Sport Dimensions

Does it matter?

Yes, and in this blog entry I’ll begin to explain why…

Most of us can probably remember being taught in Biology class that “the make-up of the human body is roughly 70% water”. In real terms lean muscle tissue contains 75% water, blood contains 83% water, body fat contains 25% water and even bone contains 22% water.

We’ve all probably also been told that in a dire situation the human body can survive for weeks without food - but without water survival times are dramatically reduced – dehydration can kill in a matter of hours in the most extreme of environments. This is no coincidence, we need water to function.

For the vast majority of the population in the developed world, dehydration isn’t a life and death issue, we take access to drinking water for granted. However, dehydration can lead to health issues and is an important consideration in sports performance.

So… How much water should I be drinking?

The average sedentary person in a temperate climate should be fine drinking 8-12 glasses of water per day, many people however don’t manage that (especially when it is pointed out that coffee, cola and similar drinks containing caffeine DO NOT COUNT), thus leading to a perpetually dehydrated state affecting mental alertness and impaired performance (both general and sporting).

… and if I’m training or playing sport?

Dehydration in an athlete has dramatic negative ramifications for levels of speed, strength, stamina, alertness and co-ordination. As little as a 2% decrease in body weight through dehydration can have a significant negative effect on performance levels.

For an athlete at any level, water intake required to remain hydrated significantly increases from that required by a sedentary person. With exercise the body looses water in many ways, particularly through respiration and sweating. When we sweat not only do we lose water, we also lose electrolytes (mineral salts the body needs to carry out chemical reactions) these too need to be replaced.

Post exercise, re-hydration is one of the keys to optimal recovery. A body with the correct balance of fluids is in the best state to repair and recover from the exertions of exercise. Replacement of the electrolytes lost through sweating is also essential so as to maintain the mineral and chemical balance of the body.

How do I know if I’m hydrated or dehydrated?

When monitoring hydration it is possible to get as scientific as you can imagine using labs and expensive pieces of equipment. However, in practice there are some simple markers to use to monitor your hydration levels.

• Urine Colour – This is easy, when pass water, observe the colour of your urine. The darkness of the colour indicates the concentration of the fluid, and therefore the water content. Ideally a light straw colour should be observed indicating sufficient hydration, any darker colour indicates dehydration – the darker the more severe.

• Body Weight – Most useful when trying to calculate how much water is needed to replace fluids lost through exercise.  Weigh yourself pre-exercise in a hydrated state, and then again post-exercise. The difference between the two weights indicates the weight lost through dehydration… and therefore the amount of fluid needed to re-hydrate. For every 1kg lost aim to consume 1.5 litres of fluid in the following 2 hours. (Example: if a rugby player weighs 94kg before the warm-up and 91kg after the game, he has lost 3kg and needs to replace 4.5 litres of fluid to rehydrate).

What’s best to drink? There are so many options!

There are many different branded sports drinks on the shelves claiming different things on the label, it can become very confusing.

They are all branded as sports drinks, but they differ greatly in terms of what they do. There are some common terms used which are worth understanding to make an informed choice. The terms refer to the concentration of the sugars and electrolytes in the drinks compared to that of your body fluids. Here’s a brief explanation:

“Hypotonic”

Hypotonic drinks are less concentrated than your body fluids, meaning that the drink is absorbed into your system very quickly as it contains little in the way of electrolytes or sugars.

“Isotonic”

The name Isotonic indicates that the drink has the same or similar concentration of sugars and electrolytes to your body fluids, meaning it is not only absorbed quickly but also allows for effective refuelling, an ideal combination during sports activity.Isotonic drinks should ideally contain 6g of carbohydrate per 100ml for optimal absorption.

“Hypertonic”

Hypertonic drinks are much greater in concentration of sugars and electrolytes than the bodily fluids. Therefore they absorb much more slowly and are less effective at re-hydrating the body. However, as refuelling drinks they are effective post sport. 

… and when?

This is a common question. The normal assumption is that “if I’m thirsty – it’s time to get a drink”.

This is not the case.

In truth, we get thirsty as the body’s response to there being an undesirable increase in the concentration of salts in the body fluids (due to a decrease in water). If concentration has reached that point, you’re already significantly dehydrated and you’re already fighting a losing battle.

As an athlete, if you start exercising in a dehydrated state you are only going to make the situation worse. Therefore, it is essential to begin exercise fully hydrated.

When we exercise we lose water all the time, so to combat the negative performance related effects of dehydration it makes sense to include some sort of re-hydration strategy to your sport – the longer your event in duration, the more important this becomes. Consuming little and often is a good rule of thumb.

Are there other factors to consider?

Environmental factors are the most important to keep in mind. Obviously when it is hot we will sweat more, losing more water and electrolytes. Humid conditions will also increase the rate of dehydration as the body sweats more but as the sweat doesn’t evaporate there is no cooling effect. So the body sweats some more, this can lead to dehydration very quickly.

And what’s so bad about Alcohol, Coffee and Cola?

From a physiological point of view, alcohol and sports don’t mix well, but that’s a topic I’ll leave for another blog entry!

In terms of the relationship between alcohol and dehydration, there is a strong link. Alcohol is a strong diuretic, increasing urination to a level more than is necessary for the body – leading to dehydration. The morning after “a couple of drinks” you will most likely be significantly dehydrated and not in an ideal state to begin exercise, as you will become more dehydrated.

Often people finish their exercise and proceed to consume alcohol. Although they are replacing volumes of fluid, the alcohol in the fluid acts as a diuretic and they end up making themselves more dehydrated and thus significantly impairing recovery.A good compromise is to ensure that the body is completely rehydrated and refuelled for 2 hours before you allow yourself an alcoholic drink.

Coffee, Cola and certain energy drinks all contain high levels of caffeine – another strong diuretic, they therefore have a similar effect.

Too much of a good thing?

It is important to be aware that you can over do it in terms of hydration. A state known as hyponatremia occurs when too much water has been absorbed into the body. This leads to “water intoxication”. So much water has entered the blood stream that it dilutes the mineral and chemical balance of the blood interfering with the brain, heart and muscle function. This can be serious in extreme cases.

In Conclusion

It is fair to say that although hydration can have such an impact on our sporting performance and general health, it is one of the easiest factors to keep control of. It takes a little fore-planning but can make the difference you’ve been missing out on.   

Overtraining Syndrome

We all know that to improve our performance we need to put the hard hours in to our training.

However, what’s not so commonly understood is that this hard training puts tissues under stress and breaks them down… It is the recovery periods between sessions that allow the body to regenerate and adapt making us stronger. During these rest periods, tissues which had been stressed in training repair to a greater level than previously to compensate for the increased loads applied to them in training.

It is this process of overload followed by recovery that delivers the desired effect from our training.

If insufficient time is allowed for recovery in a training schedule, this process cannot occur sufficiently, the body doesn’t recover properly, and therefore performance plateaus. This imbalance between training and recovery will, if allowed to continue result in a decline in level of performance and eventually injury.

This state is often described as Overtraining.

“Overtraining Syndrome” is the name given to the collection of emotional, behavioural, and physical symptoms due to overtraining that has persisted for weeks to months. You may have also heard it referred to as “Burnout” or “Staleness”.

Not to be confused with normal variations in performance and tiredness after exercise, Overtraining Syndrome is a cumulative build-up of fatigue that remains despite normal recovery periods.

Here are some of the many combined warning signs of Overtraining Syndrome:

• Lack of energy
• General aches and pains
• Sudden drop in performance
• Insomnia
• Headaches
• Decreased Immunity
• Decreased training capacity or intensity
• Moodiness or irritability
• Depression
• Increased incidence of injury
• Compulsive need to exercise

The most common symptom is fatigue. This may limit workouts and may be present at rest. The athlete may also become moody, easily irritated, have altered sleep patterns, become depressed, or lose the competitive desire and enthusiasm for the sport. Some will report decreased appetite and weight loss. Physical symptoms include persistent muscular soreness, increased frequency of viral illnesses, and increased incidence of injuries.

The best strategy for treating Overtraining Syndrome is rest. The longer an athlete has been in a state of overtraining, the greater amount of time is needed to rest - hence the importance of monitoring athletes to ensure early detection.

If the overtraining has only occurred for a short period of time (up to 4 weeks), 3-5 days rest is usually sufficient. After this, workouts can be resumed on an alternate day basis. The intensity of the training can be maintained but the total volume must be lower.

Before re-commencing on a training schedule, it is important that the factors which lead to the overtraining are identified and strategies put in place to ensure the same pattern does not occur again. In more severe cases, the training program may have to be interrupted for weeks, and it may take months to recover. An alternate form of exercise can be substituted to help prevent the onset of exercise withdrawal symptoms.

As with most issues relating to injury and health, prevention is best. Well-balanced gradual increases in training are always recommended. A periodized training schedule varies the training load in cycles with built in mandatory rest phases.

One of the most effective methods to monitor progress during a training program and keep an eye out for the early warning signs of overtraining is to keep a training diary. Not just to keep record of the details of the session but also waking heart rate, weight, general health, motivation levels and fatigue.

A significant change in any of these factors may be the first sign that you are overtraining. Changes should be made straight away to prevent exacerbating the problem.

In conclusion, the important message is that of the importance of rest in an athlete’s schedule. Evidence exists to suggest that reduced training (same intensity, lower volume) for up to 21 days will not have a negative impact on performance. Athletes and coaches alike need to know what to look for as early signs of overtraining, and how to react accordingly.

Of course I love to run! Doesn’t everyone?

Actually…not everyone! I’m not just referring to the people who cant, or don’t want to run, there are an awful lot of us who find running painful and most of the time, quite unpleasant! I have to put up with people talking about the runners high and the benefits of burning fat, feeling confident, having more energy blah, blah, blah, knowing that it hurts every time I have to go out for a run. Did you get that last bit? I’ll just repeat it in case you didn’t get it the first time: “every time I have to” go out for a run. Not want to or like to, no its when my conscious mind forces me to go for a run.

Yes I do get those beneficial feelings…. sometimes, but why does the process of running have to be so damn uncomfortable and painful before I get the benefits?

The reason?

It’s pretty simple really. We don’t know how to run correctly and efficiently, and we don’t know because most of us have never been taught how to run!

We think that all we have to do is buy our sweatyBetty gear, put on the shoes and then “Watch out world the new Paula Radcliffe is on the road! Make way.”

That would be nice, but the reality is that most runners believe that they need to pay with pain for their love of running, that’s the payback for all the benefits!! Over 65% of runners get injured every year which stops them from training and a vast majority of non-runners give up after 2-3 runs because of the painful experience!

I have news for you: “It doesn’t have to be like that!!”

Most of the injuries that runners get are because of landing shock. The running style that many novice runners and many seasoned recreational athletes adopt is very inefficient biomechanically and causes stresses and strains on the body. That is understandable because they haven’t been taught how to run.

Running and running fast is a skill and just like any other skill it can be taught and through using some basic techniques you too can get enjoyment out of running.

I watch people run sometimes and it’s really painful just watching, so you can imagine what they are feeling. The amount of energy most of us put into our running technique just to get ourselves forward a few paces is not paying dividends!

There are a few common weaknesses many runners share: Too much bouncing which leads to spending longer in the air, the longer you are in the air the higher you move your body mass and the harder you hit the ground on landing. This is wasted momentum, when we need to be moving forward. The stride length is too long which means with every step we are applying the breaks to the back of the heel or onto the front of the foot, it’s a bit like riding a bike and applying the front break every rotation! The arms are rotating form side to side which puts pressure on to the lower back.

These are small inefficiencies, but when they are applied 10,000 times over a 30 minute period, it means you have a very tired runner, who wastes all their energy moving vertically rather than horizontally and more importantly it can cause many little injuries which in time can develop to more serious injuries.

Ok so how can we run better and avoid injury?

The most efficient running motion is when the body has very little up and down movement ( minimise bouncing) the arms are moving relaxed, but like mini pistons backwards and forwards and the legs are cycling with the heel coming up above knee when it is off the ground.

Feet: The feet should be landing under your body (centre of gravity) not ahead of your body, any landing further ahead and you are over striding, which causes a breaking action.

Landing: You must land lightly on your feet. The best and most efficient way is to land on the balls of your feet, not on your heel. But this is not for everyone and if you are a heel toe runner then practice landing lighter on the ground and minimise the time you are on the ground. If you want o change to running on the balls of the feet( that’s without touching the heel down first ) then you need to practice 10 minutes at a time to get used to it.

Lower Leg Cycling motion: When your foot leaves the ground bring your heel up to towards your backside to contract the hamstring (the back of your leg) and your gluteus maximus (you bum muscles). This creates a cycling motion and will mean you shorten your stride length.

Arms: The coordination of the arms with the legs is the one that will eliminate the bounce and get you moving forward rather than upwards. The arms should be bent at the elbow at about 90 degrees and the movement should be back and forward. The fingers should be closed but relaxed (like you are holding an egg) the hand should be moving to the chin and the hip.

These are not instant fixes, but you can change your running technique and run more efficiently through practice. It should take about 5 or 6 45 minute sessions to change your technique. Try incorporating one change at a time and then at the next training session make another change until it becomes fluid.

Millions of people use running to keep fit, to reduce the stresses of everyday life and to help them to achieve their sporting ambitions. Irrespective of the level you run, whether you are a recreational runner who runs to keep fit, a serious amateur who likes to participate in races, or an elite athlete, who competes at the highest level you can always improve your running technique.

We have had a very interesting few weeks here at our Centre! The Running School is really busy with youngsters and adults wanting to learn how to run faster and more efficiently. It’s great being an elite level coach and working with professional athletes, but when you are teaching kids the personal satisfaction is immense, they learn so quickly that they make you look good!      

People often ask me how we switch from working with an elite or professional athlete in one session to working with 8 or 9 year olds after they have had a tiring day at school, in the next session. You will be surprised at how similar the process of teaching a new technique is.  

Take this week for example where we have been doing sessions with two of the UK’s fastest sprinters – Christine Ohuruogu and Simeon Williamson. The focus was on getting their running mechanics to be more efficient at high speeds.  

So what we do is analyse the biomechanics – the way they run and how the feet and the arms interact - we then breakdown the movements into smaller segments and practice the correct movements, to enable the nervous system to learn the correct pattern. Then we practice it at high speeds in excess of 20 mph. 

We use the same process to teach someone how to run, who hasn’t been coached before. Except for one thing - we don’t work at high speeds! We work within the limit of the individual. But everything else is the same and the accelerated learning techniques that we use mean we see results very quickly.  

The contrast in terms of age and ability was very noticeable this week with 8 different sprinters, professional footballers coming in for speed sessions, alongside youngsters who want to learn how to run fast and people doing their rehabilitation after injury. The positive energy that gets generated is what gives all of us a buzz!

Sport Dimensions are pleased to launch the eagerly awaited Running School.

If you’ve been looking for a way to start running then look no further – The “Running School” by Sport Dimensions is the most effective, complete, motivating, and easy-to-follow running programme to get you started and get you running. 

Imagine having step-by-step coaching, guidance and motivation, taking you through the correct running technique! When you have completed your running school training programme you will be ready to run anywhere at anytime and start getting fitter and healthier.

The Running School includes an analysis of your running technique, 5 training sessions and a comprehensive training handbook. For more information please check out our web site at www.runningschool.co.uk

Welcome to the Sport Dimensions Blog. This is a new feature to our website for 2008 and we hope that you will find it to be a valuable resource in the coming year. We will be posting regularly on all four major aspects of our business Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, Speed and The Running School. It will provide a source of information for Healthcare professionals, patients, athletes and parents on current research, new guidelines for training and news about Sport Dimensions.

 It would be great if you would be willing to contribute to this blog either with comments, thoughts or additional information on the posts that you read.

 Enjoy!

 The Sport Dimensions Team