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Ice Baths, Contrast Showers, and Epsom Salt Baths

Jimson Lee — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Ice baths are a favorite for elite athletes these days as it helps heal microtears in the muscles, as well as flush out by-products out of your blood vessels by vasoconstriction.

The old days of sitting in a hot tub after a strenuous sport are only for recreational sports or winter sports for social reasons.

At the last Olympics, the Canadian Athletics team went out and bought huge plastic garbage bins (I’m referring to the yard trimming variety you get at Home Depot) and filled them with ice and cold water. Instead of celebrating a good race with a beer, one sits in an ice cold garbage can for therapy! How romantic!

Yet hot and cold do have their place in sports medicine. I talked about ice baths for recovery, Chinese heat & muscle rubs, and treating sore muscles in previous articles. Some other methods are:

contrast baths (hot/cold )
Epsom salts

What are Contrast Baths and Showers?

I’ll be the first to admit I hated these.

It’s 3 sets of 3 minutes hot water immersion followed by one minute of cold water immersion. Always end the session in cold water. 12 minutes of hell. Having 2 baths side by side is a luxury. You could use a bath for hot, then shower for cold. Or use showers for both if you have no choice.

Hot and cold, as the name implies, will help in circulation (good nutrients like oxygen to affected areas, bad byproducts flushed out) as well as shrinking inflammation and microtears.

If you hear strange yelling and screaming in the showers, now you know why!

Old Wives Tale: You Catch a Cold from Cold Weather and Changes

If you believe being out in the cold without a jacket or scarf can instigate the common cold, then contrast baths will be beneficial. Same with the theory of “sudden changes” or “change of weather” causing a common cold.

Contrast baths and showers will make you more resistant to catching the common cold along with taking extra doses of Vitamin C.

But we all know why you catch colds? In winter months being indoors, you are locked up and exposed to the rhinovirus. Carpets are also bad news. Catching a cold really has nothing to do with the cold weather, at least not directly.

Epsom Salt

Epsom salt is simply magnesium sulfate. It’s just another kind of “salt” like sodium chloride (NaCl, or table salt).

How much salt to add?

We’re not talking about a handful for Italian pasta, or those fancy packages from LUSH either. We are talking between a half a kilogram to one full kilogram of Epsom salt added to a hot bath. One big box of salt would be good for two baths. Don’t worry, it’s not expensive, at least in Vancouver when I tried it last.

Reported benefits: it helps you relax.

Unfortunately there no scientific proof it really works other than making the water feel silky. There’s no way to do a double blind study because you can tell which water is which.

Now, I know the benefits of magnesium (like in ZMA) but I have a hard time believing it can cross the skin barrier, no matter how long you soak. After all, that’s why we have skin! So we won’t desiccate.

If it does make you relax, then It’s probably the hot water. But for a couple of dollars, it might be interesting to try out.

Optimal Performance

To sum it all up:

Ice baths immediately after a hard workout then contrast bath or hot bath (with or without Epsom salt) later in the evening before bedtime.

Your parents, roommates or partner may start to wonder why you are spending a lot of time in the bathroom!

Cancer Cells Love Fructose over Glucose, US study finds

Jimson Lee — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Let’s review some simple well known facts:

Glucose is a primary source of energy for the body and brain. It is a simple monosaccharide and also known as dextrose referring to D-glucose.
Fructose is the primary sugar in fruit and is a simple monosaccharide.
Sucrose, also known as “table sugar” or “white sugar”, is a disaccharide derived from glucose and fructose.
HFCS or High-Fructose Corn Syrup refers to a family of mixtures of varying amounts of fructose and glucose with an emphasis on fructose.

So, is sugar just sugar? Are all sugars created equally?

Today, the health industry is putting HFCS in the same category as Bin Laden, Hitler, and Satan.

Yes, HFCS is bad for you in large quantities, but it’s not the ONLY reason why we have an obesity problem or other health related issues such as diabetes and heart disease.

This research study is pinpointing (laser targeting?) how cancer cells thrives on fructose over glucose. The study is obviously targeting the anti-HFCS crowd, but fails to realize that fructose the primary sweetener in fruit!

A while back, I was hailing chocolate milk as my post recovery workout drink, only to discover some companies use HFCS as their chocolate sweetener!

The moral of the story is simply make smart decisions on your food selection and limit the amount of sugars you consume, whether is glucose, fructose, dextrose, sucrose, and heaven forbid, high fructose corn syrup!

While you are at it, review your trans fat and MSG intake from hidden labels, too!

Here is that article.

Aug 2 (Reuters) – Pancreatic tumor cells use fructose to divide and proliferate, U.S. researchers said on Monday in a study that challenges the common wisdom that all sugars are the same.

Tumor cells fed both glucose and fructose used the two sugars in two different ways, the team at the University of California Los Angeles found.

They said their finding, published in the journal Cancer Research, may help explain other studies that have linked fructose intake with pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancer types.

"These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation," Dr. Anthony Heaney of UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center and colleagues wrote.

"They have major significance for cancer patients given dietary refined fructose consumption, and indicate that efforts to reduce refined fructose intake or inhibit fructose-mediated actions may disrupt cancer growth."

Americans take in large amounts of fructose, mainly in high fructose corn syrup, a mix of fructose and glucose that is used in soft drinks, bread and a range of other foods.

Politicians, regulators, health experts and the industry have debated whether high fructose corn syrup and other ingredients have been helping make Americans fatter and less healthy.

Too much sugar of any kind not only adds pounds, but is also a key culprit in diabetes, heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.

Several states, including New York and California, have weighed a tax on sweetened soft drinks to defray the cost of treating obesity-related diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

The American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and Kraft Foods have strongly, and successfully, opposed efforts to tax soda.

The industry has also argued that sugar is sugar.

Heaney said his team found otherwise. They grew pancreatic cancer cells in lab dishes and fed them both glucose and fructose.

Tumor cells thrive on sugar but they used the fructose to proliferate. "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different," Heaney’s team wrote.

"I think this paper has a lot of public health implications. Hopefully, at the federal level there will be some effort to step back on the amount of high fructose corn syrup in our diets," Heaney said in a statement.

Now the team hopes to develop a drug that might stop tumor cells from making use of fructose.

U.S. consumption of high fructose corn syrup went up 1,000 percent between 1970 and 1990, researchers reported in 2004 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

How much Horsepower does Usain Bolt Generate?

Jimson Lee — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Back to School Special, Part 2. Warning: this subject matter may bring back horrible memories of high school Physics and Calculus!

If you liked the past article on physics, then you’ll love this PowerPoint video using Physics and Calculus to determine the number of horsepower in Usain Bolt. Of course, you can use your own times and bodyweight and come up with a similar (yet lower) number!

The presentation shows an exact mathematical calculation of Usain Bolt’s power in horsepower. 1 Horsepower is 746 Watts (a measure of Power). This presentation uses the actual measured data from Berlin 2009 and develops formulas for Usain’s speed using both physics and calculus. The audience is targeted for advanced high school or college physics and math.

The voice-over narration is produced by Speech-Over using text-to-speech voices, very similar to SpeedEndurance using Odiogo.

How much Horsepower does Usain Bolt Generate?

The short answer is 2165 Watts. Divide that by 746 watts per horsepower and you get 2.9 HP, very close to 3.

How much is 3 horse power? Here is a picture to simplify it:

Here is the Presentation:

Calculating Usain Bolt’s Power

See more presentations by harband | Upload your own PowerPoint presentations

David Rudisha 800m World Record Video: 1:41.01

Jimson Lee — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:41:41 +0000

I predicted David Rudisha would break the World Record in Rieti.

He ran a World Record 1:41.09 6 days earlier on August 23rd.

When you analyze the top men’s 800 meters performances over the last 25 years, NINE were set in Rieti.

Make that TEN as of today!

SIDENOTE: In 1997, Wilson Kipketer also broke the record twice in August as he ran 1:41.24 in Zurich on August 13th and 1:41.11 in Cologne on August 24th!

UPDATE: split times
1:41.01 48.9/52.1 diff +3.2
1:41.09 49.1/52.0 diff +2.9

Here is that video.

How Do You Determine the Worlds Fastest Man?

Jimson Lee — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:51 +0000

Back to School Special, Part 1. Warning: this subject matter may bring back horrible memories of high school physics!

How do you determine the Worlds Fastest Man?

The Winner of the 100m Olympic Gold Medal (The Olympic shortest sprint distance)?
The fastest 10m segment? (with or without a running start?)
A radar gun (like a police radar) at an instantaneous point of time?

They all are based on time over distance.

The 100m time also includes acceleration out of the blocks for almost two-thirds of the race, so the peak speed would be recorded around the 60 meter mark. In Tyson Gay or Usain Bolt’s case, it’s more like 65 meters.

The term “Velocity” can be broken down into 3 components:

Average velocity
Instantaneous velocity
Speed

I used the terms quicker and faster when discussing then Moye blocks. You can be quick, but not fast. You can be fast, but not quick. Then there’s the trade-off between being too quick or too powerful out of the blocks..

The problem with being quick, like the Moye blocks, is you are standing up sooner and have better leg turnover, but no power. It’s like pushing a car stuck in the snow. Are you vertical, or more horizontal for more power?

Imagine you are a car with 5 gears. You have to optimize when to shift gears.

The term “Faster” means either “farther” (greater distance) or “sooner” (less time).

In order for you or me to calculate the speed of an object, we must know how far it goes AND how long it takes to get there. When you ask “how far”, are you referring to the distance or the displacement?

Thus,

Speed is the rate of change of distance with time.
Velocity is the rate of change of displacement with time.

Remember high school or college physics? Speed is a scalar and velocity is a vector.

Speed gets the symbol v (italic) and velocity gets the symbol v (boldface).

Thus, the instantaneous speed of an object is the magnitude of its instantaneous velocity where:

v = |v|

The distance is fixed, the measurement is time

The average sports fan and TV viewer prefers (at least conceptually) the measurement of time. Of course, the average television fan doesn’t consider other factors such as wind, altitude, track surface, or modern technology such as speed suits or high tech sprint spikes.

But we really should be using velocity.

The problem with measuring time is it doesn’t show the whole picture. There are many components to 100 meter race.

In track, ideally a 10 meter segment can be used, only if official splits are setup. Video analysis are not accurate unless you have the same setup for every race. Video analysis is accurate when used among different athletes in the same race (like the IAAF biomechanical studies)

Then again, they don’t give gold medals to the fastest 10 meter segment. Or who can bench press the most before the race. This isn’t STREND!

It doesn’t take much to figure out that the secret of a great 100m time is reaching top speed (acceleration), a fast top speed (maximum velocity), and maintaining that top speed (speed endurance). Perhaps splitting atoms is easier?

0.83 sec/10 meters translates to 12 meters per second (m/s) or almost 27 miles per hour (mph) or 43 kilometers per hour (kph).

Very few elite sprinters have reached the 12 m/s “speed limit”, that list includes Tim Montgomery, Maurice Green, and Ben Johnson. Of course, add today’s superstars like Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay and Usain Bolt.

Only in Beijing 2008 did we see Usain Bolt drop that to 0.82 sec/10 meters, then dropping again to 0.81 sec/10 meters in Berlin 2009.

Additional Physics References:
http://physics.info/velocity/
http://physics.ucsc.edu/~josh/6A/book/notes/node12.html

Accelerometers and Implants to Measure Blood Biochemistry

Jimson Lee — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

As an exercise physiologist, there are things you can measure and analyze.

For starters, there’s height, weight, body fat and lean body mass.

For metrics, there’s the good old fashion stop watch and tape measure. And high speed film analysis. If you don’t own a HD HQ video camera, they have gone down dramatically in prices.

But how about measuring other aspects of human performance? Stuff like power output, force, velocity?

Or intrinsically, how about measuring blood lactate (IF that is the determining factor on why muscles slow down after 40 seconds!)

I won’t get into specifics but the Steve Austin 6 Million Dollar Man era is here now. Dr. Marco Cardinale has a great article on Implantable electronics and possible application in sports science. It’s quite spooky and not for the faint of heart.

Tufts University biomedical engineer Dr. Fiorenzo Omenetto is using silk as the basis for implantable optical and electronic devices capable of measuring vital signs and blood biochemistry in real time in a continuous manner.

This implantable electronics are based on silk which is a biodegradable material and it is capable of carrying light like optical glass. Silk can also serve as a mechanical support for arrays of electrically active devices, allowing them to be placed on biological tissues without causing irritation.

Depending on how it’s processed, silk can be made to break down inside the body almost instantly or to persist for years. And it can be used to store enzymes for a long time.

While I think it’s great to study the human body, I feel the research should go towards real time applications for medical science and find a cure for cancer or any other disease that destroys the quality of life.

Increase Stride Rate to Decrease Injuries?

Jimson Lee — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Here we go again.

Running is meant to be simple. Just put one foot in front of the other.

It all boils down to stride rate and stride frequency. Optimize the 2 forces, horizontal and vertical, and cover ground as fast as possible. Simple.

In the distance world, I recall former WR holder in the marathon Derek Clayton of Australia used a “shuffle” style of running as it produced a better running economy.

In sprinting, we saw Michael Johnson and his awkward upright style with a fast cadence. 4 years later, we saw twins Alvin and Calvin Harrison used a similar style of running.

For MJ, this style was best for him to avoid injuries (though you wouldn’t say that based on his 1997 appearance at the Skydome)

It’s all about adapting to your body type.

Is increasing stride rate better to decrease injuries?

This study think so.

From Effects of Step Rate Manipulation on Joint Mechanics during Running (Heiderscheit, Bryan C.; Chumanov, Elizabeth S.; Michalski, Max P.; Wille, Christa M.; Ryan, Michael B.)

Abstract

Purpose: The objective of this study was to characterize the biomechanical effects of step rate modification during running on the hip, knee and ankle joints, so as to evaluate a potential strategy to reduce lower extremity loading and risk for injury.

Methods: Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were recorded from 45 healthy recreational runners during treadmill running at constant speed under various step rate conditions (preferred, +/- 5% and +/- 10%). We tested our primary hypothesis that a reduction in energy absorption by the lower extremity joints during the loading response would occur, primarily at the knee, when step rate was increased.

Results: Less mechanical energy was absorbed at the knee (p<0.01) during the +5% and +10% step rate conditions, while the hip (p<0.01) absorbed less energy during the +10% condition only. All joints displayed substantially (p<0.01) more energy absorption when preferred step rate was reduced by 10. Step length (p<0.01), center of mass vertical excursion (p<0.01), breaking impulse (p<0.01) and peak knee flexion angle (p<0.01) were observed to decrease with increasing step rate. When step rate was increased 10% above preferred, peak hip adduction angle (p<0.01), as well as peak hip adduction (p<0.01) and internal rotation (p<0.01) moments, were found to decrease.

Conclusion: We conclude that subtle increases in step rate can substantially reduce the loading to the hip and knee joints during running and may prove beneficial in the prevention and treatment of common running-related injuries.

(C) 2010The American College of Sports Medicine

The Hang in Long Jump – A Contrast in Styles

Jimson Lee — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

I love the long jump because I started my Track career as a long and triple jumper. In high school, I was the 4th man for the 4×100m relay, usually as a lead off runner. That’s probably because it was the shortest leg, and I had only one hand off to worry about.

Here are several articles from the Blog:

The Horizontal Jumps Approach Run and Maximum Velocity
Static-vs-dynamic stretching on vertical jump and standing long jump
Coaching long jump technique hang or hitch kick
Irving Saladino 9 meter long jump?
Ivan Pedroso 9 meter long jump?
Watch those hands in the long and triple jump: Video of Walter Davis 17.71m TJ (NOTE: after careful analysis, it wasn’t his hands that made the early impression, but the heel of his foot. Thanks to all the readers for feedback)

One of the biggest arguments in the long jump is whether the hang or hitch kick is better. As as you get top speed on the runway, height off the board, and prevent forward rotation, then either one will do. Elite male athletes will have faster speeds and higher take-offs, which is why you see women use the hang or modified hangs or sails.

Here is a great look at Jessica Ennis (UK), Jennifer Oeser (GER) and Kamila Chudzik (POL) from the 2009 IAAF Biomechanical study. It’s a great clinic on a detailed look of the hang technique.

Can you spot a few areas of improvement?

David Rudisha 800m World Record Video: 1:41.09

Jimson Lee — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:02:13 +0000

I predicted David Rudisha would break the World Record in Rieti. Perhaps I could still be correct with the meet being one week away.

But my crystal ball is besides the point. David Rudisha broke the world record in Berlin with a 1:41.09, meat slicing a measly 0.02 seconds off the old standard of 1:41.11.

With unofficial splits of 49.1 and 52, we saw a differential of slightly under 3 seconds. 49 point seems to be the sweet spot based on all the sub 1:42 800 meter performances out there.

The video speaks for itself. With the rabbit dropping off shortly after 400 meters, I wonder how fast Rudisha could run if he had a rabbit or pacemaker all the way to 600 meters?

Women’s Track and Field – Underpaid and No Respect

Jimson Lee — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Women’s Track and Field is the Rodney Dangerfield of Track and Field. They get no respect.

There isn’t a new Miss Usain Bolt that has the potential of setting a new WR every time she steps on the track. The last person I can remember was Marita Koch and the 400 meters. For men events, there’s always a possibility of a WR. For women’s, there’s not a hope in hell. Not even Carmelita Jeter.

Take for example Lolo Jones in the 100m hurdles. Her 12.43 PB is way off the WR of 12.21.

When you look at the speed, power and strength events (and I’m including the multi events, as well as the 800m) the only WR that were broken since the 1980’s was the 400mH. (I kid you not.. the 400mH is a very technical event)The PV, HT, and TJ are relatively new events which explains the excitement whenever Yelena Isinbaeva shows up and has a chance of breaking a WR. The Javelin was shortened so that doesn’t count.

I’m talking about the eighties…you know, Duran Duran, Boy George, and all the African Feed-the-World Relief songs.

Conversely, for Men’s events, it is only the Discus and Hammer that are still untouched from the 1980’s.

As well, the men’s events have created rivalries from different countries, like Ben and Carl. Or Usain, Asafa and Tyson. Donovan and MJ.

So, what are the drawbacks?

For one, fan interest. Men’s events will always be the A-card. For the female athletes, it’s less appearance fees and sponsorship dollars.

So unless they wipe out the old records, change the distances (like bring back the 500 meters), or a teenage mutant female Usain Bolt comes along, women’s track and field will always suffer compared to the men.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.