The latest issue of Runner’s World featured an article describing a new running program based on research done at the Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST). http://www.furman.edu/first/fmtp.htm

The program or programs, since they outline prgrams for distances from 5K to full marathon, are based on 3 days of running per week, and crosstraining on the off days.  Basically their are 3 key runs per weekon non-consecutive days.

KEY RUN #1- Interval training.  The focus of this workout is on short, fast bouts of running, interspersed with a short rest interval. The total distance is usually about 5 miles. 

KEY RUN #2- Tempo Training.  This workout focusses on being able to hold a fast, or moderate pace for a medium distance.  It is very similar to lactate threshold training.  the total distance here is anywhere from 5 miles to 10 miles depending on the race distance.

 KEY RUN #3- Long Slow Distance.  Here is where you work on the mental endurance needed for your race.

 Being a runner myself as you know, I have tried these programs and love them.  I truly feel like my running has greatly improved by following the 3 day program. 

When I started training for my first marathon in 2001, I was running 6 days perweek and logging an insane amount of miles.  I even ran the full distance 4 weeks before the race, and believe me I will never do that again. 

Anyways, my point here is that I was overtraining in a bad way.  The FIRST programs allow your body to recover between runs.  I do think the distance runs on day three are longer than they need to be, but I just back the distance down a bit and the whole thing works great.  The programs may be a little aggrssive for beginning runners, but I highly recommend their site and programs to any seasoned runner. 

Look them up and tell me what you think.  

Which is better cardio long duration or short, high intensity intervals?

 a recent study published in “Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise”(1) found that shorter, high intensity aerobic intervals raised the VO2 Max of subjects more so than other subjects who followed longer protocols.

The study used 4 groups each with a different running protocol.  They measured VO2max before and after 8 weeks.  Both groups that used short, high intensity running significantly improved their VO2 max.

VO2 Max is a measure used by exercise scientists to determine a person’s aerobic capacity.

So what?  You may ask.  this is huge because this argues against the long held mentality that in order to improve aerobic endurance you have to train at a mild intensity, for a long period of time.  This study shows that training at higher aerobic intensity wil provide more aerbic benefit. 

When I started training for my first marathon, I used a training program given to me by a friend.  It gradually increased my running volume every week, and at one point I was running 5 days a week for 6-8 miles at a time at a steady speed.

 I have already seen the benefits of interval training and now I only run 3 days per week.  I still have a Long Slow Distance run on the weekend, but it’s more to prepare my mind mentally for running a long time rather than making me any faster.

Aerobic High-Intensity Intervals Improve V[spacing dot above]O2max More Than Moderate Training.

I have referenced the article below if you want to read it.

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 39(4):665-671, April 2007.

HELGERUD, JAN 1,2; HOYDAL, KJETILL 1; WANG, EIVIND 1; KARLSEN, TRINE 1; BERG, PALR 1; BJERKAAS, MARIUS 1; SIMONSEN, THOMAS 1; HELGESEN, CECILIES 1; HJORTH, NINAL 1; BACH, RAGNHILD 1; HOFF, JAN 1,3

I cannot recall how many someone has asked me this question. 

It all depends on what your goal is. 

If you are looking to improve your cardiovascular endurance, do that first.  If you want to increase your muscle strength, lift weights first.

Follow the principle of specificity.  When your body is fueled up and fresh, do the activity you want to improve first, that way you can devote the highest level of effort and concentration.

If you are more concerned with weight loss the answer is a bit more complicated.  Weight lifting requires a more concentration and effort than cardio.  It is best to do the activity that is more complex at the beginning. 

If you do cardio first, you won’t be able to put forth the calorie burning effort to get the most from weight training.

If fat loss is your goal, then the same order applies to you too.  The body burns carbohydrate more quickly and easily than fat and more carbohydrate is used to fuel intense activities like weight training. 

It also takes time for you to start burning more calories from fat which is why cardio is so important to any fat loss program.  By weight training first you will use up a lot of your carbohydrate stores and you body will need to rely more on fat to give you calories to use during your cardio.

If your weight lifting program is not very intense then the order is not as important as the amount of effort you put into both cardio and lifting. 

So which is better for fat loss, long duration, low intensity cardio, or high intensity interval training?  We’ll talk about that next time.

    If you have been watch the news you may have caught this headline about A radical new fitness program suggested by Jim Karas in his new book, “The Cardio-Free Diet.”

I just have to ask, “is this guy for real?”  So I looked up his website to find out where he is coming from by making such an outlandish statement. 

Turns out that he is an Ivy Leaguer, graduating from the Wharton School of BUSINESS.  That’s right, BUSINESS.  No exercise physiology degree or health related degree at all.  

He is taughted as a celebrity fitness expert and trainer, but I failed to find a personal training certification of any kind, even a bad one

This guy has some guts to go head to head with established experts in the field of health and exercise science and make comments like, “It(cardio) kills your weight loss plan, your joints, your internal organs and immune system, your body composition, your time and, most of all, your motivation to stay committed to losing weight.”

What is he basing this knowledge on?  killing joints?  What joints?  killing internal organs?  Which internal organs?  I could not find the answers to these questions or a solid explanation of why cardio is bad for weight loss other than that it increases your appetite. 

Honestly, hunger and appetite are driven by a lot of factors.  Things like how long and what you ate before beginning the workout.  how long you are spending doing the workout, stress level, medication, etc. and etc.  to make a blanket statement that cardio increses your appetite is ridiculous.

I integrate both cardio and strength training into my workout regimen but I find no difference in appetite between the two.  I always make sure to eat adequately before and after.

I do agree with him in that strength training needs to be a part of any sound weight loss program.  You may refer back to my earlier posts about how “A Little Muscle Goes a Long Way (parts 1 and 2).

However, I cannot give very much credit to some guy with a business degree and no fitness certification who tells me that cardio is a waste of my time with no real scientific evidence to back up his view. 

I will be honest and say that even though I don’t know everything, I do know that cardiovascular exercise is good for you, good for your heart, and almost every organ in your body.  And it will help you lose weight!  The ultimate key to any kind of weight loss is to reduce caloric intake and increase caloric expenditure regardless of the type of activity.

   In another post I will explain the weight loss benefits of cardio vs strength training  so be on the lookout.

One of my clients just recently brought in an article she found on the internet explaining that cardio is more important than weight lifting for weight loss. 

Not True. Both are important

Muscles burn calories and the more active your muscles are, the more calories you are going burn.

Both cardio training and weight lifting both use muscle, but in different ways and with different types of muscle, better yet muscle fibers.

Real quick background.  There are 3 basic muscle fiber types in your body: slow twitch, fast twitch type A and fast twitch type B.

Some muscles can contain a majority of either one of these three, but the type of activity you are doing will dictate which type of fiber is used.

Cardio uses mainly slow twitch muscle fibers which are better at using oxygen to metabolize fat and carbohydrate (glucose) for energy.  The limitation with these fibers is that they are not good at generating a lot of muscle force.  But they are really good at contracting continuously.  So any aerobic activity like running, cycling, swimming, etc. will use mainly slow twitch fibers. 

So far you would think that this would be exactly what you want for weight loss and it will help, but we have to look at the big picture.    In my next post we will take a look at energy balance and how muscle can help tip the scale.