Category Archives: Lifestyle

Is Triathlon Bad For Your Heart?

From Baby Boomers to Generations X and Y, both young and old alike are increasingly fueling their passion for physical activity with impressive feats of performance such as triathlons, marathons, Ironman, Crossfit, Spartan races, obstacle courses, adventure races and other challenging events.

Unfortunately, to prepare for these type of events, many people beat up their body with tough training for months on end. As a result, personal trainers, sports medicine physicians and exercise physiologists are increasingly reporting issues among athletes and extreme exercisers like brain fog, damaged digestive systems, hormone depletion, heart problems, and prematurely worn joints. These issues not only sideline athletes, but can produce chronic disease, aging and other serious medical issues from heavy amounts of training.

Author and Rock Star Triathlete Academy sports nutritionist Ben Greenfield has tackled this issue is his new book “Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life“.

“What if you could get an incredible physique, do an Ironman triathlon, compete in Crossfit, run a marathon, become a powerlifter, do extreme exercise, play any sport you want and achieve amazing feats of physical performance without destroying your body?” Greenfield says, “Contrary to popular belief, it actually is possible to be healthy on the outside and healthy on the inside. You just need to know how to train, recover and eat properly – and how to do things like test your body or recognize warning signs.”

The book, available now for pre-order at the website BeyondTrainingBook.com, addresses issues such as ways to quickly and safely build endurance, time-saving tactics for maximizing workout efficiency, ways to ideally recover from workouts, injuries and overtraining, the most important blood and saliva biomarkers and how to test them, systems to enhance sleep and decrease stress, nutrient dense meal plans and recipes, and even time-efficiency tips for balancing training, work, travel, and family.

“I wrote this book for everyone from the professional athlete to the hard-charging, time-crunched CEO, to the soccer mom who wants to run her first 5K,” says Greenfield, “And it addresses everything that most of training manuals neglect – the fact that you need to balance performance with something even more important: your health and longevity.”

Whether you’re a triathlete, marathoner, CrossFitter, swimmer, cyclist, ultrarunner, recreational athlete or extreme exercise enthusiast, Greenfield describes this book as “the last system for training, health, and life you will ever need.”

The book is now available for pre-order in both electronic and hard copy form at all major booksellers, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To learn more, and to enter into bonuses, raffles and prize giveaways for pre-ordering, visit BeyondTrainingBook.com.

Knee Arthritis, the Aging (Over 30) Triathlete by John Post, MD

Sister Madonna Buder sets the example for us all

“You’re not shy, you get around, you wanna fly, don’t want your feet on the ground. You stay up, you won’t come down…” Foreigner

Of the over 100 Rock Star pieces that I’ve done, the one that has generated the most interest was about arthritis of the knee and a procedure known as microfracture. This is an arthroscopic operation where an attempt is made to allow the damaged cartilage to heal itself. It’s usually pretty successful but the results may not last forever. In cases where microfracture is considered inappropriate, Orthopedic Surgeons have other arthroscopic tricks that can hopefully extend the life of the knee. One of these involves transplantation of bone and cartilage plugs from one part of the knee to another. Continue reading →

Alcohol, Drugs & Athletic Performance

The American Athletic Institute (AAI) is a sport consulting firm that does research on Olympic-caliber athletes. They have worked with organizations ranging from youth hockey teams to the Boston Celtics to the U.S. Navy Seals. Their main focus is determining how drugs and alcohol affect athletic performance.

Dennis O’Sullivan spent 6 years playing in the NFL, mostly with the New York Jets. He also worked as the New York City Director of Government Affairs for the NY State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

How does alcohol affect athletic performance?

Alcohol will affect power, speed, endurance, hand-eye coordination, reaction time, heart and lung function, reflexes, judgment, the ability to focus and many other areas important to athletic performance. There are many misconceptions about alcohol. One is that alcohol only affects the athlete when he or she is drunk or hung-over. However, alcohol’s affects last much longer after the physical side effects have subsided. Studies have shown that for up to 96 hours after drinking, hormones are diminished. This is important because hormones affect many things such as muscle growth and repair, mental toughness, pain tolerance, fatigue perception, training effect and recovery. Diminished hormones cause the athlete to feel tired and feel more pain. The athlete will not build power, speed and endurance as effectively as he or she should. In short, the athlete loses both the mental and physical edge. One prominent study conducted by the American Athletic Institute is their analysis of enzymes. The AAI took a winter sport athlete and conducted a muscle biopsy. They then analyzed the athlete’s slow, intermediate and fast twitch muscle fibers. This provided 12 base numbers for analysis. The athlete then endured a two week training session that focused on power and speed training. After 2 weeks, the AAI conducted a second muscle biopsy on the athlete. 10 of the 12 enzymes increased with some doubling and even tripling. The training was designed to make the athlete bigger and stronger. This is exactly what happened. The athlete began a second 2 week training session immediately after. The AAI attempted to keep the same parameters with the same eating and sleeping habits and patterns. The major exception was the athlete drank alcohol once a week, on the 4th and 10th days. 4 days after the last drink, they took another muscle biopsy. This time 9 out of 12 enzymes had decreased with some going back to where they were one month prior. This essentially means that drinking ONCE can negate 2 weeks worth of quality training. The injury rate for drinkers is around 54% and the appetite for non-drinkers is about 23%. Someone that drinks is twice as likely to get hurt as someone that does not drink. Dennis can personally attest to this.

How can you measure how alcohol negatively affects performance?

The AAI tracked 60 Olympic-caliber athletes (runners, high jumpers and swimmers). These particular sports were picked because there are no ball or object variables involved; the pool, track and jumping pits do not change. The AAI tracked all performances and drinking occasions of these athletes. They found that performances the day after they had been drinking the athletes performances’ declined by approximately 11.4%. Keep in mind these were Olympic-caliber athletes. The losses of a college or high school athlete might be substantially greater than 11.4%.

How does marijuana affect athletic performance?

Marijuana Marijuana affects athletic performance in many ways. THC is the chemical component in marijuana. It’s what gets the smoker high and causes the damage. Marijuana today is about 10 times more dangerous than it was 35 years ago because of THC levels. In the 1970s, THC levels were between 1 – 4 % and today these levels are between 24 – 40 %. THC collects in the brain and affects functions such as vision, memory, movement, coordination, reflexes and judgment. Marijuana and, specifically, THC can stay in your system for up to 60 days.

Does alcohol affect females differently than males?

Yes… and the difference is quite dramatic. Many factors affect how an individual reacts and/or processes alcohol. These include: height, weight, genetics, body fat composition and gender. Alcohol passes through the digestive tract and is dispersed in the water in the body. The more water available, the more diluted the alcohol. Men, in general, weigh more than women. Women, in general, have less water and more fat in their bodies than men. Therefore, a woman’s brain and other organs are exposed to more alcohol and the resultant toxic byproducts. Women also have smaller quantities of the protective enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase that breaks down alcohol in the stomach. The result is women absorb about 30% more alcohol into their bloodstreams than men do.

By USA Hockey http://www.usahockey.com/

Studies Display the Effectiveness Of Ice Baths

Long a practice of elites, post-run ice baths have come under a bit of–mixed metaphor alert!–fire lately, on two grounds: that regularly taking ice baths blunts some of the desired effects of training, and that there’s little evidence to support proponents’ claims that they speed recovery.

Continue reading →

Drinking Alcohol The Straight Up Facts

Drinking alcohol is part of almost any adult celebration. The holiday season is filled with parties featuring a variety of flavored drinks, beer and football seems to be as tightly connected as shoes and shoelaces, and most other adult celebrations that come to mind include some amount of drinking. Though not everyone partakes in these adult beverages, two-thirds of Americans drink alcohol, and for those who drink, they average four drinks per week. Not surprisingly, beer is the most common alcoholic beverage, slightly ahead of wine. Continue reading →

Ibuprofen. Not For Daily Use! by John Post, MD

“I’d take any risk to tie back the hands of time.”

Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx

“Prophylactic” or daily use of Ibuprofen by triathletes is not without risk.

Why am I the last one to find out about things? Why didn’t I know that in some circles upwards of half of the endurance athletic community takes ibuprofen nearly every day? I did a podcast recently where this was one of the items we discussed as some triathletes, known in marketing circles as early adopters, seek to diminish post exercise muscle soreness with this drug. A review of the literature will not consistently support the position that exercise induced muscle soreness is indeed reduced with NSAID therapy (nor that it’s desirable.) Continue reading →

Arthritis, Part Three by John Post, MD

Supper time at the old triathletes home

Making it to Kona (written on the Big Island)

“And another one’s gone, and another one’s gone, and another one bites the dust, heh heh.” You know who sang these words. But, earlier in his career, singer Farrokh Bulsara (you now know him as Freddie Mercury) was going nowhere in a band called Sour Milk Sea. He took a look at his past, present and unpromising future, and made the changes he felt were required to reach the top. I guess the question is…are you willing to make the sacrifices Freddie made to get here? But first, answer these three questions: Continue reading →

Knee Arthritis Part Two, Pain by John Post, MD

Bob Scott

” ‘Bill I believe this is killing me!’ as the smile ran away from his face.” Billy Joel

This is the second in a series of three pieces on arthritis. We hear so much about arthritis, “degenerative change” but it’s causes are not always well understood. Those who have it know one thing – it hurts!

Although there are approximately 100 different varieties of arthritis, many accompanying other disease processes you’ve heard of like Lupus or Lyme Disease, Osteoarthritis is by far the most common. We think of it as an old persons problem (old being a relative term in triathlon – just ask Bob Scott (above), Kona course record holder with a 12:59 when he was 70!) Continue reading →

Anything is Possible, Kona 2012 by John Post, MD

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Runnin’ Down a Dream

The finish line in Kona about 12 hours after race start.

“ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE” This is one of the catch phrases of Ironman, one you hear frequently in Hawaii. You both hear it as well as see it. Some even live it.

There are so many heart warming stories that come out of this race each year. A good number of the first timers do not meet their expectations and on the morning after the race, honest evaluations of the heat and conditions seep into the conversations for the first time. “Mother Nature always bats last,” or some such phrase might be overheard. In spite of this, the athletes share this common bond with the island as they lean back, close their eyes and recall particular portions of their day…both bad and good. And then they smile. That wry smile that comes only with experience. Continue reading →

Two Ironman Stories by John Post, MD

I just returned from Kona on Monday and was thinking about this piece which I previously wrote. Since I stopped competing, I’ve worked for David Huerta and the Transition Team for the last several years transforming the Kailua-Kona pier into a transition area. It’s a good bit of work, but by noon on Friday, when the first athlete show up to rack his/her bike, the pier has come alive and it gives you goose bumps. Here then are Two Ironman Stories.

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Sometimes, in surprising ways, the human spirit of kindness saves the day. A triathlete I know, despite his best efforts, is tad forgetful at times. I worked the men’s changing tent in Hawaii in 2010 when this gent came in flying after a pretty good swim. As is custom, he dumped his bike transition bag on the floor, quickly changed in to his biking gear, and was out the door. In a matter of seconds he was back having forgotten an item. Continue reading →