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Running

Running (running as in an aerobic activity), it´s probably the sport most practiced in this world. It´s easy, cheap and you can basically do it all year long. It´s also a sport that moves millions and millions of dollars. Most people that run do it with an objective, and that objective is to lose weight or get in shape. They don´t do it because they like it, they do it because they have been told that running is good for them and that it´s going to get them in shape.

I remember that when I started running, I hated it!! I had always done lots of sports, but mostly team sports and that for me was fun. I always ran for a reason, to score a goal, to get the loose ball, or win the point. I never ran just to ran, that just seemed crazy to me. The problem is that, as you get older, it´s harder to practice team sports, because basically everyone just has less time, so it´s harder to organize a game. So what do you do……… you start running, because you don´t need anyone to run, you just put on your shoes and whenever you have time you go for a run, it´s simple!! Well, the first time I went running, I went for 15 minutes and I wanted to shoot myself! I had never known that time could go so SLOW!!!  I was looking at my watch every second saying to myself “when is this torture going to finish¨, but at the end I made it and said that I would never do that to myself again…. I lied. I have been doing that to myself for the last 10 years and now I can say that I like running. But I still think that is an exception, most of the people don´t really like it and just do it to lose weight or get in shape. So, let´s take a look if running is that good to lose weight and get in shape.

First of all, I´ll start by saying that you should be fit to start running, not start running to be fit! This is very important and something people forget or simply just don´t know. Different studies say that 66% of people who regularly run get injured. Running is an action in which you never have both your feet on the ground. This means that, if you are standing up and bend one leg and you cannot control your balance, you shouldn´t be running because that is what your knee and leg are going to be doing every time you take a step while running. Running is a high impact activity and if you are not in shape, or are overweight, I would recommend to first start doing some low impact activity to at least have a ¨base¨ before you start running.

Different studies also mention that too much cardio (running long is cardio) can affect the production of the thyroid hormone (T3). When T3 levels are normal, the body burns enough energy to stay warm and muscles function at moderate efficiency. If you have too much thyroid hormone that´s called hyperthyroidism, and it´s really hard to gain weight. If you have too little thyroid hormone, that is called hypothyroidism, and the body accumulates body fat very easily. This effect also happens with high intensity interval training and also weight training, so it´s not only a cause of running. And even if depressed levels of T3 are found, the condition, could present no symptoms. So it´s not that bad but something to take into account. This could explain why sometimes we see someone who is running every day in the treadmill for an hour but never seems to lose any weight (I would also want to see what he is eating after the training, but that´s another topic). Or it could be because of the principle called ¨Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands¨- that means that if you continue to do the same thing over and over again, your body gets used to it and it becomes easier. This is a good thing for weightlifting because without it you would never be able to lift more weights, but it´s a bad thing for your aerobic exercise (running) because every time you will have to increase your effort or time to get the same level of benefit.

So let´s try to clarify things.

Running is good for a thousand reasons and here I will just mention some..

  1. Reduces blood pressure
  2. Increases insulin sensitivity
  3. Improves bone density
  4. Improves vasodilation
  5. Telomere protection
  6. Increases lean mass in the limbs
  7. Reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer. Regular running has become a treatment option for doctors to prescribe to patients who are at a high risk, or early stages, of osteoporosis, diabetes, and hypertension.
  8. Stress relief.

But if you are running to lose weight or get in shape, then maybe running is not the best option, especially long runs at the same pace. So, in conclusion: If you are just running because you like it and you know it´s good for your body then keep on running. But, if you are running to lose weight or get in shape, then running is maybe not the best option.

What is the best option you ask…..change your training, don´t do the same thing every day. Don´t get on the treadmill every day and run for an hour. Do weights, do high intensity interval training, go swimming, even just go for a walk, you will see better results than if you just run every day.

In my next blog I will change topics and start talking about pain and the different techniques to treat different types of pain. Today in age a lot of people use alternative medicines for their different problems, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and chiropractors, just to name a few. We will see if these techniques really work and what the scientific community says about these therapies. But before I get into these therapies, I will first have to explain about the PLACEBO EFFECT. So until next time, from the beaches of Cantabria, enjoy the weekend!

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Does performing cardiovascular exercise at lower intensity burn more fat?

 

I think we have all heard at one point or another that doing low intensity cardiovascular exercise will burn more fat than if we do a high intensity exercise. The explanation behind this is that fat needs more oxygen to burn. So if we are doing a high intensity activity or anaerobic activity, we will be using only carbohydrates because there is not enough oxygen to burn the fats. Well, this is false. Let me explain.

It´s true that you burn more fat at a lower intensity, but only as a PERCENTAGE of the total calories burned. This doesn´t mean that as exercise intensity increases, fat burned decreases. It simply means, that as intensity increases you just burn more of both (carbohydrates and fats), with carbohydrates making up the largest percentage of calories. So let´s put an example to clarify:

 

Low intensity exercise (walking) done during 45 minutes – imagine you burn 300 calories, of those 300 calories 60 percent are calories from fat. So of those 300 calories 180 were fat calories.

 

High intensity exercise (sprints) done during 30 minutes – let´s say you burn 800 calories, of those 800 calories 30 percent are calories from fat. So of those 800 calories 240 were from fat calories.

 

* Plus, it has been proved that, the higher the intensity is during your cardio, the more calories you will continue to burn after the exercise. This is also another reason why high intensity interval training is so effective and popular.

 

So in conclusion, low intenstity activity burns only a higher PERCENTAGE of fat calories, that doesn´t mean it burns more fat calories.

 

 

In my next blog I will talk about running, to see if it really is that efective in people who run to lose weight or get in shape. Hasta la proxima.

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High Intensity Interval Training.

There is a new trend going out there saying that High Intensity Interval Training is the best option if you want to lose weight and get in shape, and that aerobic exercise is not that useful. First like always let’s clear up the difference between one and the other.

  1. High Intensity Interval     Training (HIIT) – I will use the definition given by Wikipedia, since it’s     pretty accurate: HIIT is an exercise strategy alternating periods of short     intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. HIIT is a     form of cardiovascular exercise. Usual HIIT sessions may vary from 4–30     minutes. These short, intense workouts provide improved athletic capacity     and condition, improved glucose metabolism, and improved fat burning.

So basically the whole idea of using HIIT is to raise your heart rate and then allow it to come back down again.One example of this would be for example sprints. The person runs as fast as they can for 15 to 60 seconds, then stops, rests for 30 seconds (or until their heart rate reaches 60% of their capacity) and then does it again. They could do this for 3 series or more and that would be an example of training with HIIT (I highly recommend to train with a watch that measures your heart rate when training with HIIT).

  2.   Aerobic exercise. It’s light to moderate intense activities, and refers to the use of oxygen to meet energy demands. Running 5 km is an example of an aerobic exercise.

OK, now that we know what both things are, let’s see the benefits and risks of HIIT activity.

Benefits of HIIT.

  1. A study published in the     International Journal Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism found that 2     minutes of intensive sprint interval training perform 3 times a week,     during 6 weeks, was as good as running as 30 minutes, 3 times a week, during     6 weeks. So we can say it’s more effective for people who have less time     to work-out.
  1. Increases Aerobic     capacity. This may seem strange to people, because when you are training     HIIT you are actually doing Anaerobic, but different studies have shown     that it also increases the aerobic capacity.
  1. Increases Insulin     sensitivity. This could be confusing to people so let me clear up what     insulin sensitivity means: Insulin sensitivity describes how sensitive the     body is to the effects of insulin. Someone said to be insulin sensitive     will require smaller amounts of insulin to lower blood glucose levels than     someone who has low sensitivity. Insulin sensitivity varies from person to     person and doctors can perform tests to determine how sensitive an     individual is to insulin. So the more insulin sensitive you are, the less     likely you will develop type 2 diabetes. HIIT causes your muscles to     absorb glucose more readily, preventing it from being stored as fat.
  1. Improves fat burning. It     has been proven that the higher the intensity is during your cardio the     more calories you will continue to burn after the exercise!!    

Risk of High Intensity Interval Training

  1. I think the greatest risk     is that you probably have a higher probability of getting injured. I haven’t     read any articles that say so, but that is my conclusion. The     higher the intensity of the exercise, the more likely you will get     injured.
  1. You have to be in shape     to do this kind of exercises. HIIT is not for everyone, especially people     that are just starting to do sports. With HIIT your heart level reaches     sometimes 90% or higher of your capacity. So I really don’t recommend this     to any beginners.

Seeing the information we can see that HIIT is quite effective and probably can help you a lot in getting you in shape. HIIT will probably also help you get better physically at whatever sport you are practicing but the important thing to have in mind is that you first need a base to be able to do HIIT, and this base will only be acquired through aerobic exercise.

Having said that, I think a combination of both activities is the best option for most people. Aerobic activities have been proven to produce great effects on the body and mind of most people, but if you want to train a little harder and obtain better results you should try to “slowly” begin with HIIT.

My next blog will be about the topic or myth that exist out there, that low intense cardiovascular exercise will burn more fat than high intense cardiovascular activities. We will see if this is true and the explanation behind it. Until next time.

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