Topic: Research

Performance potion - The Zinc effect

Posted: October 10, 2006

This article originally appeared in the sports science newsletter, Peak Performance

When athletes try to organize a balanced diet, they think about good carbs and the correct amounts of protein, but who really cares about zinc levels? Only in a recent study has it been proved this could be a mistake.

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Short, intense bursts of exercise get results

BY JEANNINE STEIN

Tue, Oct. 03, 2006

When it comes to cardio exercise, less appears to be more.

That's the conclusion of researchers who discovered that extremely short bouts of high-intensity exercise produce the same improvements in muscle health as longer, more moderately paced workout sessions.

In the two-week study, published in this month's issue of The Journal of Physiology, 16 college-age men, all recreational exercisers, were asked to exercise on stationary bicycles three times a week. One group cycled for 30 seconds all-out, followed by four minutes of recovery, which means pedaling at a slower speed while keeping the heart rate somewhat elevated. They repeated that several times for a total of about 20 minutes a day. The other group cycled at a moderate pace for 90 to 120 minutes a day.

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Work out less to get in better shape

29 September 2006

Scientists find that less can be more when it comes to exercise. Short bursts of activity produce greater results than the long slow burn

Researches at Copenhagen University's Institute of Exercise and Sport Sciences have documented improved performance in a group of runners after they decreased the extent of their training programme dramatically, reported daily newspaper dato Friday.

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Running industry increases sales, prices and profit

By Sharon Robb

July 6 2006

Meg Bruch opened Running Wild in Fort Lauderdale 20 years ago not knowing whether a specialty store for running shoes and apparel would catch on.

"It was a major investment and a little bit scary not taking a paycheck for the first five years," said Bruch, owner of Broward County's oldest running store. "I was so busy raising babies and maintaining the store that I didn't project 20 years into the future what it would be like, but I am very encouraged by the increase."

LocalLinks Figures are up across the board in everything from shoe and apparel sales to the number of road races, according to a report released by Running USA's Road Running Information Center last week. The running industry increased about 6.8 percent to $55.7 billion in 2005, outperforming the U.S. economy, which grew only 4.3 percent.

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Compatibility of Adaptive Responses With Hybrid Simultaneous Resistance and Aerobic Training

By Don Melrose and Ronald G. Knowlton

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a hybrid, simultaneous, resistance and aerobic training program on aerobic power and muscular strength.

TRAINING SLOW CAN INCREASE COST OF RUNNING FAST

Owen Anderson

November 13th, 2005

New research carried out at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom indicates that training at slow speeds can actually make runners less-efficient when they attempt to run at quality paces, even when substantial amounts of training are completed per week. 

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Great VO2 max Myth

by Doctor Andrew Bosch

I often receive telephone calls from runners wanting to know if it would be possible to measure their VO2 max. My standard answer is something along the lines that it is, indeed, possible. However, I then go on to ask why they want to have their VO2 max measured? There is usually one of two replies. Firstly, I am told, by knowing his or her VO2 max the runner will know that esoteric time that he or she is ultimately capable of running for some particular race distance, and therefore their ultimate potential as a runner. Secondly, once their VO2 max is known it will be possible to prescribe the ultimate personalised training schedule. My response to both is that knowing the VO2 max of a runner does not answer either question.

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A comparison of methods for estimating the lactate threshold.

McGehee JC, Tanner CJ, Houmard JA.

J Strength Cond Res. 2005 Aug;19(3):553-8.

Department of Exercise and Sport Science, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA.

The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of tests that may be used by distance runners to estimate the lactate threshold. Competitive distance runners/triathletes (N = 27) performed a criterion test that directly measured (blood lactate of 4.0 mmol.L(-1)) the lactate threshold. Subjects then performed 4 tests (VDOT, 3,200-m time trial, 30-minute time trial, Conconi) that estimate the threshold.

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Relationships of Age and Weekly Running Distance to BMI and Circumferences in 41,582 Physically Active Women.

Williams PT, Satariano WA.

Obes Res. 2005 Aug;13(8):1370-80.

Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Donner Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720. ptwilliams@lbl.gov.

OBJECTIVE: To assess in women whether age-related increases in adiposity are dependent on exercise, and, contrariwise, whether exercise-related declines in adiposity are dependent on age.

RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted of 41,582 female runners.

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