What am I talking about?  Mud runs and obstacle races of course.

The races, which pull athletes from the CrossFit and the running communities, challenge people to test their fitness in the worst possible conditions.  And this broad appeal has not been lost on Reebok, one of the world’s top fitness brands.  In a move similar to their partnership with CrossFit, Reekbok has joined forces with Spartan Race to elevate Obstacle Course Racing to “an internationally sanctioned sport.”

According to Spartan Race founder, Joe De Sena, “Reebok will help us expand globally, pursue our goals of making obstacle racing an Olympic sport, share the healthy living we promote, and rip people off their couches and do what human beings were made to do: run, jump, sweat and climb.”

I have created a new website called Mud Run Resources to profile some of the everyday athletes competing in obstacle course racing.  To kick things off, Deanna and Gray graciously wrote about their adventures participating in multiple obstacle races during the past few years.

Please check out their stories, and if you would like to share your adventure, drop me a note via the contact page on the new site .

photo credit:  Presidio of Monterey: DLIFLC & USAG

Walk in any CrossFit gym in the country and you are sure to see quite a few people wearing knee-high compression socks.  These socks, also popular in the running and triathlon communities, are sold with the promise of  improved athletic performance and quicker recovery.

Certainly compression socks have shown great benefit as a means to improve circulation in people who have diabetes or are bedridden due to illness.  As blood tends to pool in the lower extremities, the application of graduated compression helps blood return to the heart more efficiently.

But in terms of athletics, is this gear more than the latest fad or fashion statement?  Can a piece of clothing improve performance and hasten post-workout recovery?  Let’s see what science has to say.

Researching Compression Socks

Cycling Time Trial

A study of 14 trained athletes wearing compression garments during a recovery period created a statistically significant improvement in power output as well as timed performance during a 40-km time trial [1].

Endurance Cycling 

In another cycling study, researchers examined the effects of using lower-body compression garments (LBCG) during one hour time trials [2].  Evaluating markers such as blood lactate concentration, VO2, heart rate, and muscle oxygenation, the scientists concluded that “the present results demonstrated limited physiological benefits and no performance enhancement through wearing LBCG during a cycling time trial.”

High Intensity Sprints and Plyometrics

Eleven study participants preformed two trials (separated by 7 days), one with and one without lower-body compression garments [3].  ”Participants performed a 10-min exercise protocol of a 20-m sprint and 10 plyometric bounds every minute.”   The researchers concluded that compression garments provided limited improvement in recovery and performance; however they did note that muscle soreness following recovery was measurably lower when using compression clothing.

Sprint and 3 km run performance

In a 2012 study evaluating sprint and 3 km run performance [4], 22 male rugby players were “given a full-leg length compressive garment  or a similar-looking noncompressive placebo garment to wear continuously for 24 hours after performing a series of circuits developed to simulate a rugby game.”  Following a 24-hour recovery period (wearing the clothing), participants were tested using  a repeated 40 meter sprint and 3 km run.  The results were as follows:  sprint times were better by 1.2%, fatigue less by 15.8%, and 3 km times were decreased by 2.0% using compression garments.  ”Wearing compressive garments during recovery is likely to be worthwhile, and very unlikely to be harmful for well-trained rugby union players.”

Analysis of Compression Garments During  Simulated Athletic Competition

In a study using a combination of compression garments and GPS tracking [5], researchers studies “physiological and performance measures in a simulated game-specific circuit for netball.  Participants wore either traditional netball clothing, compression clothing or a placebo garment.  The finding showed that the athletes were able to go further at faster velocities while wearing compression clothing, but the effects were minimal

Bottom Line

Based on the five studies cited above, the benefits for using compression socks do exist, but they are limited.  I also looked at a study providing a literature review [6] of additional research on compression garments (CG).  The analysis can be summarized as follows:

• There is not adequate information regarding sizing and pressure variability to provide to individual athletes.
• Benefits of CG’s during athletic performance are limited but may assist in jump performance.
• “During recovery, CGs have had mixed effects on recovery kinetics or subsequent performance.”
• The is research that shows “local blood flow augmentation with compression.”
• Measurements for swelling of limbs following exercise are inconsistent.
• Generally “post-exercise muscle soreness” ratings show improvement with CG’s.

So, it doesn’t appear that you will receive a huge benefit as a result of wearing compression socks, but they aren’t likely to cause any harm.  If you think they help, go for it.

References:

1: de Glanville KM, Hamlin MJ. Positive effect of lower body compression garments on subsequent 40-kM cycling time trial performance. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Feb;26(2):480-6. PubMed PMID: 22240553.

2: Scanlan AT, Dascombe BJ, Reaburn PR, Osborne M. The effects of wearing lower-body compression garments during endurance cycling. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2008 Dec;3(4):424-38. PubMed PMID: 19223669.

3: Duffield R, Cannon J, King M. The effects of compression garments on recovery of muscle performance following high-intensity sprint and plyometric exercise. J Sci Med Sport. 2010 Jan;13(1):136-40. Epub 2009 Jan 7. PubMed PMID: 19131276.

4: Hamlin MJ, Mitchell CJ, Ward FD, Draper N, Shearman JP, Kimber NE. Effect of compression garments on short-term recovery of repeated sprint and 3-km running performance in rugby union players. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Nov;26(11):2975-82. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182711e0b. PubMed PMID: 23007487.

5: Higgins T, Naughton GA, Burgess D. Effects of wearing compression garments on physiological and performance measures in a simulated game-specific circuit for netball. J Sci Med Sport. 2009 Jan;12(1):223-6. Epub 2007 Dec 19. PubMed PMID: 18078789.

6: MacRae BA, Cotter JD, Laing RM. Compression garments and exercise: garment considerations, physiology and performance. Sports Med. 2011 Oct 1;41(10):815-43. doi: 10.2165/11591420-000000000-00000. Review. PubMed PMID: 21923201.

Photo credit:  Amber Karnes

Related Posts:

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Ice Baths

Quotes by Steve Prefontaine

If you are a runner, a cyclist, or a regular at a CrossFit gym, you have probably heard the term “Active Recovery.”  The phrase itself seems a bit oxymoronic, but the concept appears to have some basis in science (More on that later).

Active recovery is the use of low-intensity exercise to resupply nutrients to muscles and to speed up the removal of waste products produced during bouts of high-intensity training or competition.  Think of activities like walking, hiking, light lifting, scrimmages, etc. This is contrasted with passive recovery where physical activity is restricted.  The theory is that active recovery allows you to train or compete more quickly and more often.

In reviewing articles written on the topic, I found two primary uses of the term Active Recovery (AR).    Nearly all scientific studies evaluating AR do so within the confines of a single workout.  But when coaches and trainers speak or write about AR, they typically mean light exercise on an off-day following a heavy day of exercise.  This inconsistent use of terminology may or may not be a problem, but let’s first see what we can learn from the studies.

What Does the Science Say?

Blood Lactate Levels:  

Multiple studies have demonstrated that lower blood lactate levels can be achieved using AR versus passive recovery (PR) regardless of the type of exercise.  Examples include:

• Researchers evaluating eleven swimmers each completing two 100 meter trials with a 15 minute found that “five minutes of active recovery during a 15-min interval period is adequate to facilitate blood lactate removal.” [1]
• Fourteen healthy subjects performing supra-maximal intermittent exercises showed “blood lactate disappearance was faster in trained than untrained subjects during combined active recovery. This result suggests that the level of physical fitness plays an important role mainly in the pattern of blood lactate decrease during combined active recovery.” [2]
• And a study involving eighteen male cyclists found that blood lactate removal with active recovery was significantly better than with passive. [3]

However, reducing blood lactate levels will not improve the perceived levels of muscle soreness: “The perceptions of pain and soreness that result from intense eccentric exercise are not related to lactate buildup at all…. blood and muscle lactate levels do rise considerably during intense eccentric and concentric exercise, however values for blood and muscle lactate return to normal within 30-60 minutes post exercise.” (reference)

Central Nervous System:

In a study evaluating the effects of cold water immersion (CWI) and AR, the researchers found that CWI showed “some improvement in post-exercise cardiac autonomic regulation compared to AR.  Further, AR is not recommended if the aim is to accelerate the parasympathetic reactivation.” [4]

Based on this study, AR does not appear to accelerate recovery for the central nervous system.

Free Fatty Acids:

A study evaluating fourteen well trained males, found that in high intensity and moderate intensity exercise, “AR resulted in lower Free Fatty Acid [FFA] peaks and lower overall FFA concentrations while performing AR.”  [5]

This is interesting, but not surprising, since fatty acids tend to be a primary fuel source during low-intensity exercise.  The question, raised by the study, is if there are health benefits associated with AR in reducing the plasma levels of FFA.

Resynthesis of Muscle Glycogen:

“In a cross-over design, six college-aged males performed three, 1-min exercise bouts at approximately 130% VO2max with a 4-min rest period between each work bout.   Data suggest that the use of passive recovery following intense exercise results in a greater amount of muscle glycogen resynthesis than active recovery over the same duration.” [6]

It is expected that muscle glycogen would not be replenished at the same level as compared to PR since plasma insulin levels are lower during AR.

White Blood Cell Count:

“It would appear that active recovery at low intensity after strenuous exercise can maintain sufficient adrenergic activation to counteract the post-exercise drop in WBCC.” [7]

Athletic Performance:

• As intermittent exercise alternated with passive recovery is characterized by a slower decline in oxyhemoglobin than during intermittent exercise alternated with active recovery at 40% of VO2max, it may also allow a higher reoxygenation of myoglobin and a higher phosphorylcreatine resynthesis, and thus contribute to a longer time to exhaustion. [8]
• In a test with twelve male subjects involving an intermittent run to exhaustion with AR or PR, “results showed that intermittent runs to exhaustion with passive recovery allowed subjects to run for a significantly longer time than intermittent runs to exhaustion with active recovery. [9]

Bottom Line

From a scientific point of view, looking only at single exercise sessions, the benefits of AR are mixed.  Blood lactate and FFA levels are reduced and the typical post-exercise drop in white blood cells is mitigated.  On the hand, AR doesn’t appear to help with CNS recovery, limits the rate in which muscle glycogen is replenished, and doesn’t improve the athletic performance of endurance related sports.

But science has yet to provide much insight in evaluating the benefits of off-day AR.  For that we should listen to the wisdom of coaches, trainers, and ultimately to your own body.  If you are the type of person that finds rest days to be mental torture, having an alternative like AR that allows you to be in the gym may be the perfect solution, a rest day that allows you to recover.

Related Posts:

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Ice Baths

Credit to Truly Huge for a good background read on this topic:  Effects of active recovery on various physiological systems.

Photo credit:   pennstatelive

References

1: Toubekis AG, Tsolaki A, Smilios I, Douda HT, Kourtesis T, Tokmakidis SP. Swimming performance after passive and active recovery of various durations. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2008 Sep;3(3):375-86. PubMed PMID: 19211948.

2: Gmada N, Bouhlel E, Mrizak I, Debabi H, Ben Jabrallah M, Tabka Z, Feki Y, Amri M. Effect of combined active recovery from supramaximal exercise on blood lactate disappearance in trained and untrained man. Int J Sports Med. 2005Dec;26(10):874-9. PubMed PMID: 16320173.

3: Monedero J, Donne B. Effect of recovery interventions on lactate removal and subsequent performance. Int J Sports Med. 2000 Nov;21(8):593-7. PubMed PMID: 11156281.

4: Bastos FN, Vanderlei LC, Nakamura FY, Bertollo M, Godoy MF, Hoshi RA, Junior JN, Pastre CM. Effects of cold water immersion and active recovery on

post-exercise heart rate variability. Int J Sports Med. 2012 Nov;33(11):873-9. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1301905. Epub 2012 Jun 21. PubMed PMID: 22722961.

5: Wigerneas I, Strømme SB, Høstmark AT. Active recovery counteracts the post-exercise rise in plasma-free fatty acids. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2000 Dec;10(4):404-14. PubMed PMID: 11099367.

6: Choi D, Cole KJ, Goodpaster BH, Fink WJ, Costill DL. Effect of passive and active recovery on the resynthesis of muscle glycogen. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Aug;26(8):992-6. PubMed PMID: 7968434.

7: Wigernaes I, Høstmark AT, Strømme SB, Kierulf P, Birkeland K. Active recovery and post-exercise white blood cell count, free fatty acids, and hormones in endurance athletes. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2001 Apr;84(4):358-66. PubMed PMID: 11374121.

8: Dupont G, Moalla W, Guinhouya C, Ahmaidi S, Berthoin S. Passive versus active recovery during high-intensity intermittent exercises. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2004 Feb;36(2):302-8. PubMed PMID: 14767255.

9: Dupont G, Blondel N, Berthoin S. Performance for short intermittent runs:  active recovery vs. passive recovery. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2003 Aug;89(6):548-54. Epub 2003 May 7. PubMed PMID: 12734760.

What is health?  According to a 1948 definition by the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Ok, I like the broad definition which includes physical, mental, and social, but I am not so sure about the word, “complete.”  That word sets a pretty high bar.  The British Medical Journal has this to say about the WHO definition:

“The requirement for complete health would leave most of us unhealthy most of the time. It therefore supports the tendencies of the medical technology and drug industries, in association with professional organisations, to redefine diseases, expanding the scope of the healthcare system. New screening technologies detect abnormalities at levels that might never cause illness and pharmaceutical companies produce drugs for “conditions” not previously defined as health problems.”

And yet, this seems to be exactly how our healthcare system has evolved, a pill for every purpose.

What happened to “let food be thy medicine?” Perhaps food was the answer when food was actually food and when added sugar represented less than 15% of average daily calories.  But it looks like that ship has sailed.  We have outsourced personal responsibility for health to well-intentioned public policy “experts.”  New York City’s war on sugary beverages and a Chicago school district’s ban of homemade lunches are but two examples.

Personally, I have zero interest in being subject to someone else’s definition of what is health or healthy, even if it is well intentioned.  I will happily listen to logic, science, and even anecdotal evidence, but ultimately I want to make my own decisions about how to live my life, what to eat, and how much to exercise.

For those of you following a similar path, I will continue to share my own experiences and pass along new information.  Just this past week, I read an interesting article by Paul Jaminet regarding standing vs. sitting. My belief, prior to reading his post, was that with an adequate amount of exercise, we can avoid the problems associated with a largely sedentary lifestyle.  Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that simple.

According to Paul,

“Time spent standing did more to push fat into muscle cells than vigorous daily exercise. This is significant because pushing nutrients into muscle cells promotes muscle growth. If you have trouble gaining muscle, maybe the problem is too much sitting, and what you need is not more intense workouts, but more frequent standing!”

So, in addition to getting 30-60 minutes a day of exercise, it is also important to get up out of your chair.  Stand up, take a walk, just get moving.

Photo credit:  Old Shoe Woman

Here are a few of my favorite Steve Prefontaine quotes:

“A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.”

“Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.”

“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”

“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”

“I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.”

What Steve Prefontaine quotes did I miss?

I have to tip my hat to Richard Nicoley at Free the Animal.  From Richard’s disciplined and well documented self-experimentation, I was exposed to the myths regarding saturated fat and cholesterol.  His blog was a starting point leading me to Mark’s Daily Apple (The Primal Blueprint) and Robb Wolf (The Paleo Solution).  For this I am grateful.

Sadly however, it appears that Richard has become bored. Rather than being content with helping people, he has resigned himself to writing a series of rants and retractions.  I’m sure this type of blogging brings in a larger audience, but what’s the point?

Richard writes:

“And while I know many of my readers do like the drama, a lot don’t, and I’m pretty sure it turns of a lot of people entering here for the first time, people I could help and I want dearly to help.”

Yet, this is exactly the choice Richard is making, to manufacture drama and create controversy at the expense of people who might otherwise be interested in what he has to offer.

Much like the Jerry Springer Show where provocative questions produce predictable outbursts and fistfights, Richard appears to be courting an audience that feeds on this form of entertainment.

For me it’s time to switch the channel, it’s time to unsubscribe.

I found a pair of boxes at Rogue Fitness – however each 20 inch box costs $85.  No THANKS!  I can build them myself.

After a quick search, I found a solid set of well written plans from the CrossFit Journal.

However you can build two boxes with a SINGLE sheet of plywood (not the suggested 1.5 sheets) using exactly the dimensions specified simply by laying out the pieces more intelligently.

Here’s what I mean.  The picture below show the 8 side pieces (for 2 plyometric boxes) laid out on a 4×8 foot piece of plywood.  What you don’t see is the 10”x8’ section of the plywood that is wasted material.  In their layout, you have to cut a second piece of plywood for the 17.5”x17.5” tops.

A better layout is shown below.  This lets you build both boxes using a single sheet of hardwood plywood.

So for $40 and about an hour of work, I now have two solid plyometric boxes.

A few points to emphasize:

• Definitely use hardwood ¾ inch plywood – don’t buy the cheap stuff
• Pre-drill holes, use screws and not nails
• Glue for greater strength.

Lauren Fleshman is a feisty, world-class, super fast middle and long distance runner competing as a member of the Oregon Track Club Elite team.  She is also a “smarty pants.”

Yep, she has a BA from Stanford in Biology with a bonus MA in Education.

But Lauren isn’t simply “book smart.”   She has combined what she learned in school with her running experience to create a real food refueling option called Picky Bars .

Lauren, along with her husband, triathlete Jesse Thomas, and professional marathoner Stephanie Rothstein, have teamed up to create a gluten and dairy-free energy bar.  And the enthusiastic reception from the running community means that the modest experiment in Lauren’s kitchen has turned into a full-blown entrepreneurial adventure.

Lauren graciously agreed to answer a few questions about the product as well as the company:

Where do Picky Bars fit into a diet based on real foods, and do the ingredients substantially differ from other energy bars on the market?

Picky Bars are the perfect blend between a performance bar and a health food bar. The ratios are built for performance but we don’t fill them with cheap soy protein and crushed up vitamins like your typical sports bar. The quality of Picky Bars’ ingredients are what you’d expect from a high end health food bar, but your average health food bars never have the right carb, protein, and fat ratios for sport. Health food bars look good on paper but their ratios set you up for gut distress, uneven energy, and less than ideal recovery. Picky Bars are the bar for active people who care about eating real food, like us!

On the product packaging, what do you mean by, “It’s Freaking Science, Dude?” 

Our slogan refers to our nearly impossible-to-achieve combination of qualities: just try to make a 1) gluten- and dairy-free real food bar that is 2) athletically balanced for sport and 3) tastes amazing. It’s really hard! You have to employ all the skills you learned in science to experiment and research. But there is also something tongue in cheek about the fact that you can do all these things without making an amorphous blob of genetically engineered vitamin putty that tastes like brick mortar…you can use real food! Revolutionary! It’s freaking science dude!

Has the running community been supportive of Picky Bars?

We would not have a business if it weren’t for the support of the running community. Period. Runners from all over the country took a chance on us when we were packing our bars in dime bags (food safe ones of course) and printing our own stickers on label paper in my living room. “You trusted the science behind the product, the intention of the product, forgave us when we weren’t perfect, provided constructive feedback, and wanted to support us as people. When you share them with your friends or post a photo on Facebook or twitter, we grow. We literally grow because of you guys. I get overwhelmed thinking about it.”

Picky Bars, if it succeeds, will be as much a testament of the spirit of the running community as anything else.

Where do you go from here:  More types of bars, related products for the running market, or expanding your distribution?

After reaching capacity for what we could make in my house, we’ve recently gone all professional and contracted a likeminded bar company to produce our bars for us, Bumblebar. They are still hand made by a small team, but the owners Liz and Glenn have bigger tools and mixers and the machinery that can wrap a bar professionally and put it in a carton, like the bars you see in the supermarket. They can also make WAY more per month than we could in my house. What’s great about this, other than the fact that I got my kitchen back, is that now we can get into more stores!  Before, our growth was limited by production, and now that isn’t a problem.  Now we can finally follow up on all the great leads we’ve gotten from the running community and have enough bars to go around!

Long story short, our focus is getting into high quality grocery stores, more specialty running stores, and creating our next flavor.

Best of luck to Lauren Fleshman and the Picky Bar team!

You can keep track of Lauren’s adventures, running and entrepreneurial, at her website, and please order a batch of those Picky Bars.

I have to admit, I get a bit star-struck when it comes to my work with the Track and Field Athletes Association – I mean, seriously.  I get to interact with and ask questions of elite runners, jumpers and throwers every single week.

One of the most important things that I have realized is these athletes aren’t that different from you or me.  They have doubts, they get injured, they struggle to achieve their goals, and they love to compete.

But there are differences.  Clearly they have athletic abilities that I do not possess; however the biggest difference that I have noticed between elite and everyday athletes is their single-minded focus on their goals.  They refuse to be deterred.

I was reminded of all of the above this past week when I had the opportunity to chat with a living legend in track and field, Al Joyner.  Al was the 1984 gold medalist in the triple jump, the husband of Olympic legend, the late Florence Griffith-Joyner, and the brother or multi-Olympic medalist, Jackie Joyner-Kersee.  Al Joyner is literally the head of the first family of track and field.

In our conversation, I asked Al why he wanted to be a professional athlete.  He said:

 “My goal wasn’t to go pro in track and field, but instead, I wanted to be an Olympian.  I wanted to go make history and to leave my mark.  And as a result, I was able to travel around the world.  I never looked at track and field as a way to make money, so everything I got was a bonus.”

“…I wanted to be an Olympian.  I wanted to go make history and to leave my mark.”

Without question, Al Joyner has done both!

Fresh off an a personal record in the Olympic 800 meter finals, USA track and field athlete Nick Symmonds demonstrates how to bridge the gap between hard training runs and simply enjoying life.

In the video below, Nick is going for a new American record in an event called the “Beer Mile.”  My advice – Don’t try this at home!