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Genesis
Soundtrack to My.LIFE...
A loner who long's to speak in foreign tongues, taste foreign oceans and foods, and touch the ruins of long passed civilizations, cultures and ways of life. Yet at the same time is in pursuit of a life that is full as can be, but with enough empty space in the margins for spirit and spontaneity to come through.
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NYTimes.com: Phys Ed: Does Stretching Before Running Prevent Injuries?
— Updated: 1:36 pm -->Phys Ed: Does Stretching Before Running Prevent Injuries?
By GRETCHEN REYNOLDSAngela Jimenez/Getty Images
Should you stretch before a run? That question, which has prompted countless academic studies, debates and inter-running-partner squabbles, is now at the heart of a notable new study published in August on the Web site of USA Track and Field, the sport’s national governing body. The study, one of the largest of its kind, involved almost 1,400 runners, from age 13 to past 60, who were assigned randomly to two groups. The first group did not stretch before their runs, while otherwise maintaining their normal workout routine: the same mileage, warm-up (minus any stretching) and so on. The second group stretched, having received photographs and specific instructions for a series of simple, traditional poses, like leaning over and touching toes, that focused on the calf, hamstring and quadriceps muscles. The volunteers were told to hold each stretch for 20 seconds, a technique known as static stretching. The entire routine required three to five minutes and was to be completed immediately before a run.
The volunteers followed their assigned regimens for three months. Predictably, since running, as a sport, has a high injury rate, quite a few became injured during the three months. About 16 percent of the group that didn’t stretch were hobbled badly enough to miss training for at least a week (the researchers’ definition of a running injury), while about 16 percent of the group that did stretch were laid up for at least a week. The percentages, in other words, were virtually identical. Static stretching had proved to be a wash in terms of protecting against injury. It “neither prevented nor induced injury when compared with not stretching before running,” the study’s authors concluded, raising the obvious corollary, so why in the world do so many of us still stretch?
Stretching is, of course, a contentious issue in sports. The bulk of the available science strongly suggests that static stretching before a workout not only does not prevent overuse injuries but also may actually hinder athletic performance. “There is a very important neurological effect of stretching,” said Ross Tucker, a physiologist in South Africa and co-author of the Web site The Science of Sport. “There is a reflex that prevents the muscle from being stretched too much,” which is activated by static stretching, inducing the muscle to become, in effect, tighter in self-protection. Past studies have found that athletes’ vertical jump is lower after a bout of static stretching than with no stretching at all. They can’t generate as much power. Meanwhile, other studies have found, like the new track and field association report, that static stretching seems to have little benefit in terms of injury prevention, particularly against the overuse injuries common in running. “The findings of this present study are totally in line with the existing literature,” said Malachy McHugh, the director of research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma and the lead author of a comprehensive new review of decades’ worth of stretching research published in April in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports.
But many people remain fiercely attached to their stretching routines. “It was really hard to recruit runners” who, used to stretching, would agree to be randomly assigned to the nonstretching group, said Alan Roth, a former board member of USA Track and Field and director of the study. Once they understood that they might be required to not stretch for three months, they declined to participate. It took the researchers more than two years to coax enough runners to join and complete the study, generating enough data for meaningful results.
And the results are “meaningful,” according to Dr. Dan Pereles, an orthopedic surgeon in the Washington area who originated and led the study. “I had gone into this thinking that stretching would prevent injuries. I was fairly sure of it. But that’s not what we found.” Instead, static stretching provided no particular benefit. On the other hand, it didn’t cause harm, either.
One anomalous finding of the USA Track and Field study was that runners who were used to stretching and were assigned to the nonstretching group became injured at a disproportionately high rate. Almost 30 percent of them wound up hurting themselves during the three months. But no experts associated with the study or who have read the results believe that this finding intimates that stretching had been keeping them uninjured in the past. More likely, Dr. McHugh said, they fell victim to a training error, which, he explained, “in reality can mean any abrupt change in training patterns. Your body adapts to its routine, and if that routine is monotonously habitual as with many runners, it doesn’t take much of a change to cause an injury.”
So is the primary takeaway of the USA Track and Field study that, whatever you’re doing now in terms of stretching or not stretching, don’t stop? Possibly, but most physiologists, taking a broader view of the available science, would probably say no. “In all our involvement with elite athletes now, we don’t do this kind of static stretching anymore,” Dr. Tucker said. Instead, the best science suggests that an ideal preworkout routine “consists of a very easy warm-up, followed by a gradual increase in intensity and then dynamic stretching,” he said. Dynamic stretching, or exercises that increase your joints’ range of motion via constant movement, does not seem to invoke the inhibitory reflex of static stretching, Dr. Tucker said. When “you stretch through movement, you involve the brain much more, teaching proprioception and control, as well as improving flexibility.”
In practice, dynamic stretching would mean that, instead of leaning over and touching your toes or pushing against a wall to stretch your hamstrings before running, you might raise your leg before you in a marching motion, and then swing it back, in a well-controlled arc, suggested Phil Wharton, a neuromuscular therapist and founder, with his father, Jim, of the Wharton Performance clinic in New York City. Or lift your leg to the side and scissor it in front of you to warm up the hip joint.
But make any such alterations to your routine gradually, with circumspection. If there’s one lesson from the USA Track and Field study, said Dr. Pereles, it is that “sudden changes are probably not a good idea.”
This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: September 1, 2010
An earlier version of this post misspelled the surname of Dr. Dan Pereles.
How to Create the Ultimate Exercise Playlist
How to Create the Ultimate Exercise Playlist
Studies show that the rhythmic speed of your music influences your athletic performance. Here's how to use that information to create the ultimate playlist for your workout.
Original photo by Laisie Tu
The Science
While it's no surprise that fast-paced music is a good and popular exercise companion, a study published last year discovered a direct correlation between fast-paced music and athletic performance. Volunteers in the study were given popular music to listen to while riding a stationary bicycle. For the first ride, the music was played as-is. In subsequent rides, the some volunteers received music slowed down by 10% and others received music sped up by 10%. The riders were not informed of the change, yet their performance changed nonetheless:When the tempo slowed, so did their pedaling and their entire affect. Their heart rates fell. Their mileage dropped. They reported that they didn't like the music much. On the other hand, when the tempo of the songs was upped 10 percent, the men covered more miles in the same period of time, produced more power with each pedal stroke and increased their pedal cadences. Their heart rates rose. They reported enjoying the music - the same music - about 36 percent more than when it was slowed. But, paradoxically, they did not find the workout easier. Their sense of how hard they were working rose 2.4 percent. The up-tempo music didn't mask the discomfort of the exercise. But it seemed to motivate them to push themselves. As the researchers wrote, when "the music was played faster, the participants chose to accept, and even prefer, a greater degree of effort."
Choosing the Music
You want fast-paced music on your playlist, but some songs may be deceptive. As we've previously discovered, the best exercise music should be between 120-140 (beats per minute). The question is, how do you calculate the BPM of a song? Well, there's always the old fashioned way: counting.
Alternatively there is software to help you out. Both BPM Calculator (Windows) and BPM Assistant (Mac OS X) let you tap along with the song to calculate its BPM.
Once you've calculated the BPM of a song, you can generally store it in the ID3 tag of the music file. For example, getting info on a song in iTunes will let you enter the BPM. Using iTunes as an example, you can then sort your music by BPM and choose the songs you want that fall into the 120-140 BPM range.
Getting the Tracks in Order
When thinking about the order of the tracks in my exercise playlist, I'm reminded of Nike+. On the iPod, it lets you can assign a high-tempo "power song" to your run and start it when you're coming close to the finish. The idea is that it'll help motivate you to push through the remainder of your run and eek out a little extra speed.This is the concept to think about when you plan your playlist. If you're running steady on a treadmill, building your songs by BPM is an easy option. That way you'll end up on the fastest song and, in theory, pace yourself to gain speed as you gain distance. If you're dealing with varied incline and might want that additional motivation when you're hitting a hill (or greater resistance on the treadmill/stationary bike/elliptical/etc.) you may want to time the high BPM songs for those moments instead. Think about your run and when you need those "power songs" so you can build a playlist that fits your workout best.
Got any tips for building the perfect workout playlist? Let's hear 'em in the comments!
Phys Ed: Does Music Make You Exercise Harder? [New York Times]Send an email to Adam Dachis, the author of this post, at adachis@lifehacker.com.
via lifehacker.com
A program called beaTunes not only calculates the BPM for you, but also provides song matching (think iTunes Genius Mixes) to easily create a playlist.
Edward Maya - "Stereo Love (Feat. Alicia)"
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Lov'ng this song...
Screen Rant: A Look at Movie Theater (Non-)Cleanliness
Cleanliness is supposed to be the standard in public places, but movie theaters are apparently playgrounds for all sorts of gag-inducing sanitation issues.
There is very little doubt in my mind that while reading the title of this article you’re either nodding in agreement or shaking your head in disgust, as you recall a repulsive memory about a cleanliness issue at your favorite multiplex.
Every person in the world who has ever frequented a movie theater – be it a small “mom and pop” theater or one of those super-mega-multi-screen complexes – has at one point viewed a film in a less-than-clean environment.
Sticky floors that feel like you’re walking on fly paper, smelly, musky air, gum on the armrest or bathrooms reminiscent of a Greyhound bus station – these are just some of the sanitation issues plaguing modern day moviegoers.
I know what you’re thinking (I’m psychic), “Paul, don’t be hard on theater chains. Not every theater is that way.”
To that I say, “Nope, you are wrong!” Most (if not every) theater in America, and most likely the world, has similar problems. As long as humans continue to watch films in theaters the problem will likely never be resolved – in fact, I think the problem may be getting worse.
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Bed Bugs
Image courtesy of FreakingNews.com
For example, take the recent story on CNN about an AMC movie theater in New York City that was shutdown and fumigated for bed bugs. Says CNN in its report:
“The AMC Empire 25 movie theater closed Tuesday night for extermination and reopened Wednesday.”
I know what you are thinking (I’m psychic remember?), “Paul, that is only one theater.” Again, you would be wrong. CNN goes on to report:
“The bloodsucking pests were found at another New York AMC location, the Magic Johnson Harlem 9, on July 30.”
That’s two major theater locations (which are owned by a major movie theater company) and the sanitation issues are so bad that the seats have bed bugs! I’m thinking that AMC should incorporate the same type of rule that hotels have for swimming in their pools – shower before entering. The infestations make me wonder: what else could be lurking in those seats?
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Lice
I found several instances, over the past few years, where news agencies found more horror on movie theater seats than they did on the screen. If there can be bed bugs on the armrests and seat pans, then why couldn’t there be lice on the headrests?
Answer: there CAN be lice on the headrests. I’ll let that sink in for a moment – as you start to feel your skin crawl.
While there hasn’t been a well-publicized report of someone getting lice from a movie theater seat in the past ten years, according to a report on lice by the North Dakota Department of Health:
Sharing coat hooks, lockers, car/bus/airplane and MOVIE THEATER SEATS also provides ideal situations for the transmission of head lice.
Maybe I’m overly-alarmed about Lice, considering there hasn’t been a major incident in quite a few years. I don’t want to be that “sky is falling” guy, but I may start bringing my own headrest cover to theaters from now on.
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Fecal Matter
Back in 2008, KLTV News in East Texas ran a special report on theater seats in their area, and the findings – while disturbing – where equally unsurprising. Everyone has probably watched a similar report, where an independent lab swabs several public areas to see what disgusting bacteria they can find.
What was the number one contaminant found in KLTV’s theater seat study? FECAL MATTER! That’s right, the movie you are watching isn’t the only crappy thing in your favorite theater. Microbiologist Dr. Richard Wallace, with UT Health Science Center, spoke to KLTV:
“You never know what’s hiding underneath or what’s hiding on top of those seats. What I expected was skin organisms, the typical type of staph species things and those were almost universal in all the samples. You expect that because of people laying their hands on the seats. What I didn’t expect were what we call stool organisms or fecal organisms.”
Continue to other horrors you might encounter in your local cineplex…
So just how does something as vile as human feces make its way onto movie theater seats?
We’ve all been in the bathroom at a theater washing our hands and hear the familiar sound of the toilet in the stall behind us flush. We expect to see that person join us at the sink, only to feel one’s stomach turn as the stall patron walks briskly past us, grabs the door handle, and heads back into the theater. Well that guy or girl just took the collective poo-particles back to their seat and deposited them all over their arm rest – the very same armrest that you could be touching next time you go watch a movie.
Is it any wonder that DVD rentals are on the rise? Some attribute the trend to the economy but I say… maybe not.
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Airborne Pathogens
However, problems would persist even if you stood up during the entire run of a film, never touched a bag of popcorn, a door handle, or a theater seat – you are still susceptible to airborne germs and viruses. People seem to think it’s okay to go into a crowded, closed-in theater with a cold or flu and spread the virus like it’s a bag of Christmas cheer. Over at WebMD, Rod Moser, PA, PhD. takes the act of sneezing in a theater to an extreme level:
“This is not an innocent spread of disease, but rather a form of urban biological terrorism. During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, movie theaters in all major cities were closed.”
Calling it “biological terrorism” may seem a tad alarmist but is it? Anyone with a communicable disease can walk into any public venue unchecked and unchallenged and share their unhealthiness with everyone around them – and that includes movie theaters.
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Staph Bacteria (Pink Eye)
The last thing I want to touch on is the supposed cleanliness of those 3D glasses being passed out in movie theaters today. They come in wrappers and we’ve been taught that anything in a sealed wrapper is safe and clean to use, but are they really clean? A recent report by ABC News presents the results of a test that Good Housekeeping performed back in June of this year.
The Good Housekeeping Research Institute tested seven pairs of movie theater 3D glasses, both wrapped in plastic and unwrapped, and found a number of germs, including those causing conjunctivitis, skin infections, food poisoning, sepsis, and pneumonia.
A completely nasty list of ailments. If you hated 3D movies before, then I doubt your opinion will change after you get pink eye from watching Avatar 2.
Home Sweet (Disease and Bug Free) Home Theater
I would think that movie theater owners would rather keep their patrons healthy (and not creeped out) so that people continue to watch films in their establishments. If that’s the case, why are there so many horror stories out there and why are theaters getting discovered to be less-than-sanitary? I’m not naive enough to think that every theater can be as clean and sterile as a hospital room in ICU – but I also think it’s realistic to expect to watch a film while not wallowing in filth, refuse, bugs and bits of fecal matter.
How do theaters combat a serious problem like the cleanliness of the buildings and seats?
To a certain degree a vast majority of the responsibility falls upon the general public to maintain a high level of self-cleanliness to prevent the issue from even happening in the first place. Practice basic hygiene, don’t go into a public place with a bed bug or lice infestation on your body (seems like a no-brainer on that one) and for the love of popcorn, please wash your hands after using the restroom.
Do you have a horror story regarding unsanitary conditions at a movie theater that you’d like to share? Please do so in the comments section below.
Follow us on Twitter @Walwus and @ScreenRant
Source: CNN, Family Webicine, KLTV, ABC News, North Dakota Department of Health
via screenrant.com
Hmmm...now you can understand why I hate going to movie theaters. Not to mention how pricey it is to see a movie these days. Makes more sense to talk that $$$ and invest in a good Plasma or LCD and just wait for the release of movie on your choice of media.
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