Month: July 2010

Selecting Shoes by Foot Shape

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Results of three military studies showed that prescribing shoes based on foot shape made no difference in the rate at which injuries occurred in Army, Marine and Air Force basic trainees, who spend quite a bit of time running. That’s “no” as in none, sports fans.

Any runner is familiar with the idea that certain shoes are made for certain types of feet.  We’ve got motion control shoes, neutral cushioned shoes, stability shoes….  The idea being that these different types of shoes help guide feet in the healthiest most efficient manner.  This concept has been challenged by three military studies.  Army, Air Force and Marine studies all had similar results.

“We found no scientific basis for choosing running shoes based on foot type,” said Bruce Jones, M.D., injury prevention program manager at U.S. Army Public Health Command (Provisional), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

The most recent study looked at 1400 Marine recruits.  Men and women were randomly assigned into two groups.  One group got shoes matched to their foot type, the other group received stability shoes. Similar to Army and Air Force studies, the recruits with shoes prescribed according to foot type experienced the same rate of injuries as those in the control group, regardless of other factors, such as age, sex, race and smoking habits.

I wonder what the shoe companies have to say?

These findings echo statements found in Noakes’ Lore of Running.  He refers to a study by Stacoff (1998) of orthotics.  The study found that the orthotics–thought to control pronation of the foot–didn’t actually change ankle motion in the test subjects.  Though this study refers to orthotics, it’s quite likely that shoes designed to control pronation produce similar results.  So if shoes are prescribed to a runner based on his or her foot strike pattern, and if we’re expecting to see that foot strike pattern altered in a certain way, then the expected outcome is unlikely.

That’s not to say the right shoes and/or orthotics won’t work for an individual.  But the mechanism by which these shoes and inserts work is unclear.  At the very least, these studies suggest that we don’t really know why a certain shoe or orthotic may work for someone.  Nor can we predict accurately the right type of shoe/orthotic someone needs based on looking at their foot type.

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Practice Makes Perfect: An Analysis

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We know that skill building and retention of skills involves practice.   We practice swimming, typing, putting, free throws, dance moves–all with the expectation that we’ll improve those skills.  I think most of us would agree that swimming probably won’t do much to improve our putting.  Nor will practicing our cursive handwriting improve our soccer skills.  In other words, we need to practice specifically those skills and tasks that want to improve.

To that point, we in the exercise field are familiar with the SAID Principle, or Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demand.  It means we adapt to the stresses and stimulation which we’re subjected to.  It’s the SAID principle at work when a swimmer swims and thus gets better at swimming.  Or why a boxer improves his skill through boxing.  In order to improve a skill then we’d better practice that skill.  A new study however tells us that if we’re willing to deviate just a bit during our practice sessions then we’ll probably learn better.

Why (Smart) Practice Makes Perfect comes from Science Daily and Athletic Edge: Does Practice Really Make Perfect comes from Time Magazine.  Both pieces profile research done by USC and UCLA neuroscientists.  The study featured six groups who practiced an arm movement pattern that mimicked a pattern on a computer screen.  The more accurate the subjects’ arm movements the better they scored.   Three of the groups practiced the arm movement only while three other groups practiced the arm movement plus other arm movements that were similar to the target movement.  The groups were then tested 24 hours after their practice sessions.  The variable practice group scored significantly better than the rote practice group.  Why?

“In the variable practice structure condition, you’re basically solving the motor problem anew each time. If I’m just repeating the same thing over and over again as in the constant practice condition, I don’t have to process it very deeply,” said study senior author Carolee Winstein, professor of biokinesiology and physical therapy at Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry at USC.

“We gravitate toward a simple, rote practice structure because we’re basically lazy, and we don’t want to work hard. But it turns out that memory is enhanced when we engage in practice that is more challenging and requires us to reconstruct the activity,” Winstein said.

“While it may be harder during practice to switch between tasks … you end up remembering the tasks better later than you do if you engage in this drill-like practice,” Winstein said.

This research is particularly fascinating as it coincides very much with a book I’m reading,  Norman Doidge’s The Brain That Changes Itself. In it, Doidge profiles various individuals with brain injuries and diseases and describes their efforts at rehabilitation.  Often these people have lost use of language skills, thinking or cognitive skills, and/or their ability to move or their motor skills.  They must focus to learn anew skills that are common to most of us.  It is through intense concentration and focus that these individuals are able to regain these damaged brain functions.  It seems a key aspect of this process isn’t just the learning of new skills–but it’s the very act of concentrating that brings success.

What might this mean for fitness enthusiasts and athletes?  It means that if you’ve tuned out during your workout then you’re probably not getting all that you could be getting out of your effort.  It means that doing the same workout over and over will yield fewer benefits than adding challenging variety to your routine.

In gyms, I see a lot of people who tuned out long ago.  They sit on the same bicep curl machine and curl the same weight the same way they did the last 1000 times they came in to workout.  Or they’re on the same elliptical machine going at the same pace for the same amount of time as they’ve always done.

Clients often struggle with new exercises.  They may be very comfortable with certain movements but try and add something new and it can be a bit of a battle sometimes.  Our brains aren’t always happy about making our limbs move in new ways! Kettlebell and Olympic lifts for instance, require more skill and coordination than calf raises or pec deck flyes.  But if we look to this latest research it may make sense that just as lifting the barbell is healthy for our bones and muscles, the challenge of learning these new complicated tasks is in fact just as healthy for our brains.

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the Rest of the Bypass

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I’ll start where I left off in the last post: at the top of Vail Pass.  The sun was out and things were going well.  I was at the final rest stop and according to others around me, this would be a high-speed screamer into Vail and on into Avon to the finish line.  Sounded like fun.

Let me tell you, this final descent was like being shot out of a cannon!  I hadn’t ridden this part of the course though so I wasn’t sure about the twists and turns.  I kept the speed at the high end of modest.  Glad I did because there were a number of turns that had I been going any faster I probably would’ve wrecked in an ugly way.  Which brings me to the worst part of the whole day.

I rounded a corner, started down another slope and about 100 yards down I saw two people lying on the pavement.  (A couple of bikes were turned over and two other cyclists had just hopped off their bikes.  Thankfully, this was a bike path and not a road.  No cars to worry about.  A man was on his back bleeding from the face and head and he was groaning.  A woman was several feet ahead lying face down.  She was also bleeding.  She wasn’t moving.  There was blood on the pavement.  One person was tending to the woman, the other person was heading down the hill to a nearby highway patrolman.  I had a look at the man on his back and knew from CPR training that the only thing I should do was to calm him down and keep him from moving.  I told him he’d be just fine and that help was nearby.  About that time another cyclist showed up and told me he was a medic.  Thank god.  From there, I and another rider went back up the road from where we’d come in order to slow down other approaching riders.  An ambulance arrived in maybe 10 minutes.  When I left the woman was conscious.

That situation was a real nightmare.  I’d never seen a wreck like that.  It could’ve been any of us in that wreck.  If those riders weren’t wearing helmets I imagine I’d have been looking at two corpses.  (There’s probably not a very good way to transition from that episode…)

The rest of the ride went well.  We had a tail wind and an easy downhill.  I’m not sure where the energy came from but I pushed hard over about the final 10 miles into Avon.  Now it was hot and dry but the ride was done!  One-hundred twenty miles, about 8.5  hours of riding, and my ass felt like someone had replaced my bike saddle with a cheese grater.  Time to eat, drink, and sit down in the shade.  Much thanks to my wife for driving out to pick me up.  I hope I get to do it all again next year.

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My 1st Triple Bypass

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Any Colorado cyclist knows about the notorious Triple Bypass.  It doesn’t actually involve a scalpel but rather 120 miles of cycling over three mountain passes (Squaw Pass, Loveland Pass, Vail Pass) with over 10,000 feet of climbing.  It’s a very popular ride that fills up quickly.  It’s definitely something worth having on the cycling resume.  The journey took me a little over 10 hours with around nine hours of riding.  This was no casual ride.

The ride was reasonably brutal but also beautiful and enormous fun.  (Equating self-inflicted brutality with fun is common among cyclists I think.)  Save for the very ugly wreck I saw near the end of the ride, everything went exceedingly well–even with the afternoon shower and high winds.  Traveling Colorado by bicycle is a wondrous thing.

The day started at about 4:30 am and the wife dropped me off at Bergen Park at 6:15 am.  I joined about 3,499 other riders for a bit of climbing  up Squaw Pass.  All went well but several other riders had flats early.  I saw one rider walking his bike–not a good sign.

I asked, “You OK?  You need any help?”

“Ah…  This is my third flat,” he said.

That’s a nightmare.  Fortunately there were support vehicles orbiting us as we rode.  I hope he got to finish the ride.

The ride up Squaw Pass featured all the mountain scenery you can imagine.  Any tourist to Colorado would be impressed–as would most residents.  Tremendous views of many mountain peaks were all around.  Nice enough, but the ride down into Idaho Springs was helluva thrill ride!  The scenery was exquisite, the roads were in good shape and the traffic was minimal.  I believe I can descend fairly well (I’m 200 lbs.; thus gravity tends to welcome me) but some of these guys were SO fast downhill I couldn’t believe it.  It’s like they were sprinting downhill, taking turns at vicious speeds.  My gajones are only about medium-sized it seems.  But how cares?  It was all fun.  Then we were into Idaho Springs.

From Idaho Springs the ride sort of hit a lull.  I think most of us were anticipating the next big climb which was Loveland Pass.  To get there we had to travel alongside and then finally on Interstate 70.  This is nothing to dream about.  Part of the route involved a slightly muddy, rocky road that was quite unsuited to road bikes.  It wasn’t treacherous but I’d like to avoid such roads in the future.  As for riding on I-70 (or bicycling on any interstate for that matter), this is a harsh and ugly thing.  It is necessary from time to time however.

If you ride bikes in the mountains then you know getting an early start is wise.  Winds tend to pick up around noon and it’s always about a 50% chance that a storm will blow through.  This means you may get a sprinkle or you may get a cold soaking.

True to form, the wind started to gust as we marched onto the highway.  Clouds were gathering  If you like a windy uphill slog next to SUVs and tractor trailers then you’ll love this part of the ride.  I’ll move on to more interesting parts.

The big lunch stop was at the Loveland Ski Area.  We were about 60 miles in.  We’d had a couple of other aid stops but this one was very welcome.  (WHOOOOO!  Did I want to sit in a chair….  A rock would have to do.)  The refuel felt good but I wanted caffeine.  I thought I brought two caffeinated energy gels with me but I managed to forget them.  I wanted all the chemical assistance allowed by law as I had to climb up the nearly 12,000 feet of Loveland Pass, but no dice.

This was the toughest part of the ride for me.  The climb started well enough but soon I felt light headed and my stomach was in slight turmoil.  Both symptoms are rare for me.  This is where all the weird mental imagery and self-talk started.  I thought of my ride up Mt. Evans (hardest thing I’ve ever done); thought of my dog; thought of ice cream, beer, big pizza…  I played Judas Priest and Black Sabbath in my head.  Pretended I was riding l’Alpe D’Huez…  None of it helped much.  I got to the top and sat down on some warm pavement.  I could’ve napped right there on the shoulder.  Couldn’t do that though so I got the jacket on and got ready for another warp-speed run downhill.

By this time significant dark clouds were all over the place and the wind was gusting wildly.  It was into an absurd headwind that climbed up Swan Mt. Road and around Dillon Reservoir.  White caps were on the water and the sky was a thick, dark purple.  Looked like DEFCON 2, but the big storm held off…

One more aid station stop and it was on to the third and final climb up Vail Pass.  The rain started about a half-hour in to this portion of the ride.  I had almost the right gear: full-finger gloves and a water RESISTANT jacket.  The lesson learned is that I need to get an actual water PROOF jacket.  That said, I felt pretty good.  Climbing meant I was generating heat and I didn’t have to worry about slipping and sliding on a fast downhill.  The full-finger gloves were vital.

The rain stopped in about a half hour and then the sun was out!  I felt fantastic at this point–why?–I have no idea.  I tend to like cool temps and I had them.  Made climbing a lot easier for me.  Plus, Vail Pass didn’t seem too terribly steep and the scenery was absolutely stunning.  Everything was green and blooming.  Looked like something out of “the Sound of Music,” complete with a picturesque mountain stream.  (We rode by a lot of them throughout the day.   It’s amazing how much easier it is to grind out a long climb when there’s flowing water nearby.)

Bed time now.  I’ll finish the rest tomorrow.

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Hydration

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It’s summer and it’s hot.  Seems like the ideal time to write about hydration.  First, I’ll comment New York Times Health Section features the piece titled In Summer’s Heat, Watch What You Drink.  The article has two main points.  The first point concerns our fluid intake and the idea that we likely aren’t drinking enough to replace water lost to perspiration.  The second point deals with high-calorie drinks and the fact that it’s easy to consume too many calories in our quest to hydrate ourselves.  This post regards the first point.

Regarding fluid intake, the article suggests that a) our thirst is a poor guide for fluid intake and b) a quenched thirst is equally unreliable as a guide.  The suggestion is that we should multiply our weight in pounds by 0.08 and then drink that number’s worth of eight-ounce cups of water daily.  Sounds a little complicated to me.  Prior to the advent of mathematics, how did early homo sapiens drink enough to survive?

(The above mentioned formula is almost as complicated as this one.  If you’d like to further complicate your drinking habits, try the test described here.)

In the recent past, we were advised to drink eight glasses of water a day.  No one is entirely sure where this advice came from.  Then we were given formulas like the above mentioned methods to figure out how much fluid we needed to consume.  There was and still is widespread fear that a little dehydration would certainly cause cramps, delirium, and possibly death.  Like the Times article, much of the popular advice told us our thirst wasn’t a good guide–that to wait until we were thirsty to drink was to wait too late.

In recent years though we’ve seen new hydration guidelines.  These guidelines are much simpler, more instinctive and easier to follow.

A list of the old vs. new rules of hydration can be found on Active.com.  The best new rule in my view is to drink according to your thirst.  Excellent.  That’s what thirst is for right?  A signal that it’s time to drink.  The article states,

“The idea that thirst comes too late is a marketing ploy of the sports-drink industry,” says Tim Noakes, M.D., a professor of sport and exercise science at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. While thirst is not a perfect indicator of hydration status, it does appear to be a good indicator of the optimal drinking rate during exercise, according to Noakes. “The answer is just drink as your thirst dictates.”

Another new rule is to drink to slow dehydration rather than drink to completely prevent dehydration.  Studies show that the effort to drink to completely prevent dehydration is nearly impossible and uncomfortable.  Slight dehydration is not a health threat despite many popular fear to the contrary.   To that point, overhydration or hyponatrimia is far more dangerous.

(One easy hydration check you can use regards urine color, as advocated at Ask the Dietitian.  Dark urine means you need more water.  Light yellow means your adequately hydrated.)

Next, sports drinks are superior to plain water if your activity lasts more than one hour.  Sports drinks contain important electrolytes such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphate as well as carbohydrates for fuel.

Some sports drinks such as Accelerade and Hammer’s Perpetuem contain protein.  At least one study suggests that consuming small amounts of protein during a workout boosts performance.  Be careful though.  Some people (like my wife) experience gastrointestinal turmoil when they consume such drinks.

Next new rule regards caffeine.  Previously, we were told that caffeinated drinks would dehydrate us.  Now we’re told that isn’t quite the case.  Caffeine can be a powerful ergogenic aid that may aid performance but it doesn’t seem to be inhibit adequate hydration.  (Alcohol on the other hand definitely promotes dehydration.)

Finally, cold fluid is best to drink when it’s hot.  (Similar to thirst, this seems instinctively obvious right?)  It was once suggested that warmer water emptied out of the stomach faster but that’s no longer regarded as true.  Nor does cold water promote cramping.

In conclusion, don’t complicate things.  Drink as much (cold) fluid as you feel is appropriate.  Drink a sports drink if you’re out in the heat for over an hour.  You may want to experiment with protein and/or caffeine.

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