<p>Had a 20 mile week this week, despite the epidural steroid injection (Tuesday was a complete day off). Monday was almost a day off with a slow 2 mile walk/run. Tomorrow is still in the week, but I’m biking 45-50 and not running. Steroid may be helping a little. I seem to have more strength in the left leg, although after exercising I still can really feel the butt bone. This morning I worked the finish line at a 5K (did my own 4 miles before the race). Boy- people look REALLY bad at the end of a 5K. It is still hot, although today was not nearly as bad as it has been. I had to catch a couple of runners, a few threw up and others just lay on the ground after barely clearing the finish line. After the 5K there was a competitive mile (not a fun run) and many runners did the mile after the 5K. I would NOT have (and did not last year).</p>
<p>Today was supposed to be my day off but I had too much wine last night and then had some junk food. Ish! Anyway went to the “Big” club with H and biked for 10 miles and then walked on the dreadmill at slow pace. Signed up for Lifetime Fitness 90 Day Challenge. Will see if this teaches me anything and if it motivates me a little more. Wish me Luck! :)</p>
<p>NM, that will take you to the next level – at least!!</p>
<p>Boyle has done a lot of coaching. Strength and conditioning coach for BU men’s hockey. Strength and conditioning coach for the Boston Bruins. Strength and conditioning coach for the 1998 gold medal winning US Women’s Olympic Hockey team. He was a college protege of Mike Woijiac, the infamous NFL strength and conditioning coach that Bill Belichick brought to the New England Patriots.</p>
<p>He does have some strong opinions. One of which is that he believes doing aerobic conditioning is a complete waste of time and harmful to athletic performance, except for athletes training for an aerobic sport (like distance running). He does zero aerobic conditioning with his athletes and says that the surest way to kill any chances of a high schooler becoming a good athlete is to run cross-country to get them “in shape”. That probably turns some heads.</p>
<p>VeryHappy:</p>
<p>What a fantastic exercise. I think lunges (of every variety) are just brutal. It’s the isolating one leg at a time that makes them so hard. That’s also why they build leg strength like crazy.</p>
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<p>Most people in their 50s that want to exercise probably want to lose weight, maintain better quality of life now and in the future, and probably want to live longer. Research has generally shown that less body mass is positively correlated with longevity.</p>
<p>[ScienceDirect</a> - Ageing Research Reviews : Longevity, mortality and body weight](<a href=“http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6X1H-4619DHV-1&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1424199968&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d42187363328ac1f5c413fdff0a5df2c#toc5]ScienceDirect”>http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6X1H-4619DHV-1&_user=10&_coverDate=09%2F30%2F2002&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1424199968&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d42187363328ac1f5c413fdff0a5df2c#toc5)</p>
<p>The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation of total body weight to longevity and mortality. The MEDLINE database was searched for data that allow analysis of the relationship between absolute body weight and longevity or mortality. Additional data were used involving US veterans and baseball players. Trend lines of age at death versus body weight are presented. Findings show absolute body size is negatively related to longevity and life expectancy and positively to mortality. Trend lines show an average age at death versus weight slope of −0.4 years/kg. We also found that gender differences in longevity may be due to differences in body size. Animal research is consistent with the findings presented. Biological mechanisms are also presented to explain why increased body mass may reduce longevity. Life expectancy has increased dramatically through improved public health measures and medical care and reduced malnutrition. However, overnourishment and increased body size have promoted an epidemic of chronic disease and reduced our potential longevity. In addition, both excess lean body mass and fat mass may promote chronic disease.</p>
<p>Boyle’s operation trains a lot of fat loss clients. He hates aerobic exercise for weight loss, too. He says that the only time any of his programs include aerobic “cardio” is for an absolute beginner who doesn’t have the basic fitness for interval workouts. He will put that kind of client on a walking program for a few weeks to build the aerobic capacity and fitness to begin interval training.</p>
<p>His argument, in a nutshell, is that endurance aerobic exercise (such as running) either becomes useless because it’s no longer challenging and that it actually degrades lean muscle and strength. He uses the example of Olympic sprinters: very strong, very explosive, very powerful, versus marathoners who typically have no functional strength. The best olympic sprinters generally do zero distance running. He says that the longest any of his pro athlete customers run in any of his programs is 200 or 300 yards.</p>
<p>Here’s an article he wrote called “A Long Slow Walk to Nowhere…”</p>
<p>[A</a> Long Slow Walk to Nowhere by Michael Boyle | Training Articles | Mike Boyle Strength & Conditioning | 781-938-1330](<a href=“http://www.bodybyboyle.com/articles?show=14]A”>http://www.bodybyboyle.com/articles?show=14)</p>
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<p>Research shows that it’s absolute weight that is correlated to longevity. The article suggests that even excess lean mass is correlated with mortality.</p>
<p>Running doesn’t have to be challenging for people to do it. Brushing and flossing aren’t particularly challenging but people do it for a lifetime.</p>
<p>There’s a guy at work that has run many marathons in the past. I think that he’s about 5-8 with bodyfat percentage under 10 (he had it measured one time using an accurate method). He’s very skinny and I’ve never seen him workout with weights. I’d guess that he’s in his sixties. I’d also guess that he’s not going to die of heart disease.</p>
<p>As for motivation, the runners high is there if you can get the miles up there. You can always increase your distance or improve your time if you want a challenge.</p>
<p>The C5K program sounds quite interesting to me. I am eager to see what the research says on that program after it has been out for a few years. I have no doubt that the strenuous stuff can work but I also think that a long and gradual aerobic approach can work quite well too.</p>
<p>The argument is that aerobic exercise is not an efficient way to maintain a low bodyweight for most people because the required mileage, time, and injury costs become counter-productive. Yes, a marathoner is skinny, but look at the miles they are running and the time involved and, for all of that, they might not have the functional strength to lift a bag of cat litter out of the trunk of the car and carry it up the stairs.</p>
<p>BTW, the first six of nine weeks of the C to 5k program is pure interval training. Twenty to twenty-five minutes, three times a week. That’s not the same as long, slow endurance running.</p>
<p>The only downside to the C25k training program will be the high rate of injury because it’s a high impact form of interval training, especially for fitness beginners and/or overweight exercisers.</p>
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That might have been the case in the old days, but almost all elite runners now do a lot of strength work. They don’t want to bulk up, of course, but you need strength in your upper body and core to get you through a 2 (or 4) hour race.</p>
<p>I remember reading that once a runner goes over 30 miles in weekly mileage the rate of injury increase was huge. I do not remember the % increase.</p>
<p>I would agree with Boyle on that point then…aerobic conditioning is unnecessary for purely anaerobic sports (or for the majority of the population who’re ‘working out’ just to get leaner or whatever it is the general population works out for…)</p>
<p>I didn’t get a chance to view the study other than the abstract…anyone have the full link or pdf they can post?</p>
<p>Longevity is highly overrated. I’d rather live a productive lift & be as strong as I can be till I’m 60 rather than be wheelchair bound till 90. What fascinates people to sacrifice their current quality of life to extend what will happen 40 yrs from now is beyond me.</p>
<p>Excess aerobic conditioning increases systemic cortisol production and ages you faster. It also makes you weaker & catabolizes lean tissue. Like I said before, calorie restrictive diets do extend your lifespan…at a cost.</p>
<p>But just because he has coached x & y athlete doesn’t negate the fact that he has mostly gone off the deep end. Charles Poliquin is another ex Olympic coach who is a pure charlatan now.</p>
<p>Besides, distance running for non competitive women (general population who don’t compete in a running sport) is ill advised. Their q angle & lower limb connective tissue insertions make them something like 300 % more prone to injury. Don’t have the references at hand, its in the NSCA book in the “differences between gender” chapter or subchapter if anyone has it…or google “q angle and injury in women” or something to that effect.</p>
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<p>I think that you can get significant benefits from running four times
a week for at least 45 minutes a day. Is that a lot of time? Injuries
certainly are an issue - I know that first-hand. But I’ve also learned
how to avoid them. I’d guess that most people do it like I did - run
until you get injured and then learn how to fix it and avoid it later
on.</p>
<p>I know many marathoners and they all have sufficient strength for
daily life. I used to be 5/10 and 140 pounds which was really, really
skinny and I had enough strength for daily life.</p>
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<p>You do what you do to get where you want to be.</p>
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<p>I read the C25k directions and they look good. My concern, of course,
is that people follow the directions. The average person doesn’t
understand the importance of good footwear or understand why you
switch to a new pair of shoes after a certain number of miles on them
even if they look fine. This is why I’d like to see the long-term
results of this approach.</p>
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<p>Yes, this is the mileage area where I hit injuries in the past. What I
learned in the aftermath of those injuries was how important footwear,
stretching and certain muscle groups are in preventing injury. These
things are described in running magazines but you don’t pay attention
to them until you run into them.</p>
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<p>It’s behind a paywall. You probably need access to research databases
to view it. I have a busy day today but will take a look at it tonight
or tomorrow.</p>
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<p>That’s a strawman.</p>
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<p>What’s your definition of excess?</p>
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<p>I think that the article deals with women’s issues.</p>
<p>I like a distance of six miles per day. Right now I have a target of
20 miles a week. I’d like to get to running 25 to 30 miles a week and
just stay there. I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to lose weight at
that level of running. Is that distance running? I imagine that many
would think that it is and that many others would laugh at that being
distance running.</p>
<p>Well, I went out to walk yesterday, thought I would take it easy, but the last few yards were downhill so I thought I’d just jog a little, but oh my God, PAIN! So much for my 5k dreams. I guess I’ll go have this checked out, and see what’s going on. But I’m so disappointed. I was really enjoying this.</p>
<p>Ouch. One thing about exercising is that it sure will put a flashing neon arrow pointing to any chronic injury or pain point.</p>
<p>The good news is that running/walking/biking injuries are usually “overuse” injuries, as opposed to tearing a ligament or something. I’ve got two different aches and pains that flare up from time to time. Both, go away if I dial it back or take a day off.</p>
<p>I haven’t followed my own advice this summer, doing a lot of hill walking, but I really think variety and mixing it up is the ideal approach – some walking or jogging, some biking, maybe some swimming, mixed in with strength workouts. The specifics depend on what you like and have access to, but variety will probably help prevent repetitive overuse injuries.</p>
<p>There’s another “take” on this running/walking thing. iPod nazi largely agree with Boyle that long duration aerobic exercise is an inefficient approach to better fitness. Not that it is “bad”, just that for the same time and effort, high intensity bodyweight strength training and interval training is a better foundation and will produce more fitness and athletic gains. However, he sees walking/jogging or other low-intensity aerobic exercise as a useful “active recovery” activitiy, i.e. something beneficial on the off days when you are recovering from high-intensity workout days. He says that walking should just be a part of daily routine as a baseline part of overall metabolic fitness.</p>
<p>That was my plan with walking, but a quirk of geography placed a bunch of 5% grade hills on my route, so my walking has been an “all natural” form of fairly high intensity (relative to my fitness level) interval training, something that was instantly apparent with the heart monitor on the hills. I chuckled when I read Boyle advise beginning treadmill walkers to set the incline to 5%, walk that for a minute, watch their heartrate go up, rest, and then do it again – because that’s what my walks are like, except the hills are longer than a minute.</p>
<p>I would like to get to a fitness level where I can jog/run, so I’ll probably keep throwing in some jogging intervals into my walks, but it’s very apparent that it is high impact and jarring on the body compared to every other form of workout I’ve tried so far. I would really like to avoid injury that derails the “move more” part of this fitness thing.</p>
<p>blankmind:</p>
<p>The good news is that you did your walk pain free!</p>
<p>I’m thinking my knees probably have osteoarthritis based on what I’ve read on all the knee pain sites. Given my past athletic exploits, this makes sense. I really enjoy high impact type activities, and really don’t like standing around doing weights or other exercises. I wonder if I could get into swimming. Of course, I would need a waterproof ipod to make that bearable :). Do they make such a thing?</p>
<p>blankmind, yes, there are waterproof cases that you can use with your existig iPhone or iPod! Check your local Apple store -they have many options.</p>
<p>[H2O</a> Audio : Waterproof Headphones, Headsets, iPod Cases & Armbands](<a href=“H2O Audio Waterproof Headphones & Accessories”>H2O Audio Waterproof Headphones & Accessories)</p>
<p>:)</p>