Running Science: Optimizing Training and Performance - Hardcover

Brewer, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022622399X ISBN 13: 9780226223995

Verlag: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR, 2017

Inhaltsangabe

Running is a deceptively simple sport. At its most basic, you need only shoes and comfortable clothes you don’t mind getting sweaty. Yet each time you lace up, all your body’s moving parts must work together to achieve a gait that will keep you injury-free. Many other factors also affect your performance, from the weather and the surface you run on to your shoes, your diet, and even your mental and emotional state. Science plays an important role in most, if not all, of these factors.

As a sports scientist and Running Fitness columnist, John Brewer has reviewed hundreds of scientific studies, and he offers runners the benefit of their findings in Running Science. Each chapter explores a different aspect of the sport through a series of questions. Many of the questions address practical matters: Do you really need to stretch? Which running shoes best suit your form and foot strike? Does carbo-loading lore stand up to scientific scrutiny—could a big bowl of spaghetti be the difference between a PR and a DNF? Other questions enhance appreciation for the incredible feats of the sport’s great athletes. (What would it take to run a two-hour marathon? Perfect weather, a straight, flat course, competition, and a lot of luck!) The answer to each question is presented in a straightforward, accessible manner, with accompanying infographics.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned runner with many miles and medals behind you, Running Science is a must-have for anyone interested in the fascinating science behind the sport.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

John Brewer is head of the School of Sport, Health, and Applied Science at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, a regular columnist for Running magazine, and an eighteen-time London Marathon finisher.

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Running Science

By John Brewer

The University of Chicago Press

Copyright © 2017 Quarto Publishing plc
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-226-22399-5

Contents

Introduction, 
CHAPTER ONE the runner's body John Brewer, 
CHAPTER TWO perfect motion Iain Fletcher and Laura Charalambous, 
CHAPTER THREE fuel and fluid Bob Murray and Daniel Craighead, 
CHAPTER FOUR running psychology Andy Lane, 
CHAPTER FIVE training and racing Charles Pedlar and James Earle, 
CHAPTER SIX equipment Paul Larkins, 
CHAPTER SEVEN running well Anna Barnsley, 
CHAPTER EIGHT the big questions John Brewer, 
APPENDICES, 
Notes, 
Notes on contributors, 
Index, 
Acknowledgments, 

CHAPTER 1

the runner's body

John Brewer

The structure of our bodies, including bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, is our anatomy, whereas physiology is the manner in which the body functions to create a living organism. The human body is a complex organism that constantly adapts and regulates itself to support life, with many systems interacting to ensure that it functions effectively. While human beings have evolved in a manner that means all of us have a similar generic structure, each individual differs as a result of their inherited genes. Science, however, has shown that we can make changes to our bodies, particularly through exercise. The body can adapt to the stimulus of running through positive changes to many of the anatomical structures and physiological processes that support life, and these changes can not only improve running performance, but could also create long-lasting health benefits.

What is running economy?

Why do I get out of breath so easily?

In order to run, the body has to produce energy. This occurs as a result of the breakdown of either carbohydrate or fat within the muscles, and for low- and moderate-intensity running this process always uses oxygen. Approximately one-fifth of the air that we breathe into our lungs consists of oxygen — the rest is mainly nitrogen, along with small amounts of other gases such as carbon dioxide. Oxygen is transported across the membranes of the lungs to attach to hemoglobin in the blood. With each beat of the heart, oxygen-rich blood from the lungs is pumped to the exercising muscles, where it combines with fat or carbohydrate to produce energy. At the same time, blood that is low in oxygen is pumped away from the muscles and back to the lungs.

The amount of energy needed to run at any given speed will vary from one person to another, and this in turn determines how much oxygen the exercising muscles require. Someone who uses a lot of energy — perhaps as a result of poor technique or a high body fat percentage — will need more oxygen, and be less efficient, or economical, than a runner with good technique and low energy expenditure. This is known as "running economy" and it has a real impact on performance.

Efficient runners have good running economy. They use less oxygen, save energy, and suffer less fatigue. On the other hand, runners with poor economy have to use more oxygen at each speed, resulting in an increase in breathing frequency, heart rate, and fatigue.

A simple analogy is to think of two automobiles — if one requires more fuel than another while traveling at the same speed, the one with the highest fuel consumption will stop first. Runners are no different. A runner with poor economy will stop before a runner with good economy when running at the same speed.

Common areas for improvement

1 Weight Carrying extra weight — particularly body fat — requires more energy. Consequently, runners with a high body fat percentage need more oxygen and have poor running economy.

2 Extension of leading knee A straight knee will produce resistance when the foot lands on the ground, which needs to be overcome with extra energy before forward momentum is generated.

3 Foot strike Feet landing too far ahead of the body cause a braking motion that must be overcome before moving forwards. Avoid over-striding by planting the foot slightly ahead of the body.

4 Height of trailing foot Efficient runners with good running economy tend to keep their feet close to the ground, and avoid wasting energy with a high follow-through of their trailing leg.

5 Rotation Over-rotation wastes energy and makes it hard to run efficiently in a straight line. Rotation has to be stabilized with counter movements, requiring more energy and poor running economy.

6 Rear foot action Swinging the rear foot outward while bringing it forward for the next step is a common problem. This creates instability and a loss of forward momentum, which requires additional energy and oxygen.

7 Angle of body Relaxing and leaning slightly forward creates the optimum trunk angle and displacement of the body's center of gravity, making forward momentum easier and minimizing braking forces.

8 Bounding Vertical displacement does not help forward motion, so raising the body vertically should be avoided. Too much vertical displacement uses extra energy and results in poor running economy.

How can a runner's maximum potential be measured?

Will I ever win the Olympic Marathon?

The faster you run, the more oxygen that is needed to sustain the supply of energy to the muscles — a process known as aerobic metabolism. As running speed increases, the body responds by increasing both ventilation rate (the volume of air entering the lungs per minute) and heart rate to pump blood and oxygen around the body more quickly. This results in an increase in the rate of oxygen uptake, known as VO — the amount of oxygen extracted from the air in the lungs each minute — which is measured in milliliters of oxygen, per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).

In an ideal world, runners would be able to increase their oxygen uptake to match the rate at which energy is required. But unfortunately this is not the case, because there comes a point when it is impossible to supply any extra oxygen to the muscles. At this stage, the body has to obtain energy without using oxygen — this process, known as anaerobic metabolism, causes fatigue. When a runner has reached the limit of their oxygen uptake capacity, they have achieved their "maximum oxygen uptake" value, or VO2 max. The higher that a person's VO2 max is, the faster they should be able to run before experiencing fatigue. Scientists around the world use an athlete's VO2 max value as the definitive way of assessing their capacity for endurance exercise.

Scientists have shown that VO2 max can be improved by training, resulting in physiological adaptations that include the utilization of more alveoli in the lungs (small air sacs where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream), enhanced cardiac output (the volume of blood pumped by the heart each minute), and a greater density of capillaries surrounding the muscles. However, even with training, there is a limit to how much VO2 max can be improved, because it is largely determined by genetic factors. So, if you want to be an Olympic marathon champion, you need to choose your parents carefully.

Need to know

VO2 can be calculated using the Fick Equation:

VO22 = Q × (CaO2 – CvO2)

(CaCO2 - CvCO2) is also known as the arteriovenous difference, where:

Q = cardiac output

CaCO2 = arterial oxygen...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: UNIV OF CHICAGO PR
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2017
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 022622399X
• ISBN 13: 9780226223995
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar