Running Injuries, Depression and Rehabilitation,

by Chris Harig

Conquering Running Injuries and Other Setbacks

David Halberstam, the Pultizer Prize winning author of subjects such as the Vietnam War, politics and culture, authored a little-known book on Olympic sculling called The Amateurs. In it, he chronicles the journey of four men to Olympic glory in the grueling and brief rowing disciplines. One of the most specific and psychologically devastating, in my opinion, points made is that rowers will train for years upon years and likely have a single chance at a single race that lasts just a few minutes.

Over the last three months I reflected upon that repeatedly as I dealt with an injury that completely sidelined me. Well, sort-of. After a few months of nagging soreness, I decided to see my sports doc and get an MRI. The results: two stress fractures within my pelvis. The nature of this injury precluded any running, cycling, and even kicking in the swimming pool.

Injuries for athletes can elicit a wide spectrum of responses. Some see it as a chance to rest while others struggle to fill their previous time spent training. Regardless, our identities and self worth are likely wrapped up in our ability to carry out the activities we love. It’s no surprise that depression will follow closely behind the initial injury. For someone like me getting a little long in the tooth, time spent away from training and racing takes a toll that is difficult to repay. With limited years left at the level that I wish to compete, I knew I needed to deal with psychological impact differently than I would have when I was, say, twenty three

Opportunity

After the shock that I would miss two national multi-sport events and one of the biggest running road races in the world, I had trouble recognizing what my goals would be. But then I saw this injury as an opportunity. Here was the chance to get some of my house projects done; a chance to spend more time with my kids; and even a chance to get my swimming back. I quickly pivoted away from the mire of self pity to the rehab physically and mentally. I began to swim every day to preserve every bit of fitness possible and to rebuild upper body strength. Opportunities for late season races began to open up and I started to get excited about training again. The guilt of having to meet daily training goals was replaced by true eagerness to return to top form (you have to understand, living in the forever dour environment that is the Pacific Northwest takes its toll).

Rehabilitation and Lessons Learned

I literally followed the rules on this one. In the past I would have tested and cheated and tried to get back out there too soon. This time I was disciplined and didn’t run a step in the required three month rehab period. I pulled in the pool and ramped up my riding on the trainer and stuck to my plan. The result is that I am healed and it bugs the hell out of me that I didn’t deal with my injury earlier. As I start running this week, I am starting from a known position of health rather than questioning my decisions. Here are some things I learned:

• Get Over Yourself: I’ve said it before, you need to deal with the injury, think about the future and take the first baby-steps back
• Recognize Opportunities: Recognize opportunities: a chance to participate in other races you would never do as your season is now shifted
• Get Happy: Having had the injury as training has become a delight rather than a chore
• Be Present: Spend extra time with the family
• Get Smart: Learn from the injury and make adjustments

We have so many opportunities to redeem ourselves and come back from injury. Thinking about those Olympic scullers and how a whole life’s work can come down to a few minutes puts it all in a little more perspective. Take the time you need to rehab and refocus your commitment. There will be plenty of chances to prove yourself.

(Final note: take the time to read The Amateurs! Even as a runner, I found it more encouraging and inspiring than any book on running or cycling that I have ever read.)

Chris Harig is competitive runner, multisport athlete, and coach based in the
Seattle area.  In 2007 and 2008, he was the top American at the ITU Duathlon
World Championships. Chris is also the 2010 USA Long Course Duathlon National Champion. More about Chris Harig. See Chris’s 1Vigor Log Calendar

8 Tips for Exercising in Summer Heat

Staying hydrated starts with drinking enough water.

By Joe Decker
For Active.com

Summer is the perfect time to go outside and have fun. It’s one of my favorite times of year because there are so many outdoor activities to choose from. Everything is more fun outside, whether you’re swimming, running or cycling.

But the summer heat can be a problem if you’re not careful, particularly in areas with extreme heat and humidity.

After experiencing the Badwater Ultramarathon (a 135-mile run through Death Valley) and the Marathon des Sables (a six-day, 152-mile endurance race through the Sahara Desert), I’ve learned a few things about exercising in the heat.

For me, the biggest problems were staying hydrated and maintaining my body’s electrolytes and salt. When you sweat, your body loses not only water, but electrolytes and salt, too. This delicate balance of water and electrolytes is crucial to keep your body functioning properly.

If you don’t drink enough water, you can get dehydrated and suffer from light-headedness and nausea. If not recognized, dehydration can even result in kidney failure and or, in extreme cases, death. However, if you drink too much water without replenishing your electrolytes, you can experience hyponatremia. This can lead to confusion, nausea, muscle cramps, seizures or even death in extreme cases.

You may not be racing in the desert, but there are some things to keep in mind when it comes to exercising in the heat:

• The time of day is important.Unless you are training for an event that takes place in the daytime heat, avoid exercising from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It’s the hottest part of day. Generally, the early morning is the best time to workout, especially if it’s going to be scorcher that day.
• Wear loose, light-colored.The lighter color will help reflect heat, and cotton material will help the evaporation of sweat. You may also want to try specially designed, “hi-tech” running shirts and shorts. They are often made from material meant to keep you cool.
• Sunscreen is a must.I use SPF 45 just to be safe. It’s important to protect your skin. You can get burned and suffer sun damage to your skin even on cloudy days.
• Stay hydrated.Before you go out, drink a glass or two of water. Carry a bottle of water or even a hydration pack such as the CamelBak. Take a drink every 15 minutes, even when you’re not thirsty. When you’re done with your workout, have a few more glasses of water.
• Replenish your electrolyte and salt intakewhile exercising. I like to use SUCCEED capsules–small, simple packs of sodium and electrolytes that keep my system in check.
• If you can, choose shaded trails or pathwaysthat keep you out of the sun.
• Check the weather forecastbefore you start your workout. If there’s a heat advisory, meaning high ozone and air pollution, you might want to take your workout indoors. These pollutants can damage your lungs.
• Most importantly, listen to your body. Stop immediately if you’re feeling dizzy, faint or nauseous.

If you’re looking for some specially designed clothing for working out in the sun, check out Sun Precautions.

Active Expert, Joe Decker is an ultra-endurance power athlete and renowned fitness trainer who has helped thousands of people get into shape. He has completed many of the world’s toughest endurance events, including the Badwater 135, and the Grand Slam of UltraRunning. In 2000, Joe broke the Guinness World Records® Twenty-four-hour Physical Fitness Challenge to help inspire and motivate people to get fit. He is recognized as “The World’s Fittest Man.” Visit his website at www.joe-decker.com .

5 Ways to Benefit from Group Workouts

 

By Ed Eyestone
Runner’s World

Odds are that no matter how good you are, you can benefit from the strengths of others. I trained for 10 years with Paul Pilkington, a world-class runner who won the 1994 L.A. Marathon. Though I hated long runs, I rolled a 20-miler every weekend because he did. On mile repeats, I had the advantage, yet he stayed by my side. Ultimately, we both improved as we strengthened each other’s weaknesses. In a running group, your workouts may be more intense but feel like they take less effort. Still, reaping the rewards of group workouts requires a little thought and planning.

Get on the Same Pace

Nothing is more frustrating than being run into the ground in every workout except, perhaps, having to run so easy that your heart rate doesn’t get above resting level. Ask about the planned paces and distances of your training partners before committing. Try runners who finish close to you in local races — they may live near you and probably have similar levels of fitness.

Know Your Limit

If you stay with your group on the first intervals, but fall farther behind on subsequent laps, you will soon be in trouble. Not only will you be missing your goal paces, but you’ll also get less recovery if you attempt to start the next interval with the group. If that happens mid-workout, average the time of your completed intervals, and target that pace for the remaining laps. Or slow down to catch your breath. But don’t rest then blast the next rep faster than the group — you’ll be pretty unpopular if you do. If you always need to sit out or run slower, run with a group that is not quite so fast.

Communicate

You can occasionally run faster (or slower) than the pack — just let others know what you’re doing so they don’t get sucked into your vortex and ruin their workout trying to stay with you.

Share the Load

No one likes a one-stepper, someone who even on easy days insists on being one step ahead. If there are other competitive people in the group, a one-stepper can turn a casual run into an impromptu race, where the pace keeps increasing as others attempt to keep up with the runner up front who accelerates to remain in the lead. Being the leader occasionally is fine, but let others share the job. If you’re always in the lead, try finding a group that’s a little faster.

Take Your Turn Up Front

Provided you can hit the desired pace, take your turn up front every now and then. Rotating after two laps of a long interval or every few reps allows you to help the group and lets others catch their breath.

Run With More Muscle

 

Increasing muscle activation potential should be a high training priority.

Matt Fitzgerald
For Active.com

 

In its essence, running is a certain type of communication between the brain and the muscles. The brain sends electrical “motor” signals to the muscles, causing them to move in the exquisitely choreographed pattern we know as the running stride.

 

The muscles, in turn, send sensory feedback signals to the brain, which uses this information to modify the stride for greater efficiency, to change pace, to produce feelings of fatigue and so forth. To train for running is to practice this special type of communications between your brain and your muscles. Such practice improves these communications in ways that make you a stronger runner.

For example, training increases the number of motor units that your brain is able to access and use to contribute to running. (A motor unit is a bundle of muscle fibers that is fed by a single motor nerve.)

Some very interesting studies have shown how improvements in muscle performance derive from a simple boost in the amount of muscle tissue the brain is able to recruit during exercise — an improvement that is completely independent of structural change in the muscles themselves.

For example, in one study, subjects engaged in a strength training program for the calf muscles of only one leg, while leaving the other leg alone. After six weeks, maximum voluntary contraction force was improved in both legs. The improvement in the untrained leg was clearly correlated with increased neuromotor output to it.

Increasing the number of motor units capable of involvement in the running stride — or muscle activation potential — carries a couple of benefits. First, it enables you to generate more force at key moments of the stride. There are moments of the stride when particular muscles are required to contract even harder than you can voluntarily contract them, using all of your strength while standing still.

Runners who can contract these muscles more forcefully at such moments will run better because of it. For example, a team of Finish researchers has shown that higher caliber runners generate stronger muscle contractions in the moment preceding footstrike, which results in a shorter ground contact time, which is directly linked to better performance.

Greater muscle activation potential also enhances endurance, due to a phenomenon known as motor unit cycling. During sustained running, your brain seldom activates more than 30 percent of the available muscle units simultaneously. However, it constantly changes the specific motor units it activates, allowing some to rest while others take their turn. By increasing the pool of muscle fibers capable of contributing to the stride, you increase the amount of rest opportunity for each and can then sustain any given speed longer before motor units begin to fatigue.

Experienced athletes have much higher muscle activation potential in their sport-specific movements than inexperienced athletes and non-athletes. Likewise, athletes of any experience level have a higher muscle activation potential when they are in peak shape than when they are relatively out of shape.

A beginning out-of-shape runner may only be able to activate 50 percent of his or her available motor units while sprinting at top speed, whereas a world-class sprinter in peak form will probably be able to activate closer to 80 percent.

The Importance of Increasing Muscle Activation Potential

Increasing muscle activation potential should be a high training priority for relatively inexperienced runners and for every runner in the early stages of training for a peak race (that is, the base phase of training).

Every runner recognizes the importance of building aerobic capacity and endurance in the base phase of training by performing a gradually increasing volume of moderate-intensity workouts. This includes long endurance workouts of gradually increasing duration.

But equally important is training to increase the number of muscle fibers your brain is able to activate during running, because this is an equally significant performance limiter. First you need to increase the total amount of muscles you are able to use when running; then you can worry about increasing the “fitness” of your muscles.

How to Increase Muscle Activation Potential

To increase muscle activation potential you must perform very short, near-maximum-intensity efforts, such as 30-second hill sprints. Only when you demand maximum or near-maximum power production from your muscles does your brain begin to activate its least-preferred “fast-twitch” muscle fibers.

As you first increase the number of such efforts, you will complete workouts from week to week and then increase their duration and slightly decrease their intensity. This will enhance the endurance performance characteristics of the strength/speed specialist fibers and thereby make them vital contributors to your race-intensity efforts in the later training phases.

Following is a 12-week schedule of neuromuscular training workouts that are designed to:

• Increase your muscle activation potential during running
• Increase the endurance characteristics of the newly recruited fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Be sure to warm-up thoroughly before doing these high-intensity efforts and cool down afterwards. The 30-second hill sprints should be performed on the steepest hill you can find. The one-minute hill sprints may be done on a shallower hill and will necessarily be done at a slightly slower pace. All active recoveries are slow jogs. Every fourth week is a scaled-back “recovery week” to prevent overtraining. By the end of Week 12 you’ll be ready to race — with more muscle than ever!

Week 1	4 x 30-sec. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 2	6 x 30-sec. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 3	8 x 30-sec hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 4 (Recovery)	6 x 30-sec. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 5	6 x 1-min. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 6	8 x 1-min. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 7	10 x 1-min. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 8 (Recovery)	6 x 1-min. hill sprints w/ 2-min. active recoveries
Week 9	3 x 3 min. @ 5K race pace w/ 3-min. active recoveries
Week 10	4 x 3 min. @ 5K race pace w/ 3-min. active recoveries
Week 11	5 x 3 min. @ 5K race pace w/ 3-min. active recoveries
Week 12 (Recovery)	3 x 3 min. @ 5K race pace w/ 3-min. active recoveries

Matt Fitzgerald is the author of several books on triathlon and running, including Runner’s World Performance Nutrition for Runners (Rodale, 2005).

Nutrition Notes

 

By Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

In Season: Passion Fruit

That wrinkly purple-fleshed fruit in the produce section is worth a second look. It’s as sweet and tasty as it is odd looking. Plus, passion fruit is loaded with fiber, potassium and vitamins A and C. One-half cup provides about 115 calories. This tropical fruit native to Brazil is ripe when its leathery skin is deeply wrinkled. Before it ripens, keep it at room temperature. Add passion fruit to salads and smoothies for a flavor boost, or liven up grilled chicken or fish with a generous spoonful.

Craving Something Salty?

Go ahead. Give in. Salty snacks like chips have no more sodium than a slice of wheat bread–certainly no more than most restaurant or processed food. But don’t let that be a license to overindulge. Keep your salty snack small and avoid anything with trans fats or more than 3 grams of saturated fat. Here are some top picks:

EDAMAME BEANS IN THE POD: One-half cup with a sprinkling of salt provides approximately 100 calories, 145 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 0.5 g saturated fat and 8 g protein.

POPCORN: 6.5 cups microwave popcorn, a whole grain, averages approximately 110 calories, 220 mg sodium, 4 g fiber and 0.5 g saturated fat.

MIXED NUTS: A 1-ounce serving contains heart-healthy fats and approximately 190 calories, 60 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 2.5 g saturated fat and 7 g protein.

TRISCUIT THIN CRISPS: Made of whole wheat, a 1-ounce serving (15 crackers) contains 130 calories, 180 mg sodium, 3 g fiber and 1 g saturated fat.

Did You Know?

If you don’t eat enough fat, you may be setting yourself up for a sports injury, suggests a recent article in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. Among 86 female runners, those with the lowest fat intakes were the most likely to get injured. The researchers hypothesized many possible reasons including inadequate calorie consumption, lower intakes of fat-soluble vitamins and poorer energy supplies leading to fatigue while running. To make sure you consume the most healthful fats, choose fatty fish, nuts, oils and avocado.

A Healthy Read

Pick up The Jungle Effect by Dr. Daphne Miller and learn about the world’s healthiest diets–and how to improve your own. Miller travels the world in search of the foods that have protected populations from disease for generations. She visits Crete, where heart disease is rare; Okinawa, Japan, recognized for its low rates of breast cancer; and Iceland, where few people suffer from depression despite long, dark winters. To get you started on a healthier path, Miller provides plenty of tasty, authentic recipes. $23, harpercollins.com

Happy Travels

It may be to your advantage to skip the crummy airport food on your next trip. A recent study published in the journal Sciencesuggests that avoiding breakfast and lunch prior to the flight and eating upon arrival may fend off some of the problems associated with jet lag. Your brain’s circadian clock responds to light and controls the desire and ability to sleep, wake and eat. But when food is scarce, a “food-related clock” jumps in and overrides the “light clock.”

How to Create Your Marathon Nutrition Plan

 

By Patrick McCrann
Marathon Nation
For Active.com

The period of time leading into your next marathon brings a lot of distinct challenges separate to the race itself: tapering, traveling, eating, sleeping, etc. While important, these disparate elements don’t matter as much as the fitness you bring to the starting line and the plan you have in place to reach the finish line.

Those two key factors aside, there’s one more element of your marathon day that will make or break your ability to reach the finish line on time–your nutrition. Few things are worse than having excellent fitness, a great plan, the perfect day to race and then watching it all fall apart because your nutrition failed.

This article will break down how to plan out your race nutrition plan given what’s available on the race course. The goal is to help you create a simple, repeatable solution that makes fueling so easy that you forget about it. Please note: This is only about nutrition consumed while running, not day-to-day food guidance.

Your Basic Fueling Needs

There are two main things you need to be concerned about when you run or race long: hydration and fuel. While most of us can run 60- or 90-minutes with only a little water, anything beyond that point without adequate calories will result in a very unpleasant–and likely sub-par–performance.

The Fuel

A marathoner can consume between 150 and 300 calories per hour. One gram of carbohydrates equals four calories, so the above range is between 38 grams and 75 grams. You should always start out low, adding fuel as you test your personal reaction to the calories. Remember it’s always easier to add a bit more at the next aid station than it is to “get rid of” excess food in your stomach.

The Fluids

There really is no hard and fast guidance for this, especially with recent cases of hyponatremia (over-hydration). The basic protocol is to drink as frequently as you feel thirsty, and to help promote digestion of any fuel you are taking. On your longer runs this could mean taking a small drink every 10 to 15 minutes on a regular basis. On race day, this can be a simple as sipping fluids at every mile/aid station.

Outlining Your Personal Needs

Exactly how much you should consume per hour in a race like a marathon is a function of several factors: how long you will be out there racing, how “hard” you’ll be racing (intensity), the conditions of the race, and finally what you personally can eat with success.

Use the Marathon Carbohydrates Per Hour selection chart to identify a starting point for your calories per hour. The chart works by syncing calories per hour based on your intensity level. The harder you are running, in general, the fewer calories you are able to consume. Conversely, the longer you will be out on the course (4, 5 or 6+ hours), the more calories you will need over time to continue your effort.

The Green=Good label is the ideal place to start estimating your carbohydrate needs. The Light Green=Good/Light label is also okay, as it follows the “slightly lighter is better” approach, allowing you to add more nutrition as required. The Yellow / Orange / Red sections show how you move further out the carbohydrates/hour spectrum and at what point you might run into difficulty.

Testing Your Nutrition Plan

The chart above isn’t perfect, and some of you will undoubtedly fall into an outlier position despite this plan based on experience and through coaching runners. Regardless, you won’t know what’s right for you until you actually test it out.

In order to properly test your nutrition plan, you need several things to be lined up. First, you need a long run of at least 90 minutes on the schedule. Second, you need to map out exactly how many calories you will be taking in to cover the duration of the run. Third, you’ll need fluids to keep you hydrated and help you process the carbohydrates you are ingesting. Fourth, and final, you’ll need a rhythm in which to take your food.

While everything else is simple, the rhythm is actually a critical part of how you’ll proceed. From a hydration perspective, you should be taking in some water every 10 to 15 minutes minutes (as you feel thirsty). Your nutritional rhythm depends on how many calories you are taking in and in what form.

If you are opting for a gel form (easy to digest and carry), and you are looking at 200 calories per hour, then you can do:

• a 100 calorie gel every 30 minutes with water; water rest of the time.
• alternate water and 50 calories of sports drink every 15 minutes, with a 100 calorie gel at the 45-minute mark.

There is no one single right way to sync your fuel; create a plan and put it to the test in your next long run and then tweak it from there. You might need more water, fewer/more calories, different calories/flavors later in the day, perhaps even some caffeine to keep you sharp.

Your Nutrition Portability

Having nutrition is one thing; taking it with you is entirely different. Your plan is only as good as your ability to execute it, and odds are your long run route doesn’t have permanent aid stations manned with volunteers and ice water. As such you’ll need to plan out how to have access to your nutrition.

Option #1: I personally use and recommend The Fuel Belt, an elegant solution for carrying your fluid and caloric needs on a long run or even race day. There are multi-bottle options with different packs and pockets to hold all your stuff, and it doesn’t bounce. You can learn more at www.fuelbelt.com and you can use the code MNation to save 20 percent off any purchase there.

Option #2: Use your car as a central point and run out/back or a butterfly pattern route to get the miles in without getting too far from your car.

Course Resource Research

Once you have a basic plan and have tested it out during multiple long runs, then you can begin to formulate a plan for race day. Remember that each race is different in terms of aid station placement and what they offer at each station, so be sure to check the official website. Then you can head out to the store and pick up the items so you can begin to incorporate those specific items into your own rhythm.

This is a critical part of your preparation as it will help you determine exactly what / how / when you’ll be fueling on the big day. Note that it might take one or two long runs for your body to “like” the different fuel source, so don’t give up on it right away.

Finding your personal fueling pattern isn’t easy, but once you have built it out you can get down to the business of really racing and chasing your marathon potential.

 

 

Marathon Nation is the home of Coach Patrick and his real-world,pace-based marathon training system. Download one of our free resources, findyour personal marathon training schedule or share your training and racing with our growing community of runners. Find more quality articles and video analysis resources online at Marathon Nation: www.marathonnation.us. 

Training for a marathon? Download our free PDF guide that will walk you through the most critical parts of the pre-marathon experience. You can register to download it from Marathon Nation.

Looking to improve your overall running? Download a free copy of our 29 Tips to Transform Your Running eBook.

12 Ways to Build Ankle Strength for Top Performance

By Stana Landon
For Active.com

What’s in the ankle?

A physically active body must achieve a stable balance around each active joint for top performance. Ligaments connect the bones to each other, and provide much of the joint’s stability. Muscles are connected to bone by tendons, allowing for movement at the joints.

Although the ligaments connecting the bones in the ankle are necessary for proper function, there are several muscles that also help support the ankle during any type of activity. Building strength and proprioception, or special awareness, in these muscles helps to prevent injury and improve performance.

Why is it important to keep the ankle strong?

When an athlete performs any movement–whether running or jumping–the ankle and surrounding muscles are put under a great deal of stress. If the ankle musculature is strong, the athlete can withstand greater force before an injury is sustained. In addition to decreasing ankle injuries, strengthening lower leg muscles will help prevent chronic conditions such as shin splints and Achilles tendonitis.

Proprioception

Proprioception is the body’s ability to realize its place in space. If an athlete is moving into a position that could sprain his or her ankle, increased proprioception can decrease the risk by alerting the athlete to the danger. Proprioception can also increase an athlete’s performance. An athlete with superior balance and awareness will be able to control his or her body more effectively. This is especially true in sports like basketball and soccer, but valuable in all sports or training. Proprioceptive training is done with balance exercises.

Balance Training

 

1. Standing on one leg: Hold for 30 seconds, working up to one minute per leg.
2. Balance and catch: Standing on one leg, catch and throw a ball with a partner. Make certain to throw the ball right, left, high, low. Perform three sets of 30.
3. One leg mini squats: On one leg do a half squat with the opposite leg out front for 10 reps, out to the side for 10 reps and behind for 10 reps. Repeat three times.

Strengthening

The ankle can be strengthened in several ways. The first exercise uses thera-band for resisted range of motion. Thera-band can be purchased at a medical supply store. When performing the following exercises, place the band around the top of the foot and curl the toes at the end of the movement to work the internal muscles of the foot. Perform three sets of 20 in each direction.

Inversion

Eversion

Dorsiflexion

Plantar Flexion

 

The second way to strengthen the muscles that surround the ankle is through a calf raise. Calf raises should be done both seated and standing to strengthen both calf muscles and the Achilles tendon. Perform 3 sets of 20.

The third strengthening exercise are plyometric workouts. Plyometric training uses jumping type movements to strengthen muscles and make them more explosive. Perform each exercise 10 to 15 times.

Scissor hops: Begin in a lunge position. Jump and switch feet in mid-air landing with the opposite foot forward.

Standing squat jumps: Begin in a quarter squat position. Jump from that position and land softly.

Bounding: On the toes, take large bounding steps in at about 50 percent of running maximum speed. One repetition should be about 50 feet.

Use these tips to keep your ankles strong and prevent injury for your best athletic performance yet.

Stana Landon has been a certified athletic trainer for eight years. She is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, recognized by the NSCA. She was employed as the Head Athletic Trainer at Eastern Oregon University and for VibrantCare Rehabilitation prior to her current position as an Assistant Athletic Trainer at University of Puget Sound. Stana received her Bachelor’s degree from University of Montana-Western in Environmental Science/Biology and Sports Medicine. She received her Master’s degree in Physical Education and Athletic Training from Eastern Oregon University. Stana is currently enrolled in a Doctoral program in Education from Walden University. She enjoys all running, biking, and most outdoor activities.

5 Calorie Myths You Should Know

By Clint Carter
Men’s Health

You can’t go anywhere without being confronted by calories. Restaurants now print calorie counts on menus. You go to the supermarket and there they are, stamped on every box and bottle. You hop on the treadmill and watch your “calories burned” click upward.

But just what are calories? The more calories we take in, the more flab we add—and if we cut back on them, then flab starts to recede too, right? After all, at face value, calories seem to be the factor by which all foods should be judged. But if that were true, 500 calories of parsnips would equal 500 calories of Double Stuf Oreos.

Not quite. There’s nothing simple about calories. Learn the distinctions and lose the lard.

Myth #1: Calories Fuel Our Bodies

Actually, they don’t

A calorie is simply a unit of measurement for heat; in the early 19th century, it was used to explain the theory of heat conservation and steam engines. The term entered the food world around 1890, when the USDA appropriated it for a report on nutrition. Specifically, a calorie was defined as the unit of heat required to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.

To apply this concept to foods like sandwiches, scientists used to set food on fire (really!) and then gauge how well the flaming sample warmed a water bath. The warmer the water, the more calories the food contained. (Today, a food’s calorie count is estimated from its carbohydrate, protein, and fat content.) In the calorie’s leap to nutrition, its definition evolved. The calorie we now see cited on nutrition labels is the amount of heat required to raise 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius.

Here’s the problem: Your body isn’t a steam engine. Instead of heat, it runs on chemical energy, fueled by the oxidation of carbohydrates, fat, and protein that occurs in your cells’ mitochondria. “You could say mitochondria are like small power plants,” says Maciej Buchowski, Ph.D., a research professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University medical center. “Instead of one central plant, you have several billion, so it’s more efficient.”

Your Move:

Track carbohydrates, fats, and protein—not just calories—when you’re evaluating foods.

Myth #2: All Calories Are Created Equal

Not exactly

Our fuel comes from three sources: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. “They’re handled by the body differently,” says Alan Aragon, M.S., a Men’s Health nutrition advisor. So that old “calories in, calories out” formula can be misleading, he says. “Carbohydrates, protein, and fat have different effects on the equation.”

Example: For every 100 carbohydrate calories you consume, your body expends fuve to 10 in digestion. With fats, you expend slightly less (although thin people seem to break down more fat than heavy people do). The calorie-burn champion is protein: For every 100 protein calories you consume, your body needs 20 to 30 for digestion, Buchowski says. Carbohydrates and fat give up their calories easily: They’re built to supply quick energy. In effect, carbs and fat yield more usable energy than protein does.

Your Move:

If you want to lose weight, make protein a priority at every meal. Adding them to snacks—especially before you exercise—can help too.

Myth #3: A Calorie Ingested is a Calorie Digested

It’s not that simple

Just because the food is swallowed doesn’t mean it will be digested. It passes through your stomach and then reaches your small intestine, which slurps up all the nutrients it can through its spongy walls. But 5 to 10 percent of calories slide through unabsorbed. Fat digestion is relatively efficient—fat easily enters your intestinal walls. As for protein, animal sources are more digestible than plant sources, so a top sirloin’s protein will be better absorbed than tofu’s.

Different carbs are processed at different rates, too: Glucose and starch are rapidly absorbed, while fiber dawdles in the digestive tract. In fact, the insoluble fiber in some complex carbs, such as that in vegetables and whole grains, tends to block the absorption of other calories. “With a very high-fiber diet, say 60 grams a day, you might lose as much as 20 percent of the calories you consume,” says Wanda Howell, Ph.D., a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Arizona.

So a useful measure of calories is difficult. A lab technician might find that a piece of rock candy and a piece of broccoli have the same number of calories. But in action, the broccoli’s fiber ensures that the vegetable contributes less energy. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that a high-fiber diet leaves roughly twice as many calories undigested as a low-fiber diet does. And fewer calories means less flab.

Your Move:

Aim to consume at least 35 to 40 grams of fiber every day. That being said, not all fiber is created equal.

Myth #4: Exercise Burns Most of Our Calories

Not even close

Even the most fanatical fitness nuts burn no more than 30 percent of their daily calories at the gym. Most of your calories burn at a constant simmer, fueling the automated processes that keep you alive—that is, your basal metabolism, says Warren Willey, D.O., author of Better Than Steroids. If you want to burn fuel, hit the gas in your everyday activities.

“Some 60 to 70 percent of our total caloric expenditure goes toward normal bodily functions,” says Howell. This includes replacing old tissue, transporting oxygen, mending minor shaving wounds, and so on. For men, these processes require about 11 calories per pound of body weight a day, so a 200-pound man will incinerate 2,200 calories a day—even if he sat in front of the TV all day.

And then there are the calories you lose to N.E.A.T., or nonexercise activity thermo-genesis. N.E.A.T. consists of the countless daily motions you make outside the gym—the calories you burn while making breakfast, playing Nerf football in the office, or chasing the bus. Brandon Alderman, Ph.D., director of the exercise psychophysiology lab at Rutgers University, says emerging evidence suggests that “a conscious effort to spend more time on your feet might net a greater calorie burn than 30 minutes of daily exercise.”

Your move:

Take frequent breaks from your desk (and couch) to move your body and burn bonus calories.

Myth #5: Low-Calories Foods Help You Lose Weight

Not always

Processed low-calorie foods can be weak allies in the weight-loss war. Take sugar-free foods. Omitting sugar is perhaps the easiest way to cut calories. But food manufacturers generally replace those sugars with calorie-free sweeteners, such as sucralose or aspartame. And artificial sweeteners can backfire. One University of Texas study found that consuming as few as three diet sodas a week increases a person’s risk of obesity by more than 40 percent. And in a 2008 Purdue study, rats that ate artificially sweetened yogurt took in more calories at subsequent meals, resulting in more flab. The theory is that the promise of sugar—without the caloric payoff—may actually lead to overeating.

“Too many people are counting calories instead of focusing on the content of food,” says Alderman. “This just misses the boat.”

Your Move:

Avoid artificial sweeteners and load up your plate with the bona fide low-calorie saviors: fruits and vegetables.

Sugar Sense

Try to minimize sugar in your diet, not eliminate it. The occasional dessert or candy after a meal is fine

 

By Monique Ryan
Her Sports + Fitness

We’ve all done it. Finished a tough workout or big race and rewarded ourselves with a pancake-sized peanut butter cookie, a gooey fudge brownie or our very own slice (two forks be damned!) of chocolate cake with double chocolate frosting.

For most of us, sugar is a way to celebrate. It’s what we turn to when we’re feeling blue, and our go-to snack when we need an afternoon pick-me-up. So much so that Americans eat an average of 150 pounds of sugar per year, often followed by a heavy dose of guilt.

But is all the self-reproach warranted? Is sugar the dietary evil we’ve been conditioned to believe it is? Not exactly. But sticking to a healthy eating plan does mean exercising some self-control.

Sifting Through the Sugars

“Sugar” commonly refers to simple carbohydrates composed of single and double carbohydrate molecules. Glucose, fructose and galactose are monosaccharides or single carbohydrate molecules that are the building blocks for carbohydrates. Disaccharides, on the other hand, are composed of two sugar molecules and include sucrose (table sugar) and lactose (milk sugar).

These types of sugars fall into one of two categories: they’re either added sugars or naturally occurring sugars, a natural byproduct of foods not added in processing, preparation or at the table.

The key to smart sugar consumption is recognizing the good from the bad. That is, knowing which sugars provide nutrients and which offer only empty calories.

The Good

Naturally occurring sugars tend to fall into the good category. Fructose is the natural sugar found mainly in fruits, which are packed with nutrients and provide carbohydrate for fuel. Fruits are excellent sources of vitamins A and C, fiber, potassium, carotenoids and other disease-fighting phytochemicals.

While all fruits are nutritious, some fruits are super-nutritious. Tropical fruits like mangos, papayas, kiwifruit and guava are exceptionally high in antioxidants. Carotenoids are also found in deep-colored fruits such as cantaloupe, nectarines and apricots. Citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruits are excellent sources of vitamin C, as are strawberries.

All these nutrients let you feel good about eating fructose. But good can turn bad when fructose is used as an additive in other foods like sugared yogurt, ice cream, sugared cereals and many processed foods. In this form, the sweetener offers little to no nutritional value and is a major ingredient in foods that provide empty calories, giving you energy but not the essential nutrients your body requires for good health.

Lactose is another naturally occurring sugar with a variety of essential nutrients. Milk and yogurt are great sources of calcium. Three servings of milk or yogurt a day provide the recommended daily amount of calcium most women need.

Lactose-intolerant individuals, who don’t produce enough of the enzyme lactase to break down milk sugar, can get their calcium from specially formulated lactose-free milk in which lactose is already broken down. They can also take lactase supplements before consuming dairy products. Yogurt has lower lactose levels than milk and is generally better tolerated.

Milk and yogurt are also good sources of vitamin D, another nutrient important for healthy bones.

The Not-so-good

No huge surprises here, either. Sucrose, or table sugar, is a refined form of sugar mainly found in desserts and snack foods with limited nutritional value. Cheaper and sweeter than sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is produced by chemically altering cornstarch. HFCS is about 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. Some HFCS fructose levels reach 90 percent, for even sweeter flavor.

HFCS is added to a variety of foods, including baked goods, breads, cereals, ketchup, soft drinks and many other items that may surprise you (read nutrition labels carefully). One-third of all the sugar consumed in the U.S. comes from the HFCS in soft drinks and other sweets with no redeeming nutritional value.

Recently, some nutrition experts have raised health concerns about HFCS, linking increased intake of HFCS to the growing rate of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. Other experts counter that the empty calories in HFCS foods contribute to obesity and weight gain, and these health concerns are not inherent to the sweetener itself. More research is needed on the direct effects of added sugars and HFCS on obesity and related diseases. But all experts agree that added sugars provide empty calories, without fiber or other nutrients.

Checking food labels carefully is critical. For example, good-for-you fruit juice contains 100 percent juice; not-so-good juice is generally a fruit blend that contains HFCS. And keep in mind that even real fruit juice is higher in simple sugar than its whole fruit counterpart and provides zero fiber. In other words, you’re better off eating the apple than you are drinking apple juice.

If you drink juice, opt for color to benefit from more antioxidants and phytochemicals. So, reach for purple grape juice before white grape juice.

How Much is Too Much?

There’s no denying sugar makes foods more palatable, and if you’re eating a well-balanced diet, you don’t have to eliminate it from your food choices. The question, then, is how much added sugar is too much?

If sugar calories replace appropriate servings of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products, the quality of your diet suffers, which could lead to diminished athletic performance. The World Health Organization recommends limiting free sugars (added sugars and those naturally in fruit juice) to no more than 10 percent of daily calories.

Try to minimize sugar in your diet, not eliminate it. The occasional dessert or candy after a meal is fine, as part of a well-balanced diet. If your active lifestyle requires 2,400 calories a day, your added sugar intake (not including naturally occurring sugars in foods such as fruit and dairy) ideally should not exceed 240 calories. If it does, cut back on your sugar intake the next day to keep things in balance.

What to Look For

The Nutrition Facts label does not distinguish between added sugar and natural sugars, but you can tell whether added sugars are a major part by reading the ingredient list. Remember, the closer the ingredient is to the beginning of the list, the more there is of it in the product.

Watch Out for These Added Sugars:

• Beet Juice
• Brown Rice Syrup
• Cane Syrup
• Corn Sweetener
• Crystalline Fructose
• Dextrose
• Evaporated Cane Juice
• Fructose
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Invert Sugar
• Malt Syrup
• Maltodextrin
• Sucrose

Sugar as Energy Food

Many popular sports drinks and gels contain glucose, glucose polymers, maltodextrin, sucrose and high fructose corn syrup as a carbohydrate source. These provide for fast absorption to quickly raise blood glucose levels when fuel stores begin to run low.

No one carbohydrate source has been shown to be superior to another in absorption and improving performance. In fact, a mix of carbohydrates may be your best bet. Avoid drinks in which fructose is the sole carbohydrate source as they may cause gastrointestinal distress because of how your body metabolizes this sugar.

Following is a look at some popular energy products that include a blend of carbohydrates.

Sports Drinks With Multiple Carb Sources

Product	Carb source	Carb grams
Sports Drinks (8-oz serving):
Accelerade	Sucrose, fructose, maltodextrin	17
All Sport	Fructose, sucrose	19
Cytomax	Fructose, maltodextrin, polylactate, glucose	19
Endura	Glucose polymers, fructose	15
Gatorade	Glucose polymers, fructose	14
GU2O	Maltodextrin, fructose	13
Powerade	Fructose, sucrose	14
Ultima	Maltodextrin	6
Gels (1 packet):
Cliff Shot	Brown rice syrup	37
GU	Maltodextrin, fructose	30
Power Gel	Maltodextrin, fructose	33

Monique Ryan, M.S., R.D., is the author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes (VeloPress 2002), and Performance Nutrition for Team Sports (VeloPress, March 2005). She served on the Athens 2004 Performance Enhancement Teams for USA Triathlon, Women’s Road Cycling, and USA Synchronized Swimming. For personalized sports nutrition planning, go to www.moniqueryan.com.

Q and A: Proper Warm Up and Foot Pain

Static stretching before a run is not the best way to warm up. Start by walking and jogging slowly to gradually warm up the muscles and increase your heart rate.

Richard Seven
The Seattle Times

Stretching is one of those simple things that is often done badly (some argue that you don’t need it at all), so I went to two established fitness experts to get an answer to this reader’s question:

Q: I’m a jogger for many years who was recently told by a varsity college runner that her coach said it was not necessary to stretch before running. Is this correct? I’m talking about pre-jogging stretching occurring after a warm-up walk of a few minutes.

A: From Peter Shmock, owner of Zum Health Club in Seattle:
Your friend’s coach is right on the mark. The way most people stretch prior to running — a brief tug on their leg, pulling it up toward their fanny or leaning against a tree to supposedly stretch your calf muscles and Achilles — does little if anything to prepare for a run or reduce the chance for injury.

The best way to prepare to run is to progressively warm up, with the key word being “progressively.” By warming up I don’t mean doing a static stretch for five minutes, I mean slowly getting into your body by moving.

Moving all your limbs in a gradual manner that increases your heart rate and gets your joints feeling loosened is great preparation to run. The more specific these movements are to running the better the warm up. Walking is a great warm up.

What I recommend and what I do myself: While walking, start swinging your arms in a more exaggerated motion, lengthen your stride a bit and bring your knees up higher. Then start walking normally but faster. Then break into a slow jog. Go back and forth between walking and jogging for the first five minutes and increase your pace as ready.

The secret to successful, injury-free and fun training that the great athletes possess is that they always pay attention to how their body feels and make adjustments along the way. If you’re running along and feel tight or low energy, slow down or walk. There’s no rule that says once you start you can’t stop, and if you do, you’ve failed.

A: From Rick Huegli, sports performance director of Velocity Sports Performance in Seattle:
From the college coaches’ perspective, an appropriate warm up is what is necessary to prepare the muscles for the workout. The goal is to raise core and muscle temperature and improve coordination for the specifics of the workout. Dynamic movement or progressive low-intensity running will increase core and muscle temperature and improve neuromuscular (coordination) and movement function.

The objective of static stretching usually is to increase the range of motion at a joint or to induce muscle relaxation and decrease the stiffness of muscle-tendon systems. Static stretching cold muscles, which provides some risk for muscle damage, is better placed at the end of the workout when the muscles have shortened or tightened. It is not an efficient way to increase core and muscle temperature and improve neuromuscular (coordination) function.

Progressive dynamic movement and/or progressive low-intensity running will increase core and muscle temperature as well as provide increased range of motion throughout the specific running mechanism. Static stretching (holding a stretch for a period of time) and ballistic stretching (bouncing to increase the amount of stretch) are inefficient and counterproductive methods for getting the muscles ready for activity.

Foot Pain

Here’s a question and answer that reminds us that not all owies are sinister and not all answers are complicated:

Q: Over the past few weeks, I have been experiencing foot pain when I run. The pain is at the top of my feet. It starts out as little twitches, then progresses to the point where I need to stop. After a bit, the pain stops. I tried laying off for a few days, but it came back as soon as I started again. The only change I have made lately is the addition of memory foam inserts to my shoes, which actually feel really good.

A: From Dr. Carol Teitz of the University of Washington:
If the “top of the foot” means the instep, there are three main possibilities. Given the information about the shoe inserts, it’s possible the reader is experiencing a pinched nerve. There is a nerve that runs along the instep and is just under the skin. Some people experience pain in this area when their shoes are tied too tightly. We also see it in ballet dancers en pointe with pressure from the ribbons on their pointe shoes.

Your reader’s inserts may be taking up enough room in the shoes such that the top of the foot is pushed up against the tongue. A way to test this hypothesis would be to run without the inserts and see if the problem still occurs. If it does, probably best to see an orthopedic surgeon to look for other diagnoses.

Note: The reader took out the inserts, and case solved.

Richard Seven is a Pacific Northwest magazine writer at The Seattle Times. Send questions on workouts, equipment or nutrition to him at: Pacific Northwest magazine, The Seattle Times, P.O. Box 70, Seattle, WA 98111, or e-mail rseven@seattletimes.com. Past columns can be found at http://www.seattletimes.com/onfitness/.