Matt Metzgar

The Joy of Movement

I just finished a late night session of sprints around the new neighborhood.  Slowly, life is seeping back into my body after the move.  I missed being active for a few days, so I did some sprints last night and then again tonight.

Adding freedom and play into a workout totally transforms it.  Like tonight, I felt like really going for it, so I did back-to-back sprints with little rest, along with some jumps over the curb and other bits of play.  I tripped and just about bit it one time, but that's part of the package.

It's a great joy to be able to move and express yourself physically.  It's the birthright of everyone, and it's a capability that should be put to good use. 

EvoSport

I wanted to point out the new EvoSport blog.  EvoSport is an interesting concept being used by a number of professional athletes.  There are a couple of videos on the site that help explain things.

Moving (Again)

I am moving this weekend, and so I will be offline for a few days.  This is now my third move in the past year and a half.  I've had enough of moving!  At least this will put an end to my extreme commute.

Time for some heavy lifting this weekend!

Puffiness

One thing I've noticed with adults compared to adolescents is the "puffiness" of adults.  It's not just that adults are overweight and have a greater fat mass, it's more like a general inflammation or along those lines.

I sometimes try to guess the age of a person from behind.  The giveway clues for youth are shinier hair, a faster walking pace, and a general "tightness" (even if they are overweight).  Many adults tend to look more bloated, independent of their of weight.

Are any doctors even looking into this?  I'm sure this puffiness is not a good thing.  With all these medical tests today, you think they could come up with a test for this, given that it's obvious from a visual standpoint.  I know there are blood tests to measure inflammation (like CRP), but I'm not sure this is the same type of inflammation I'm talking about.

Snow Sprints

I had to do a 15/30 workout outside tonight.  I didn't have enough time to make it to the gym, so outdoors I went.  Unfortunately, it was some kind of snowstorm!  I'm pretty sure I was the only one out running tonight (there weren't even that many cars).  It was freezing, so I tried to cut the rest periods and get done quickly.

Nevertheless, even a quick workout like this can make a difference.  I feel more relaxed and had a chance to release some stress.  A short, high-intensity effort like this will also lead to some adaptation.

I think this example can also illustrate the difference between children and adults in their approaches to physical activity.  Like in the case of snow: kids play in it, adults avoid it.  Though conditions were bad, I just went out there to have some fun with it.  I even tried to chase down a couple cars as part of my sprint workout.  When exercise becomes more playful and more primal, then motivation takes care of itself.

Sugar as A Social Force

I had a long discussion with a friend about the influence of sugar on society.  Once you start thinking about it, you realize how prevalent sugar is, and how many industries depend on it.  You also start to wonder why sugar is so widely accepted in society, even though it is probably addictive.

Here's a trivial example to start.  I was at the grocery store earlier, and saw all the Valentine's Day candy on clearance.  But don't worry, the Easter candy is already out!  Ever wonder why most major holidays are somehow connected to sugar?  Like Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas.  And don't forget that everyone's birthday is celebrated with birthday cake (for some unknown reason).

Why does society urge people to control drug and alcohol consumption, yet actually encourages the use of sugar?  It would seem sacrilegious to deny a child Halloween candy, yet you are a "good parent" if you preach against taboo drugs like alcohol and tobacco.  It's strange that some drugs are socially accepted while others aren't.

I remember when I moved cross-country a while back, that I knowingly used sugar to keep me alert for the long days of driving.  The next week I literally had to ween myself off sugar back to a healthy diet.  I don't know if I would classify it as withdrawal symptoms, but my body was clearly not happy in the absence of sugar.

With two-thirds of the country overweight or obese, you would have to assume that something pretty powerful is causing this happen.  You are talking about millions of people who can't manage their weight, even though they might be managing other aspects of their lives very well.  If there wasn't something very powerful blocking people from losing weight, then I'm sure people would choose to lose fat and return to a healthy weight. 

Maybe it's time for society to start taking sugar more seriously.

Grades for Cash

I think one of the worst trends in education is the practice of paying for good grades.  I saw some schools doing this at least ten years back, and now today it's even crept into higher education.

I feel this practice sends the wrong message in a number of ways.  First, it treats the student as a pawn that must be manipulated with external rewards.  It implies that a student is incapable of understanding that an education may actually be beneficial to his or herself.  Second, it amplifies the perception that school is boring and useless, but that if students behave they can at least secure some type of reward.

Why this practice is used in higher education completely baffles me.  If a student is paying money to go to school, then why should the school pay them money for good grades (like making the dean's list)?  I fail to see the logic in this.

And does anyone think there are no long-term negative consequences from this?  What happens when a person leaves school and there are few external rewards to guide their behavior (besides a job)?  These reward systems help perpetuate a culture of dependency, instead of creating adults who are capable of making their own independent decisions.

Harrisburg, PA

 

I was just down in Harrisburg for a conference.  I took this picture of the capitol building on the way out of town.

Distance Running Tolerance II

There were lots of good comments on the post about distance running.  I will add a few follow-up items.  First, distance running does upset the hormonal balance in men.  A number of studies, like this one, show this effect.

Second, there was some research last year showing that the "runner's high" actually exists.  If this is true, it may mean that some type of endurance running might have been part of our evolutionary heritage.

Third, I think the best way to minimize the negative effects of running is some type of Maffetone/low-heart rate training.  If you can reduce the intensity enough, it may move from a "chronic cardio" type of activity to more of a low-level aerobic activity like walking.  This is just a theory, and I have never been able to make it work like I want in practice.

Also, there is a certain feeling of power or self-efficacy in being able to run long distances.  I know in the past when I was running more that I felt this way.  However, it seems the older you get, you have to pay a higher price to maintain this capability.

Major Sports II

It would seem like logical that to improve performance in these games of repeated sprints, that the training should focus on repeated sprints.  However, this is where some researchers seem to be missing the boat. 

Let's look at this study that shows how endurance running improves soccer performance.  Subjects ran intervals of 4 minutes at 90-95% effort with 3 minute recoveries.  This training led to improved outcomes during soccer games.  But when was the last time you saw a soccer player run for 4 minutes straight during a game?  Never.  I think all this study shows is that improving the aerobic metabolism will improve soccer performance.  It doesn't mean that running 4 minutes straight is the best method for improving aerobic capacity.

A later study illustrates this point.  Researchers compared the same 4 minute protocol versus "small-sided" soccer practice.  Small-sided games are where there are fewer players on a smaller field.  The study showed that both methods produced the same benefits on all tests.  The researchers concluded that "this study showed that both small-sided games and running are equally effective modes of aerobic interval training in junior soccer players."  The small-sided games were effective in improving aerobic capacity because players were involved in more plays and had less chance to rest.

Even if they were equal effective in this study, I would think that the small-sided games are a better training method.  If for no other reason, repeated sprints appear to be a more "natural" form of exercise.  I've done longer intervals of hard running (3-4 minutes), and they never felt that great.  The longer intervals seemed to be more of a hormone-depleter than short intervals. 

You could also think of this again in evolutionary terms.  If the ability to run 4 minutes at a hard pace was a top physical trait in terms of evolution, than people would be tuning in to watch track events on tv every weekend.  Instead, people watch sports with short bursts and moderate rest periods.