If you don’t run very fast in practice, you won’t be able to run very fast in races. The following article is written by Dr. Gabe Mirkin, MD, who explains that jogging will decrease your chances for injury, but will not improve your run time.
At the University of Copenhagen, Danish scientists studied experienced runners who had been running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. One group was told to cut their mileage in half to only 30 miles a week, but to run a series of around 50 to 100 yard dashes as fast as they could. The other group continued running 60 miles a week at a fast pace. Runners who ran fewer miles at a faster pace had a 7 percent improvement in their body’s maximal ability to take in and use oxygen.
To read the full entry, visit our partner publication: HesFit.com
With the low temperatures and adverse weather, it’s no wonder that many exercisers choose to hibernate and sweat in the gym instead of going out in the elements. But a great debate among all those fit is one of determining which is better: the treadmill or the pavement. When it comes to the winter season, research points positives and negatives in both directions.
The reason the treadmill feels “easier” on the body is because the ground is actually being pulled underneath your feet (meaning, your feet are not pulling your body forward, as they would if you were running outside), AND there are no other factors such as wind resistance.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
This year’s Sunmart 50 mile event served as the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) Trail World Challenge. Runners representing twelve IAU federations ran side-by-side with the Open field to vie for the overall championship. The men’s winner Jaroslaw Janicki hails from Poland and broke the tape in 6 hours, 7 minutes and 46 seconds. The women’s winner, Norimi Sakurai from Japan, clocked in at 6:34:58 at the 18th Texas Trail Endurance Runs on Saturday.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: TrailFit.com
For many years I have believed that heating muscles in a whirlpool or sauna after exercise interferes with muscle contractions and hampers muscular endurance.
However, a study from the University of Otago in New Zealand shows that taking a sauna after workouts for three weeks helped athletes to exercise longer to exhaustion (Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Sports Medicine Australia, August 2007).
Trained runners sat in a humid sauna for 30 minutes at 89.9 degrees centigrade immediately after exercising, 12 times in three weeks. They then ran as hard as they could on a treadmill for about 15 minutes, to exhaustion.
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People who have longer lower leg lengths (the distance from knee to ankle) will usually have greater endurance during running or walking than those with shorter lower leg lengths.
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin showed that people with longer lower legs use less energy when they run (Journal of Human Evolution, August 2007).
In a previous paper in the same journal, these authors showed that people with longer lower legs are better able to prevent heat build-up, which slows you down and makes you tired. When you exercise, almost 80 percent of the energy that you use to power your muscles is lost as heat.
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Alexandra Haller, a writer for our partner site Her Active Life, is currently training for her first half marathon. Here, she shares the ups and downs of her training routine as she readies herself for the physical challenge of a lifetime.
My half marathon is about 10 days away and I’m increasingly nervous. I wonder how the weather will be that day. I wonder if I’ll see any of my friends on the sidelines or at the finish. I’m anxious about even making it to the finish line still upright. Of course there are only so many factors that I can control, so it probably doesn’t make much sense to worry myself into some sort of frenzied panic. I’ve been running long enough to figure out what to wear if it will be 45 or 65 that day. As to finding my friends, I’m sure that will have a way of working itself out.
In terms of my cardiovascular readiness, I think I can handle the demands of 13.1 miles. Don’t mistake my psychological boasting for haughtiness. Without a doubt, they will be 13.1 tough miles.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
One of the best ways to determine how you are progressing on your fitness program and how good of leg strength you have in general is with a wall squat test. A wall squat test will primarily assess your quad strength however the hamstrings and glute muscles will also come into play as well.
The nice thing about a wall squat test is that it is going to mimic movements that you perform very often in every day life, whether it’s getting up and down from a sitting position or walking up a flight of stairs. Being strong in this type of body position will be of benefit to you because it will make these exercises easier as well as help to prevent you from suffering any injuries in the future.
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HesFit.com
Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years BR Sportswear is closing out their line of high -quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!
Episode 93 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, features my interview with NICK SYMMONDS.
In the interview Nick talks about his rookie season as a professional, how his performance in Osaka was affected by the wear and tear of a heavy, summer racing scheduling, and the thrill of watching Bernard Lagat win the 5,000m gold.
Download the podcast to hear Nick discusses these topics, as well as, why Marion Jones’ relay teammates should return their Olympic medals (and why he would do the same if in their position), planning to “train like a miler or 5k guy” this winter to build up his endurance, and aiming for the American indoor record in the 1,000m (which he says may be his “perfect distance”) when he kicks off the season at the Boston Indoor Games.
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Host: Adam Jacobs | Guest: Nick Symmonds
Producers: Greg Cherniet, Adam Jacobs
Musicians: Ryan Ahlwardt, Darnell Perkins
File Size: 12.7 MB | Length: 18:32 MIN
Episode sponsored by: Bill Rodgers Sportswear
After 21 years Bill Rodgers Sportswear is closing out their line of high-quality running apparel. Visit shopfest.com to take advantage of an unprecedented 50% discount on all in-stock items!
Alexandra Haller, a writer for our partner site Her Active Life, is currently training for her first half marathon. Here, she shares the ups and downs of her training routine as she readies herself for the physical challenge of a lifetime.
The continuation of my training brings me to my longest run yet, 10 miles. Last week I had ran 8.5 miles and felt pretty good about that. In the week between I only had two runs, and one was ruined by stomach cramps. I was definitely feeling anxious about Sunday’s long run but I was also hopeful. There is a definite strength in achieving a goal that not many people ever meet in their lives. I felt I was moving up in the ranks of the running world…
Read the rest of this entry at our partner site: HerActiveLife.com
HesFit.com, our men’s health and fitness partner site, recently reported that runner’s high was largely caused by the presence and production of endorphins in the human body. Interestingly enough, it turns out this issue isn’t as cut and dry as it may seem. Recent research questions the role of endorphins in the onset of runner’s high and turns instead to other factors to explain this state of temporary euphoria.
Endorphins are hormones, recognized for their morphine-like qualities, that are produced in your body during exercise. As Dr. Owen Anderson in Runner’s World magazine was quoted as saying, it is “[s]tress, either emotional or physical [that] triggers the release of endorphins into the bloodstream.” Intense physical activity, an undeniable cause of stress on the body, is widely recognized as the main trigger in this release of hormones. Consequently, many scientists have come to believe that there is a significant link between the release of endorphins and the elevated moods athletes are in after long, hard workouts.
Read the rest of Lisa’s analysis at our partner site: HesFit.com
Today’s podcast features my interview with Dean Karnazes, the “Ultramarathon Man”‘ who earned national acclaim (and became the target of skeptical critics) for completing the Northface Endurance 50 (Fifty marathons in fifty states in fifty consecutive days).
After the NYC Marathon, his 50th and final race, Dean decided to follow in the footsteps of […]
You exercise so intensely that your muscles burn and you gasp for breath. Then you slow down for a minute or two, catch your breath, and then go very fast again. This training technique has been used in all endurance sports since the 1920’s. Now George Brooks of the University of California at Berkeley has […]
Unlike many recreational activities, training for a marathon is serious business. If you fail to train properly you not only run the risk of not finishing, but you could seriously injure yourself.
There are several types of endurance training out there, so finding the right one for your personal goals and needs is […]
In 1937, Dr. Peter Karpovich of Springfield College in Massachusetts published a ground-breaking paper showing that lifting weights helped men improve their coordination. At the time, his paper was ridiculed by most athletes, particularly professional baseball players. They were afraid that lifting weights would cause them to develop such large muscles that they would lose […]
It’s true, most runners love structure. There are countless training programs, workouts, etc that offer and promote such beloved precision and planning.
They detail exactly what pace to run at, for how long and on what terrain; often ensuring dependence on training assistants, sports watches and heart-rate monitors.
Although such training can […]
In 1924, famous cardiologist Paul Dudley White claimed that “exercise can’t hurt a healthy heart”. Over the years, several poorly-controlled studies have shown that ultra-endurance events, such as running a marathon, might impair heart function.
Now a study from Northwestern University shows that Dr. White is still correct. The authors tested 45 patients before they […]
You can’t train for heart muscle fitness and skeletal muscle strength with the same exercises. To strengthen your heart muscle, you must exercise vigorously enough to speed up your heart rate and keep it elevated for a while. To strengthen your skeletal muscles, you need to exercise against increasing resistance in short, hard […]
In an age when performance-enhancing supplements are running rampant, it’s hard for consumers to discern which products really help improve endurance and which are mere marketing ploys.
However, a recent scientifc study may have helped to clear upon the confusion. These recent tests show the drug, resveratrol (RSV), found in natural foods, such as peanuts […]
What laboratory test is the best predictor of finishing times for a running race of 100 kilometers (62 miles), or more than twice the distance of a marathon)? A study from Yokohama, Japan suggests that it is an echocardiogram to measure the size of your left ventricular heart chamber (British Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume […]
Champion athletes are [BOTH] born AND made.
Lance Armstrong is arguably the greatest endurance athlete of all time. Edward F. Coyle, professor at the University of Texas, has tested him in his laboratory several times over the years. (Journal of Applied Physiology, March 17, 2005). We can be certain that Lance has extraordinary genetic attributes.
A […]
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