running

Swinging arms most efficient way to run

Swinging arms most efficient way to run

Ever tried running without swinging your arms? New research has shown that the swing in your arms counter balances the movement of your legs and saves energy at the same time.

“We know from the literature that arm swinging plays an important role in balancing the motion of the swinging legs,” said Christopher Arellano from the Brown University.

Arellano studied 13 runners and measured their oxygen consumption rates and carbon dioxide that they exhaled.

He asked them to run without swinging their arms by holding the arms loosely behind the back, crossing the arms across the chest, and holding the hands on the top of the head.

He found that swinging the arms reduced the runners’ energy costs by three percent (as compared to when they held their arms behind their backs).

Arm swinging also saved energy an impressive 13 percent compared with when they held their hands on their heads.

“I think everyone conceded that the most challenging run was the one with the hands on the top of the head,” Arellano added, recalling how runners complained about how tired their arms were at the end of the session.

The study appeared in the journal of Experimental Biology.

Source: darpan magazine

Too much running could actually kill you sooner

Training to run a marathon has got to be one of the healthiest things you can do, right? Maybe not: A new study found that “moderate” runners lived longer than people who don’t exercise at all — and people who run lots of miles

The study involved 3,800 runners who supplied info on their heart risk factors and their use of NSAIDs like ibuprofen; almost 70% of the group clocked more than 20 miles a week. The findings were presented Sunday, but have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. According to the results, how much should you run? One cardiologist who reviewed the data suggests you no more than 2.5 hours per week, spread out between two or three sessions consisting of slow or moderately-paced running.

It’s not clear why too much running might be bad for longevity, but the study appears to rule out factors like prior cardiac risk (linked to things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, family history, and smoking) or excessive use of NSAIDs (which have been linked to heart problems).

One doctor who’s also a running coach tells NBC San Diego that extreme exercise can actually “cause some scarring of the heart.” And another recent study found that male marathon runners had more plaque in their coronary arteries—which can lead to a heart attack—than non-runners, Pioneer Press reports. Again, it’s not clear why, but one researcher notes, “It is plausible, not proof by any stretch, that metabolic changes when running could be moderately toxic to arteries.”

Source: KSDK