Sweet Poison Challenge

sugar

60 Minutes ran a piece last Sunday night about the “controversial new research” surrounding sugar. Basically, it indicated that sugar is the route of all dietary evil and quitting sugar would fix most of your health problems. Have a look at the footage or read the transcript here.

The research the report referred to is that done by Dr Robert Lustig  a Pediatric Endocrinologist. It is hardly “new” however as his lecture “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” was posted on YouTube in July 2009 – nearly three years ago. Not a big deal, I know, but little things like that do tend to get me thinking about what else might be being sensationalised by 60 minutes this time!

The report gives the impression that sugar is bad, and pretty much everything else is okay, as far as healthy eating goes, which is so patently NOT TRUE it makes my blood boil.

Too much of ANYTHING is not good for you. As Jennie Brand-Miller (the glycemic index pioneer) puts it, demonising sugar and concentrating too heavily on its evils gives the message that it’s okay to eat whatever else you like as long as it doesn’t have sugar in it. We run the risk of ignoring the health effects of overdosing on other macronutrients such as fats (especially trans fats) and protein.  She suggests a moderate intake of sugar of up to 10 teaspoons per day is fine. That 10 teaspoons per day includes all sources of dietary sugar – ie the pure white stuff you add to your coffee, as well as the hidden stuff in processed foods, fruit juice etc.

Also interesting was the brain scan which indicated sugar has the same addictive qualities as some drugs, which would kind of explain why we keep eating the stuff when we know it isn’t good for us.

Lustig’s lecture“Sugar: The Bitter Truth”  is well worth listening to, but make sure you have a sugar hit, or at least a cup of coffee handy, as it runs for 90 minutes. It can be found here . He is certainly entertaining, and certainly leaves some of my old uni lecturers for dead, but his use of emotive and headline grabbing language such as referring to sugar as “toxic” and “poison” shouldn’t get in the way of critically evaluating what he says.

David Gillespie is another anti-sugar campaigner.  He  was prompted to sing the praises of a sugar free diet by his own weight loss as a result of cutting sugar out of his diet. See an extensive interview with David Gillespie here   and the Nutrition Australia position statement in response to Gillespie’s book Sweet Poison here.

 

So, what’s the bottom line?

  • Yes, too much sugar is bad for you.
  • Yes, massive intakes of soft drink will cause you to gain weight
  • Yes, fruit juice does contain heaps of sugar and should be regarded as a treat, not an everyday healthy food
  • Yes, fruit should be limited to 2-3 serves per day, depending on your overall energy requirements
  • Yes, sugar can be addictive
  • No, sugar is not the only reason we get fat.

 

The Challenge

Will cutting sugar out of your diet make you feel better? Start cutting down on sugar over the next week or so, and put your hand up below if you’re willing to go sugar free for 4 weeks, starting on Monday 25th June. I am.

Barefoot Running: The Bare Facts

 

Vibram 5-fingers
The Vibram Five Fingers is perhaps the most minimalist of the minimalist shoes.

Catalyst (ABC TV 6th September) ran a story on barefoot running with some interesting analysis of barefoot and shod strides. When a runner shifts from running in shoes to barefoot running, the gait pattern changes from landing on the heel to landing on the whole foot or mid-fore foot. There is greater ground reaction force when wearing a running shoe, and the calf muscles work very hard with barefoot running. The metabolic cost of running increases with barefoot running.

 

There is some great analysis in the Catalyst piece, of the way different muscles work when running barefoot compared to running in shoes, which serves to highlight the fact that you can’t just throw away your shoes one day and start running barefoot, and expect not to get injured. Like anything new, you should ease into it slowly. And by slowly, we mean gradually increase your barefoot mileage over a period of six months or so, and don’t do all of your running in bare feet or in minimilist shoes.

 

The increased demand on your calf muscles means it would make sense to include calf raises in your strenth training for at least 6 weeks prior to starting to run barefoot, along with some good calf stretching and strengthening when you start to leave the shoes behind.

 

Is barefoot running for you? Not necessarily. It really depends on the structure of your foot and your biomechanics, and your willingness to make gains little by little. It certainly does feel great running in barefeet or with minimal footwear every now and again!

 

 

Go to the Catalyst article, and also take a look at some of the links provided at the end of the transcript. It makes for interesting reading regardless of whether you are an devotee of the barefoot or minimalist approach.

 

Tell us your experiences with barefoot running and minimalist running shoes. Do you love it? Do you hate it? If you think you’d like to try it, ask us for advice.

Fun Runs: Be Prepared and Avoid Disasters

 

Being prepared is the key to doing your best in any fun run. A lack of preparation can easily wipe out all those months of hard training. Here are a few common mistakes runners live to regret, and how to avoid them.

 

Mistake Number One: Setting your sites too high.

Yes, it’s great to be confident, but if you set yourself a target time for your fun run which his not in keeping with what you’ve been doing in training, then you’re bound to be disappointed, at the least. Worse still, you could be wiped out by the time you get to the halfway point if you set off too fast.

If you’ve done any recent races or time trials, you can use this race time predictor to get a reasonable idea of the sort of time you could aim for. Alternatively, you could put in any recent 2km (+) interval times if you haven’t raced or done a time trial recently. Remember, use this as a guide only. Your pace is not cast in stone.

 

Mistake Number Two: Getting Carried Away

It is very easy to get carried away with the hype of a big fun run event, especially if it’s one you’ve been looking forward to for a while. Lots of people around you will be going out more quickly than you, so you just need to develop a strategy which will allow you to chill out and enjoy the ride. Listen to your own breathing, count your own strides, sing yourself a nursery rhyme. Anything that will stop you from tuning into the footsteps of those around you will help you to maintain your own pace. Look at your watch, and make sure you are not running faster than your planned pace. Those first few kilometres often feel very easy, even if you’ve gone out too fast. Any those very same kilometres are vital in setting you up for a great fun run.

 

Mistake Number Three: Disregarding the Conditions

Be aware that you may need to revise down your race time goal if the weather conditions are a lot different to what you’ve been training in. Hot weather is a killer on race day, but cold weather can also have an adverse effect if you are not used to it. Strong headwinds can also slow you down considerably.

Don’t doggedly keep on running to your set time splits if the weather doesn’t allow for it.  Run on perceived exertion, and know what you are capable of beforehand. It takes a lot of practice to be able to judge the pace you can keep up over a set distance, so you may want to be more conservative until you think you’ve nailed that one.

 

Mistake Number Four: Being Ill Prepared for Hot Weather

If the mercury’s rising (as has been the case in the last two Sydney Marathons which they insist on starting at 7:30am), it’s important to take some precautions. Make sure you are well hydrated before the race. Drink plenty of water on the two or three days leading into the race. How much is hard to say, as it depends on your size, how much water you are taking in with your food, and how much fibre you are taking in with your food. Just try to drink before you are thirsty, but not so much that you feel bloated and uncomfortable. On the morning of the race, down some sports drink prior to the start – again, not so much that you feel uncomfortable-to make sure you have a good store of electrolytes. During the race, drink 200-300mls of sports drink every 20-30 minutes.

Wear cool clothing and a white visor. The white will reflect heat, and a visor rather than a hat will allow heat to escape from your head.

Don’t be a hero. If you feel dizziness, shortness of breath, or nausea, seek shade and assistance. These are all signs of heat stress. If you stop sweating, you have most likely gone into heat stroke and should seek help immediately.

 

Mistake Number Four: Being Ill Prepared for Cold Weather

If the weather’s cold, gloves are invaluable. Bring lots of layers of old clothes which you are happy to throw away prior to or during the race. Make sure you have warm dry clothes to change into at the end of the race, including undies. There’s nothing like cold sweaty underwear to keep you from warming up quickly!

 

Other things that can go wrong

Eyes stinging from sunscreen. Don’t put sunscreen on your forehead above your eyes. Wear a visor to protect your forehead from the sun

Late arrival. Leave plenty of time for things to go wrong. There’s likely to be lots of traffic and little parking at most of the fun runs you go to.

Wardrobe malfunction. Make sure your shoes are tied tightly enough, and loosely enough, and tied with a double knot. Be sure to have a spare hair elastic. Make sure your bra clips are in good working order. One of my clients did have a bra mishap, not once, but twice in a race (BD, you know who you are). If this happens to you, use one of the safety pins from your race number to do some running repairs.

It’s just not your day. It happens, sometimes you know from the first step you take in your warm up, or even before you get to your warm up, that today will probably not produce a fun run PB. Accept it, chill out, and enjoy the scenery!
Do you have any special rituals you perform as part of your race day preparation? Tell us about them below.

Fun Run Nutrition: Raisins vs Chews and Gels

 

 

Raisins are a cheap natural source of carbohydrates which have been found to be as effective as carbohydrate chews in producing a workout boost.

 

 

Researchers from California-Davis University have found raisins to be as effective as sports chews when athletes’ performances were tested in a 5km time trial which was conducted 2 days after a 2 hour run during which they consumed either raisins or sports chews. When just water was consumed during the 2 hour run, the athletes did not perform as well in the time trial 2 days later. The trial included only 11 athletes so it was a fairly small sample, but it’s certainly food for thought (pardon the pun).

 

This table shows you the nutritional breakdown of a couple of gels and chews, and raisins. Note the raisins do have some dietary fibre so could cause some GIT upset, but then gels and chews can have the same effect with some people.

GU ROCTANE GEL (one serve=1 sachet) GU ENERGY GEL(one serve= on sachet) GU CHOMPS (one serve = 4 pieces -1/2 a sachet) RAISINS (one serve = 35 gms-about what you can hold in the palm of your hand)
Weight 32gms 32 gms 30 gms 35 gms
Calories 100 100 90 100
Total Carbohydrate 25gms 20 gms 23gms 25 gms
Fat 0 2gms 0 0.3 gms
Sugars 5gms 6gms 11gms 24 gms
Sodium 125gms 40 gms 50 gms 20 gms
Potasium 55gms 40 gms 40 gms 364 gms
Vit E amt not stated amt not stated amt not stated
Calcium amt not stated amt not stated amt not stated 14 gms
Amino Acid Blend 1220 mg no protein no protein 800 mgs
Caffeine 35 mg nil nil nil
Dietary Fibre 1.7 gms

 

What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for another.  The only way you’ll know if raisins work for you is to trial them in training, NOT in a race. And best to trial it first in the off season. Don’t muck around with your race and training nutrition when a mistake might really make a difference to your race results. Personally, I like a gel with a touch of caffeine, but each to their own. I’m struggling with the concept of trying to get all those loose raisins under control whilst I’m running too. You can read the full article in the Journal of The International Society of Sports Nutrition.

 

Share your experiences with race and training nutrition below.

Sitting Can Be Deadly

The average adult spends more than 90% of their waking hours sitting down,  yet recent research shows that sitting for prolonged periods of time can quite literally, be deadly.

The Sax Institute’s 45 and Up study, a study of the health and lifestyle of 200, 000 people, showed that adults who sat 11 or more hours per day had a 40% increased risk of dying in the next three years compared with those who sat for fewer than four hours a day. This was after taking into account their physical activity, weight and health status.

The research also found that bouts of more strenuous physical activity are still important. Inactive people who sat for prolonged periods were at greater risk than active people who sat for prolonged periods. Getting up and moving about every 20 minutes or so is the key, regardless of whether you are generally active or inactive.

Baker IDI has also conducted similar research, and has these suggestions for reducing sitting time:

 

Top Tips for Breaking up Sitting time:

  • there are no rules against standing during meetings – try it
  • take a brisk walk during your lunch break
  • conduct meetings while walking outdoors – these can be very effective for one-on-ones with colleagues
  • stand at a high bench top to eat your lunch
  • stand up and move around while answering the telephone
  • at the very least get up and move once every hour
  • consider a height adjustable desk that permits working in both a sitting or standing posture
  • limit your TV viewing to two hours a day
  • use commercial breaks for household chores

 

Use the comments box below to share your tips for sitting less.

 

 

The ABC’s Catalyst program ran a story on the effect of sitting for a prolonged period on August 16th 2012. See the transcript and video.

 

Have a look at this three minute clip from Baker IDI for more explanation.

Watch the Video

Downhill Running

 

Fall gracefully. That’s about it really, but hard to achieve when you fear you might fall flat on your face at any moment. Firstly, before you do any significant amounts of downhill running, you need to prepare your body for running downhill.

Downhills are often preceded by uphills, so first thing to remember is to leave something in the tank for what’s coming after the uphill part of your run. If you get to the top of the hill so spent you can hardly stand up, your downhill form will be somewhat less than perfect, and you won’t be able to reap the benefits to be gained from running downhill well. See our article for more on uphill running technique.

 

And now for the downhills.

Gently lean your body into the hill. Relax and it’ll gently pull you down. Don’t lean back and try to brake yourself. Fight it and you’ll end up with sore quads and frustration when you see people powering past you on the downhill-those very same people you just overtook on the uphill!

It’s tempting to take huge leaps when running downhill, but do try not to overstride. Keep your feet low to the ground, and stay light on your feet. Your leg turnover should pick up. Keep your steps quick. Your stride will naturally lengthen a little as the ground drops away beneath you, so to keep your steps quick, you may have to try to shorten your strides up a little. Each footstrike should be very light and very short. With shorter, more frequent steps you absorb less shock per stride.

Lean forward into the hill. The lean should come from the ankles, not the hips. Shoulders should be slightly in front of you. Land with your foot just a little bit behind your hips, not directly underneath you.

 

Practice makes perfect.

The more you practice running down hill, the more confident you will get, the more relaxed you will get, the better you will get at it, the more confident you will get……Take every opportunity to focus on your downhill form when you are out running, and include some specific downhill sessions each week. Start out with a short gradual slope perform 30 second downhill intervals at race pace. Gradually build up the length of your intervals and your speed down the hill, to about 20 secs faster than your goal race pace.

The most important aspect, as with any training plan, is to avoid overdoing it. It’s normal to be sore as you adapt to downhill training, but too much downhill running can be detrimental, leaving you overly fatigued and prone to injury.

Lastly, don’t expect to get the hang of downhill running on your first attempt. Like most thing, it’ll take a bit of practice before you have that light bulb moment. When you get it right, you’ll know.

 

View this video for more on hill running.

Watch the Video

Running Downhill: Prepare Yourself

 

Downhill running can be very taxing on the body due to the increased impact, but a few key strategies will reduce the impact forces on your knees and the rest of your body, and also help you to lose less energy whilst increasing your overall speed and efficiency. Leg and core strength is important for all running, but particularly before embarking on a training period which emphasises downhill running. The quadriceps muscles, or quads, the muscles at the front of your thigh, can take quite a hammering running downhill. You need to work on them, as well as the tendons and ligaments in ankles, knees, hips and lower back.

 

Prepare your body for downhill running.

As with any new exercise regime, start out slowly, with one set of 12-15 repetitions per exercise, and progress over to 2-3 sets of 12-15 repetitions over a few weeks.

Lunges. Strengthen quads, hamstrings and hips. Stationary lunges are safer for your knees, especially if you are just starting out. As you get stronger, hold hand weights whilst you are doing them, or progress to alternating legs or walking lunges. If you already have knee or balance issues, you might be better to give the walking lunges a miss.

Stationary lunge

Start with feet hips’ width apart. Take a step forward with one leg. This is your stating position. Bend the front knee to 90 degrees, or until your knee just taps the floor. You need to keep your knee in good alignment, making sure the knee is over the ankle, not beyond the toes. Aim to keep your knee in line with your second toe, not your big toe. If you are too unstable to begin with, place a chair beside you to use for balance. Try not to lean on the chair though.  Its best to perform this one in front of a mirror so you can check your knee out. Pause at the bottom, and push through your front heel to return to starting position.

 

Planks

Great for strengthening core. Start by doing 3 times sets to exhaustion, and increase the length of time you hold the plank as you get stronger.

Plank

Lie face down with your forearms on the floor. Push up so your elbows are under your shoulders and arms bent at 90 degrees. Be sure your elbows are under your shoulders, or even slightly under your body, to prevent shoulder injury.   Hold your body in a straight line from your head to your feet.

An easier version of the plank is to perform it on your knees. Just bend your knees and rest on them for support rather than your toes. Your body is then held in a straight line from your head to your knees. It’s called a plank, because your body should be like  plank of wood, not rubbery through the middle.

Keep your head in line with your body. Focus on squeezing your buttocks, draw in your navel to your spine, push up through your shoulders and breathe.

 

Step ups

These can be done on stairs or benches. Great for strengthening your quads, and also for activating your buttock muscles.

Step ups

Stand facing the bench, feet hips’ width apart. Step up on the bench with your left foot, and push off with your right foot. Squeeze the bum muscles in your left side as you do so.  While standing on the bench on your left foot, raise the right knee up to the height of your waist and pause. Keeping your posture tall, step down with the right foot. Perform the entire set on one leg and repeat on the other.

To make it more challenging, keep your right foot off the floor. Lower it close to the level of the floor and raise back up. Even harder, add a hop at the top of the bench (definitely not for beginners)

Keep your torso tall and avoid leaning to one side. Perform without weights to start off with, and on a low bench. If you find you are bending over rather than standing tall, or are pushing off with your hands on your thighs to help you up, drop down to a lower bench height. As with any exercise performed on one leg, these are great for developing balance and strengthening muscles in your lower leg and foot.

When your legs are strong enough you can includes some hopping and bounding drills so your muscles get used to the eccentric contractions which occur when running down hill. You’ll need a good couple of months of consistent leg strength training before any kind of plyometric work. When you do start plyometrics you MUST be very sure to ease into it gently, otherwise you’ll find yourself very sore and stiff, and possibly injured.

 

Go to our article on downhill running technique.