SportsGeezer

Weightlifting Debates Gets Heavy

Geezer is so impressed with his ability to perturb so many readers with a simple report from the New York Times that Stretching Doesn't Work that he can't wait to do it again. This time, he chooses a story written by Gina Kolata that questions the value of lifting weights, at least for those of us who just want to be better athletes, not body builders. Kolata mentions one recent study involving middle-distance runners that found that three months of resistance training improved leg strength and running efficiency. She quotes experts who argue that lifting weights also can increase endurance and reduce the risk of injury, especially to connective tissue. But Kolata also gathers the thoughts of Patrick O’Connor, an exercise scientist at the University of Georgia who points out that the weight-lifting studies are small, and that each seems to examine a different regimen, to measure outcome differently and to study different subjects — trained athletes, sedentary people, recreational athletes. O'Connor argues that is is impossible to draw conclusions.
Like most of her work, Kolata's piece is a great read, but the most informative part of it may be the many comments from readers.
Read more from Gina Kolata in the New York Times.

First Step Quickness: A How To

First step quickness makes the difference between winning and losing in many a sport: soccer, basketball, and let's not forget badminton. (Equally important to a few unfortunate readers, let's not forget the "n" in badminton.)  How to develop first step quickness? Men's Health sports performance answer person recommends this: Imagine a large X on the floor and stand in the middle of it with your feet pointing at a 45-degree angle toward the top left of the X. Keep your shoulders facing forward as you rotate your hips and feet back and forth toward each end of the X. To counterbalance the movement, shift your arms to the right when your hips rotate left, and vice versa. Rotate back and forth for 6 seconds at the start of each sprint.
Geezer recommends that once you've acquired first step quickness, work on stepping in the right direction.
Read more about building first step quickness in Men's Health.

Forget About Stretching: It Doesn't Really Help

New York Times health answer man Anahad O'Connor gives us the lowdown on the proven benefits of stretching before a game or workout. What benefits are those? O'Connor is still searching for them. The Times reports that one of the most extensive reports on the benefits of stretchings was published in October in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The report reviewed 10 randomized studies, which over all looked at the impact of stretching before and after exercise, in repeated sessions and in intervals ranging from 40 seconds to 10 minutes. The authors concluded that stretching had little or no effect on post-exercise soreness.
Read more from Anahad O'Connor.

Working Out: The Surprising Benefits of Instability

In the office, instability is generally considered a handicap. In the gym, according to this piece in the Washington Post, it's a way to jack up the benefits of a resistance workout. Howard Schneider reports on the several advantages of adding "complexity" to a workout. "Complexity," writes Scheider, "whether in the form of unstable surfaces that challenge balance during exercise, or dynamic movements that involve more of the body -- can produce a variety of benefits. It strengthens the core muscles of the abdomen and back, helping lessen the need for a separate abdominal routine, and burns more calories than conventional weightlifting."
Read more about the benefits of instability in the Washington Post.

What to Do When You Hit the Wall

What really happens when you hit the wall? Biochemically speaking, you run out of glycogen, a form of glucose that's kept in the liver and muscles. As Jeannine Stein tells us in this piece in the L.A. Times, glycogen is the main fuel used during sustained exercise and largely comes from carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables. Stein talks to Dr. Robert Sallis, director of sports medicine at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Fontana and president of the American College of Sports Medicine, who says low blood sugar doesn't just distress muscles, it confuses the brain. In fact, the brain is actually more sensitive to low sugar than the muscles are. In a marathon, that depletion can happen at any time -- often around mile 20, sometimes at about two hours. The telltale signs can develop slowly or quickly; many runners describe it as a switch being flipped.
What to do? When hitting the wall, says Sallis, runners should slow their pace and immediately take in carbs in the form of sports drinks, gels, energy bars or fruit. He suggests taking in carbs every 45 minutes or so during the race and being aware of any major drop in energy or feelings of wooziness.
Read more about what to do when hitting the wall in the L.A. Times.

Is Unpasteurized Milk Better for You?

Is unpasteurized milk better for you? Lots of people think it is. They argue that pasteurization destroys beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and raw fats that boost the immune system and aid digestion. Yet the FDA advises against the consumption of raw milk because it is a welcoming host to pathogens such as listeria and salmonella. Gosh, who to believe?  The Boston Globe reports that researchers at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Basel in Switzerland followed nearly 15,000 children ages 5 to 15 in Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Germany from 2001 to 2004. The study, sponsored by the European Union and published in 2007, found that children who drank raw milk had a lower incidence of asthma and allergies. 
Read more about the raw milk debate in the Boston Globe.
And the debate goes on, here.

Study Suggests Probiotics May Do Harm

The largest randomized, double-blinded study of the effectiveness of probiotics as a treatment for pancreatitis suggests that under some circumstances, the diet supplements may be deadly. The New York Times reports that research published in a recent issue of Lancet attempted to quantify the benefits of the bacteria and yeast based health supplements sold as probiotics on people with inflammation of the pancreas. The Times reports that each of 296 patients at risk for severe pancreatitis was randomly assigned to receive either a commercially available probiotic or an identical-looking placebo. The researchers found no significant difference between the two groups in severity of illness at the start of the trial. But, the Times reports, while 31 percent of the probiotics group required intensive care, only 24 percent of the placebo group needed it. Eighteen percent of those who took probiotics, but only 10 percent of the others, required surgical intervention. In the probiotics group 24 people died, a death rate more than twice that of those given the placebo.
Read more in the New York Times.

What the World Needs Now: Personal Power Bars

It started, readers will be unsurprised to learn, in Los Angeles, city of people for whom all things were created. And it was, Geezer admits, a very cool idea for a mom and son business.  The New York Times reports on the so far succeeding efforts of a California mother and son to build YouBar, an online business selling power bars whose ingredients are chosen by the customer. The Times reports that for those who want You Bars but cannot make decisions about the ingredients, the site offers several popular recipes with ideas on customizing them. Have a look.
Read more about YouBar in the New York Times.

Alberto Salazar's Ten Golden Rules of Running, from Outside Magazine

Outside magazine, locked in battle with Men's Health to come up with more and better packages, has launched its latest effort: the Master Plan series. Master Plan number one is the Master Plan to Running, and it's a seriously well-done, eight-part series. Geezer's favorite piece is Alberto Salazar's Ten Golden Rules of Running.
Here they are:
1. BE CONSISTENT Find a training plan that you can stick to long-term.
2. TAKE RECOVERY DAYS SERIOUSLY  You need a recovery day after a hard day. No exceptions.
3. INCREASE MILEAGE GRADUALLY  You won't know until it's too late that you're overdoing it.
4. STAY ON THE TRAIL Pavement damages joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles.
5. RUN FASTER Run some shorter intervals—what we call speed work—at least that fast.
6. STRENGTHEN YOUR WHOLE BODY  Stay away from machine weights and stick to Pilates, climbing, and dynamic flexibility work like yoga.
7. WEAR THE RIGHT SHOES  The more you run, the more support your foot needs.
8. PERFECT YOUR FORM Every motion your body makes should propel you directly forward.
9. TACKLE DOUBT HEAD-ON Push through it. Never think you are mentally weak.
10. EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY With the Internet, GPS phones, advanced heart-rate monitors, and even your iPod, you now can be coached individually, even while you run.

Read more about running in Outside.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Over 50 Athletes

Height and name recognition do not a blogger make, but thought, insight, and clear language go a long way in the blogosphere, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has all of the above. Now the bball hall of famer, who blogs for the L.A. Times, begins a series of posts that include health tips for the over 50 athlete. The man has Geezer's attention. Kareem starts with a set of three exercises for over 50s, and recommends doing them at least three times a week:

Plank. This looks like a push-up, but with your elbows and forearms touching the ground. Push yourself up onto your toes, clench your abdominals for 10 to 30 seconds and lower your body to the floor. Repeat 10 times, increasing as you get more fit.

Crunch. Lie face up on the floor with knees bent and your hands across your chest. Curl the shoulders toward your hips, tightening the abdominals. Unlike the sit-up, when you’re doing a crunch, the lower back stays pressed to the floor. Start with 20 reps.

Quadruped. Get down on your hands and knees, with your forearms flat against the ground the same as with the plank. Raise one leg up so the thigh is parallel with the ground and the bottom of your shoe is facing the ceiling. Keep your neck straight and don’t arch the back. Lower leg to ground and repeat 10 to 15 times. Then switch legs.

Read more from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.