Benefits Of Altitude

I'm spending the week in Steamboat Springs, CO with Tri-Brother and (now) Tri-Sister. If this week had a theme song it'd be "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!" What a great place. And next time you're here, check out Bistro C.V. for dinner. Worth the trip even if you're not a skier.

Anyway, today I ran across Matt Fitzgerald's counter-intuitive article on high-altitude training.

"Boulder’s mile-high elevation is one of the worst possible environments for endurance athletes to make their homes in. It’s not high enough to significantly change blood chemistry in most people, yet it’s also just high enough to significantly reduce performance in high-intensity workouts, so that athletes get a little less benefit from each quality session."

As he says, don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger!

Geezers Rock!

Ironman at age 70? Sure, why not?

Should You Stretch Before A Run?

Today's NY Times weighs in on the issue, reporting the results of a recent USA Track & Field study involving 1,600 runners - stretchers and non-stretchers alike;

"Predictably, since running, as a sport, has a high injury rate, quite a few became injured during the (study period.) About 16 percent of the group that didn’t stretch were hobbled badly enough to miss training for at least three days (the researchers’ definition of a running injury), while about 16 percent of the group that did stretch were laid up for the same amount of time. The percentages, in other words, were virtually identical. Static stretching had proved to be a wash in terms of protecting against injury. It “neither prevented nor induced injury when compared with not stretching before running,” the study’s authors concluded"

Think stretching will make you run faster or jump higher? Think again. Stretching doesn't appear to improve your athletic performance at all and may, in fact, hinder it;

"The bulk of the available science strongly suggests that static stretching before a workout not only does not prevent overuse injuries but also may actually hinder athletic performance. “There is a very important neurological effect of stretching,” said Ross Tucker, a physiologist in South Africa and co-author of the Web siteThe Science of Sport. “There is a reflex that prevents the muscle from being stretched too much,” which is activated by static stretching, inducing the muscle to become, in effect, tighter in self-protection. Past studies have found that athletes’ vertical jump is lower after a bout of static stretching than with no stretching at all. They can’t generate as much power."

It's a good lesson in how conventional wisdom can be unconventionally wrong.

So what to do? Well, I stretch (and have added yoga to my workout routine) but not for the usual reasons - injury prevention, performance improvement, etc. Instead, I'm stretching to address some clear issues with posture and muscle imbalances.

Example: one day I noticed that I carry my right shoulder higher than the left, apparently the residual effect of long days at a desk and poor workspace ergonomics. Not a big problem in the low-distance, day-to-day world.

But after riding 120 miles in the aero position, right shoulder subtly higher than the left, all those minor imbalances become shooting, literal pains in the butt. Sessions with coaches, yoga instructors and physical therapists taught me specific stretches to address those imbalance issues, and now I ride and run blissfully pain-free.

Would I stretch if I didn't have those issues? Nah, I'm just too lazy. But now, thanks to the NY Times, I'm OK with that.

"Men Who Stare At Screens"

Can structured workouts overcome the negative effects of couch potato-ness? Maybe not, says The New York Times. In short, you still need to get off your ass more often. Go change a light bulb or something.

The Michael Phelps Diet: 12,000 Calories Per Day

Wondering how Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps fuels up? From the Wall Street Journal's Health Blog, Phelps' typical menu includes (and no, he doesn't choose among these options. He eats them all...)

Breakfast: Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise. Two cups of coffee. One five-egg omelet. One bowl of grits. Three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar. Three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch: One pound of enriched pasta. Two large ham and cheese sandwiches with mayo on white bread. Energy drinks packing 1,000 calories.

Dinner: One pound of pasta. An entire pizza. More energy drinks.

When training for my first half-Ironman, I was forced to increase my daily intake to 6,000 calories a day for several months. Blech. I thought I'd like it. I didn't.

It's Snowing and I'm Wearing Shorts

If other folk's glances and facial expressions mean anything, wearing shorts while running in 30 degree temps pegs you as 'kooky.'

Hey, I'm not a kook. Probably. I just have full-boil metabolism. And my closet is so disorganized I can't find my long running pants. Besides, why should the college kids I teach have all the fun?

"20 Great Reasons To Do A Triathlon"

From the book "Triathlon Training" by Eric Harr, via Men's Health Magazine, here are "20 Great Reasons To Do A Triathlon."

• You will lose weight.
• You will look and feel years younger.
• You will have more energy.
• You will get more out of your workouts.
• You will injury-proof your body.
• You will improve your health.
• You will live longer.
• You will be more productive.
• You will learn to handle stress more effectively.
• You will build rock-solid self-confidence.
• Your mood will improve.
• Your motivation to exercise will soar.
• You will learn to strengthen your weaknesses.
• You get to rub shoulders with the best athletes in the world.
• You will join the fitness elite.
• You will have an increased sense of purpose in your life.
• You will become the best that you can be.
• You will be a hero to your kids.
• You will motivate and inspire those around you.
• You will set other positive things in motion - things you never imagined.

I think that's 20. I didn't count 'em. But I'll add one more: you will make lots of new friends in the world's coolest sport.

Exercise Makes You Less Anxious

From the NY Times, exercise makes you less anxious.

“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how exercise differently affects thinking and emotion. “It’s pretty amazing, really, that you can get this translation from the realm of purely physical stresses to the realm of psychological stressors.”

But the effect is not immediate, so keep at it!

We're Built To Go the Distance

Humans are built for distance running says the NY Times, reporting on author Christopher McDougall's new book "Born To Run."

McDougall offers his prescription for taking advantage of those innate abilities while avoiding injury:

"...slower, easier training over a long period would most likely help; so would brief walk breaks, which mimic the behavior of the persistence hunter. And running on a variety of surfaces and in simpler shoes with less cushioning can restore natural running form."

Lost Your Mojo? Here's How To Get It Back

At last, a scientific explanation for avoiding exercise! Apparently, willpower only goes so far and using it up on Task A (regulating your emotions, say) depletes your ability to also complete Task B (exercise, say.) LiveScience.com (via Yahoo News) reports on the research:

"Cognitive tasks, as well as emotional tasks such as regulating your emotions, can deplete your self-regulatory capacity to exercise," said study leader Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University."

Work on it by strengthening that 'ol "willpower muscle." Listening to music helps. So does making specific plans to exercise and sticking to the plan (ah, there's the rub!) And get some sleep.

Step Away From the Doughnuts!

Someone in The Great Suburban Outback who seems to research these things just named my county "second fattest in The Outback." I guess that means we've got work to do (though not as much as some other poor schlubs.)

So I'm stepping away from the Krispy Kremes and going for a run. Hey, you're part of the problem or part of the solution.

Break Pal - Fitness At Your Desk

OK, all you desk-bound triathletes, this is a pretty cool idea. It won't replace a steady zone 2 run or a weekend brick, but you're doing those anyway, right?

Maybe there's a version for those of us trapped on a plane for hours at a time. Every little bit helps, I always say.

I'm Sub-Optimal.

Researchers discover that everyone has an optimal running pace. There's my problem: I'm sub-optimal. Knew it all along.

Question Of the Day

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?

Sometimes M.D. Means Something Else...

An interesting debate is raging on the Wall Street Journal's editorial page.  Apparently, several advocates of what's called Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) published a recent editorial extolling the virtues of alternatives to expensive, western-style medicine.

And now the letters are rolling in, like storm clouds before a summer rain.  One in particular, from a physician, caught my attention.  The writer referred to CAM users as "scientific illiterates..."  Well, alrighty then.

As an aside, is there another industry, anywhere, of any type, where leaders routinely get away with such dripping, loathing condescension toward customers?  If so, they're mostly crafty enough to avoid being quoted in a major newspaper.  

And is there an industry with leaders LESS prone to examining their OWN blind spots before spewing such cretinous thoughts?  Oh wait.  Doctors don't have blind spots; medical school told 'em so.  

Nope.  Pharma companies are all about the SCIENCE, never skewing research in their own self-interest.  

And, if medicine is deeply scientific, what exactly PRECEDED the recent focus on "evidence-based medicine"?  Don't ask, but it ain't always about the SCIENCE.  

And med school libraries must not stock that pesky Dartmouth Atlas, showing in stark relief the differences in treatment patterns between adjacent towns...each pattern surely supported by lavish, footnoted SCIENCE.  

And physicians too are all about the SCIENCE, never acting in their own financial self-interest; just ask all those companies trying to sell 'em their own MRIs.

Science, just science and nothing but the science.  Right, thank you Doctor.  I hope I never run into you in an ER somewhere, you and your smug, arrogant attitude, not realizing you're making it up as you go.

But back to the point at hand.  Several years ago, while training for the Steelhead Half-IM, I began to suffer excruciating lower back pain on longer bike rides.  Now, thanks to my real job (if 'thanks' is the right sentiment here...) I know enough orthopedic surgeons to have gained easy access to any number of prescriptions for painkillers, muscle relaxants, Prozac, probably an MRI or two, maybe even surgery, all scientific, legitimate and generally-accepted treatments for back pain...well, maybe not the Prozac.

Instead I refitted my bike and tweaked my riding position, revamped my core training to strengthen the offending area's muscles and, at CoachKaryn's recommendation, started acupuncture, yoga and getting weekly massages (all paid for out-of-pocket.)  Presto!  Problem solved!

Not so fast.  If you believe the good doctor, I might've said 'goodbye' to pain and 'hello' to a great race, but I also said 'buh-bye' to half my IQ, most of my personal credibility and all my scientific literacy.  My "solutions" weren't, not really.  No medical imprimatur, no double-blind studies, no JAMA articles, not part of the standard medical school curriculum, nothing to lend credence or respectability.  Probably just the placebo effect...as if that should END the debate.  

But I - clueless, illiterate bastard that I am - LOVE debates, the longer the better!  I'm also pain-free and speedy as hell!  And, Doctor?  I do hope I run over you, er, into you, on a race course some day.

UPDATE:  Ann Althouse takes the doctor's side.  Go figure.  A lawyer agreeing with a doctor under a full moon.  I better buy a lottery ticket.

Whatever It Takes...

“I am opinionated and abrupt, but I know my stuff so lets get cracking and talk health and fitness.”

Opinionated and abrupt, eh?  Well, alrighty then!  I thought that was MY job!  Meet Amelia Burton, health and fitness coach.  She might just be that "holiday weight gain" antidote you've been looking for.

Best Female Figure

Ahhh rats.  This takes all the fun out of it.  But I never argue with anthropologists so it must be true.  Don't ask why I give a pass to THIS group of social scientists and pick fights with everyone else.  It's a long story and definitely not blog-worthy.

Happiness Isn't In the Pixels

According to a recent research report, happiness is negatively correlated with TV-watching, meaning (if I remember my correlations correctly) the less you watch the happier you are.

So get off the couch and go for a run. Me? I'm gonna go play in 10" of lake-effect snow with Camden the Wonder Dog.

To Stretch Or Not To Stretch

"The old presumption that holding a stretch for 20 to 30 seconds — known as static stretching — primes muscles for a workout is dead wrong. It actually weakens them..."

I was taught well in Boot Camp.  We warmed up with a series of weird-looking Yoga-like moves: heel and toe walks, squats, hops, lunges, all at a very low intensity level and all interspersed with short jogs (across a basketball court and back.)  No aggressive stretching, just light effort, get-the-muscles-moving-and-warm stuff.  

It worked and also provided lots of comic relief for the slackers watching from the window above.  I still use the routine before a race and it still provokes the occasional "what the hell's he doing" glance and a snicker or two.

Is "Biggest Twerp" An Oxymoron?

The world's biggest twerp says the world's major powers are "going down."   If he's right, this could be one of the causes.