Running Tips

Running Tip Number One - Quit Running

I've been on the lookout for useful running tips for well over 30 years, and have picked up a few good ones. Maybe that's why I can still function normally after decades of distance training, marathons, and ultras.

But the most useful tip was the hardest to accept - stop distance training completely.

The evidence is compelling and mounting. Virtually every exercise physiologist that I respect is saying the same thing - that the current research shows that Ken Cooper, the "godfather of aerobics", and all his disciples, are wrong. Dead wrong.

Aerobic and cardio training are not good ways to lose weight or get fit. And distance training offers many serious risks, but few, if any, benefits.

I've done a lot of distance running in my life, and I always marveled at the notion of a "runner's high". For me running was always work, never fun, and most certainly never made me "high". I ran because I thought it was keeping me healthy.

Now I know that it was the supplements that kept me healthy. I stayed healthy in spite of the running, not because of it. And I always maintained the spare tire around my waist even when training for an ultra. I finally know why...

The human body has an incredible ability to adapt. If your regular routine includes aerobic training lasting more than 15 - 20 minutes (the time necessary to start burning mostly fat for energy), your body will recognize that you burn fat during your workouts. Your body will then become efficient at producing and storing fat in preparation for your next workout.

You will sacrifice muscle to preserve fat. You will also lower your levels of testosterone and growth hormone, shrink and weaken your blood vessels, heart, lungs, and other internal organs, and reduce bone mass.

And you'll waste a whole lot of time in the process.

If, instead, your regular routine consists of short, intense workouts, that burn ATP and glycogen, your body will recognize that storing fat for energy is inefficient, since you don't exercise long enough to burn fat. You will start burning more fat between workouts.

And you will build muscle, which will require you to burn even more fat.

So, if you want or need to run for some reason, stick with sprints. Short bursts of up to 200 yards, then rest until your breathing is back to normal. Sprinting will do for you what you thought aerobics would do. And sprinting actually builds muscle.

I mean, if you'd rather look like a marathoner than a sprinter, go see your therapist. You may have an eating disorder.

Running Tip Number Two - Wear The Right Shoes

I have tried to avoid the typical running tips that you will find on most other sites, but this tip is too important, for those who foolishly ignore tip #1, for me to leave out.

Do you have any foot rotation problems? Do you pronate? Supinate? Do you know how to tell which rotation a shoe is designed for? If you don't, do not buy running shoes without consulting an expert. Go to a specialty running store and make sure the person helping you knows what they are talking about.

It's worth paying retail. You can do serious and lasting damage to yourself by running in the wrong shoes. Don't do it.

Running Tip Number Three - Breathe Correctly

I read this tip some 20 years ago in a running magazine, I think. I have never seen or heard it since, but it worked great for me.

It said that when you are running the leg that hits the ground when you are exhaling suffers greater stress. To balance the stress simply inhale for two steps and exhale on the third step.

Before I learned that tip I endured my fair share of shin splints and assorted runners' ailments. Since then, injuries from running were rare. But I do have neutral foot rotation and a slight build. I can handle running better than most. You probably won't be so lucky if you ignore running tip #1.

Running Tip Number Four - Limit Your Fluid Intake

Many "experts" recommend over-hydration during long-distance events. Accepted wisdom has been to "stay ahead of your thirst" to avoid dehydration. Unfortunately, that advice often leads to a serious and potentially fatal condition, hyponatremia.

Doctors from the Harvard School of Medicine took blood samples from 488 runners before and after the 2002 Boston marathon, and found 13 per cent suffered from hyponatremia. 28-year-old Cynthia Lucero died from it during that race.

The oft-advised "8 - 8 oz glasses of water a day" is a load of crap with no known origin, but at least it's not deadly crap. The over-hydration advice, is.

Whether you exercise or not, just listen to your body and drink when you're thirsty.

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