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Rethink Your Week: Benefits Of A Non-7-Day Training Cycle
It’s hard not to live your life by the calendar. After all, we mostly work on certain days of the week, skip the job on certain days, follow our religious beliefs on specified days, and so forth.
On the other hand, it’s not written anywhere that the perfect training week is exactly 7 days long. In fact, a short training cycle might tempt you to cram in too much.
Let’s see: Gotta go long. Gotta do a tempo day. Gotta set aside a day for speedwork.
That doesn’t leave much time, in a 7-day cycle, for recovery, adaptation, cross-training, strength-training . . . and, oh, yeah, having a life.
At the Reddit “Advanced Running” forum, several members discussed their personal explorations of non-7-day cycles. “It’s beneficial if you feel like you're not bouncing back fast enough between workouts and long runs,” noted one.
Another wrote: “Fourteen days has been a life changer for me at 41 years old. Every 2 weeks, I do a long run, a tempo run, a short interval run, and a longer interval run.” That’s a powerful training diet that works out to 2 hard days per week on a 14-day rotation.
A third commenter pointed out the harmonious rhythm of a 9-day cycle. “Easy, Easy, Workout, Easy, Easy, Workout, Easy, Easy, Long Run. Repeat.”
I’m not aware of any scientific research on this important “cycle” question. But I’m sure it’s worth trying different plans, especially if you often feel overly fatigued on your current training cycle. More at Reddit Advanced Running.
The Truth About Exercise & Weight Loss
It’s one of the oldest questions out there, and an important one as well: Is exercise an effective way to lose weight? Or do you have to diet-diet-diet to cut the pounds?
This remains a key question because overweight and obesity are still persistent health issues in the U.S. and around the globe. Sure, you read new stories every day about people losing significant weight with the help of those amazing new GLP-1 drugs (that often cost $1000/month or more.) Still, in the U.S. about 70 percent of the adult population is overweight or obese.
We all know too many people, including family and friends, in this category. They’d be better off carrying fewer pounds. Many are already trying.
But losing weight and keeping it off is incredibly difficult. We live in an “obesogenic environment” surrounded by food, and there are all sorts of “compensation” mechanisms that need to be overcome.
Here Dr. Scott Lear reviews the evidence and argues for “a combination of both diet and exercise” to lose weight. A key point: Even if you don’t lose as much weight as you’d like, “Exercising and being active has so many other benefits to reduce your risk for diabetes, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, stress and improve your mental well-being.”
We should view exercise as its own reward. The bathroom scale isn’t the only important gauge. Exercise will make you feel better, look better, and improve your health. If it also helps you lose a few pounds, that’s a nice bonus. More at Dr. Scott Lear.
A recent “Brief Communication” in Nature makes many similar points. It argues that “recognizing the broad value of physical activity/exercise in improving health and quality of life of people with obesity is a crucial perspective shift.” More at Nature.
Masters Runners: Beware Of “Hidden Hypertension”
Regular aerobic exercise like running lowers your risk of heart disease, but provides no bullet-proof guarantees. The same is true about hypertension (high blood pressure)--a health concern many runners overlook.
This paper observes that “Arterial hypertension defined as a blood pressure values ≥ 140/90 mmHg is one of the most common chronic diseases in the general population and also in master athletes.”
The article also argues that masters athletes need to become more aware of “hidden hypertension” and how to “prevent its consequences.” Early detection is critical. Hidden hypertension is high blood pressure that doesn’t turn up in the doctor’s office, but perhaps at home, at work, or during your workouts when stress levels increase.
The first step: “Lifestyle changes such as healthy diet and body mass reduction.” Increasing the antioxidant foods (fruits, veggies) in your diet can lower blood pressure. But avoid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), as they may increase blood pressure.
If your blood pressure registers higher than 160/100 on several occasions, it’s time for prescription medical treatment. Fortunately, several common meds reduce blood pressure without affecting athletic performance.
Conclusion: “Raising awareness of the [hypertension] risk factors is essential in preventing an increasing number of hypertensive patients.” More at Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine with free full text.
SHORT STUFF You Don’t Want To Miss
HERE’S WHAT ELSE YOU WOULD HAVE RECEIVED this week if you were a subscriber to the complete, full-text edition of “Run Long, Run Healthy.” SUBSCRIBE HERE.
# The Best New Racing Shoes This Fall
# Is Ashwagandha The Next Big Performance-Enhancing Supplement?
# Leaning Forward: It’s Good At Times, Bad At Others
# Keto Diet Has “No Disadvantages” For Runners; Could Help, Says David Roche
# New Squat Technique Boosts Quad Strength
# How Henry Rueden Has Managed To Finish 2000 Marathons
# Is Running Bad For Your Skin? (Could Be, So Take Protective Steps)
# A Motivational Quote From Eliud Kipchoge: The Power Of A Morning Run
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. RLRH will not be published next week. The next edition will appear the second week of October. Amby