VO2max

The monthly newsletter of RunCoachJason.com

Dr. Jason Karp, running & fitness coach, consultant, freelance writer

January, 2007

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In this issue:

VO2max Distance Running Clinic

New Year’s Gifts

Carbohydrates and Immune Function

Pick Up the Pace to Burn More Calories

In Press

New Year’s Message

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VO2max Distance Running Clinic

Did you miss Coach Jason’s recent VO2max Distance Running Clinic, but still want to know how to become a better runner?  Don’t fret.  You can purchase the special clinic info packet, which includes the presentation handouts, for only $9.95.  You’ll find tons of information on the secrets of distance running, lactate threshold, periodization, hydration, and more!  Just e-mail jason@runcoachjason.com to obtain your personal copy.

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New Year’s Gifts
Know someone who wants to lose weight or become a faster runner in 2007?  Why don’t you give him or her (or yourself) a personal trainer or coach for the new year?  I offer a number of online and in-person personal training and coaching services, based on individual needs and goals.  I will customize an exercise or training program specifically for you.  To purchase personal training or coaching sessions or my popular customized training programs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels, go to http://www.runcoachjason.com/coaching.

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Carbohydrates and Immune Function

The many proponents of diets like Atkins and South Beach would have the public believe that carbohydrates are some kind of poison.  Don’t listen to them.  Not only do you need carbs for energy to train, they can also bolster your immune system.  While moderate amounts of exercise enhance your immune system, hard, prolonged training can actually depress your immune system, leaving you susceptible to colds and other upper respiratory tract infections.  Eating a high-carbohydrate diet as well as ingesting carbs during exercise appears to limit the degree of exercise-induced immune depression by attenuating the rise in stress hormones following exercise.  For example, a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that triathletes who ingested carbohydrates while running and cycling had lower plasma cortisol and growth hormone levels, a diminished disturbance in blood immune cell counts, and higher blood glucose and insulin levels compared to when they ingested a placebo, suggesting a decreased physiological stress.  

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Pick Up the Pace to Burn More Calories

While the intensity of your cardio workout does not affect how many calories you burn during a run or bike ride of a specific distance, it does affect how many calories you burn afterward.  A number of studies have shown that the more intense the exercise, the more and longer your post-workout metabolic rate is elevated and the more calories you burn.  In a study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, triathletes who cycled at 75% of their maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2max) for 20 minutes burned more calories after their workout compared to after cycling at 50% VO2max for 30 or 60 minutes.  Another study published in Journal of the American College of Nutrition compared metabolic rates following two equal calorie-burning workouts: a short-duration, high-intensity workout (51 minutes at 75% VO2max) and a long-duration, low-intensity workout (78 minutes at 50% VO2max).  The researchers found that the high-intensity workout resulted in a higher post-workout metabolic rate than the low-intensity workout.  So, if you are pressed for time and have to cut your cardio workout short but still want to maximize your calorie burn, do the shorter workout at a higher intensity.  A great way to exercise at a higher intensity is to do interval training.  Not only does interval training allow you to improve your cardiovascular fitness, it’s also more effective than continuous exercise for increasing your post-workout metabolic rate.  For a great calorie-burning workout, try one of the following interval workouts each week, either on a treadmill or a bike:  (1) 4 to 6 x 2 minutes at near maximum heart rate with 2 minutes recovery; (2) 8 to 12 x 30 seconds fast with 1 minute recovery; or (3) 4 x 4 minutes at near maximum heart rate with 3 minutes recovery.

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In Press...

Training Characteristics of U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifiers, my research article documenting how the best marathoners in the U.S train, with comparisons made between men and women and elite and national-class runners, appears in the Winter, 2007 issue of Track Coach, the official technical publication of USA Track & Field.

 

Personal Training and Cardio, my article that questions the traditional, strength training approach of personal training, appears in the January, 2007 issue of Fitness Management.

 

The Resting Metabolic Rate Debate, my article that discusses whether adding muscle by weight training increases resting metabolic rate and facilitates weight loss, appears in the January, 2007 issue of Fitness Management.

 

On Science and Running, my essay on how my unlikely status as a scientist has shaped my identity as a coach, appears in the January, 2007 issue of Marathon & Beyond.

 

The Top 3 Marathon Workouts, my article that describes the three most important workouts to prepare for a marathon, appears in the January, 2007 issue of Marathon & Beyond.

 

Fab Abs, Part 1 of my Better Body series that describes how to get the abs you’ve always dreamed of, along with a two-part abdominal training program, appears in the January, 2007 issue of Ultra-Fit magazine.

 

“I Can’t Catch My Breath”: Lungs and Running Performance, my article that defuses the myth that the lungs limit running ability, appears in the Winter, 2006/2007 issue of Duke City Fit.

 

My Fitness News contributions on exercise and bone density, muscle fibers, fat-burning zone, and how fat burns in a carbohydrate flame appear in the January, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine.      

 

Get a Grip, my research-based article that discusses changes in body position and grip that changes the muscular emphasis of a variety of exercises, appears in the February, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine, on newsstands in January.

 

My Fitness News contributions on weight machines and free weights, menstrual cycle and strength, hill running, and exercise and blood pressure appear in the February, 2007 issue of Oxygen magazine, on newsstands in January. 

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New Year’s Message

I sit writing this month’s newsletter on a San Diego beach at sunset.  People run by.  Two old, scruffy faced men scan for gold in the sand with their Geiger counters.  As I watch these people, and the dozens of others down the shoreline, I realize that they are all searching for something.  But most, like the gold diggers, will never find what they’re looking for.  Lately, I’ve felt prevented from going after what I want while trying to complete my seemingly interminable Ph.D.  So I came to San Diego for the holidays to run away.  Literally.  There’s something about palm trees, warm weather, and beautiful California women that quells even the greatest frustration and stress.  Although many of us question whether we’re doing the right thing or following the right path, being here convinces me I’m on the path I’m supposed to be.  The Ph.D. is not what’s preventing me from going after what I want.  Funny how it takes some time off that path to realize that.  Dr. George Sheehan once said, “I run so I do not lose the me I was yesterday and the me I might become tomorrow.”  May 2007 bring you memorable runs, memorable sunsets, the right path, and the chance to become the runner and the person you want to be.  Happy New Year! 

Coach Jason 

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©2007 Jason Karp.  All rights reserved.