Physics + kinesiology = biomechanics

I've been trying to figure out for awhile how much impact there is on leg bones manipulating two variables: pace and surface. Turns out gait style has a role as well. Biomechanics book has some clues ---

Newton's third law states that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. As feet hit the ground, the ground responds with an upward reaction force. The harder you land, the harder that Ground Reaction Force pushing back is.

Austin Townsend "OZZY" came to Designer Health Net's Talk Show and gave a most impressive fun and educational interivew about short and long distance running. His humor is outstanding! If you would like to hear it just go to www.designerhealthnet.com. Once you arrive, simply click on the talk show page and then go to the archive section...there you will find the great and wonderful OZ! P.S. if you have an interesting story about nutrition, fitness or health please drop me an e-mail at dhn2009@myfairpoint.net. Guess what else...Mr. King will from SUB 5 will be joining me for an interview next week. I will let you know when his show will air as I am sure you will not miss it.

she asked the other day,

fast twich/slow twich
If the 20something starts endurance training, will s/he increase the proportion of slow twitch and if so is it reversible?

An interesting note: "Certain patterns of muscle fiber distribution appear readily in comparisons among highly proficient athletes. For example, successful endurance athletes have predominately slow-twitch fibers in the major muscles activated in their specific sport ... weight lifters, ice hockey players, and sprinters have more fast-twitch fibers and relatively lower aerobic capacities" (386).

Two Minute Video

Judy, you are right that it is a "flip then a twist."

John's jokes about the "carbo loading treat of the day" last week got me thinking about how, physiologically, carbohydrate loading - or "supercompensation" - works. The idea is that one can get muscles to store more glycogen if one eats a higher carbohydrate diet (while cutting back a bit on protein and fat), and tapers exercise.

by Dave Scott, for Triathlete Magazine.

ALYIE'S NOTE - found this online, thought it had lots of useful stuff, maybe a piece for discussion and at the very least I wanted to throw it in the archives for reference the next time I manage to talk myself into tapering.

Countdown to an Ironman: Dave Scott's 21-day Tapering Plan

Did you feel sluggish in your most recent 140.6-distance race, or did you hit the taper right on the mark? If you fell flat—muscles felt heavy, breathing was a bit labored, and you didn't meet your expectations—then you most likely over-looked several components of a proper taper.

This might be specific to Kevin but could I have the workout schedule from yesterday? Specifically I want the splits for 17-18 min. 5K. Thanks

Dear Eden,

One of my classes this semester is Nutrition for Sports and Exercise. The big project (rather than exams!) is that we are each paired with a student athlete and have to use what we learn in class to help them better their nutrition. They get to do cool stuff like a resting metabolic rate test and a Vo2 max test and a body composition test, keep records of everything that they eat, and hopefully both parties learn something.

Tuesday, October 30 at 8pm ET/PT on PBS
Check your local listings as dates and times may vary.
Broadcast in High Definition where available

How do you run 26.2 miles if you have trouble making it around the block? With good coaching, discipline, and lots of group support, as NOVA shows when it follows 13 normally sedentary people through a training regimen designed to prepare them for an ultimate test of stamina and endurance.

[ Author's note: I wrote this for the First Strides group, and figured I could put it up here too in case anyone else is interested. It is geared toward beginning exercisers but the principles are smiliar for recreational to elite athletes.]

Aerobic Fitness

When we talk about people being “in shape,” or “fit,” the terms are vague. There are lots of different forms of exercise, and being fit for one does not mean that you are fit for another. For instance, an Olympic weight lifter might be just as fit as a marathon runner, but they are two different types of fitness. By running and walking, you are increasing your aerobic fitness.

Hey everyone,

We did these two tests in exercise phys tonight, and they're easy, and you can do them at home, so I thought I'd share - at least a couple of you will find this interesting.

Vo2 stands for volume of oxygen consumption. It is measured in ml/min and standardized to mL/kg/min, allowing you to compare your Vo2 max to others, and to predict race times (there's a table for this in Noakes' "The Lore of Running.") The unit means that your body is taking in X milliliters of oxygen, per kilogram of body weight, per minute.

Starting two days after Boston I'm going to start the 26.2 mile countdown to Sugarloaf. Starting with mile 1 and working our way to the finish