MOVE: Feb 2012

INTERVIEW with Phil Maffetone


As part of the new ELEMENTS Newsletter format, we knew it was important to bring readers & clients the latest research, most relevant strategies, and pertinent information on the health and prevention scene. In the February (National Heart Month) issue, we thought it only appropriate to feature information on cardiovascular (heart-system) fitness, featuring a Q&A with Dr. Phil Maffetone, best-selling author and one of the most highly sought-after endurance coaches in the world. Below, Pro-Activity's MOVEmentum 360 (health & fitness services) lead and endurance-athlete Eric Eisenhart (EE) catches up with Dr. Phil Maffetone (PM), on the topic of aerobic fitness as optimal aerobic fitness has been linked to overall health and longevity. Read Dr. Maffetone's impressive bio-information at the end of this article.

EE: What is your background, and how did you get into analyzing / consulting on the most effective ways to improve aerobic and cardiovascular fitness?

PM: As a high school and college athlete training and competing in many sports, especially track and field, I was interested in how one could improve performance not only through particular workouts, but also with good eating habits and other methods. My college career began strictly for sports, but it soon became evident that studying human physiology would play an important role in my quest for information. Separately, I was introduced to the concept of holistic health in my study of Eastern philosophy, and this confirmed my understanding that improving body and brain function involved all areas of both the body and the environment in which we live.

EE: In many publications and teachings, the heart rate reserve method encourages individuals seeking improved aerobic fitness to exercise at a heart rate of approximately 50-65% of their predicted maximal heart rate using a formula of 220-age as maximum heart rate. Alternatively your research suggests training at a heart rate of 180 minus age to get the most aerobic capacity improvement. How does your method differ and why is it better?

PM: After using the 220 formula with athletes early in my career, it was quickly evident that it was too general. It was also not well researched. In particular, this formula was not specific for each individual’s particular needs. When working with athletes of all levels and ages, I found it best to determine each person’s specific requirements, including the optimal training heart rate. Eventually, I was able to find a formula that one could apply to his or her particular body. It would become known as the 180 formula, and is more than just 180 minus age—it also involves modifying that number based on ones level of health and fitness. When comparing it to the results of physiological evaluations, such as a VO2max test, respiratory quotient and others, the 180 formula is remarkably accurate. The 180 formula usually results in a person working out at a lower heart rate when training the aerobic system. This increases fat-burning and building endurance, and especially increases aerobic speed—the ability of one to train faster at the same heart rate over weeks and months.

EE: What role does genetics play in aerobic capacity?

PM: Our genes are the blueprint for all of our health and fitness. However, our environment significantly influences our genes. In the case of aerobic development, training, diet, nutrition, stress and other factors that we control to a great extent, directly affect how well we develop our endurance potential. Aerobic capacity is more under our control than other activities, such as sprint abilities. As the old saying goes, sprinters are born and endurance athletes are made.

EE: What recommendation would you make to someone just getting into an exercise routine for general health improvement? Where should they focus?

PM: Developing the aerobic system is of prime importance because if affects our health, whereas anaerobic training builds fitness. Both are important, but it’s best to develop health first, then fitness. The most common problem an individual faces, whether he or she is a beginner or a seasoned athlete, is being fit but unhealthy. In this scenario, one develops physical injuries, frequent illness and sometimes more serious problems (we all hear of athletes dying in the course of a marathon or triathlon). For most beginners, the best place to start is by walking—it’s a perfect activity, safe, and the heart rate is easily controlled.

E: Your research suggests that by training at maximum aerobic heart rate (the rate at which one is still relying on the aerobic system primarily for energy as opposed to anerobic energy pathways) you can avoid musculoskeletal injury, and potentially even improve running mechanics. In your opinion, could this be a present day prevention strategy for overuse injuries in runners? How does aerobic training relate to overuse injury patters so commonly associated with running?

PM: This is clearly an answer to the common problem of running injuries. The aerobic muscle fibers are the ones that support our joints, ligaments, bones and large structures, such as the spine, pelvis, and feet. By improving the aerobic system, these muscle fibers function better and maintain mechanical balance. With better balance, both posture and gait improves. Anaerobic muscle fibers don’t accomplish the same thing. They are used for power and speed, something that’s important in sports, and should be developed after the aerobic system is working well.

EE: How long should one focus exclusively on training at maximal aerobic heart rate when preparing for an upcoming event?

PM: Developing the aerobic system is referred to as building a base. It takes a few months to fully develop it, so a three to six month period of exclusive aerobic training is typically what most people need. Some require more. It’s easy to know that you’re building the aerobic system because as the weeks pass, the pace should be faster at the same heart rate.

EE: When would you expect to see performance gains (faster paces in runners) stop increasing when exclusively training aerobically?

PM: This depends on the individual. Some runners keep getting faster as the months pass, others reach a plateau after a few months. Eventually, for a competitive athlete, the aerobic system does reach a peak and increases in speed no longer occur. This is the ideal time to begin anaerobic training and or racing. It’s important to note that endurance events rely mostly on the aerobic system for energy. For example, a 10K race relies on the aerobic system for 95% of the total race energy (in a marathon and triathlon it’s typically 99%).

EE: How long does it typically take for someone to see results in performance testing, say the MAF test?

PM: This is also very individual. If ones diet, stress levels and other lifestyle factors are very healthy, improvements in speed at the same heart rate (the MAF test), can occur after the first week or two. In others it may take a month to measure improvement. What’s important is that if there is no improvement after a month or two, it means some aspect of health is interfering with the proper aerobic system development. It could also mean the 180 formula calculation was not correct and the individual decided on too high a training heart rate.

EE: If the aerobic system, and your methods cause the body to predominately burn fat while exercising, should nutritional intake be altered, and if yes, how so?

PM: It’s relative—building the aerobic system increases fat burning. We always burn both fat and sugar, but those with better aerobic function burn more body fat. This is our source of energy, and with more fat-burning comes more energy to run faster at the same heart rate—and therefore race faster.

This process of fat burning is significantly influenced by aerobic muscle fibers, and also the diet. Consuming healthy fats is important, including a balance of saturated, unsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Foods such as extra virgin olive oil, raw almonds and cashews, avocados, and even the fats in meats and fish are important. Organic sources are always best.

Just as important is to avoid processed carbohydrates, which can increase the production of the hormone insulin. This includes sugar, white flour and foods containing them. Eating these foods can quickly and immediately reduce fat burning.

Go to any 10K race or marathon today and one thing that’s evident is too many people have too much body fat, despite training many miles. This is often the result of poor aerobic function, often due to the intake of too much refined carbohydrate.

EE: If participating in exercises other than running (cycling, swimming, weight lifting) and still maintaining no more than a calculated maximum aerobic heart rate while exercising using the Maffetone 180 Formula, would an individual receive the same fat burning and increased aerobic capacity benefits?

PM: Yes. One could develop the aerobic system with any form of training at the proper heart rate. The only exception is weight lifting, which is always anaerobic (using heart rate in this case is an inaccurate assessment of aerobic/ anaerobic function). A runner, for example, can build more aerobic function through cross training. By adding some biking, swimming, hiking or other activity, increased fat burning and aerobic development will ultimately help running performance. (This is one of the foundations of proper triathlon training.)

Dr. Maffetone made his way onto endurance sports scene in the late 1970's, having spent his collegiate years studying human physiology while a member of the track & field team. His methods, although a bit of a departure from the "conventional wisdom" of the time made their way to some of the most the most accomplished athletes in all of endurance sports, including 9-time NYC marathon champion Grete Waitz, and 6-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen among others thrusting him into the limelight garnering him Triathlete Magazine's Coach of the Year accolade in 1995. Since those years, he has continued pursue his passions (health, music, and more) even working closely with recent best-selling author Christopher McDougall, the man who's book "Born To Run" (which also goes against some "conventional wisdom") is responsible for making many in the running industry question their training methods and philosophies. His recent work and publications including "The Big Book of Health & Fitness" feature information on health, nutrition, and overall well-being. Read more of Dr. Maffetone's information and research at www.philfaffetone.com or check out his publications by clicking HERE

Interested in learning more about heart health? Consider attending a "Heart-Healthy Cooking Demo" with us on Thursday February 23rd. Information and RSVP HERE

FUEL: Feb 2012

Ask the expert:
A question posed this month by Jeff S. from PSEG answered by Dr. Amy E. Weller, PT, DPT a member of Pro-Activity's clinical and prevention teams

Fine Print: We hope this information gives you additional resource with which to make the best decisions as you move along your health journey. This information is for the purpose of general health only and is not meant to diagnose or treat illness or injury.

Q: What is your view, if any, on the supplement CoQ10?

A: Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is an antioxidant that supports heart health. Although all of our cells need CoQ10 to create energy, the research on its heart healthy benefits is promising. Due to its antioxidant properties, it is often used for LDL cholesterol issues as it helps prevent the oxidation of LDL, which helps maintain the integrity of the blood vessels.

CoQ10 levels reach their peak in the human body around age 20 and begin to fall there after. Certain medications can also reduce the body's natural production of CoQ10. Studies show that 60% of people in their 50’s and 60’s are deficient.

CoQ10 supplements may be helpful. However, since they are generally poorly absorbed, the supplement you choose should be highly "bioavailable" - meaning in a form most easily absorbed. It is a fat soluble substance, requiring the presence of fat to be absorbed. Taking it with a meal will likely increase absorption. Vitamins that are fat soluble are stored in the liver and other tissues and as a result eliminated more slowly than water soluble vitamins that need regular replenishing. Dosing should be discussed with a pharmacist or your primary health care provider especially if you are taking other medications.

As for bioavailability, soft gels in general tend to be more absorbable. Some research indicates that taking CoQ10 at night may allow for more efficient use within the body.

If you have a question you’d like to run by our team of experts, please send it by clicking "ask our experts" or email us at: prevention@pro-activity.com

RECOVER: Feb 2012

FOUND IN (SOICAL MEDIA) SPACE

The "found in (social media) space" article is a new feature in 2012.  We task a member of the geekdom on the task of paying attention to the social-space and stringing together, in some fashion, some of the themes being bantered-about "out there in space" as they relate to the elements.  Sometimes these will just be lists of interesting posts, sometimes there'll be some original content.....follow along and find out for yourself. 


This month Mike Eisenhart (chief geek?) reports on RECOVER.  You can follow Mike on twitter @mikeeisenhart or subscribe to his weekly blog "A Red-iculous Effort" posted on Sundays.




"Stress is when you wake-up screaming and realize you haven't fallen asleep yet" - Author Unknown

Picture from www.whatisneuroplasticity.com interesting stuff

Hopefully, it's not that bad.....but did you ever stop and think about how much information we're attempting to process everyday?  Literally trillions and trillions of bits of information slamming into our senses every minute of every day as we, equipped with only a few pounds of gray matter, try desperately to interpret, make sense and store it all.  This is no easy task considering (as several sources state) our eyes alone deliver around 11 billion bits of information per second, and that's only roughly one third of the +/- 30 billion per second we're "able" to handle.  


So with that much capacity to absorb (and act on at least in some capacity) information, why do we often feel overwhelmed with the world around us?


This, question, although critical to our health and ability to excel, doesn't come with a simple answer. Truly, the topic of stress and overwhelm is a big one with deep roots.....I recently even found myself blogging about the subject and my blog is typically about endurance training.....so to say it touches most (if not all) aspects of our lives could be an understatement.  


The good news is, there is some solid research on the subject, it's not all bad, we've got more storage capacity than we know how to count, there are techniques that work, there may be a good side, if we can control it we have a better chance at maintaining our weight, friends and co-workers can make it better and that's likely only the beginning.


Learn more with the links and tweets below:


Links & Stories

• Storage Capacity of the Mind? This article from Scientific American (May 2010) suggests an accurate estimate is somewhere around a million GIGAbytes (makes that iPod storage capacity seem a little paltry no?).

• Awareness & Attention: The ability to attend to certain things and dismiss others, to maintain focus in a hectic world just keeps coming up. "Mindfulness techniques" continue to be in the limelight and are even being used to combat Adult ADHD at UCLA in March 2012 and pain in THIS ARTICLE

• Control: Some research says that it's less about having stress than it is about NOT having control over the stressors.  The famous Whitehall Study showed that people in the lowest occupational rank had as much as a 4x greater risk than those subjects in the highest tier.  READ THIS article from Wired Magazine (8/2011) to learn more about this topic and why your mean co-workers might be killing you (sort of sounds like a news tease doesn't it?) - interesting though.

Tweets

• Brainworks Rehab @BrainworksRehab Good Stress vs. Bad #Stress: How Stress can Impair or Improve Performance ow.ly/8UD1P 

• Harvard Research @HarvardResearch RT @HarvardHealth: Stress and overeating: Why people crave comfort food - from the Feb. Harvard Mental Health Letter hvrd.me/zuC1La 

• PsychCentral @PsychCentral News: Co-Worker Support Reduces Workplace Stress, Ups Productivity psych.ly/zDGUUN 

• NYTimes Dining&Wine @nytdining Mindful Eating as Food for Thought nyti.ms/xPyumU

Not a fan of Pro-Activity on Facebook or following on Twitter?  Scan the QR codes below:

 

ENDURE: Feb 2012

THE GEAR MAKES THE WOMAN?

Lindsay reviews the K-Swiss Blade Max Stable


The website tagline is: “This Shoe Will Ruin Your Life”. Hardly what I was thinking, but I do enjoy my runs immensely lately because I’m able to think about anything else but my feet (read the rest of the ad here). Long story short, my feet have turned into be my “Achilles’ Heel” of sorts; long, too flexible and prone to injury (the dreaded "pronator" syndrome)....which of course means I'm still a ways-away from ditching shoes altogether or going "minimalist" without years of slow weaning. Thus, I’ve gone through many, many sneakers over the past 11 years, never fully satisfied with just any one. Different brands, different sizes, different models...there was always at least one or two things that didn't work for me.

Fast forward to September of 2011. Although a little surprised that SELF Magazine would be interested in the opinions of the "running-mom type", I was selected to become a sneaker tester. After a few weeks of back and forth with their contact, I received some running shoes to test. As a bit of a "shoe-enthusiast" it was like Christmas. Unwrapping the box with all the anticipation of a child, my eye was caught by the bright white, green and blue pair of K-Swiss “Blade Max Stable” shoes......

Not really sure about K-Swiss as a running shoe brand (aren't they they tennis shoe company from the 80's & 90's?), at least they looked cool. After talking it over with some of the other Pro-Activity endurance athletes, I came to find out that K-swiss was putting some serious investment into endurance sports and was trying to make inroads within running, similar to those they have already established in triathlon, where they sponsor some of the top athletes, races and gear. Hmm.....maybe not just tennis?


I laced up the following day and decided to go out for a quick run and.....oooh....it was love at first stride.  Could the "blades", which are marketed as a design that improves energy return during push-off, actually be delivering on that promise? I’ve never instantly felt as good in any of the NUMEROUS shoes I've had as I did with the Blade Max Stable, a very welcome change. OK, so it wasn't a foot massage.....but if there is a pavement-pounding equivalent, they were pretty close. My shins felt great, there was plenty of room in the toe box, they were nice and "cushion-y" (a technical term), and I glided all the way from mile one to mile five with nary a blister or issue.



Luck? Who knows.....but, despite following through and testing other shoes, I’m 100% certain this is a brand I’ll stick with as I train and race this year (NYC Marathon - wish me luck). This of course assumes K-swiss doesn’t mess with perfection and change them up too much as shoe manufacturers seem to do all too often.


I’ve put in a bunch of miles from that first test, and I'm happy to report that each has been as nice as the first - so they seem to hold up well over time. So from my perspective, if you've been told that you are a "pronator", perhaps this is an option you might benefit discussing with your coach/trainer/Physical Therapist......

If you're not in need of quite such a stable model, K-Swiss also offers quite a few other models - from traditional trainers to zero-drop to racers. You can check out all their offerings here, but I highly recommend K-Swiss Blade Max Stable sneakers for anyone looking for a great running shoe on a stable platform.

Lindsay

CONNECT: Feb 2012

With a Little Help from My Friends

It's safe to say that most people have a general understanding that regular exercise is a good thing in many ways. It's unfortunately, also safe to say that the societal norm is for folks to NOT exercise regularly. Too often there's a disconnect between what "we know we should do" and what "we actually do". 


There are many reasons why this disconnect exists (like 400 MILLION related search results on google) and there are countless researchers devoting their life's work to finding out why. But as you might expect from the Pro-Activity team - while we believe it's very important to understand "WHY"...it's at least as important to not wait around.....but to take ACTION now, in overcoming the road blocks in our path.  This month, we feature a group of friends (in the video clip) that did just that......in this case, the roadblock was crummy weather and the need to avoid the fitness level drop-off that so often happens during the "hibernation" season. 

To set the stage, this group is probably not all that much different than the groups you might hang with....they wear a lot of very diverse hats throughout their "typical" week. They're Dads, Husbands, Brothers, Providers, Hard Working Professionals, and Entrepreneurs.  But no matter what hat they're wearing at any given moment, there's a common theme that bonds them...they're all super BUSY and they juggle and sprint to keep it all together (sound familiar?)....and, even though it would be super-easy in any busy life to allow their personal health slip to the bottom of the ever growing list of priorities and just do it "some other time"....they have created a scenario where they WANT to get up on a Saturday morning and go through their paces.  They are fortunate enough to have the support of their families and friends, which makes it much easier to pull off, but the bottom line is, they WANT to be there....something that connecting with friends has unrivaled power to do.  It's really very simple, they've found that relying on one another be there, has motivated them to stay consistent and "squeeze it in"; and in so doing, they have been able to turn a hard fitness session, first thing on a Saturday AM into a social and fun experience, not something they SHOULD do.....but something they WANT to do.


The group, which started as few and now has grown each week CONNECTS on Saturday's from 8-9A at our BaseCamp31 facility.  There is no charge for this particular class.....but it is BYOB (that's "bring your own bike" [and trainer] in this case) and we suspect that once outdoor riding season is here, the tradition will continue outdoors.