The Importance of Physical “Variability” in Cardio Exercise
Your Cardio Workouts may NOT be helping you unless you incorporate a high range of heart rate shifts in your training
By Mike Geary – Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-seller: The Truth about Six Pack Abs.
Are you a cardio junkie? Everyone seems to think that “cardio” is the best way to get in shape and lose body fat. I’m going to show you with this article why I disagree!
It is quite common to hear fitness pros, doctors, and other health professionals prescribe low to moderate intensity aerobic training (cardio) to people who are trying to prevent heart disease or lose weight. Most often, the recommendations go something like this:
“Perform 30-60 minutes of steady pace cardio 3-5 times/week maintaining your heart rate at a moderate level”
Before you just give in to this popular belief and become the “hamster on the wheel” doing endless hours
of boring cardio exercise, I’d like you to consider some recent scientific research that indicates that steady pace endurance cardio work may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
First, realize that our bodies are designed to perform physical activity in bursts of exertion followed by recovery, or stop-and-go movement instead of steady state movement. Recent research is suggesting that “physical variability” is one of THE most important aspects to consider in your training.
This tendency can be seen throughout nature as most animals tend to demonstrate “stop-and-go” motion instead of steady state motion. In fact, humans are the only creatures in nature that attempt to do “endurance” type physical activities such as running long distances at the exact same speed the whole time.
Most competitive sports (with the exception of endurance running or cycling) are also based on stop-and-go movement or short bursts of exertion followed by recovery.
To examine an example of the different effects of endurance or steady state training versus stop-and-go training, consider the physiques of marathoners versus sprinters. Most sprinters carry a physique that is very lean, muscular, and powerful looking, while the typical dedicated marathoner is more often emaciated and sickly looking. Now which would you rather resemble?
Another factor to keep in mind regarding the benefits of physical variability is the internal effect of various forms of exercise on our body. Scientists have known that excessive steady state endurance exercise (different for everyone, but sometimes defined as greater than 60 minutes per session most days of the week) increases free radical production in the body, can degenerate joints, reduces immune function, causes muscle wasting, and can cause a pro-inflammatory response in the body that can potentially lead to chronic diseases.
Highly Variable Cyclic Training
On the other hand, highly variable cyclic training has been linked to increased antioxidant production in the body and an anti-inflammatory response, a more efficient nitric oxide response (which can encourage a healthy cardiovascular system), and an increased metabolic rate response (which can assist with weight loss). Furthermore, steady state endurance training only trains the heart at one specific heart rate range and doesn’t train it to respond to various every day stressors.
On the other hand, highly variable cyclic training teaches the heart to respond to and recover from a variety of demands making it less likely to fail when you need it. Think about it this way… Exercise that trains your heart to rapidly increase and rapidly decrease will make your heart more capable of handling everyday stress. Stress can cause your blood pressure and heart rate to increase rapidly. Steady state jogging and other endurance training does not train your heart to be able to handle rapid changes in heart rate or blood pressure.
The important aspect of variable cyclic training that makes it superior over steady state cardio exercise is the recovery period in between bursts of exertion. That recovery period is crucially important for the body to elicit a healthy response to an exercise stimulus. Another benefit of variable cyclic training is that it is much more interesting and has lower drop-out rates than long boring steady state cardio programs.
To summarize, some of the potential benefits of variable cyclic training compared to steady state endurance training are as follows: improved cardiovascular health, increased anti-oxidant protection, improved immune function, reduced risk for joint wear and tear, increased muscularity (versus decreased muscularity with endurance training), increased residual metabolic rate following exercise, and an increased capacity for the heart to handle life’s every day stressors.
Sports Workouts and Sprinting
There are many ways you can reap the benefits of stop-and-go or variable intensity physical training. Most competitive sports such as football, basketball, volleyball, racquetball, tennis, hockey, baseball, etc. are naturally comprised of highly variable stop-and-go motion which trains the heart through a MUCH wider heart rate range compared to just steady walking or jogging.
Doing swimming workouts in a variable intensity fashion may also be more beneficial than just swimming for a long duration at the same speed. Same goes for bicycling — that is why mountain biking, which involves extreme ups and downs at various intensity levels may also be more beneficial than just a long flat steady pace bike ride.
One of the absolute most effective forms of variable intensity training to really reduce body fat and bring out serious muscular definition is performing wind sprints. Wind sprints can be done by sprinting at near max speed for 10-30 seconds, and then taking 60 seconds to walk for recovery before your next sprint. 6-12 total sprint intervals is usually a very challenging workout for most people.
In addition, weight training naturally incorporates short bursts of exertion followed by recovery periods. High intensity interval training (varying between high and low intensity intervals on any piece of cardio equipment) is yet another training method that utilizes exertion and recovery periods. For example, an interval training session on the treadmill could look something like this:
Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog
Interval 1 – run at 8.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 2 – walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Interval 3 – run at 10.0 mi/hr for 1 minute
Interval 4 – walk at 4.0 mi/hr for 1.5 minutes
Repeat those 4 intervals 4 times for a very intense 20-minute workout.
Also, don’t overlook other great ways to incorporate variable intensity cardio training by using a jump rope, a rowing machine, stairs running, or even outdoor hill sprints.
The take-away message from this article is to try to train your body at highly variable intensity rates for the majority of your workouts to get the most beneficial response in terms of heart health, fat loss, and muscle maintenance.
Full-body strategically-designed resistance training programs along with high intensity cardiovascular training programs guaranteed to strip off body fat when combined with a healthy diet are included in my book The Truth About Six Pack Abs. If you’re serious about getting lean for good, this book is a must-read.
Categories: Fitness, Interval Training, Weight Loss Tags: hiit, interval training, truth about six pack abs
5 Important Steps to Take in Preparing for a 5K Run
Preparing for a 5K run is no small matter, especially if jogging already seems like a major task!
Yet, a 5K (3.125 mile) run is not only for the experienced runner. It’s a good place to start even if you haven’t run an event like this before. All it takes is planning, time and commitment.
Here are five important steps to take before you embark on your very first 5K run:
1. Ask the Doc:
Getting medical approval is the first important step before preparing for a 5K run. Getting the green light from your physician ensures that you are physically and medically capable of handling the task at hand. Do you have special medical needs? Are there medical conditions that might prevent you from completing your training safely? ALWAYS check with your doctor first. And while you’re at the doctor’s office, also inquire about the proper diet you will have to adopt while preparing for the run. Remember, your doctor’s approval is vital.
2. Where’s your starting point?
After getting your doctor’s approval, it’s time to find out what your basic level of fitness is. This will help you better plan your strategy in training for the run. With your watch/timer handy, head to the gym or a running track. One the first day, time yourself running the full 5K. (This becomes your ‘base time’.) Don’t worry if you can’t complete it. It is important to remember that your progress will be gradual. Hang on to your commitment!
3. Setting realistic goals
Your success begins with setting realistic, achievable goals. With the base time you clocked on the first trial run, your goal is to beat that time. Don’t push yourself TOO hard the first few times you run. Aim to complete the same distance, but with a faster time. Then aim to complete MORE of a distance, always keeping track of how much time you took to run it. Reward yourself when you reach these self-set goals. But not with cookies.
4. Put it on the calendar
Remember, you have a life – and it involves work, family, and commitments outside of your training.
Get out your calendar and assign times for training, whether it is on a track at the gym, or at home. Your decision as to how often you’ll train will be dependent on your personal schedule, your access to a gym or track, your fitness level – and of course, how close the 5K run is. Take these into account, and you’ll find that training for the run will rewarding, and not stressful. Above all, stick to a running/training schedule. You’ll be thankful for this consistency.
5. Give it a rest
It’s 24 hours before the race. Give yourself a rest. Don’t train. Your body needs a chance to recover from the previous day’s training. It also needs to store up energy for the run that is tomorrow. Hydrate yourself with water and certainly stay away from caffeine. Assure yourself with a good 8-hours of sleep. It’s your big day tomorrow.
It’s 5K time
Finally, it’s the day of the race. Your preparation and commitment will pay off today. Enjoy the social event – and remember, you’re not alone. You run with other individuals who have worked equally hard to prepare for the run. Enjoy the experience!
Adam Keyes is a contributing writer to AviatorFlightFest.com, a website dedicated to promoting the Aviator Flight Fest & 5K Run/Walk event – a fundraiser for the Sycamore Junior High athletics program. For more information about this event, please visit www.aviatorflightfest.com
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Yoga Makes Your Running More Effective
Running is good for you. Whether you are an experienced marathoner, or you’ve just signed up for your first 5K, pat yourself on the back. A regular running program offers numerous and substantial benefits for your entire body – efficient heart and lungs, strong muscles, dense bones, good digestion, and so on. As a runner you can whoop it up with decreased stress, a healthy body weight, and an enhanced quality of life.
You don’t get fit while you are running. Consider this. The repetitive, forward-moving, impact-based stride of running causes the body to break down. At the end of a run your energy stores are depleted. Your muscles are fraught with microtears, and their surrounding sheaths are irritated. Your pectoral, hip flexor, hamstring, and calf muscles are short and tight, causing imbalance to the joints they cross and affecting normal range of motion and function. You don’t get fit while you are running. All the physical benefits of running come while your body is resting and rebuilding in between your runs, and here is where yoga is especially helpful.
Yoga makes everything better. A regular yoga practice is the perfect complement to a vigorous fitness regimen, including running. First, running and yoga are quite similar. Both require breath control and good postural alignment for optimum effectiveness. Also, the active meditative aspect of running is completely on par with the mindfulness found in yoga.
Now here is where running and yoga differ and thus go hand-in-hand. The fast pace of running can take your mind away from what is happening in your body with each stride. Its vigorous intensity causes energy depletion, microtears, and muscle imbalances. Ahhh, yoga. The slower pace of yoga brings your body back to baseline and ready for your next workout.
1. Yoga teaches you to breathe. Run without breathing properly and you feel like your heart is plugging your airway, making the next lamppost seem very far away. Every yoga practice begins with attention to the breath. If you simply roll out your mat and breathe for 10 minutes, this is a good yoga. You become aware of your diaphragm muscle pressing down into your abdomen as you inhale and then relaxing upward as you exhale. Over time even your pelvic floor becomes a secondary breathing muscle. Yoga teaches you to bring an abundance of oxygen into your lungs and circulate it to your working muscles, which is crucial for running.
2. Yoga helps you find good posture. When you run, you move forward. Your head and neck reach forward, and your shoulders round inward. To compensate, your mid spine hunches. Bottom line, your spine is a mess.
The foundation of every yoga posture is proper alignment of the spine, pelvis, and shoulder girdle. The principles of good alignment in yoga apply to every exercise imaginable, such as squats, planks, sitting on a spin bike, and of course running. Learn yoga, and you learn how to activate core muscles for stabilizing the spine and maintaining good posture while you run. Have good posture while you run, and you’re running injury free for miles.
Good posture doesn’t just look nice. When aligned properly intervertebral disks, hips, and knees have the least possible stress and degeneration. Your lungs, digestive tract, nerves, and every other organ and gland function better. In fact, there is a strong connection between good posture and absence of injury and disease.
3. Yoga gives you longer muscles with greater strength potential. As mentioned earlier, the repetitive motion of running can shorten the resting state of muscles. This decreases a joint’s possible range of motion. Think for a moment about the hip flexors and hamstrings. They are on opposite sides of the hip joints, and they both become short and tight from running. Essentially the pelvis and thighbones become demobilized. Muscles moving through a smaller range of motion have lessened potential for developing strength. In other words, shortened muscles lack power, which is unfortunate because muscle power is helpful for getting you through your run.
In conclusion, yoga is the best cross-training activity for runners. There are three components of physical fitness: muscular strength and endurance, cardiorespiratory efficiency, and flexibility. A few quick stretches at the end of your run may help prevent some muscle soreness and injury, but they have little impact on maintaining or increasing the range of motion around a joint. Let yoga be the flexibility training that you need, and you will enjoy the breathing, postural, and strength potential benefits as well.
All That Is Wellness ( http://www.allthatiswellness.com ) is your healthy lifestyle e-zine. It’s where you come for reliable, relevant information about safe, effective fitness, mind-body wellness, wholesome nutrition, and great recipes.
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Categories: Cross Training, Fitness, Injuries, Training Tags:
What’s Going on in Your Muscles When You Run?
Your muscles main source of fuel is glycogen or fat. In order for muscles to consume this fuel, oxygen has to be present to break it down and convert into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), a chemical compound which is the form of energy that muscle cells need in order to work.
The production of ATP leaves byproducts in the form of carbon dioxide and lactate. The carbon dioxide laden blood is pumped back into the lungs, where CO2 is extracted and exhaled into the atmosphere. The lactate is also removed from the muscles by the venous blood flow and delivered to the liver where it is converted into glucose.
As the intensity of your running increases your muscles will be working harder and will need to metabolize glycogen or fat at a proportionately faster rate. Your system will have to increase the input of oxygen to achieve this. Hence the heavy breathing or gasping for air during and after hard workout.
When you are running, your heart should be beating at between 60% and 80% of its maximum rate, fluctuating according to the intensity of your running. If you keep it beating at this level, you’ll be pushing your heart hard enough to reap the benefits of having a good workout but not so hard that you’ll be putting it under stress.
Your heart rate is not necessarily related to what speed you are running at because your heart will be registering all sorts of extraneous factors — how stressful a day you’ve had, what the temperature is, how much coffee you’ve put a way, if you’re sickening for something — and will adjust itself accordingly.
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How I Recover From a Marathon
If you have ever run a marathon, you are similar to others in searching for the quickest route to recover from a long run or a strenuous race. The recommendations are found throughout the magazines and across the internet. As an avid runner, I have my own special regimen that speeds my recovery, and once again has helped me progress to almost complete resolution of muscle pain and weakness after just 48 hours. Let me list the process I underwent after my marathon:
1. Cool Down
It is recommended in all research I can find that a runner should not stop to stretch or lie down after a strenuous exercise. The cool down can be a simple walk or jog after the race. I walk for at least 10-15 minutes without sitting or stretching to ensure the muscles have time to cool down with a light stretch from regular motion. Sitting or lying down will allow cramping. Stretching may overstimulate the stretch mechanism in an exhausted muscle and produce cramping or even injury. Stretching can be done after the cool down and is a good idea if done at the right time. If the cool down is done effectively, it will alleviate some of the after marathon recovery.
2. Refuel
Any amount of exercise utilizes the glycogen in muscles as an energy source, with blood glucose and free fatty acids. As the exercise level progresses to longer exercise or more strenuous exercise, these sources become depleted more quickly and “anaerobic” (without oxygen) mechanisms are utilized to produce lactate. The lactic acid in muscle fibers or even the muscle breakdown to obtain necessary energy can lead to muscle pain and stiffness. The speed of muscle recovery is determined by the amounts of lactic acid or protein (muscle) breakdown is required to repair the muscles (especially after an exercise is completed).
The University of Illinois did a study on rats in 1999 that showed quicker muscle recovery from this depletion with refuelling with foods containing Leucine (an amino acid) immediately after exercise. They showed muscle stiffness and soreness would subside more quickly. More recent studies have found 30 minutes to be the key time for muscle recovery. The foods eaten in the first 30 minutes after exercise help rebuild the muscles, while foods eaten later have less benefits for muscle repair.
Leucine is found in protein products such as meats and dairy products, as well as in protein bars and some sports drinks. It is not recommended, however, that pure amino acid supplements be taken, because the beneficial amount is not known. In the study, they made the following findings: “It [Leucine] stimulates muscle protein synthesis, provides fuel for the muscle and helps to maintain blood glucose. What really surprised us was that its activity is not seen when leucine or protein is consumed before or during exercise. Instead it has a dramatic impact on protein synthesis during the recovery period after exercise.”
So how do I refuel after a race? After any run, and especially after this marathon, I drank a large glass of milk withing 30 minutes of completing the exercise. Fluids are also imperative as are some other carbohydrates to help further maintain blood glucose and reduce lightheadedness from low blood glucose. When I don’t want to eat within 30 minutes after an exercise, I eat anyway, especially the large cup of milk and/or a yogurt to get the Leucine benefits.
3. Fluids, Fluids, Fluids…
An important part of refueling is fluid replacement to replenish the body. I have a tendancy to start sweating when I think about exercise. I therefore must replace a large amount of fluid after any form of exercise. This replacement is both for refueling and for providing the reservoir for flushing out waste products from the body and especially the muscles. It requires more fluid to carry all these waste products out of the muscles into the kidneys for excretion. Try to drink 6-8 ounces of water every 2-3 hours during the initial recovery period.
4. Hot or Cold?
Everything I have read recommends ice baths or ice massage after a strenuous exercise, and often they recommend avoiding the heat after exercise. I will say now that I aggressively treat my muscle soreness after an exercise (even after the marathon) with soaking in a warm bath or hot tub. Let me explain the scientific basis for my actions. (Note that for me this works really well and decreases my muscle soreness significantly within the first 24 hours and reduces it nearly completely by 48 hours.)
The body reacts to hot and cold by dilation or contracture of blood vessels. Cold (ice) will reduce(vessel contracture) the blood flow into the area or cause the body to pull the blood from the area. Heat will increase (vessel dilation) the blood flow to the area and allow increased blood flow through the area. Since muscle pain is often due to lactic acid in the muscles or other waste products of “anaerobic” muscle metabolism (contracture), heat will allow blood flow through the muscles that can remove these waste products. Heat is only recommended by me during the first 12-24 hours. Ice can be utilized at anytime, but is rarely necessary if I undergo my usual exercise recovery regimen.
I have found through the use of these 4 simple techniques that I can continue to run, recover quickly and not suffer for days – weeks after a strenuous exercise. I plan to continue to train and run marathons and will evaluate the benefits of this regimen after any strenuous exercise. The proof will be in my recovery. Currently I am basically painfree the Monday after a Saturday 26.2 miles…I hope this helps.
Copyright (c) 2009 Mountain West Foot & Ankle Institute
Brandt R. Gibson, DPM, MS is a foot and ankle specialist with special interest in running and is currently training to run marathons this year. He is located in American Fork, Utah. His goal is to educate people and help them “optimize what they were born with.” For further educational information, visit his blog at http://utahrundoc.blogspot.com/ or visit his website at http://www.UtahFootDoc.com.
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