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A Few Things

December 20, 2007 11:19 AM

I note this insight in a comment by Tuesday. I knew this and yet had not tied it together this clearly. It is regarding the Ancestors as Runners post of a few days ago where we discussed the mixture of continuous running, walking or trekking, and sprinting. I had argued that the distribution of these activities would have been more concentrated on walking, possibly at a high pace, and sprinting. Continuous running would also have been done for some periods. In fact, in my Essay, I argued that monitoring of wild animals and fish has been used to show that the distribution of these mixtures of activities follows a power law, to a good approximation. Now Tuesday puts this together nicely to make this argument:

"I know I've seen a study on the subject, though I can't seem to find it at the moment. Because walking and running/sprinting are more efficient gaits than jogging, they can be sustained for longer periods before complete rest is required, so over long periods of time (days/weeks) a walk-run pace does indeed cover more distance than a continuous pace."

I have seen the studies too, and have posted on some of them in the past, though I can't take the time now to find them. But, the point is that this mixture, with some time in the continuous mode, is likely to be more energy efficient. Why didn't I put it this way?

Further evidence comes from studies of intermittent versus continuous exercise and there the verdict is that a human can do a lot more work if done intermittently than if done continuously. Or, put another way, you can do a lot more work in a given period of time if the work is done in an intermittent fashion. This gain in time versus energy expenditure efficiency, as you know by now, is one reason Evolutionary Fitness makes use of intermittency in eating and energy expenditure. I think it is the ancestral pattern too, as this evolving discussion seems to indicate.

Does that mean that continuous running is out of the picture? I don't think so, but it ought not to be done to the exclusion of the others, as seems to be the practice of many joggers and marathoners seeking to keep their heart rate in a zone. The power law spreads activities over all zones and intensity, but it is concentrated on something close to walking/trekking with bursts into the other zones. The energy spent in the zones is greater in the walking/trekking and in the sprinting zone, using the mobility example, but there is a portfolio which ought to include some continuous running, as another commenter noted.

My model is to use the gym for my "fight or flight" zone and to take long walks for my "easy" zone. My sprinting now is pretty much confined to tennis which is a nice mix of high and easy work; play in other words. An hour hitting tennis balls on the ball machine set up to launch from side to side and hitting baseline returns with occasional rushes to the net for volleys is a nice work out.

2. I think the CPU overload problem is fixed. I moved the site to a high CPU service at my current host. Now, the cost is starting to rise because of the high traffic (thanks to you readers I am having a problem a lot of bloggers would love to have). I have some modest plans to extract some revenue from the site, of which later.

3. Lastly, thanks to EIC for this: "As I stated in my comment under the post that compared hormone levels of T supplemented vs. normal individuals, one can now maintain testicle size and function while using exogenous hormones by adding HCG to the mix. HCG stimulates the release of FSH and LH and keeps the testicle size intact. Any knowledgeable HRT doctor will supply this with testosterone. I am sure that the guys advising athletes would know to do the same."

As far as I can determine from the Mitchell Report, there is no indication that these hormones or hormone releasers were used by the MLB players. Mitchell may not have been aware of this problem. Has anyone seen evidence of HCG use among players? Of course, then there is the issue of users developing breasts or pain in the breast area. Body builders use estrogen blockers. Did MLB players? It is a pharmaceutical nightmare to use steroids.

I did not see a discussion in the Mitchell Report of the error rate of the tests either, something Mark Sisson has previously and expertly commented on here. And, I know I swore off this topic, would it really have been useful for the players to have had a day-before warning to avoid detection? Mitchell suggested that this deters detection. Seems unlikely. Maybe Mark can add something.

· Everything ~ · Evolutionary Fitness

Comments

Related to this post, there was an interesting study recently - which I wrote about here - that said that soccer burned more fat than jogging. Again it is about the power law. The study was reported here.

Clarence Bass also had thoughts about this years ago when
he said:

"My own aerobics program is a combination of high and low intensity. I call this "a barbell aerobics strategy" in my new book Challenge Yourself, published a few days ago as I write this (late May 1999). In Challenge Yourself, I explain that "one hard aerobics session [per week] is enough -- if combined with frequent walks or some similar activity." I completely eliminate the moderate-intensity aerobics that most people do. This high/low or "barbell" aerobics strategy works wonderfully well, especially for someone who also trains hard with weights. See my new book for complete details."

Posted by: Chris H [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 21, 2007 12:18 AM

1) Art asks, "would it really have been useful for the players to have had a day-before warning to avoid detection? Mitchell suggested that this deters detection. Seems unlikely. Maybe Mark can add something."

What I can add is that expert dopers will take a version of epitestosterone to lower their t/e ratio in advance of a known test. I don't know if MLB does this, but in WADA tests in the past, if t/e ratio was under 4/1 (regardless of how much total t), it was considered a normal range and that was the end of the test. If the ratio exceeded 4/1, it gave the lab the go ahead to do a GCMS carbon isotope ratio test to determine if there was "exogenous" testosterone present. So anything that brings the t/e ratio down (like high e) thwarts the test.

2) As for walk/sprint mixes or intermittent activity of varying intensity, I can assure you that most people will expend more calories on a measured device (like a stationary bike or treadmill) if they mix easy with occasional intense bursts as opposed to steady pace over the exact same amount of time. Regardless of how accurate the device is at actually measuring calories, it still measures relative work from one session to another. I've used "intervals" for years to increase energy expenditure in my clients. Feels easier AND more fun, too.

Posted by: mdsisson [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 20, 2007 4:35 PM

When I ran more regularly, I would run all out then walk for while until I could run some more. There was no strategy to this, in fact I felt a little as if I were 'cheating' as Melissa said and I would have been embarrassed had anyone seen what I was doing. I just really hated jogging or even running for long periods.

Posted by: Elam Bend [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 20, 2007 1:23 PM

I used to be a coxswain on a rowing team. Every week the team, even the coxswains, would do several runs. I hated continuous more than anything in the world and figured I didn't need much running since I was just steering the boat. So I'd "cheat" by doing pretty much the "Scout Pace." Lo and behold, when we did the yearly leg strength test, I unexpectedly placed in the top three, above most of the varsity rowers. The coaches were baffled, but it strengthened my own resolve to continue with interval training. It's really worth it.

Posted by: Melissa [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 20, 2007 12:19 PM

Reminds of the "Scout Pace" when I was in Boy Scouts. 100 steps running, 100 steps walking. Great distances would be covered that way.

Posted by: DanMartin [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 20, 2007 11:54 AM

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