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Friday, 5 July 2013
Friday, 21 June 2013
Heart Rate Training
Google “heart
rate training” and you’ll get over 100 million search returns. Even by Google’s standards – that’s a
lot! Why are there so many returns? The fact of the matter is, fitness training,
no matter the program or workout, will be the most effective if you are able to
keep your heart rate in the zone that was intended for that workout.
In my
opinion, excellent and timely nutrition along with exercising in a range of “heart
rate zones” or “intensities” is key to meeting your body composition
goals. Notice I did not say weight – I HATE
the weigh scale because it is such a poor indicator, but that is another post!
Different
training programs and workouts require you to exercise at different intensities
in order to be the most effective. You
should familiarize yourself with the design of the exercise program you are
doing to understand what heart rate zone you should be in, and when. That said, here are the heart rate zones you
should know for training.
Healthy
Heart Zone (Warm-Up) = (50 - 59% MHR [Maximum Heart Rate] - this is a
great zone for you if you’re just starting to exercise. It can help to decrease
body fat, blood pressure, and cholesterol.
The Energy Efficient Zone (60% - 69% MHR [Maximum Heart Rate]) – also commonly referred to as the ‘endurance’ or 'recovery' zone. Training within this zone develops basic endurance and aerobic capacity. Exercising in this zone burns fat and allows your muscles to re-energize with glycogen, which has been expended during faster paced workouts. Long distance runners know this and it is the basis for their typical weekly “long slow run” where they train at a very low intensity and build endurance. The benefits of this are greatest when you exercise for long periods of time continuously – such as 2 to 3 hours.
The Aerobic
Zone (70% - 79% MHR) – training in this
zone will increase your body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon
dioxide away, from the working muscles, increasing your aerobic capacity. In this zone, your body is able to provide
energy to your muscles “on the fly” and produces few by-products like lactic
acid (the stuff that makes your muscles burn when working very hard). Aerobic metabolism is very efficient but it
is relatively slow. For runners,
increasing the speed one can run at and stay in this zone is a measure of increasing
fitness.
The
Anaerobic Zone (80% - 89% MHR) - Training in this zone will develop your lactic
acid system. Anaerobic means “in the absence of oxygen”. During these heart rates, the amount of fat
being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen
stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning
this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer
remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your
anaerobic threshold (AT). Lactic acid interferes with energy production and so
our bodies are forced to slow down or sometimes even come to a complete
halt.
The Red
Line Zone (90% - 100% MHR) – training in this zone is only possible for a few
minutes – even for highly trained athletes.
Fast twitch muscle fibres which produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) are
effectively trained at this level.
So how do
you calculate your heart rate zones?
Well there are a lot of different methods but most of us do not need ‘exact’
calculations in order to effectively utilize heart rate in our exercise
regimen. Here are some commonly used
approaches.
First,
estimate your Resting Heart Rate (RHR).
Take your heart rate for three mornings
in a row before getting up from bed. Once you have those numbers, take the
average of the sum: Morning 1# + Morning 2# + Morning 3# = ( X) (X) divided by 3 = Morning Resting
HR (MRHR) This is the single best indicator of your state of fitness. Once you have this
number established as a baseline, you can use it to understand more about
yourself than you can imagine. Take it again every once in a while, at least
once every two weeks. As your fitness
improves, you will most likely see that number going down. If you see an elevated number, it could mean
one or more of the following:
- You did not recover from a hard workout the day before
- You need more rest
- Your body has begun fighting off an oncoming illness
Next, you
need to estimate your MHR (Maximum Heart Rate).
The most
accurate method is to undertake a maximum heart rate stress test which although
relatively short does require you to push your body and your heart to the very
limit. Consult your physician before
doing this. There are also a number of
estimators published – here are a few.
The easiest
and best known method to calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) is to use the
formula MHR = 220 – Age.
Research
conducted by Gulati et al. (2010)[3] identified that the traditional male-based
calculation (220-age) overestimates the maximum heart rate for age in women.
They investigated the association between HR response to exercise testing and
age with 5437 women. It was found that mean peak heart rate for women = 206 -
(0.88 x age).
A paper by
Londeree and Moeschberger (1982)[2] from the University of Missouri-Columbia
indicates that the MHR varies mostly with age, but the relationship is not a
linear one. They suggest an alternative formula of MHR = 206.3 - (0.711 × Age) Londeree and Moeschberger (1982) looked at
other variables to see if they had any effect on the MHR. They found that
neither sex nor race makes any difference but they did find that the MHR was
affected by the activity and levels of fitness.
A paper by Miller
et al. (1993)[4] proposed the following formula as a suitable formula to
calculate MHR MHR = 217 - (0.85 x Age)
Evidence
from Jackson et al. (2007)[5], identified the following formula as more
accurately reflecting the relationship between age and maximum heart rate. MHR = 206.9 - (0.67 x age)
Research by
Whyte et al. (2008)[7] came up with with the following formulae for predicting
maximum heart rates in both endurance and anaerobically trained athletes:
Male
athletes - MHR = 202 - (0.55 x age)
Female athletes - MHR = 216 - (1.09 x age)
Now, calculate your zones.
The calculation of a zone value, X%, is
performed in the following way:
Subtract your RHR from your MHR giving us your
working heart rate (WHR)
Calculate the required X% on the WHR giving us
"Z"
Add "Z" and your RHR together to give
us the final value
Example: The athlete's MHR is 180 and their RHR
is 60 - determine the 70% value
MHR - RHR = 180 - 60 = 120
70% of 120 = 84
84 + RHR = 84 + 60 = 144 bpm
While heart rate can be reduced at a given
intensity over time with an improvement in your fitness, there can also be a other
factors. Dehydration can increase
the heart rate by up to 7.5%, heat and humidity can increase the heart rate by
10 beats/minute, going up in altitude
can increase the heart rate by 10 to 20%, even when acclimatised, and biological
variation can mean the heart rate varies from day to day by 2 to 4
beats/minute.
Sources:
Running by John Stanton. http://www.runningroom.com/hm/inside.php?id=4395
Brian Mac Sports Coach http://www.brianmac.co.uk/
Polar USA http://www.polar.com
Dynamic Sport http://dynamicsportspt.com/
Friday, 14 June 2013
WE ARE ALL STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
In 30 Lessons for Living, gerontologist Karl Pillemer shares relevant life lessons from people living in their "third age". Pillemer based the book on a single idea: The accumulated wisdom of America’s elders-the experts-can serve as an excellent guide to life for people of all ages. They bring firsthand experience, guidance and the benefit of hindsight to discussions about some of life’s most significant questions.
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
8 Tips to Eat Healthy on a Budget
Eating fresh, healthy, organic, local foods sounds great—but what if you're on a budget? Maybe you dream of shopping at Whole Foods, but the cold, hard light of day finds you wheeling down the aisles at ShopRite®.
We feel your pain. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to eat well and actually save money in the process. Your shopping list isn't going to include vegetarian, brown rice sushi rolls from the macrobiotic deli case, but trust us, you'll live.
1. Don't shop hungry!
How often do you swing by the market on your way home from work, tired and starving? While this seems like grandmotherly advice, it's firmly rooted in current research; a new Cornell study shows that people who shop while hungry are more inclined to buy more calorically dense food.1 Keep a piece of fruit or a small Ziploc® bag full of raw nuts in your bag to guard against filling your cart with foods you're craving now but wouldn't buy on a full stomach.2. Buy flash-frozen fruits, vegetables, and fish.
While any processing takes away from a food's maximum nutritional value, flash freezing is a great way to preserve vitamins and minerals when vegetables and seafood are at their freshest. And the convenience of a bag of veggies or a filet of fish in the freezer can't be beat. The price? For seafood, there's no comparison: fresh is much more expensive—when you can get it at all. (If you check at your local grocer's fish counter, you'll find that much of what is being sold in the case as fresh has in fact been previously frozen.) Produce is trickier: frozen is sometimes, but not always, cheaper than fresh, in-season, fruits and vegetables.3. Shop at your local farmers market.
This
may surprise you, but it's cheaper to get your veggies—organic or
not—at the local farmers' market than at the local supermarket. A 2011
study by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont is one of
several around the country showing that farmers' market prices are
consistently lower than those of neighboring grocery stores.2 Who knew? So have a great time shopping with your neighbors and supporting local farmers, and be happy in the knowledge that you're saving money too.4. Stick to your list.
Don't cave in to the snazzy packaging on the supermarket shelves. Make your meal plan and shopping list at home, and then stick to it. Here's the exception: when you shop at the farmers' market or local produce stand, sometimes a gorgeously fresh fruit or vegetable will stand out—one you hadn't planned on. Build some flexibility into your list to account for these unanticipated treasures . . . just decide which meals you want to add them to before purchasing. A good rule of thumb is to stick absolutely to your list of pantry items, but give yourself some leeway with fresh, seasonal foods.5. Eat lots of beans and always soak your own.
Beans are a great source of protein and fiber, and form the cornerstone of many world cuisines. And they're dead cheap—if you buy them dried.
Soaking your own beans is easy, though it does take more planning than
opening a can of them. But it's no big deal. Just decide the night
before what you're going to eat the next day. If a meal includes beans,
then put them in a pot of water to soak and leave them overnight. In the
morning, let them cook as you're getting ready for the day.6. Buy in bulk.
Costco® and other warehouse stores sell fruits and vegetables at ridiculously low prices—if you're willing to buy, say, 15 pounds of potatoes or 8 pounds of oranges at a time. You're in for some work at home, but at those prices, who's complaining? Also, in many regions it is possible to pair up with another family or two and buy a portion of either a cow or a pig directly from a local farmer. In exchange, you will receive many, many neatly wrapped and labeled packages of meat. An extra freezer is necessary for this, but well worth the investment if you live in a region where such arrangements exist. Another huge benefit of this is that you know the animal was not raised on a factory feedlot. Therefore, the meat will likely be free from the steroids and antibiotics that plague grocery store bargain meat cuts.7. Join a CSA.
Community
Supported Agriculture is another way to save money by cutting out the
middleman. With a CSA, you pay a flat fee up front. Every
week you get a box of whatever came out of the farmer's field. Like
buying in bulk at warehouse stores, this calls for some time and
creativity in the kitchen. In late summer, we sometimes freak out trying
to figure out what to do with all those perfect, ripe tomatoes. What a
problem to have!8. Cut your consumption.
Over the last few decades, restaurant portions have become gargantuan, and we somehow seem to think that a platter of food is actually a single serving. Most restaurant entrées can easily feed two or three. So when you're out, either share a single entrée, or get half boxed for another meal. And at home, serve smaller portions on smaller plates. It won't take long at all before you're satisfied with sensible portions!Wednesday, 15 May 2013
Pumping iron isn't just for the guys!!
The worldwide phenomenon LES MILLS PUMP is here! It's the first ever at-home version of BODYPUMP® - the incredibly popular series of gym classes created by Les Mills International and taught in 80 countries across the globe.
What makes LES MILLS PUMP so exciting?
Beachbody® and Les Mills International teamed up specifically to bring to the world the best trainers, the best chart - topping music, and the best body-changing PUMP moves, so the same results can now be achieved at home that millions of people get in gyms every day.
Done three times a week, this barbell-based rapid weight loss and accelerated strength-training program reshapes a person's entire body extremely fast!
Why is LES MILLS PUMP so effective?
It's all about THE REP EFFECT. Unlike traditional strength workouts, which feature heavy weights that bulk people up, this program features light-to-moderate weights used at a higher rate of repetition. The constantly changing tempo, body position, and speed of THE REP EFFECT breaks down more fat reserves, targets more muscle fibers, and burns morecalories than traditional weight training.
What are the workouts like?
Muscles reach fatigue by performing 70-100 repetitions per body part. That's about 4 times more reps a standard gym workout.
Do people really have to work out only 3 times a week?
If they want, can they work out on other days too? We encourage anyone to engage in non-resistance training workouts (such as cardio or cross-training) on days that they're not doing LES MILLS PUMP.
Who should do this program?
People of all ages and fitness levels. Men and women who want to lose weight and get fit. People who want leaner, stronger muscles. Those new to working out
Visit barrywilsonbc.com for more info on Les Mills Pump (or just click on the banner at the top of this page)
Here's an excellent article by Whitney Provost on the benefits of weight lifting for women.
10 Reasons Why Women Need to Lift Weights
Many women believe that the only way to lose weight is to do cardiovascular (aerobic exercise). So they jog or take aerobics classes five times a week. Eventually, though, they notice that while their bodies are a little smaller, there are still a lot of flabby and jiggly bits. Sound familiar? Aerobic exercise is important for good health, but it's only half of the equation. Keep reading for the other half.
For optimal fitness, longevity, and a lean body, weight training is essential. If you avoid pumping iron because you're afraid of getting "bulky," then you're missing out on one of the best fat-burning methods around. When you're weight training, you shouldn't rely exclusively on the scale to gauge your progress. You can use a body fat tester or a tape measure to track how many inches you're losing. The size of your body will shrink as you shed fat and build muscle, but your weight may not change as dramatically as you expect. Besides, what's more important, the number on the scale or how you look in your skinny jeans? If you're still not convinced that you need to lift weights, here are 10 reasons why you should reconsider.
1. Burn more fat
Researchers at Tufts University found that when overweight women lifted heavy weights twice a week, they lost an average of 14.6 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of muscle. The control group, women who dieted but didn't lift weights, lost only 9.2 pounds of fat and gained no muscle. When you do an intense weight-training program such as ChaLEAN Extreme®, your metabolism stays elevated and you continue to burn fat for several hours afterward. During regular cardio exercise, you stop burning fat shortly after the workout.
2. Change your body shape
You may think your genes determine how you look. That's not necessarily true. Weight training can slim you down, create new curves, and help avoid the "middle-age spread." Just look at the amazing body transformations of the women who've completed P90X®. Dropping only 3 percent of your body fat could translate into a total loss of 3 inches off your hips and thighs. And no, you won't bulk up—women don't have enough muscle-building hormones to gain a lot of mass like men do. If you keep your diet clean and create a calorie deficit, you'll burn fat.
3. Boost your metabolism
The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle loss. Weight training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you'll burn all day long.
4. Get stronger and more confident
Lifting weights increases functional fitness, which makes everyday tasks such as carrying children, lifting grocery bags, and picking up heavy suitcases much easier. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular weight training can make you 50 percent stronger in 6 months. Being strong is also empowering. Not only does it improve your physical activities, it builds emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.
5. Build strong bones
It's been well documented that women need to do weight-bearing exercise to build and maintain bone mass, and prevent osteoporosis. Just as muscles get stronger and bigger with use, so do bones when they're made to bear weight. Stronger bones and increased muscle mass also lead to better flexibility and balance, which is especially important for women as they age.
6. Fight depression
You've probably heard that cardio and low-impact exercises such as yoga help alleviate depression, and weight lifting has the same effect. The endorphins that are released during aerobic activities are also present during resistance training. Many women find that regular strength training, in conjunction with psychological treatment, helps lessen their depression symptoms substantially.
7. Improve sports fitness
You don't have to be an athlete to get the sports benefit of weight training. Improved muscle mass and strength will help you in all physical activities, whether it's bicycling with the family, swimming, golfing, or skiing . . . whatever sport you enjoy.
8. Reduce injuries and arthritis
Weight lifting improves joint stability and builds stronger ligaments and tendons. Training safely and with proper form can help decrease the likelihood of injuries in your daily life. It can also improve physical function in people with arthritis. A study conducted at the University of Wales in Bangor, United Kingdom, found that mildly disabled participants who lifted weights for 12 weeks increased the frequency and intensity at which they could work, with less pain and increased range of movement.
9. Heart health
More than 480,000 women die from cardiovascular disease each year, making it the number-one killer of women over the age of 25. Most people don't realize that pumping iron can also keep your heart pumping. Lifting weights increases your "good" (HDL) cholesterol and decreases your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol. It also lowers your blood pressure. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people who do 30 minutes of weight lifting each week have a 23 percent reduced risk of developing heart disease compared to those who don't lift weights.
10. Defend against diabetes
In addition to keeping your ticker strong, weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) by as much as 23 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 weeks of strength training can improve glucose metabolism in a way that is comparable to taking diabetes medication. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood, which can reduce complications from diabetes or even help prevent type 2 diabetes in the first place.
Many women believe that the only way to lose weight is to do cardiovascular (aerobic exercise). So they jog or take aerobics classes five times a week. Eventually, though, they notice that while their bodies are a little smaller, there are still a lot of flabby and jiggly bits. Sound familiar? Aerobic exercise is important for good health, but it's only half of the equation. Keep reading for the other half.
For optimal fitness, longevity, and a lean body, weight training is essential. If you avoid pumping iron because you're afraid of getting "bulky," then you're missing out on one of the best fat-burning methods around. When you're weight training, you shouldn't rely exclusively on the scale to gauge your progress. You can use a body fat tester or a tape measure to track how many inches you're losing. The size of your body will shrink as you shed fat and build muscle, but your weight may not change as dramatically as you expect. Besides, what's more important, the number on the scale or how you look in your skinny jeans? If you're still not convinced that you need to lift weights, here are 10 reasons why you should reconsider.
1. Burn more fat
Researchers at Tufts University found that when overweight women lifted heavy weights twice a week, they lost an average of 14.6 pounds of fat and gained 1.4 pounds of muscle. The control group, women who dieted but didn't lift weights, lost only 9.2 pounds of fat and gained no muscle. When you do an intense weight-training program such as ChaLEAN Extreme®, your metabolism stays elevated and you continue to burn fat for several hours afterward. During regular cardio exercise, you stop burning fat shortly after the workout.
2. Change your body shape
You may think your genes determine how you look. That's not necessarily true. Weight training can slim you down, create new curves, and help avoid the "middle-age spread." Just look at the amazing body transformations of the women who've completed P90X®. Dropping only 3 percent of your body fat could translate into a total loss of 3 inches off your hips and thighs. And no, you won't bulk up—women don't have enough muscle-building hormones to gain a lot of mass like men do. If you keep your diet clean and create a calorie deficit, you'll burn fat.
3. Boost your metabolism
The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25 percent of the weight loss may be muscle loss. Weight training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you'll burn all day long.
4. Get stronger and more confident
Lifting weights increases functional fitness, which makes everyday tasks such as carrying children, lifting grocery bags, and picking up heavy suitcases much easier. According to the Mayo Clinic, regular weight training can make you 50 percent stronger in 6 months. Being strong is also empowering. Not only does it improve your physical activities, it builds emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.
5. Build strong bones
It's been well documented that women need to do weight-bearing exercise to build and maintain bone mass, and prevent osteoporosis. Just as muscles get stronger and bigger with use, so do bones when they're made to bear weight. Stronger bones and increased muscle mass also lead to better flexibility and balance, which is especially important for women as they age.
6. Fight depression
You've probably heard that cardio and low-impact exercises such as yoga help alleviate depression, and weight lifting has the same effect. The endorphins that are released during aerobic activities are also present during resistance training. Many women find that regular strength training, in conjunction with psychological treatment, helps lessen their depression symptoms substantially.
7. Improve sports fitness
You don't have to be an athlete to get the sports benefit of weight training. Improved muscle mass and strength will help you in all physical activities, whether it's bicycling with the family, swimming, golfing, or skiing . . . whatever sport you enjoy.
8. Reduce injuries and arthritis
Weight lifting improves joint stability and builds stronger ligaments and tendons. Training safely and with proper form can help decrease the likelihood of injuries in your daily life. It can also improve physical function in people with arthritis. A study conducted at the University of Wales in Bangor, United Kingdom, found that mildly disabled participants who lifted weights for 12 weeks increased the frequency and intensity at which they could work, with less pain and increased range of movement.
9. Heart health
More than 480,000 women die from cardiovascular disease each year, making it the number-one killer of women over the age of 25. Most people don't realize that pumping iron can also keep your heart pumping. Lifting weights increases your "good" (HDL) cholesterol and decreases your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol. It also lowers your blood pressure. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that people who do 30 minutes of weight lifting each week have a 23 percent reduced risk of developing heart disease compared to those who don't lift weights.
10. Defend against diabetes
In addition to keeping your ticker strong, weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) by as much as 23 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 weeks of strength training can improve glucose metabolism in a way that is comparable to taking diabetes medication. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood, which can reduce complications from diabetes or even help prevent type 2 diabetes in the first place.
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
Tapering: When Less Is More
Tapering: When Less Is More by Dr. Greg Wells
Whether
the race in your sights is a 5K walk or a marathon, the goal of your
training is to be at your best when the gun goes off. To optimize your
performance, you will need to have an effective taper - the final
portion of your preparation where you decrease your mileage. By
understanding the science of tapering, and the role that rest plays in
all forms of exercise, you can achieve your goals.
The primary objective of tapering is to decrease the training stress to allow for the body to recover and eliminate fatigue. When the training impulse is decreased, fatigue decreases more rapidly than fitness, and increased performance results from the increasing difference between the two factors. Thus, in a well-designed taper, the body becomes rested (with all the associated benefits) and the athlete's fitness level is well maintained. There are some amazing physiological adaptations that happen during a taper.
Researchers have also found increases in reticulocyte counts (new red blood cells) suggesting an increased erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) during taper. Tapering induces alterations in the contractile properties of single muscle fibres. The increased size, strength, velocity, and power of the muscle fibres results in improvements in whole body strength and power during the taper. Another interesting adaptation that has been shown in taper is the increase in eosinophils (believed to detoxify some of the inflammation inducing substances in the body and destroy allergen-antibody complexes, thus preventing the spread of inflammation) and lymphocyte (white blood cells that fight infection) cell counts. This suggests that there is an improvement in the body's capacity to resist illness during taper. And it's not just the body that is impacted. Tapering has been shown to have positive effects on the psychological state of athletes. Significant improvements in the Profile of Mood States, a questionnaire that measures tension, depression and anger, have been reported after 1 week of tapering, with significant improvements in total mood disturbance and fatigue. Other benefits include increased motivation, arousal, and psychological relaxation.
The catch is that if you don't allow for adequate rest on an ongoing basis and, in particular, at the end of your race training schedule, you will not give your body the time it needs to complete the upgrades. In effect, you will be doing the hard work and suffering the tear down process without reaping the rewards of recovery.
For all of us, the three stars of our training program are volume (amount of mileage), intensity (pace) and frequency (how often you train). The research tells us that athletes who decrease their training volume, maintain their workout frequency and train at or above race pace during their taper experience significant performance improvements. There is also evidence that you should decrease your volume in a non-linear fashion: large reductions in mileage early on in your taper and smaller changes near the end. Keeping in mind that reducing your volume does not include spending the week before the race on the couch. That would put you into detraining - the dreaded loss of muscle strength and aerobic fitness.
- A two week taper is ideal for major events.
- Train frequently but reduce your overall volume in a non-linear fashion.
- Activate all your energy systems. That means some speed work, hills and easy running. The key is to do as little total work as possible to make sure you get rested, but you keep your metabolism working.
- Get plenty of sleep. This allows time for growth hormones to be released which support proper muscle repair.
- Make sure you are well hydrated so your body has the fluid it needs for all of its critical processes.
- Ensure muscle growth by eating foods that are high in protein.
- Promote red blood cell production by eating foods that are high in iron and also by consuming Vitamin C, which helps you absorb the iron. More red blood cells will improve your body's ability to carry oxygen, making physical exertion easier and more efficient.
- Avoid stress. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, has a negative effect on the muscle repair process.
Applying the findings of science to your physical training will improve your performance, but you also need to be prepared for the mental experience of tapering. For example, you will have to resist the urge to slip in more miles as an outlet for your surplus energy. It's also possible you will feel a bit anxious about your decreased mileage. That's when you have to remind yourself that "less is more." Not to mention that a normal part of the taper phase is an inevitable workout when you find yourself dragging heavy legs and looking at your watch every few minutes. You need to trust the science that tells us tapering is good.
So that's what you need to know. As race day approaches, modify your training and remember to congratulate yourself on what is already an amazing achievement: living actively, working toward a goal and taking care of your body. All of which is an important part of living the vibrant and energetic life you and your body deserve.
What is Tapering?
Tapering is a special training period immediately preceding the major competition during which the training stimulus is reduced in a systematic non-linear fashion to achieve a peak in performance. Optimal physiology, technique, and psychology are all outcomes of tapering. More scientifically, tapering produces a superior biological state characterized by perfect health, a quick adaptability to training stimuli, and a very good rate of recovery. The complete definition of taper is "a progressive non-linear reduction in the training load during a variable period of time, in an attempt to reduce the physiological and psychological stress of daily training and optimize sports performance." 1 Tapering has been shown to result in a performance improvement of 2-4% in most studies in laboratory and field performance tests as well as competition results.Why Tapering Works
The thing to remember about training is that it is a continuous adaptation process. When you exercise, you cause microscopic tears in your skeletal muscles and release chemicals called "free radicals" that inhibit your body's performance. Your body interprets the damage as a sign that something has changed in its environment. From an evolutionary perspective, changes in the external setting require changes inside you, so your body repairs itself. But, just like the scientists who rebuilt the Six Million Dollar Man, your body will make you stronger and faster than you were before.The primary objective of tapering is to decrease the training stress to allow for the body to recover and eliminate fatigue. When the training impulse is decreased, fatigue decreases more rapidly than fitness, and increased performance results from the increasing difference between the two factors. Thus, in a well-designed taper, the body becomes rested (with all the associated benefits) and the athlete's fitness level is well maintained. There are some amazing physiological adaptations that happen during a taper.
Researchers have also found increases in reticulocyte counts (new red blood cells) suggesting an increased erythropoiesis (red blood cell production) during taper. Tapering induces alterations in the contractile properties of single muscle fibres. The increased size, strength, velocity, and power of the muscle fibres results in improvements in whole body strength and power during the taper. Another interesting adaptation that has been shown in taper is the increase in eosinophils (believed to detoxify some of the inflammation inducing substances in the body and destroy allergen-antibody complexes, thus preventing the spread of inflammation) and lymphocyte (white blood cells that fight infection) cell counts. This suggests that there is an improvement in the body's capacity to resist illness during taper. And it's not just the body that is impacted. Tapering has been shown to have positive effects on the psychological state of athletes. Significant improvements in the Profile of Mood States, a questionnaire that measures tension, depression and anger, have been reported after 1 week of tapering, with significant improvements in total mood disturbance and fatigue. Other benefits include increased motivation, arousal, and psychological relaxation.
The catch is that if you don't allow for adequate rest on an ongoing basis and, in particular, at the end of your race training schedule, you will not give your body the time it needs to complete the upgrades. In effect, you will be doing the hard work and suffering the tear down process without reaping the rewards of recovery.
What the Science Tells Us
Let's take a look at the research. In one study, scientists found that college distance runners improved their performance by 2% through an 80% reduction in their mileage.1 In another study, runners not only saw a 3% boost in performance after a three week taper, their MHC IIa muscle fibres actually grew.2 These fibres are responsible for power and speed, which means that these athletes got stronger and faster by doing less work. The body's ability to repair itself is truly amazing!For all of us, the three stars of our training program are volume (amount of mileage), intensity (pace) and frequency (how often you train). The research tells us that athletes who decrease their training volume, maintain their workout frequency and train at or above race pace during their taper experience significant performance improvements. There is also evidence that you should decrease your volume in a non-linear fashion: large reductions in mileage early on in your taper and smaller changes near the end. Keeping in mind that reducing your volume does not include spending the week before the race on the couch. That would put you into detraining - the dreaded loss of muscle strength and aerobic fitness.
Improve your Performance
Here's a quick summary of the key ideas outlined above and some additional tapering truths that experienced athletes and geeks in lab coats have confirmed (yes, I am one of those geeks):- A two week taper is ideal for major events.
- Train frequently but reduce your overall volume in a non-linear fashion.
- Activate all your energy systems. That means some speed work, hills and easy running. The key is to do as little total work as possible to make sure you get rested, but you keep your metabolism working.
- Get plenty of sleep. This allows time for growth hormones to be released which support proper muscle repair.
- Make sure you are well hydrated so your body has the fluid it needs for all of its critical processes.
- Ensure muscle growth by eating foods that are high in protein.
- Promote red blood cell production by eating foods that are high in iron and also by consuming Vitamin C, which helps you absorb the iron. More red blood cells will improve your body's ability to carry oxygen, making physical exertion easier and more efficient.
- Avoid stress. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, has a negative effect on the muscle repair process.
Applying the findings of science to your physical training will improve your performance, but you also need to be prepared for the mental experience of tapering. For example, you will have to resist the urge to slip in more miles as an outlet for your surplus energy. It's also possible you will feel a bit anxious about your decreased mileage. That's when you have to remind yourself that "less is more." Not to mention that a normal part of the taper phase is an inevitable workout when you find yourself dragging heavy legs and looking at your watch every few minutes. You need to trust the science that tells us tapering is good.
So that's what you need to know. As race day approaches, modify your training and remember to congratulate yourself on what is already an amazing achievement: living actively, working toward a goal and taking care of your body. All of which is an important part of living the vibrant and energetic life you and your body deserve.
Sunday, 28 April 2013
I'm Too Old For This #@%!
No you are not! You are never too old for fitness and their are a lot of good reasons why you should care about your fitness in your middle-age years and beyond!
Check out Bob Michael's P90X Success at age 60. Bob recently finished 90 days of P90X and is in the best shape of his life! Bob shared his video with Beachbody as a message of hope for baby boomers like himself.
The following is an article I found in the New York Times by Gretchen Reynolds that discusses how being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.
(North) Americans are living longer, with our average life expectancy now surpassing 78 years, up from less than 74 years in 1980. But we are not necessarily living better. The incidence of a variety of chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, has also been growing dramatically, particularly among people who are not yet elderly.
The convergence of those two developments has led to what some researchers have identified as a “lengthening of morbidity.” That means we are spending more years living with chronic disease and ill health — not the outcome that most of us would hope for from a prolonged life span.
But a notable new study published last week in Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that a little advance planning could change that prospect. Being or becoming fit in middle age, the study found, even if you haven’t previously bothered with exercise, appears to reshape the landscape of aging.
For the study, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Cooper Institute in Dallas gathered medical records for 18,670 middle-aged men and women who’d visited the Cooper Clinic (the medical arm of the Cooper Institute) for a checkup beginning in 1970.
The 18,670 men and women, with an average age of 49, were healthy and free of chronic diseases at their first checkup, when they all took a treadmill test to determine their aerobic fitness. Based on the results of this initial fitness test, the researchers divided the group into five fitness categories, with the bulk of the people residing, like most Americans, in the least-fit section.
Then, in a first-of-its-kind data comparison, the researchers checked the same individuals’ Medicare claim records (with permission) from 1999 through 2009, by which time most of the participants were in their 70s or 80s.
What they found was that those adults who had been the least fit at the time of their middle-age checkup also were the most likely to have developed any of eight serious or chronic conditions early in the aging process. These include heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and colon or lung cancer.
The adults who’d been the most fit in their 40s and 50s often developed many of the same conditions, but notably their maladies appeared significantly later in life than for the less fit. Typically, the most aerobically fit people lived with chronic illnesses in the final five years of their lives, instead of the final 10, 15 or even 20 years.
While this finding might not seem, on its face, altogether positive — the fit and the unfit alike generally became infirm at some point, the Medicare records showed — the results should be viewed as encouraging, says Dr. Benjamin Willis, a staff epidemiologist at the Cooper Institute who led the study. “I’m 58, and for me, the results were a big relief,” Dr. Willis said.
That’s because, he points out, the results show, in essence, that being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.
Interestingly, the effects of fitness in this study statistically were greater in terms of delaying illness than in prolonging life. While those in the fittest group did tend to live longer than the least fit, perhaps more important was the fact that they were even more likely to live well during more of their older years.
Of course, aging is a complicated process and extremely individualized, with the onset or absence of illness representing only one element in quality of life after age 65 or so. But it is a big element, says Dr. Jarett Berry, an assistant professor of internal medicine at U.T. Southwestern and an author of the study. “And since it appears to be associated with midlife fitness, it is amenable to change,” he continues.
While aerobic fitness is partly determined by genetics, and to that extent, the luck of the universe, much of a person’s fitness, especially by middle age, depends on physical activity, Dr. Berry says.
So, exercising during midlife, especially if you haven’t been, can pay enormous later-life benefits, he says. “Our study suggests that someone in midlife who moves from the least fit to the second-to-the-least-fit category of fitness gets more benefit,” in terms of staving off chronic diseases, than someone who moves to the highest fitness grouping from the second-highest.
And moving out of that least-fit category requires, he says, “only a small dose of exercise,” like 20 or 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week.
“You don’t have to become an athlete,” says Dr. Willis, who himself has little time for exercise but tries to fit in a daily walk. “Just getting up off the couch is key.”
Check out Bob Michael's P90X Success at age 60. Bob recently finished 90 days of P90X and is in the best shape of his life! Bob shared his video with Beachbody as a message of hope for baby boomers like himself.
The following is an article I found in the New York Times by Gretchen Reynolds that discusses how being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.
The Benefits of Middle-Age Fitness
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDS
(North) Americans are living longer, with our average life expectancy now surpassing 78 years, up from less than 74 years in 1980. But we are not necessarily living better. The incidence of a variety of chronic diseases, like diabetes and heart disease, has also been growing dramatically, particularly among people who are not yet elderly.
The convergence of those two developments has led to what some researchers have identified as a “lengthening of morbidity.” That means we are spending more years living with chronic disease and ill health — not the outcome that most of us would hope for from a prolonged life span.
But a notable new study published last week in Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that a little advance planning could change that prospect. Being or becoming fit in middle age, the study found, even if you haven’t previously bothered with exercise, appears to reshape the landscape of aging.
For the study, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Cooper Institute in Dallas gathered medical records for 18,670 middle-aged men and women who’d visited the Cooper Clinic (the medical arm of the Cooper Institute) for a checkup beginning in 1970.
The 18,670 men and women, with an average age of 49, were healthy and free of chronic diseases at their first checkup, when they all took a treadmill test to determine their aerobic fitness. Based on the results of this initial fitness test, the researchers divided the group into five fitness categories, with the bulk of the people residing, like most Americans, in the least-fit section.
Then, in a first-of-its-kind data comparison, the researchers checked the same individuals’ Medicare claim records (with permission) from 1999 through 2009, by which time most of the participants were in their 70s or 80s.
What they found was that those adults who had been the least fit at the time of their middle-age checkup also were the most likely to have developed any of eight serious or chronic conditions early in the aging process. These include heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and colon or lung cancer.
The adults who’d been the most fit in their 40s and 50s often developed many of the same conditions, but notably their maladies appeared significantly later in life than for the less fit. Typically, the most aerobically fit people lived with chronic illnesses in the final five years of their lives, instead of the final 10, 15 or even 20 years.
While this finding might not seem, on its face, altogether positive — the fit and the unfit alike generally became infirm at some point, the Medicare records showed — the results should be viewed as encouraging, says Dr. Benjamin Willis, a staff epidemiologist at the Cooper Institute who led the study. “I’m 58, and for me, the results were a big relief,” Dr. Willis said.
That’s because, he points out, the results show, in essence, that being physically fit “compresses the time” that someone is likely to spend being debilitated during old age, leaving the earlier post-retirement years free of serious illness and, at least potentially, imbued with a finer quality of life.
Interestingly, the effects of fitness in this study statistically were greater in terms of delaying illness than in prolonging life. While those in the fittest group did tend to live longer than the least fit, perhaps more important was the fact that they were even more likely to live well during more of their older years.
Of course, aging is a complicated process and extremely individualized, with the onset or absence of illness representing only one element in quality of life after age 65 or so. But it is a big element, says Dr. Jarett Berry, an assistant professor of internal medicine at U.T. Southwestern and an author of the study. “And since it appears to be associated with midlife fitness, it is amenable to change,” he continues.
While aerobic fitness is partly determined by genetics, and to that extent, the luck of the universe, much of a person’s fitness, especially by middle age, depends on physical activity, Dr. Berry says.
So, exercising during midlife, especially if you haven’t been, can pay enormous later-life benefits, he says. “Our study suggests that someone in midlife who moves from the least fit to the second-to-the-least-fit category of fitness gets more benefit,” in terms of staving off chronic diseases, than someone who moves to the highest fitness grouping from the second-highest.
And moving out of that least-fit category requires, he says, “only a small dose of exercise,” like 20 or 30 minutes of walking on most days of the week.
“You don’t have to become an athlete,” says Dr. Willis, who himself has little time for exercise but tries to fit in a daily walk. “Just getting up off the couch is key.”
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