Transcript Slide 1

The Yellowwood Warbler
The official newsletter of Yellowwood Park A. C.
Go
To
Words from the Chair
2
Club Captain’s Comment
3
Midmar Mile
4
View 2009 time
trial and race
results
E-mail the editor
Chairman’s E-mail
E-mail Kalman
E-mail for Dance
Tickets
In this edition…….
1
Visit our website
February 2010
Running Matters with Megz
5
Time Trials with Kalman
6
Cross Country
7
Dinner Dance
8
Long Runs, The Cornerstone………
9
…….. The Biggest Loser
10
Warm-ups: an Article from Dieter Olms
11
The Last Word….from Barry in England
Words From The Chair
Good day all and i trust everyone is fit and well. We are now into March already (gosh it's going to be another
quick year) and for all our long distance runners this is the serious end of their training with one or two
marathons under their belt it is time to tackle the ultras. A large contingent from Yellowwood park will be flying
the flag at the Two Oceans marathon and I'm sure the owners of Blue Peter are looking forward to a hefty
increase in business on the Saturday night of the race.
Our Agm was held on the Feb month end and coincided with a romantic jog around the 2.5km route for the
valentines run and a big well done to Heather and Megan for an enjoyable evening. The committee welcomes
some new faces with Phil taking on the responsibility as tent captain, Megan and Heather as social and event
planners and Kalman takes over as treasurer. Welcome aboard guys and girls. Stepping down after a solid term
of 5 years as treasurer is Martin and he was thanked for his hard work and commitment over the years. I am
sure he will be on hand to help Kalman should the need arise. Also stepping down due to heavy working hours
are Dale and Angela but they have offered their services whenever they are available. Mike Sutton stays on
as club captain (doing such an amazing job), Sandra Conway as secretary, Garth Hancock as member, Kalman
will also do time trial, Fred (who else) as Race guru, uncle Paul our faithful time keeper and yours truly as
chairman. My role as chairman will be continue till the comrades dance on the 5th June ( mainly due to time
constraints) and then i will play more of an advisory role.
Speaking of the Comrades dance for those who could not attend the AGM we plan to make an amazing
evening ,something really special and it will incorporate the handing over of the bike/wheelchair to Kristi. The
date is set for the 5th June so please put this in your diary and invite family and friends to a night they will not
forget. Tickets go on sale shortly. Our aim is to have at least 200 people at the function so we do need your
support. We will be sending out more info on the event at regular intervals so watch this space.
I am sure Mike will cover upcoming runs etc but we plan to put on a long run (50 to 60km) for those not doing
oceans on the 11th April. Seconding vehicles will be available and we will run from the start of
Comrades through to Hillcrest. We do however need to know numbers for catering purposes-so let us know.
With a busy period coming up i wish you all injury free training and a safe journey if you are traveling over the
holiday period in April.
Take care
See you on the road
Stephen
0829416154
Club Captain’s Comment
Well what a sight it was at The Postnet seeing most of our active members running the race and the results weren’t half bad either! Thanks and congrats to all that got up at sparrows to
run what is arguably the best race in the province. We were not short on outstanding
performances either, and on top of great PB’s from Mike Smith, Lloyd Shabalala and Willem
Maloney, all our Comrades hopefuls qualified comfortably. Stellar performances from Rob,
Jenny and Glenn saw them annex category prizes and KZNA Championship medals (see results
below). Awesome stuff you three!
I urge you all to visit the club website - Kalman is doing a great job on keeping it updated and
full of interesting items. Once you’ve had a look you will definitely add it to your list of
favourites. I will only be publishing significant race results in the newsletter, so if you want to
see the rest, best you click on the link on the front page of the newsletter. We will be printing
copies to display at the Lambert Lounge for those of you without web access. There’s also
enough time trial info to keep you busy for hours.
Two Oceans entries look great again (click) and we
would’ve had a few more runners had the half
marathon entry limit not been reached prematurely
– bad luck to those who missed out! Shane Walker
will be in town for the race so we can look forward to
some fun Aussie chirps (and abuse!).
I’ve included a message from Kristi addressed to all
Comrades runners, but it goes out to everyone in the
YWP family as well.
Happy Running
Mike
“Yellowwood Park Athletic Club – Making Running A Team Sport”
To the comrades runners of YWPAC: All the best for your run! Your courage and determination truly inspires
and encourages me to push harder and to demand success in myself as you clearly demand in yourselves!
Progress: Shew, where to begin... Let me first say that although I know I would have made progress in my
recovery this year, I don't believe I would have made this much progress, so quickly, had I not met the YWPAC
FAMILY. Your support and encouragement showed me that I am capable of more more more!!! And thanks to
you guys and the good Lord, it's been proven!
When I got back to physio in January I was still walking in the bars. Two weeks into therapy, Shirley (my
AMAZING physio) asked me to decide when I'd be ready to start walking with the frame as it was time. I was to
think about it over the weekend and give her a date the following Monday. As tough as it was, I made my
decision there and then. The 1 Feb would be "D DAY". Shirl seemed impressed as she knows how difficult that
was going to be for me.
Allow me to digress for a moment... In July 2008 I was walking with the frame nicely and one day near the end
of July, Rita, who was my physio at that stage, told me I was bringing my right leg through myself. I was
elated! What an achievement! My hip was coming back to life! Not even 5 minutes later I stepped awkwardly
and started to fall to the left. Half way down I passed out. When I came to I was on the floor. I was the first
patient ever to be taken away in an ambulance after a fall - typical me! Turns out I bashed the side of my head
on the floor twice and ended up having stitches next to my eye (click for pic). On top of that I had a concussion
which lasted 3 weeks AND my collar bone was broken. I managed to break the tip clean off.
After the fall, I couldn't walk as I'd broken the clavical of my good arm. For some reason we never went back to
walking and I ended up with a mental block where the frame is concerned hence the difficulty of leaving the
bars...
"D DAY" arrived and I did it!! I have been walking with the frame for a month now and although I've had a few
bad days, its getting better! Not only that, my right hip is slowly starting to wake up!!
Thank you all!! This years recovery is dedicated to you and to God!
All the best guys, I will be saying a special prayer for you on the day! You can do it!!!
God bless.
Lots of love
Kristi
“I thought Mike
was bringing my
bag, now I’ve got
to walk to the car
and I can’t even
get up”
“Can I
help you
Ballie?”
Our thoroughbred Ballies chilling
afterwards under Sharon’s watchful eye.
Excellent performances by Martin and Jenny at the recent KZN Triathlon
Champs saw them selected to the KZN team for SA’s! Martin took silver
and Jen gold in their age groups! Good luck for 21 March to both of you
– we know you’ll do us proud again!
YWP A.C. Comrades Club Races 2010
DATE
NAME OF EVENT
DISTANCE
21-Mar
Boxer Superstores Stella Royal
25km run
28-Mar
Queensburgh Mine Shaft
21,1km run/walk
03-Apr
Two Oceans
56km/21.1km run
10-Apr
Arthur Cresswell Memorial
52km run
18-Apr
Dick King 21,1km run,
21,1km run
16-May
Savages 50th Golden Jubilee
21km run
30-May
COMRADES MARATHON
89 Km Run
Midmar Mile 2010 – The Yellowwood Park Connection
Well done Jenny – 2nd
in the Ironman Biathlon
Event 1 - Ironman/Biathlon/Disabled
PROVISIONAL
Pos
Name
Wave
45
Jenny SUTTON
Yellow
42
Yellowwood
Park,
72
Philip GILCHRIST
Gold
45
Yellowwood
Park,
Sandra CONWAY
Yellow
45
Queensburgh,
246
309 finishers
Age
From
Race
No
Congrats to Phil
on completing the
gruelling 8 miles
Category
Code
Gen
Categ
Time
Categ
Pos
Gender
Pos
595
All ages
FAll ages
00:30:51
9
10
905
All ages
MAll
ages
00:33:41
44
52
4586
All ages
FAll ages
00:49:24
64
74
Event 2 - Company Team
PROVISIONAL
Team
Pos
Team Time
Team Name
Race
No
Name
Wave
Overall
Pos
Finish
Time
Age
Team Finish
Position
464
02:47:45
Finding Memo 2
6188
Angela FORD
Yellow
1948
00:53:34
29
1
464
02:47:45
Finding Memo 2
6187
Dale FORD
Yellow
1949
00:53:35
38
2
Finish Time
Age
2200 finishers
Event 3 - Non Company Team
PROVISIONAL
Team
Pos
Team Time
Team Name
2
01:03:12
usn spike
94
01:46:10
SINK OR
SWIM
94
01:46:10
94
Name
Wave
Wesley GILCHRIST
Red
3
00:20:46
20
1
9622
Megan
ANTICEVICH
Red
474
00:34:50
23
1
SINK OR
SWIM
9625
Shane LESTER
Red
476
00:34:51
21
2
01:46:10
SINK OR
SWIM
9626
Jason POWELL
Red
669
00:36:29
22
3
94
01:46:10
SINK OR
SWIM
9623
Heather CONWAY
White
1695
00:45:06
21
4
94
01:46:10
SINK OR
SWIM
9624
Desiree LESTER
White
2380
00:52:22
49
5
2949 finishers
Race
No
16679
Overall
Pos
Team
Finish
Position
The picture says it all!
Well done Steve!!!
Event 4 - Family Team
PROVISIONAL
Team Name
Race No
Name
Wave
Overall
Pos
Finish
Time
Age
Team
Finish
Position
BASKERS
4585
Sheralee PORRITT
Yellow
879
00:44:08
12
1
BASKERS
4584
Kalman PORRITT
Yellow
1628
00:59:44
45
2
CELTIC
4587
Steve CONWAY
Yellow
1629
00:59:44
47
1
CELTIC
595
Jenny SUTTON
Red
1761
01:09:43
42
2
1688 finishers
HOW I LEARNT TO LOVE RUNNING
I grew up in a road running household but running never appealed to me. I couldn’t imaging anything worse
than going for a run and at 4km you are hot and tired and just want to go home but you’ve still got 4km to
run to get back to your house. Swimming, however, the furtherest you’d have to swim would to reach the
wall would be 25m or you could just swim next to the wall and get out when desired (sounds so much better!).
So running was definitely not for me. UNTIL… Heather (that Conway girl – very bad influence) convinced me
to run the Two Oceans Half and from then I have been hooked. This is how I learnt to love running:
♥ Start slow, take it easy
When I started I couldn’t run very far at all without having a walk but you’ve just got to keep positive and
keep at it. Running, as I have discovered, is a life-long sport (you are never too old to participate) and
you should start slowly to ensure that your body can go the distance for years to come.
♥
Find a Friend
In my case, my friend found me and having someone to run with is great motivation. The kays seem to go
much quicker when you chatting away or even when you aren’t talking, it’s nice to have someone
running with you.
♥ When you’re good at something, it’s more fun
Find the distance that you are best at and enjoy the most. Some runners are better suited to run fast 10km
while others have the stamina and endurance to do ultra marathons. Train for what you enjoy and grow
in confidence as you move up the pack.
HOW I LEARNT TO LOVE RUNNING
♥ It’s ok to take a break
Some days you won’t always love running and it may start to feel like a chore instead of a passion. It’s ok
to take the time to find something else that you are good at or learn a new skill. I have just recently taken
up mountain biking and have added it to my training schedule. The variety is great and I find myself
looking forward to my run days.
♥ Get involved in your club
Time trials every week and friendly rivalries, hearing stories from back in the day, when Men were Men,
sitting in the tent after a race, hearing everyone’s race tale and telling your own (to people who
understand) and getting advice about anything and everything – you can’t beat it!
There are still some things I don’t like about running (like early mornings and chafing) but nothing can beat
the feeling of getting your medal (or t-shirt) after a race and the quiet satisfaction of knowing you did it.
You’ve gotta love it!
Remember: If it was easy- everyone would do it!
PBs set in January and February 2010 :
Distance
Runner
Date
2.5km Run
Sharon Gilchrist
27 Jan 2010
15:40
4km Run
Sharon Gilchrist
3 Feb 2010
24:34
8km Run
Mike Smith
17 Feb 2010
38:32
Mike Thackray
17 Feb 2010
38:50
Timetrial Duty Roster :
Check www.ywpac.co.za
for timetrial results and
ladders, and for duty
rosters under Members
Stuff
Time
10 Mar 2010
Garth Hancock
17 Mar 2010
Sandra Conway
24 Mar 2010
The Lesters
31 Mar 2010
Steve Conway
7 Apr 2010
Megan Anticevich
14 Apr 2010
Heather Conway
21 Apr 2010
Mike Sutton
28 Apr 2010
Kalman Porritt
Four of us ran this years Parlauf, which involves 2-man teams each running 1km until a
total of 8km has been completed. Mike Sutton and Martin Birtwhistle completed the
distance in 29:05, and Garth Hancock and Kalman Porritt finished in 30:08.
The first race of the season is on Saturday 13 March. If you need more information, speak
to Mike or Kalman. The fixtures for 2010 are shown below…
Date
Name and Venue
Contact
13 Mar
League 1 – Hutchinson Park
Lawrence 084 485 1598
27 Mar
League 2 – Lahee Park
June Watson 082 421 3037
10 Apr
League 3 – Kings Park Cycle Stadium
Paul Steward 083 414 5643
24 Apr
League 4 – Collegians in Pmb
Les Burnard 082 336 7244
League 5 – UKZN Athletics Track
Clyde Kinoch 082 572 3408
26 Jun
League 6 – Stainbank Nature Reserve
Mike Sutton 082 961 1615
17 Jul
League 7 – Gelofte School
Lisette Mundell 083 233 1156
14 Aug
League 8 - Hilton Harriers (KZNA Champs) Jeff Speed 082 892 4215
8 May
Yellowwood Park Athletic Club Annual Dinner
Dance
(Incorporating Comrades Prize Giving and the Kristi “I Will Walk” Campaign)
Date: 5 June 2010
Venue: Sacred Heart Church Hall
Time: 18h00 for 18h30
Dress: Formal (All guests are requested to wear Black and White)
Cost: R100 per person
Dinner will be served
Cash Bar available
Variety of live entertainment
Please purchase your tickets from Heather or Megan before 5 May 2010
Long Runs - The Cornerstone of Distance Running
(Kindly submitted by Gary Lester)
Author: Rick Morris (05 November 2009)
Sit back, relax and close your eyes. Now just let the concept of distance running play like a movie in your head.
You probably have an image in your mind of yourself or an imaginary athlete running long distances over a
serene trail or road. The first workout that comes to mind when you think about distance running is very likely
your weekly long run. It’s those long distance runs that build up the base of endurance that’s so important to
every distance runner no matter what their goal or experience level. For a beginning runner long endurance runs
improve their VO2 max, muscular strength, endurance and even lactate turn point. A more experienced or
competitive runner’s needs these long efforts to develop slow twitch muscle fibers, carbohydrate storage capacity
and muscle impact resistance.
These long and, for the most part, easy runs improve your endurance and running fitness in a number of ways:
Long Runs Build More Mitochondria
Long runs and endurance training increase the number of mitochondria in your working muscles. Mitochondria
are very small structures in your muscle cells where energy production takes place. When you build more
mitochondria you increase your ability to extract oxygen and nutrients from your blood, produce energy and
improve your endurance.
Long Runs Increase Your Capillary Density
Capillaries are small blood vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to your muscle cells. Endurance training
builds more capillaries which mean you get improved flow of oxygen and other important nutrients to your
muscles cells. As a result your endurance and running fitness improves.
Endurance Training Increase Your Blood Volume
Long runs build more red blood cells. Red blood cells pick up oxygen from your lungs and deliver it to your
muscle cells. When you have more red blood cells your body is able to deliver more oxygen to your muscle cells
and improve your endurance, fitness and running performance.
Long Runs Develop Your Slow Twitch Muscle Fibres
You were born with a genetically pre determined ration of muscle fibres. Muscle fibres are either slow twitch or
fast twitch. Slow twitch fibres (type 1) have more endurance while fast twitch fibres (type 2) produce more
power. Marathon runners use predominately slow twitch fibres because of their greater endurance potential.
World class sprinters will have more fast twitch fibres while top level distance runners were born with more slow
twitch fibres. Endurance training develops your slow twitch muscle fibres. No only do long runs develop your
existing slow twitch fibres, they also can also make a specific type of fast twitch muscle fibre (type 2A) behave
like a slow twitch fibre.
Long Runs Will Build You a Bigger, Better Fuel Tank
As a distance runner your primary source of fuel is carbohydrates. If you can store more carbohydrates
you will be able to run longer before you become fatigued. Endurance training increases your muscles
ability to store carbohydrates. When you perform a long run you begin to deplete your muscular stores of
carbohydrates. This depletion sends a notice to your body that it need to store more. As a result your
muscles learn to store more carbohydrates to fuel your long runs. In essence you build a bigger fuel tank.
Improve Impact Resistance
A typical runner takes around 42,000 steps during the course of a full marathon. Depending upon how
efficiently you run, you are placing somewhere between 1.5 and 4 times your body weight on your leg
muscles and joints with each step. Taking an average of 2 times your body weight, the muscles, tendons
and joints of a 150 pound runner will absorb almost 13 million pounds of impact during a marathon! That
is a lot of stress even for the most efficient and advanced runner.
Improving the ability of your muscles, tendons and bones to withstand all that stress is one of most
critical goals of distance training and long running. When your muscles and tendons are placed under
stress they breakdown slightly. They respond to that minor damage by rebuilding themselves even
stronger than before. That is why you get stronger through progressively longer training.
How Often Should You Go Long?
I am asked three questions concerning long runs by nearly every client I coach. The first of those is how
often should I do a long run? There is no one specific answer to any coaching question. Running isn’t a
“one size fits all” world. You need to tailor your workouts and training program to your specific goals and
experience level. The generic answer to the question of how often to do a long run is either once per
week or once every two weeks. Most well trained distance runners can do a long run every week. The
exception to this is during marathon training when you begin to do very long run or goal pace long runs.
During hard marathon training you would be better of alternating a very long run or goal pace long run
one week with either a moderate distance long run or long tempo run the following week.
How Far Should You Run?
This is the second question I am usually asked. The length of your long run is very dependant upon your
experience level and your training goal. More experienced and fit runners should do long runs of between 15 and
25 miles. A long run to a beginning runner may be a short as 3 to 4 miles early in their training. In the chart
below I have listed my recommendations for long run distances.
Level
Goal
Recommended Long Run
Beginner
Learn to run
3 to 6 miles depending upon your current
level. Don't add more that 1 mile per long run
Intermediate/
Recreational
Fitness/Weight Loss
3 to 8 miles depending upon current fitness
level
Intermediate/
Recreational
5K racing
5 to 12 miles
Intermediate/
Recreational
6K to 10K racing
8 to 15 miles
Intermediate/
Recreational
11K to Half Marathon
Racing
15 to 20 miles
Intermediate/
Recreational
Marathon Racing
20 to 23 miles
Advanced
Competitor
5K racing
8 to 15 miles
Advanced
Competitor
6K to 10K racing
12 to 20 miles
Advanced
Competitor
Advanced
Competitor
Ultra Athletes
11K to Half Marathon
Racing
17 to 23 miles
Marathon Racing
21 to 30 miles
Ultra Marathon Racing
30 miles +
Level Goal Recommended Long Run Beginner Learn to run 3 to 6 miles depending upon your current level.
Don't add more that 1 mile per long run Intermediate/Recreational Fitness/Weight Loss 3 to 8 miles depending
upon current fitness level Intermediate/Recreational 5K racing 5 to 12 miles Intermediate/Recreational 6K to 10K
racing 8 to 15 miles Intermediate/Recreational 11K to Half Marathon Racing 15 to 20
miles Intermediate/Recreational Marathon Racing 20 to 23 miles Advanced Competitor 5K racing 8 to 15
miles Advanced Competitor 6K to 10K racing 12 to 20 miles Advanced Competitor 11K to Half Marathon Racing 17
to 23 miles Advanced Competitor Marathon Racing 21 to 30 miles Ultra Athletes Ultra Marathon Racing 30 miles
+Does Long Run Pace Matter?
This last question has the really vague answer of yes and no. In some cases your running pace is quite important
and at other times your pace isn’t critical. For general long runs you should run at a pace that simply feels easy.
You shouldn’t be struggling. Most easy long runs are done at between 30 seconds per mile slower than marathon
pace and 1 minute 30 seconds slower. But don’t pay too much attention to your watch, just run at a pace that
feels relatively easy.
There are times when your pace becomes important. The first of those is during goal pace long runs. The most
obvious example is marathon pace long runs. Marathon goal pace running is a critical part of marathon training if
your goal is to race the marathon or finish in a specific time. These goal pace runs improve your ability to hold
goal pace when fatigued. See goal pace marathon runs for more examples. You can also goal pace long runs for
any distance including 5K goal pace long runs and 10K goal pace long runs.
http://www.runningplanet.com/training/long-runs-cornerstone-of-distance-running.html
Hearty congratulations to Les
Davy for being VO²Max
Private Gym’s Biggest Loser
for February 2010!!! That
must have been a truly
marathon effort!
Cold shoulder for warm-ups
…..from Dieter Olms
The
Rub
on
Warm-ups…
(an article from the Times “Body and Soul” supplement by Peta Bee, 31 October 2009, kindly submitted by
Dieter Olms)
They are the bookends of any workout, the fitness components that promise to reduce injuries and fight
fatigue. But are warm-ups and cool-downs as essential as every personal trainer would have us believe? Sports
scientists are questioning elements of the pre and post-workout regime, claiming that many warm-up practises
are ineffective or even bad for you, and that evidence for the benefits of cooling down is non-existent.
John Brewer, Professor of Sport at the University of Bedfordshire, says that a warm-up should achieve two
things. “It should literally warm up the body to increase blood flow, and loosen the muscles to prepare them for
activity,” he says. “Warm muscles pull oxygen from the bloodstream more easily and trigger the chemical
reactions needed to produce energy more efficiently.” Most experts agree that 5-10 minutes of jogging or brisk
walking is the best way to prepare the body. “Studies have shown that too much of an aerobic warm-up will
simply make you tired,” Brewer says.
Beyond that, though, what should you do? Surprisingly, it is the presumption that static stretching – the kind
that involves holding a movement – primes muscles for activity that has been proved wrong. “The kind of
stretches most people do before exercise, touching the toes or extending the hamstrings, have no advantage
and could actually be detrimental, according to recent studies,” says Dr Karianne Backx, an exercise
physiologist at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. “They do nothing to improve the body’s readiness for
exercise and may leave muscles weaker.”
When Dr Ian Shrier, of the Centre for Epidemiology at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, reviewed the
evidence on pre-workout stretching for The Physician and Sportsmedicine journal a few years ago, he found
that stretching immediately before a gym session led to a reduction in muscle power. The effects were small
and temporary, but significant enough for Shrier to recommend dropping stretches from warm-ups. Other
researchers have since confirmed his findings, some saying that stretching cuts muscles strength by up to 30
percent.
Last year Bill Holcomb, a professor of athletics training at the University of Nevada, showed that using
stretches to limit injury may have the opposite effect. Whereas previous studies had looked at stretching for 810 minutes as part of a serious athletic warm-up, Professor Holcomb looked at the effects of the average 90
seconds of stretching of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles performed by gym-goers. His results published
in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that even this small amount of stretching placed
exercisers at a disadvantage. “Doing static stretches as a warm-up can reduce power, strength and
performance,” he says.
Not that all kinds of stretching should be avoided. Experts think that dynamic stretching movements such as
arm circling and side-stepping – the type we used to be told to avoid – can boost power, flexibility and range of
motion. Instead of producing the kind of inhibitory response from the muscles that static stretching triggers,
dynamic movements send a message from the brain to the muscles indicating that they are ready to work out.
“Ideally, they should be specific to the type of activity you are about to do,” Brewer says.
“Your aim should be to activate all the joints, muscles and tendons that you are going to
use when the workout proper begins.” A study published last year by the Centres for
Disease Control in the US showed that the number of knee injuries among female
footballers was cut by half when they followed a football-specific warm-up that included
dynamic stretches.
While the warm-up has drawn interest from sports science researchers in recent years,
the same is not true of the cool-down. In fact, a dearth of evidence about its usefulness
has led some experts to suggest that it is a waste of time. One accepted fact is that
intense exercise should never be stopped abruptly – when you work out hard, the heart
pumps faster and blood vessels expand to promote blood flow to the legs and feet. If you
stop too suddenly blood can start to pool in the lower limbs, causing dizziness.
“You should spend the last five minutes of a workout doing the same activity at a slower
pace,” Dr Backx says. “But if you haven’t been exercising at a high intensity then just
walking around is fine.”
A popular misconception is that cool-down stretches will stop muscles from becoming
sore by flushing out lactic acid, the waste product of exercise. “Soreness isn’t caused by
lactic acid, but minor damage to muscle fibres, and stretching will have no effect,”
Professor Brewer says.
Indeed a South African study of adults who had been asked to walk backwards on a
treadmill for half an hour to cause calf muscles stiffness found that those who did a ten
minute cool-down had no less soreness afterwards than those who did not. “Ironically,
the cool-down is the ideal time to perform static stretches if you want to boost overall
flexibility because your muscles will be nice and warm,” Dr Backx says. “Just don’t expect
a cool-down routine to produce miracles.”
How to exercise safely
Raise your body temperature by walking briskly or jogging for 5-10 minutes before a
workout.
Add five to ten dynamic movements to your warm-up – marching, crawling and kicking
your buttocks with your heels are ideal. Leave static stretching – in which you hold a
movement – until you cool down.
Never stop intense exercise suddenly. For a cool-down, spend 5-10 minutes doing the
same activity more slowly.
Never perform stretches on cold muscles, and never stretch to the point of pain.
Stretching after a workout will not prevent muscle soreness but it will improve overall
flexibility.
Many thanks Dieter
– a very thoughtprovoking article.
Come on all of you,
let’s have more
submissions please!
The Last Word (Barry speaks to us through
his camera lens)……from England