Decreased Body Fat, Improved Mood

Let's face it, dieting is pretty brutal.  Calorie restriction not only leaves us feeling empty, but also makes us grumpy.  Furthermore, trying to lose weight in season leaves little energy to burn for training.  


Athletes who try to lose weight in season, especially if they are trying to "make weight," frequently resort to some extreme measures that leave them dehydrated, more susceptible to heat and lacking appropriate energy.


One strategy was recently reported for a jockey.


His resting metabolic needs were met by being broken down into six meals.  He maintained this regimen while continuing his daily exercise routine.  After 9 weeks, he had a 17.5 pound weight loss (8kg).  


Knowing and meeting basic metabolic needs prevents metabolic slowing which can actually result in weight gain and more difficulty in losing fat.  Using 6 daily meals helps prevent hunger which will lead to over-eating--especially when compared to the two daily meals the jockey was eating before this trial. Resting metabolic rates express the amount of calories that are burned at rest as grams of fat, carbohydrate and protein.


More importantly, aside from the loss of body fat, the jockey had an improved mood, which might help him keep up his diet and exercise routine.


source: Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2012 Jun;22(3):225-31

Running adds years to your life and life to those years

Danish researches presenting the results of the Danish Central Register found that regular running as exercise live an average of 6 years longer than their non-running (non-exercising) counterparts. 

Jogging was associated with a 44% reduction in the risk of death over 35 years, which translates into an age-adjusted survival benefit of 6.2 years in men and 5.6 years in women.

Joggers reported an overall sense of well-being, which isn't just about extending life, but living better.

The benefit was found in 3 cumulative sessions a week, totaling one to 2.5 hours a week.

European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation
Source reference:
Schnohr P "Jogging -- healthy or hazard symposium: Assessing prognosis: a glimpse of the future" EuroPRevent2012.

Nutrition Notes

Here are the notes from a presentation that I recently gave on endurance nutrition.  While these are general guidelines and recommendations, specific numbers that apply to individuals can be calculated during exercise testing with calorimetry.  


Calorimetry lets us measure how many calories as fat, carbohydrate and protein one burns with any given exercise intensity.


Here are my nutrition guidelines for endurance events:

Nutrition Notes

Pre-Exercise

The closer to the start of exercise, the smaller amount of food needed

Choose rapidly digestible, low fiber foods (gels, liquids applesauce)

During Exercise

Energy intake for sustained high-level activity

Intake should match expenditure for maximum carbohydrate use or race pace

30-60g carbohydrate per hour

Recovery

Replace used up muscle glycogen

Prepare for the next training day/race

0.5g carbohydrate per pound of body weight & 0.16g protein per pound of body weight

Race Day Plan

24 Hours to Go

Carbohydrate-load: 2.5 minute threshold effort followed by 30 seconds at VO2max

10g/kg carbohydrate (5g/lb) over next 24 hours

Carbohydrate should be low glycemic and low fiber

3 hours to go

Last solid meal.  Meal should be mostly low glycemic carbohydrate

Protein should be 10% of total calories

2 hours to go

4-6% Carbohydrate solution (4-6 grams of carbohydrate per 100ml water)

30 minutes to go

High glycemic index snack (gel, applesauce)

Race Time

Fluid consumed to limit sweat loss to 1% of body weight

Carbohydrate if racing for more than 1 hour

Running Stride Frequency

One of the best changes to come out of the minimalist running movement has been an increase in stride frequency.  By increasing frequency, the "over-stride" is prevented as runners have to decrease the stride length as they increase their foot turnover speed.  Higher foot turnover can also decrease impact forces on the leg compared with a higher stride frequency (longer stride length) at any given speed.

The study found that increasing stride frequency by 17-18% decreased impact.  For example if your foot cadence is 160 strides/minute, increasing by 18% (160 x 1.18 = 188) would yield a stride frequency of 188 strides/minute.

In this study, a metronome was used to help the subjects keep in step with their selected foot cadence.

To count your foot cadence, keep track of the number of times your foot hits the ground in 1 minute.  Multiply by 1.18 to find your ideal cadence for decreasing impact forces.  

Not everyone needs to decrease impact forces, however.  Most running injuries are not directly impact related, but rather, are related to how well we deal with impact.

Beware of Brown Rice Syrup?

In a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, researchers question the safety of Organic Brown Rice Syrup (OBRS) as a sweetener in gels.  There are no current regulations regarding Arsenic in food, however bars and high energy foods containing OBRS also had higher As concentrations than equivalent products that did not contain OBRS.  I doubt that occasional gel use will become a problem, but taking a gel every 30minutes during a 140.6 event could, theoretically, result in increased arsenic levels in the body.

What I learned from a VO2max Test

Using CardioPulmonary Exercise Testing as a training tool

I have been trying to increase my speed over the 5k-8k distances.  No matter how hard I think I can go or how hilly the course is, my pace over this distance didn’t seem to change much this season.  

I decided to look into why this could be.  After all, if I can do intervals faster than this pace, shouldn’t I be able to race at a faster pace?  This season I started doing threshold intervals that were slightly faster than my threshold intervals last season, but was unable to complete a full set of 6, usually getting tired by number 3.

I decided it was time to check if my heart, lungs and muscles were doing everything that they should be doing.

Using a ramp protocol (increasing speed by 1 mile/hr every 2 minutes), I ran on the treadmill while collecting the usual data (Heart rate, oxygen, carbon dioxide, breathing rate and volume).  While my VO2max was increased from 1.5 years ago, the real story is what happened on the way to my VO2max.

I topped out my slow twitch fibers at 8 mph.  I could theoretically keep this pace for ever, assuming I could continue fueling my body.  Beyond this point, the acid from lactic acid was affecting me.

My Anaerobic Threshold occurred at 9 mph (6:40 min/mile pace).  This is a pace I can sustain for about 5 minutes.

My VO2max occurred at 11mph and I was able to hold it for 90 seconds

What do these numbers mean?

My marathon pace would be 8mph, assuming I could remember to fuel during the marathon.

My 6:55 pace for my last few races is explained by my Anaerobic Threshold pace of 6:40.  For shorter distance races, I tend to use all of my slow twitch (type I) and some of my fast twitch fibers (type IIA) when I race.  

Starting the first two kilometers of an 8k at a 6:30 pace is definitely too fast.  I’d be much better off running just below my Anaerobic Threshold and kicking up the pace at the last half mile or so.  I now realize that my tendency is to start out too fast which leaves me struggling to recover during the middle part of a race.

To increase my Anaerobic Threshold pace, I plan on doing 6-8 intervals of 4 or 5 minutes at threshold with either 2 or 1 minutes of rest.  If I can’t maintain this pace for this time, I know that I will have to work harder on replacing my glycogen stores after a workout.

This also explains why I was failing during the second or third 4 minute interval at 11mph.  There’s no way I should be able to sustain my VO2max pace for that long, especially since I could only sustain it for 90 seconds during my test.  I had chalked it up to depleted glycogen and not eating enough during the day, however, now I know that I might actually be eating enough during the day to train after work.

Being seen at night

Blinking lights are commonplace on the backs of commuters and others who are out on the roads training at night.  Well, according to a recent study, that might not be enough.  Twenty four drivers were placed on a road course with a cyclist wearing black clothing with either nothing else, a reflective vest, or a vest plus ankle and knee reflectors.  The bike was outfitted with a steady light, a blinking light, or no light.


Drivers noticed cyclists with a combination of vest, ankle, and knee reflectors.


The light did not make cyclists more conspicuous according to the study.


Lights are easy to mount, however they don't lead to increased visibility.  One take home point is that should be placed on knees and ankles, not on the bike.


Also, look out for expensive SUV's, as they are the number one killer of cyclists.