If you weigh yourself before and after an hour or two of exercise, the difference is likely to be fluid loss. However, in events lasting several hours or even several days, measurable fat loss can occur. At a competitive 12-hour indoor stationary bicycle marathon, one athlete took fluids and food throughout the entire competition, and still lost 2.64 pounds (Schweizerische Rundschau für Medizin Praxis, July 2007).
Of this weight loss, 1.98 pounds was due to loss of fat. His calculated muscle weight increased by 1.46 pounds due to damage to the muscle cells, which results in fluid retention in the cells.
Read the rest of this entry »
Completing a marathon puts ordinary runners in the company of elite athletes—finishing a 26.2-mile run is an impressive accomplishment.
But you don’t have to be an elite athlete to join the ranks of marathoners around the world. With dedication and training, most runners can complete a marathon—and then have the satisfaction of being able to say, “A marathon” Yeah, I’ve done that.”
So don’t shy away from a marathon because it seems too hard, too long, too painful. With the right attitude and a good training regimen, it’s just 26.2 miles away.
Read the rest of this entry »
The Gatorade Company, a division of PepsiCo, and Tiger Woods announced today a collaboration to develop Tiger- inspired sports performance beverages for athletes at all levels. Terms of the licensing deal were not disclosed.
“Gatorade has been part of my game plan for years, whether I’m training or competing, so this is an ideal match,” said Woods. “Gatorade is a winning brand with a proven formula and the science to back it up. That’s why I wanted to partner with them. I’m eager to launch my first signature product in a few months and look forward to developing additional sports performance beverages with Gatorade in the coming years.”
The first product, Gatorade Tiger, is a Gatorade Thirst Quencher subline that will be launched in March 2008. The subline charters new territory for Gatorade, as it marks the first-ever licensing deal for the $5 Billion brand (US) and Tiger Woods’ first-ever endorsed sports beverage.
Read the rest of this entry »
Next time you’re in the supermarket, take a stroll down the infant aisle. No, not to stock-up on Pampers or for that sale on sippy-cups…this walk on the tame side is for you.
If Motherhood hasn’t hit you yet, you’ve probably never ventured into the Gerber area. Yet, even if you’ve got a stash of Mother’s Day cards, visit (or revisit) this land-of-plenty with newborn eyes and with a novel toddler in mind: You.
A brand-spanking-new-view of baby paraphenalia is crying out, practically crawling off the shelves for your attention. The drink of champions (little and large, it seems), the nectar of the stars (athletes and your under-one-year-old), the elixir for all ages, is Pedialyte.
Long distance runners led the trend, beginning way back in the 1980s. Leaps and bounds ahead of the slower starters, marathoners …
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
How fast you can move and how long you can exercise intensely depends on the amount of sugar (glycogen) stored in your muscles. The same rule applies in all sports: when muscles run out of their stored sugar supply, they require more oxygen and you have to slow down.
Fluid is less important than muscle sugar because dehydration will not cause you to slow down until your blood volume is reduced. As you lose fluid from sweating, interstitial fluid stored around cells is released into the blood to maintain blood volume. When you compete is sports at a very high intensity, your muscles run out for stored sugar long before your blood volume is reduced, and you slow down from lack of muscle sugar before you slow down from reduced blood volume (Sports Medicine, April- May 2007).
Read the rest of this entry »
Jim Fortner is a weekly, guest contributor. Make sure to also check out his own personal running and advice site: “Jim2’s Running Page”.
If you have found a regimen to avoid cramps during a marathon that works for you, stick with it. Don’t listen to the “naysayers” who try to tell you that you are doing something wrong or unnecessary.
I found a regimen that stopped my marathon cramps after suffering them in several races. It wasn’t simply one “silver bullet”. But a combination of factors.
I believe that the primary cause of cramps during a marathon is over running it … trying to run a pace that you truly aren’t prepared for. Obviously, the solution(s) for that is (are) more intensive training and/or better race planning and/or execution.
However, assuming that you are adequately trained for your race plan and that you execute your plan properly, then I also believe that there are other factors that come into play, especially when you are running “on the edge”. These “other factors” include your potassium and sodium stores going into the race and the intake of electrolytes during the race.
Read the rest of this entry »
Most athletes know that lack of fluids weakens and tires them, so they take adequate amount of fluids, before, during and after competitions.
However, many do not know how much they need extra calories. They often are told incorrectly that the human body has so much fat on board that lack of calories is not a significant problem.
Researchers at the University of Wales in the United Kingdom found that moderate calorie restriction two days prior to competition slows down endurance far more than reduced fluid intake over that same period (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, February 2007). Moderate dehydration does not harm performance until a person becomes severely dehydrated. On the other hand, lack of calories stops you cold in your tracks.
Read the rest at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
A study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that drinking fluids earlier can improve performance more than taking them later (International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, December 2006).
Seven highly-trained male triathletes, aged 18 to 35 years, were tested during two simulated Olympic-distance triathlons. They took a full glass of water at 8, 16, 24, and 32 kilometers, and this was compared to taking the same drink 2, 4, 6 and 8 kilometers later in the event (at 10, 20, 30, and 40 kilometers).
As you would expect, opening swim times for 1500 meters were similar between trials; as were the second event (40-km cycling) times, but the third event (10-km run) times were faster when the athletes took food and drink earlier. Dehydration does not harm an athlete’s performance until he lacks a large amount of water and his blood volume is depleted significantly. That explains why the athletes’ performance was not harmed until the third event of the three-event competition.
Read the rest of this entry »
In general, marathon races are among the most physiologically demanding endurance events in the world with runners competing for a distance of 42 kilometers (26.2 miles). (3,6) Competitive marathon runners often maintain a pace equaling 70-90% of their VO2max (max output) for over two hours. (6) Both biological and environmental factors affect the thermoregulatory balance in marathon runners.
Marathon races are considered mass participation events, and heat injuries occur in less extreme conditions. When running in closer proximity to other runners, it has been reported that the physiological heat stress is three times more straining on the body compared to someone running solo in identical weather conditions. (6) As mentioned earlier biological and environmental factors play a role in maintaining thermoregulatory balance in marathon runners. Biological factors such as dehydration, metabolic rate and gender limit thermoregulatory control. (3)
Read the rest of this entry »
A study from the Netherlands shows that sugar in sports drinks slows absorption and increases stomach cramping in running races shorter than 12 miles.
Fluids pass through your stomach and are absorbed almost immediately in your intestines. Exercise slows fluid passage from the stomach but does not affect intestinal absorption. Sugar added to drinks can delay stomach emptying to increase risk for cramps.
Another study from the University of Utah, reported in the same journal, shows that taking a salty drink just before exercise increases endurance. Dehydration is the most common cause of fatigue during exercise in fit men and women. This study used salted drinks or placebo (unsalted) drinks with two groups of cyclists, and demonstrated a significant improvement in an endurance time trial as well as better maintenance of blood volume in the group that had the salted drinks.
Read the rest of this entry »
© 2006-2008 The Final Sprint, LLC | Privacy Policy | Design by The Blog Studio
The Final Sprint, LLC is owned and operated by Adam Jacobs
The Final Sprint