Tag Archives: running

A new study published in Physiological Genomics reports that a few small variations in a specific gene may make all the difference someone’s in athletic endurance.

A very common misconception is that you will automatically lose weight by undertaking a specific form of exercise. In this case, using the treadmill to walk or run. Based on your question, it is impossible to provide you with a simple yes or no answer. I'll explain why.

Losing weight is a function of the number of calories you take in (through food) and the number of calories you expend (through incidental activity, exercise, metabolism etc.).

The general rule of thumb is that, medical conditions aside, if your CALORIES IN is greater than your CALORIES OUT then you will gain weight. If they are equivalent, your weight will not change. If your CALORIES OUT is greater than your CALORIES IN, you will lose weight. It is important to note that we are not considering fluid weight here (which is highly variable depending on numerous factors) - only fat and muscle weight.

So, by exercising on the treadmill, you will be increasing your CALORIES OUT. A 30 minute run will expend far more calories than a 30 minute walk. Ultimately it comes down to many factors such as your level of fitness, what you enjoy, how much weight you wish to lose, your lifestyle, your other goals, your nutrition and so on.

Alternatively you can consider also reducing your CALORIES IN by adjusting your eating habits accordingly. Replacing calorie rich foods with lower calorie foods can aid in providing a caloric deficit. That said, exercise plays an extremely important role in your health and wellbeing and should always be considered. More information on the benefits of exercise is at:

http://www.aminoz.com.au/lesson-exercise-a-203.html

Quite simply, if you're not losing weight, this would suggest that your caloric intake is similar to your caloric expenditure.

If you consider calories in versus calories out, if calories in is greater (eg. through eating), expect to gain weight. If your calories out is greater (eg. through exercise, metabolic processes etc.), expect to lose weight.

That said, two major aspects of your training would require attention:

Number 1 - your diet. If you decrease the calories in your diet, this will decrease your caloric intake and thus assist in weight loss. Your current intake may be too much. Other tweaks may be in order, such as meal timing, meal frequency, meal sizes etc.

Number 2 - your cardiovascular exercise. If you perform more cardio, you will increase your calories out and also assist in additional weight loss. In addition to this, have you considered high intensity interval training (HIIT) as a form of cardio? Whilst it may not be suitable for the beginner, it is definitely something worth striving for. Some studies have shown fat loss to be 9 times greater than endurance cardio. Check out the following article for more information:

The Fat Burning Zone

Losing weight is a function of both your diet (energy in) and exercise (energy out).  If the amount of energy that you take in is greater than what is expended, then you will gain weight.  Conversely, if you expend more energy than what you consume, you will lose weight.

In order to accelerate the effects of weight loss, you can increase your "energy out" by performing exercise.  Generally speaking, the more energy that you expend, the greater the amount of weight you will lose (assuming diet is constant and energy out is greater than energy in).

Walking requires much less energy than running and will therefore have less of an effect on your energy out.  As a result, running will result in many more calories being burnt.  As a general rule, the greater the intensity of an exercise, the more calories you will burn.

If you have not trained consistently recently, it is important to begin slowly and gradually add to the intensity of your exercise.  This will give your body time to adjust to the physical demands.  There are many risks involved in pushing your body too hard when it has not been trained properly.

Interval training is a more advanced form of exercise and will result in much more significant weight loss.  It is a very intense form of exercise, since you have several recovery sessions in between sprints.  These recoveries allow the intensity of each sprint to be enhanced significantly.  As the intensity increases, the fat burning effect increases dramatically.

You may find an article that I wrote (published in Australian IronMan), entitled "The Fat Burning Zone" of interest.  This article discusses some research that suggests that the more intense the exercise, the more fat will be burnt.

It sounds like you have a case of medial tibial stress syndrome, commonly known as shin splints. This is a frequent problem with runners, especially those new to running or those who have had a long break from the sport.

The cause may be one or more of several things, including tight calf muscles, overpronation (excessive rolling in) of the feet, poorly fitted or old, worn out shoes, or being over-enthusiastic about training and doing too much too soon. Running on hard surfaces or doing a lot of hill work can also contribute to the problem.

If the pain is severe, you need to take a break from training for at least a few days and apply ice to your shins regularly to help reduce inflammation. A visit to a sports physio would probably be a good idea too.

Once your legs have recovered, there are a few things you can do to minimise the chances of shin splints recurring:

• Warm up thoroughly before running - a good 10 minutes of walking, then ease into the run.
• Don't increase distances too quickly or suddenly add a lot of hill work to the training schedule. Gradual build up is the way to go. The usual recommendation is to increase total weekly kms by no more than 10% each week.
• Apply ice to the shins after running.
• Massage.
• See a podiatrist - faulty biomechanics may be contributing to the problem, and orthotics might be required.
• STRETCH....especially the calf muscles, both the Gastrocnemius and soleus. Warm up, stretch gently, then run, then stretch again afterwards. Every time.
• Run on softer surfaces – try to avoid concrete and go for gravel or grass or a proper athletic running track.
• Work on strengthening your shin muscles – ask a trainer or physiotherapist for some appropriate exercises.

If the problem returns, you again need to rest and apply ice regularly. Pushing through will only make things worse.