Runners who don’t train well can have marathon of miseries
Today, as an estimated 20,000 runners begin their mad dash from Hopkinton to Boston, Dr. Malissa Wood, a cardiologist, four-time marathoner, and codirector of the Massachusetts General Hospital Women's Cardiovascular Health Center, will be setting up shop in the corner of the medical tent at the finish line.
As soon as they're finished, about 25 amateur runners will stroll or hobble over to Wood's corner to let her take a sample of their blood. They will also get a noninvasive test to see how well their hearts are working after the stress of running for about four hours. And, as they have done every year since 2003, Wood and her Mass. General colleagues will compare these postrace test results to the prerace exams done two weeks earlier.
The Mass. General findings on Boston marathoners — three published papers to date and two pending — are sobering and lend support to the idea that while moderate exercise is perhaps the most important thing a person can do for health, taking it to extremes, like a marathon, may be dangerous.
Among marathon runners, the biggest cardiac risk seems to arise in people who train the least. People who worked up to a marathon by running at least 45 miles a week for at least three to four months ''were golden. They didn't get into any trouble at all," said Wood. ''If they trained less than 35 miles a week, they were in big trouble."
Translated for the rest of us, this means that for people who are not in peak shape ''sudden, strenuous activity can trigger a heart attack," said Dr. Arthur Siegel, a 20-time marathoner and director of internal medicine at Harvard's McLean Hospital in Belmont.
Roughly 450,000 Americans run in marathons every year. And 325,000 do triathlons, which involves swimming, biking, and running, according to USA Triathlon, the sport's organizing body. Many of these are not well-trained athletes but newcomers who race to raise money for charities. That means, said Siegel, that in many such events, participants ''are getting older and slower. That's where the cardiac risk comes in, especially for middle-aged men with previously silent heart disease."
Moderation is the key, said Dr. Harvey Simon, an avid runner, former marathoner, Mass. General internist, and author of ''The No Sweat Exercise Plan," which advocates very moderate exercise — even as moderate as gardening and housework — instead of extreme exertion like marathoning.
''The greatest hazard of exercise is not doing it," said Simon.
''I used to preach 'No pain, no gain,' but now I say, ''No pain, big gain,' " he said. The whole ''aerobics doctrine" that a person needs a lot of strenuous exercise ''inspired the few but discouraged the many," he said. Even walking at the extremely leisurely pace of half an hour per mile has benefits.
Study after study has shown that moderate, regular exercise can indeed reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, hip fracture, and some kinds of cancer.
But exercising moderately takes patience and persistence. If you have not been exercising regularly, you should work up over several weeks to walking 45 minutes a day at least five days a week, said exercise physiologist Kerry Stewart at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
At first you may have to stop every few minutes and rest, he said. That's fine — just start up again. If you get chest pains or severe shortness of breath, of course, stop and call your doctor. If you have heart disease or have had a heart attack, check with your doctor before starting or substantially increasing your workouts.
You shouldn't underdo exercise, but you shouldn't overdo it, either. Chronic fatigue, trouble sleeping, muscle tiredness, nagging congestion or sore throat, persistent aches and pains, and depression are common signs that you may be working out too hard, said Siegel. To avoid this, try not to increase your exercise duration or intensity by more than 10 percent over any two-week period.
The easiest way to gauge whether you're working hard enough is to use the ''sing/talk test": Work hard enough that you can't sing but can talk.
Experienced athletes ''know how delicate the balance is between training to obtain optimal performance and overtraining to the point where muscle function begins to deteriorate," said Dr. Christopher Cooper, an exercise physiologist at UCLA. But for amateurs, finding that balance point can be hard.
As for marathoners, Wood and her Mass. General colleagues have found that running 26.2 miles can lead to clear signs of cardiac stress. They have found that cardiac troponin, a chemical that shows up in blood tests only when heart muscle is damaged, rises in 60 percent of runners, and in some, it rises so high that ''if you had just looked at these scores, these people would have been admitted to the hospital for heart attacks," Wood said.
They've found that another chemical, BNP, or brain natriuretic peptide, another red flag for cardiac dysfunction, goes up after a marathon in 60 percent of runners. Platelets also become activated and more likely to form the clots that can trigger heart attacks, according to a just-published paper by Siegel and Alexander Kratz, director of the hematology lab at Mass. General. And, as shown on echocardiograms, the heart's ability to relax after each beat remains impaired for at least several weeks in most marathoners.
Bottom line? You don't have to run a marathon to get into good shape. Just put on comfortable shoes, get out, and walk. Moderately. And consistently.
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Running And Its Health Benefits
August 3, 2009
Filed under Running
By: Melgrace Abandula
Running is a coordinated and complex move that includes the whole body. Every person runs differently, each has his or her own pace. Running is not just an excellent exercise or a pleasurable activity. It absolutely carries out magnificent health benefits fitting for anyone. Apart from building muscles, running strengthens bones and is an excellent work out for the body.
Among the exceptional health benefits of running is reducing chances of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a bone disease. It is indicative of bone weakness. As the bone structure weakens, it leads to become hollow or medically called as “porous,” thus the term “porosis” is derived. As this happens, bones become brittle and susceptible to serious damage especially if triggered by a fall. Although for some people, osteoporosis is genetically inherited. But for most persons, the lack of exercise and the whole concept of the aging process are the culprits for such bone issue. Running is the best answer to this, as it keeps the bones in healthy condition, therefore, decreasing any risk of developing osteoporosis.
Besides the bones, muscles too are benefited with running. Running helps build muscles due to the effort exerted on a regular basis. As one runs, the muscles are working on to propel the runner forward. This movement alone is enough to develop muscle tissues to tone and firm bums and legs, and so running is indeed the best way to shed off those extra pounds for it burns calories so well. However, for exceptional results, it is best to have a running plan with a professional trainer to achieve the desired outcome. On the contrary, for the already slim persons who are just starting out their running routine, do no be alarmed if you notice you are gaining some weight. It is not at all because you acquired fats. Be aware that muscles are denser than fats. That is why, if you normally have less fat tissues, the increased muscle tones will expectedly make a heavier you. Thi
s explains your weight gain.
Meanwhile, the cardiovascular system is the important part of human anatomy. It controls heart functions and running proves to offer amazing benefits in the area. Anyone engaging in a running workout is supplying oxygen to his or her muscles. In addition, the heart itself is a muscle and the constant workout brought upon by simple running helps strengthens the heart and naturally reduces any risk of developing heart diseases or heart failure.
In relation to the heart’s benevolent benefits, the arteries are also favored. As one engages in a running workout, the heart pumps harder than usual to provide the body’s accelerated demand for oxygen. In doing so, pressure is increased within the arteries flushing away any fat cholesterol that are may be adhered to the arterial walls. These fatty deposits if not dealt with earlier can obstruct the arteries. Therefore, blood cannot be carried out into the heart and unto other body organs causing a heart attack. Running helps in keeping the arteries healthy and in good working condition.
The first thing, perhaps you notice as you run around is being out of breath. This is chiefly due to the lack of capillaries. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels responsible for supplying blood into the lungs. To increase capillaries within the body, incorporate running into your daily activities. Running will boost up the number of capillaries you have, increasing oxygen supply in the body, as well as ameliorating the respiratory system.
Because of the fact that running bolsters both the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, it will naturally improves your body resistance as well, saving you from frequent attacks of cold and cough viruses. Though it will not provide complete immunity, at least you will suffer less and quick recovery can be expected.
The above-mentioned are just few of the benevolent aftermaths of running. Running definitely is a wide range act. It may be taken as a sport, an exercise, or simply a recreational pastime. But whatever the intention is, it naturally imparts splendid outcome.
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