here is a sprinkling of advice I’ve received from professional endurance athletes over the years and what I’ve found worked for me:

If you miss a workout, don’t double up another day. If you are following a specific training program and cannot make a scheduled workout, then scrap the workout. If you try to do more the next day, you’ll throw off the training. Programs are designed to build and to relax the body in a very specific fashion. Mixing it up will throw off that delicate training program. Professional triathlete Melanie McQuaid follows this mantra. If she misses a workout, it’s gone forever.

Just stop. When I have a 15-mile run scheduled and my body takes me to mile 12 and then hits a wall, I simply stop going. I know hard-core runners will power through, but why? Unless you are in a race and must make the finish line, not making my mileage every time is okay. I’ll live to another day. But going those last three miles may be the end of me. It’s not worth it and I know I’m doing more damage than good. It destroys me physically and mentally. I become mean when I hit a wall and no one wants to be around that–so to stay mental strong, I know and respect my limits.

Walk. So much focus is on running. Why should you not walk? According to professional runner and Olympic hopeful Tere Derbez-Zacher, you should just try running for 10 minutes and then walking for 5 minutes. If you try to do too much when your body isn’t feeling it, walking is perfectly acceptable.

Cross train. Any runner knows running causes injuries and yet, we still keep doing it because it’s an addictive sport. Sometimes it’s okay to leave the track for a day and join a group aerobics class or even just meditate. You’ll still burn calories and taking a short break will make your running even stronger. It’s possible to come back faster and better–both mentally and physically.

Stay Hydrated.  On a rafting the Grand Canyon and the guide said three important and profound words to me, “hydration is happiness.” Sometimes mental issues stem simply from being not properly hydrated. Wellness doctor Yoni Whitten tells clients to drink two glasses of water when they wake up. This ensures you start hydrating properly immediately and hopefully that will cause you to begin your day with good habits.

Accept my lot in life. I’m not a professional athlete, not even in the same stratosphere. Marathons don’t come easy for me, even running in general doesn’t. While I want to better my time and push through that side stitch for a PR, I know I’m not going to cross the finish line first and should just be grateful I crossed it at all. That’s how I stay mentally strong–I try to just be happy and grateful I’m out there doing it.