Achilles Tendon Injury Resource

I just found this site The Running World According to Dean and it’s got some very interesting information, particularly some good information on Achilles tendonitis and/or tendonosis. I’m going through this issue right now and it’s tremendously frustrating and mysterious.

Click image for source.

It’s not a cut-and-dried sort of thing. It seems everyone’s Achilles issue is particular to them. It may arise from simple overuse like running too much, too fast, up too many hills and/or running too fast up too many hills. It could also arise from various biomechanical issues that aren’t always easy to identify. The wrong shoes seem to also play a role. Even certain types of medication can contribute to the matter.

Beyond the many causes, there are almost as many treatment recommendations: ice, heat, stretch, don’t stretch, run a little, don’t run at all, orthotics, shoes… Anyhow, if you’re going through any of this then this site might be of help to you.

Benefiber??? Are we Insane?

My gym is currently handing out free samples of something called Benefiber. Sounds healthy, right? It’s got the word fiber in it and it even has the first part of the word beneficial in there too! Fantastic… (Also doesn’t sound much like real food, does it? This is a food-like substance.) What is Benefiber? The label tells us it’s a fiber supplement, and that it “Makes Taking Fiber Easier.” It’s a flavored sugar-free powder that comes in a small packet that’s emptied into a container of water, mixed, and drunk. For your troubles, you’ll get a whopping three grams of fiber for only 15 calories. Flavors include: kiwi strawberry, raspberry tea, citrus punch, cherry pomegranate, or unflavored.

So miracle of miracles, we have a fruit-flavored source of fiber that we can drink–thereby eliminating the titanic burden of actually eating a piece of fruit. We can now rest easier. (If this doesn’t yet sound a little koo-koo to you, then you might want to move along and find something else to occupy your time.)

Let’s back up just a little and figure out why we might be concerned with fiber at all. It’s fairly well known that food high in fiber helps confer good health. Fiber’s health benefits include the following: helps control blood sugar levels which probably reduces the risk of diabetes, reduces risk of heart disease, facilitates a healthy digestive tract, and fiber probably helps regulate the appetite. Nice stuff this fiber.

So Benefiber must be good for us right? What else is in this stuff? Well, that’s what’s really interesting. There are 11 ingredients, most of which are almost unpronounceable. They’re probably nothing you could cook up in your kitchen or reach for in your pantry. (Anyone ever brew up a hearty batch of acesulfame potassium?) These things are remarkably complex substances that were built by people in laboratories. This stuff is not found in food. Other animals don’t eat these things. I wonder how much time, effort, electricity and money went into concocting these magical items?

Is it food or Is it furniture varnish?

Look at the fourth ingredient, aspartame. It has two asterisks next to it. Down below the ingredient list in menacing bold print is PHENYLKETONURICS: CONTAINS PHENYLALANINE. Good lord what does that mean? I think we’re being warned. The issues associated with aspartame and other artificial sweeteners are more than I can go into here, but the point is there are more than a few concerns about the safety of these things. All this for three grams of fiber.

This seems like a product sold by Monty Python. Good nutrition in a powder is silly!

Meanwhile, I could eat actual cherries, strawberries, kiwis, oranges, or any number of other fruits and/or vegetables–real food in other words–and get the same amount of fiber plus untold amounts of various healthy molecules and none of the weird science-fiction chemicals. This whole thing seems absurd. It might be one part health to four parts poison. What are we doing here?

Drinkers More Physically Active Than Abstainers

Who’da thunk it?? Science Daily reports on a study in the September/October issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion indicates that drinkers exercised more than abstainers–and those who drank more exercised more!

“Among women, those currently using alcohol exercised 7.2 minutes more per week than those who abstained. Relative to abstainers, the more alcohol used, the longer the person exercised. Specifically, light, moderate and heavy drinkers exercised 5.7, 10.1 and 19.9 minutes more per week. Overall, drinking was associated with a 10.1 percent increase in the probability of engaging in vigorous physical activity. The results for men were similar.”

That outcome might be surprising to a lot of people. However, it’s interesting to note that for 2008 Colorado was the leanest state in the nation with an obesity rate of 18.4% yet a recent Men’s Health survey listed Denver as the most dangerously drunk city in the nation.

What does all this mean? It seems we might see parallels between alcohol and medicine. Too much of either will sicken and/or kill us but the right amount might be healthy. It certainly seems clear that some degree of alcohol consumption works well for a lot of people.

In my experience the drinking culture here in the Denver area is one that is strongly balanced with vigorous exercise. Hiking, skiing, kayaking, mountain biking, and/or running is often followed by a loosely reasonable amount of the region’s superb beer. Combine these habits and you get a fairly healthy and happy population.

Ski Conditioning

The ski season is very (VERY! VERY!) close at hand and appropriate preparation is in order, so here’s a plan I put together. Several capacities are key to good skiing performance: endurance, flexibility/mobility, strength/power, and power-endurance.

The periodized plan is composed of three four-week training blocks with each block separated by one week off. The first two training blocks consist of three gym workouts per week. The final block has two gym workouts per week. The week off should allow for thorough rest and recuperation prior to beginning the next block.

Emphasis is placed on training a certain capacity in each block, but the other capacities are trained as well so that nothing is lost as the plan progresses. For instance, though strength is emphasized in the first block, endurance and balance training also takes place. The skiing performance capacities I’ve addressed and my thoughts on each are as follows:
1.   Endurance (already established over the summer through running and biking): I must have the endurance to stay on the mountain all day at altitude. The endurance base will be maintained over the course of the plan.
2.   Strength: Skiing is very thigh-dominant thus I must have very strong legs to ski well. A strong trunk and upper body is essential for powerful turns.
3.   Mobility/Stability (two sides of the same coin): Effective ski technique requires tremendous hip and leg mobility during turns, especially at high speeds. While the legs and hips must be mobile, the trunk typically must be rock-solid and stable during turns.
4.   Power: Strength must be transfered to power. It’s not enough to be strong and slow to ski well. I must be able to express strength at high speeds.
5.   Power-endurance (Here’s where the training gets very specific to skiing.): Skiing requires one to be powerful over and over again for several minutes. Then the skier typically gets a rest of several minutes while he or she rides back up to the top of the mountain. So it’s not enough to be powerful once and then rest.

Here’s the plan:

Block 1: Strength & Mobility
- Strength Day
  - front squat: 3-6 reps, 4-8 sets
  - bench press: 3-6 reps, 4-8 sets
  - face pull: 8-12 reps, 3-4 sets
- Balance Day
  - single-leg squats from a box
    - heel reach forward
    - toe reach back
    - toe reach forward
    - rotational squat
  - single-leg bent over dumbbell row
  - single-arm overhead dumbbell press with frontal plane hip drive
- Mobility Day
  - multi-directional lunges with varied arm drives
  - dips
  - rotating cable pulls from various angles
- Endurance: running and biking throughout the week
- One week off
Block 2: Power
- Day 1
  - multi-planar jumps/hops: 6-10 reps, 3-4 sets
  - barbell clean to front squat: 3-5 reps, 4-6 sets
- Day 2
  - Kettlebell swings: 8 reps, 3 sets
  - Kettlebell swipes or chops: 5-8 reps, 3 sets
- Day 3
  - long jumps: 6 reps, 3 sets
  - dumbbell or barbell push press: 3-5 reps, 4-6 sets
- Endurance: same as block one
- One week off
Block 3: Power endurance
Due to the high stress of these workouts, only two are performed per week.
- Day 1:
  - barbell complex
  - clean
  - front squat
  - bent row
  - Romanian deadlift
  - floor press
  - followed by multi-planar jumps/hops
- Day 2:
  - Kettlebell complex (may vary widely)
    - snatch
    - clean
    - chop
    - press
    - swing
  - running or rowing intervals

The Benefits of Supervised Strength Training

Supervised Strength Training is More Effective, Swedish Study Finds, is an article from Science Daily. What does it tell us? It turns out that supervision and personalization is an important component of an injury-prevention (prehabilition) workout–at least when it’s performed by Swedish volleyball players. This information probably isn’t a huge shock but the implications are worth considering not only for injury-related issues but also for any fitness or sports performance goals.

The study surveyed 158 elite-level volleyball players by way of a questionnaire. The answers indicated that almost all the players performed some kind of injury-prevention program yet almost half of the players had been injured. Most of the players exercised without supervision. Further, two groups of players were given exercise programs. One group was given a personalized program and was supervised by a physiotherapist. The other group was given a non-personalized program and they were not supervised during workouts. The supervised group both improved their performance more than and had a lower injury rate than the unsupervised group.

Now, from the description of the study, there are several weak points that we could discuss: small sample size, physiological differences in the groups that might predispose or protect the players from injury, effect of the supervision vs. the effect of the personalized workout in the results, validity of the questionnaire. What’s more important though is that even elite-level athletes might benefit from a personalized, supervised conditioning program.

“I have a feeling that more athletes really stick to the program and focus on the task if there is a coach present. Many players may feel that the strength and conditioning training is the boring part of their sport, which makes it tempting to ‘cheat’ when nobody is watching,” says Sofia Augustsson, author of the study.

These are people for whom their sport is a major focus of their lives to the point that they may be earning a living from volleyball, so we might expect very strict adherence to any exercise program given to them. However, the behavior of these athletes and the results of their exercise programs confirms something I learned in graduate school: personalized programs and close interaction with individuals has impact. The more a fitness instructor or coach can work with one person or a small group the more likely that person or group will adhere to a program and succeed.

Does this sound like an argument for hiring a personal trainer? Well, yes, absolutely it does! Obviously I’m biased here but at the same time, there seems to be just a little bit of science to back up the idea.

To take it a little further, what I often see in the gym are people exercising but putting forth little effort. They’re often doing the same workout over and over. They may be neglecting their needs in favor of their “wants.” (“I want bigger pecs,” or “I want washboard abs” for example but what he or she may need is more hip or spine mobility, better shoulder stability or better nutrition.) So often these folks are putting in the time but they’re not getting the most value for their time–but at least they’re doing something in the way of exercise. Many more gym goers will give up altogether. They’ll spend some time exercising but never knowing the important whys and hows of getting to their goal. They’d stand as good a chance of getting a college degree without a degree plan. (BTW, here are some interesting stats on Americans’ exercise habits… Had to throw that in somewhere.)

It’s entirely likely that some time (and yes money) spent with a trainer could improve things dramatically. Just about anyone will benefit from a different set of eyes to look over their goals and their methods to achieving those goals. Even the most dedicated gym rat works harder when someone else is pushing him or her. Getting in shape and staying healthy is more than just reading an article or doing the workout you did in high school. So if you want to get the very most out of your time in the gym, or on the road, or on the track, the pool, the basketball court–wherever it is you exercise, seek out professional advice and you may achieve more than you ever imagined.

Why do you exercise?

Do you have physique goals? Is sporting performance important to you? Do you exercise for the purpose of disease prevention? Maybe it’s all or some of the above.

For whatever reason, some of us simply enjoy picking up heavy steel objects and running/biking/climbing/jumping around to the point of exhaustion. We derive pleasure from discomfort: burning, aching muscles; lungs on fire; sweat in the eyes… What we do isn’t always fun like a birthday party but deeply fulfilling.

The fascinating thing to me about exercise is that it is clearly very simple in most regards. Pick up something heavy several times. Move fast enough and/or long enough to sweat and pant. That’s exercise for the most part. It ain’t Greek philosophy, trigonometry or neurosurgery. Yet look at how many smart, highly accomplished people simply cannot find a way to do something so simple—even though we recognize how vital exercise is to a long, healthy life. Think of a time when you’ve pushed yourself—or have been pushed—to extreme physical exertion. It doesn’t take complex mental skills but we all know these kinds of efforts take tremendous mental fortitude.

What Do We Mean by “Fit?”

We may define the term “fit” any number of positive ways. Most of us though probably don’t allow the term “fat” to occupy the same high ground. The Denver Post Fitness Section for September 28, 2009 discusses the issue of whether one can indeed be both fit and fat. The article is a profile of a woman who is both obese and seemingly healthy. She is someone who is obese according to Federal guidelines, but who is also highly physically active, has good blood pressure and says she doesn’t miss work due to illness. She describes her bad experiences with diets and counting calories, as well as her difficulty in finally accepting her body shape and size. In the end, it appears she is happy with herself and in several ways, she definitely seems fit.

The big question here is can one be both fit and fat? Again, how do we quantify fitness? Do we mean looks? Do we mean weight? Are we talking body mass index (BMI), body composition or waist-to-hip ratio? I think it’s reasonable to say that most people exercise in order to look healthy/thin/muscular. A lean physique certainly is appealing on several levels. And while obesity is associated with various diseases, being overweight doesn’t always guarantee poor health; and conversely, a lean physique does not automatically equal good health. (Ever noticed how many supermodels smoke cigarettes?) The following quote says it well:

“There are many people living the ‘obesity paradox,’ says Paul Campos, a University of Colorado law professor and author of ‘The Obesity Myth.’ They are technically outside the government’s approved weight range but have bodies that are metabolically fit due to healthy eating and fitness routines. The notion that everyone can — and should — be thin is a product of political distortion and cultural panic over body diversity, he says.”

Denver Fitness Journal

All Things Health and Fitness by Kyle Norman, MS, CSCS, FMS, RRCA Running Coach

Month: October 2009