Matt Metzgar

Barefoot in the Park

I stopped at a local park for lunch the other day.  It was a nice, sunny day out so I thought I'd go for a walk.  I decided to walk barefoot on the grass to give my feet a "workout" so to speak.

Definitely I think shoes "dumb down" your feet.  Walking (or running) barefoot helps maintain the musculature of the foot.  It's not a big leap to think that many foot injuries/problems are the result of wearing shoes over a lifetime.  It would be the equivalent of a person wearing boxing gloves on their hands every day, and then expecting their bare hands to be perfectly functional and healthy.

Maintaing Muscle Mass

The usual story is that people lose muscle as they age due to disuse.  But more and more research I come across shows that nutrition may be even more important than exercise when it comes to maintaining muscle mass.  Here's a sampling:

• Alkaline diets (high in fruits and vegetables) favor maintenance of lean mass
• Higher protein intake helps maintain lean mass
• Insulin resistance leads to muscle wasting

So if you have all your nutritional ducks in a row, how much exercise and resistance training is needed to stave off muscle loss during aging?  I don't know the answer, but I think it's an interesting question - one that future research will hopefully be directed towards.

Ultimate Aerobic Training

One trend I see in aerobic training is a greater focus on interval training.  This is fine because interval training does increase fitness, but it is a bit too narrow-minded for my tastes.  There is a good case to be made that aerobic training should encompass both interval training and continuous training. 

For example, here are a couple of studies (one and two) that compare interval training versus continuous training.  If you want to look only at one variable, aerobic capacity (VO2max), than interval training will be the winner every time.  But what's missed is that continuous training has different benefits than interval training, benefits that interval training may not be able to reproduce.  This is shown in the second study I cited, where interval training increased capillary density by 21% but continuous training increased it by 40%.

Interval training and continuous training can be performed separately or within the same session.  For my own training, I find it easier to just combine the two into a single workout.  Usually, I do some easy running for a few minutes, then a half-minute or so of faster running, and then directly repeat the cycle.  This way I perform a volume of easy running, while also interspering the high-intensity spikes to increase fitness.

Aerobic Epiphany

I was doing some thinking about the benefits of resistance versus aerobic exercise.  What's strange for me is that even though I've gained some muscle this year, it has had no effect on my day-to-day life.  I don't feel any different.  I suppose the added muscle is functional, but in a non-physical job (like mine) you don't really utilize your muscles much on a daily basis.

Conversely, when in the past I've been in better aerobic shape via running/interval training/dancing, I've felt better and had more energy on a daily basis.  This is somewhat in line with the recent paper on how the aerobic system truly underlies the capacity of the human system.

I remember in the 90s there was a big anti-aerobics push, and there was the notion that strength training provided all the aerobic training that was necessary.  This is entirely false in my opinion, mostly because of the evolutionary implications.  Roughly you could say that in terms of hunter-gatherers, the aerobic system provided locomotion (running, walking, etc.), and the muscular system either supported this locomotion or was used to move heavy objects.  But it would seem very probable that the locomotion system was dominant.  How can you acquire game by standing in one spot?  If a load was too heavy, you could always get help to move it.  But if you just sat around in camp and expected others to go hunt for you, I'm not sure that would take you very far.

I put in a good aerobic workout (along with weightlifting) yesterday, and I definitely had more energy than usual today.  I will probably start putting more emphasis on aerobic work, if only to gain the psychological benefits.

Posture

The other night I was walking through the neighborhood, and I saw a jogger coming up the road.  It was getting dark, so I couldn't really make out anything except the outline of the person.  I noticed the person's posture was less-than-great, and so I guessed that it was an older runner.  As the person got closer, it turns out I was right.

Posture really seems to take a nose-dive during aging.  If you compare a college-aged recreational runner to a jogger in their 40s, the difference in posture is dramatic.  I don't know if resistance training alone is enough to maintain good posture through the years.  Perhaps some other special exercises are necessary.

Does anybody have any good resources on posture?  I have a Paul Chek book somewhere in the basement, but that's about all I've got.

Barefoot Running Technique II

With the weather turning warmer, I have been running outside a bit.  Initially, I noticed my stamina running outside was much lower than when I run inside at the track.  I thought about it, and realized there was one major difference: when I run indoors, I run barefoot (in socks only).

Apparently, even with wearing minimal shoes when running outside, my form disintegrates and I run less efficiently.  I don't plan on running barefoot outside on the streets, so I need to come up with an alternative.  I may buy a pair of Vibram Five Fingers, which have received some positive reviews from runners.  Other than that, I may just have to practice more barefoot running indoors, and try to transfer the same technique to when I'm outside running in shoes.

Pose Running

I noticed that the Pose running group recently had this article published in a scientific journal.  I am not fully convinced about Pose, but I do think it has value.  At the very least, it is helping some people run better and injury-free, and it is generating more discussion about proper running technique.

Pose would probably do a lot better without the language barrier that Romanov faces.  If you look at Chi Running, it is very similar in substance but it is packaged in a much more clever way.  When I go to the local bookstore, I always see Chi Running on the shelf.  I don't see the Pose book.

I came across this interesting link about Chi versus Pose versus other techniques.  It's done by a couple of Ph.D.'s in Exercise Science, and it makes for a good read.

High-Intensity Training and Detraining

I found this neat study(pdf) that compared low and high-intensity strength training in older men.  The low intensity group used repetitions of 14 to 16, while the high-intensity group used repetitions of 6 to 8.  A 24 week training program was followed by a year of detraining.

Amazingly, after a year of detraining, the high-intensity group still maintained some benefits of the strength training.  For example, their performance on the leg press and chest press was still above baseline measures.  In the low-intensity group, most values returned to the baseline measures.

To me, this shows that high-intensity strength training is powerful medicine.  It also shows that it may not have to be performed as often as some people think.  High-intensity training leads to structural remodeling in the body, and these changes won't fade in a week or two. 

Exercise-Resistant

Here's a brand new study that caught my eye.  It shows that in subjects with insulin resistance (at the muscle level), there is a lessened response to exercise.  In lean subjects, gene expression in the muscles was increased after exercise.  In the insulin resistant subjects, there was a lessened response within the particular genes.

Ouch!  This almost looks like a case of the fit getting fitter, while the overweight are at a sizable disadvantage.  It's much easier to stay in shape than to get in shape...

Good Time Guys

I noticed a couple of new guys who have been coming to the gym where I work out.  They appear to be new to weightlifting and are a bit out of shape.  Nevertheless, I predict they will do well for a few reasons.

First, they are not intimidated by the gym or the gym atmosphere.  They don't know what all the exercises are, but they're not afraid to ask or try things.   

Second, they are working out together.  Many people are more consistent when they work out with a partner or a friend.  An outside sense of accountability can help keep a person on track.

Third, and most importantly, they appear to be having a lot of fun.  They're joking and laughing, while putting in a decent effort.  Exercise has to be enjoyable for a person to stick with it in the long run.  The "no pain, no gain" concept is better left in the trash bin.  Steady progress is more important than trying to perform the world's hardest workout.   

I'm happy to see these two approaching exercise from an open, positive viewpoint, and I wish them success.