Cardio after the Trail

[moocow]

Here's a tough one I'm having trouble answering. I'm trying to do cardio to fight the losing battle of post-trail weight gain. The problem: I've had plantar fascitis in both my feet since Fontana Dam almost 3 months ago. I know I can't take 3 ibuprofen every four hours like I was on the trail for the rest of my injury's life. I've been taking four ibuprofen so that I can run 3 miles a day, and I just know I can't do that anymore. So what now? Any ideas on cardio without the use of my feet?

[WIAPilot]

Have you thought about using a rowing machine? It might be a lot easier on your feet.

[Maddog]

Try an eliptical machine or a stationary bike. Maddog:)

[rsjrny]

I suggest swimming. The elliptical is easier on the foot but still puts the strain on the football and ankle. my recovery went much faster when I switched to swimming.

[verasch]

+1 to swimming. You don't want to put excess stress on that foot. Many YMCAs have pools, so you can do it year round.

[Velvet Gooch]

Arm ergometer

[BFI]

I suggest swimming. The elliptical is easier on the foot but still puts the strain on the football and ankle. my recovery went much faster when I switched to swimming.

Definitely Swimming, call your local pool and find out if they have a Masters Swim Club, or a Triathlon Club and get involved with them. There are many work out routines that have excellent cardio benefits and its non weight bearing so it’s great for the joints.

[max patch]

The first time I had PF I rode an exercise bike. The 2nd time, although I couldn't run, I could day hike with a light day pack so I did that.

[Ladytrekker]

Have you tried Crossfit. I started 7 weeks ago its super intense but works.

[Turk6177]

See a podiatrist. You can try a night boot to sleep with which will keep your tendon extended while you sleep. You may even be prescribed orthotics for your shoes. While it is healing, I agree with the swimming.

[moocow]

night boot - ha! I'm not knocking, just never heard of that before. I need to go to the podiatrist anyway so I'll bring that up when I do.

I guess I never thought about machines, and I don't know why. I've got access to a gym and need to use it. And the swimming thing is genius. Thank you guys for your suggestions.

[Grinder]

I fight a similar problem. I'm an ex-runner. stiffened up to where running is not an option.
I tried the machines, but none of them match the degree of effort (and therefore cardiac efficiency) that climbing with a loaded pack does. I would train for an hour a day for months before my section hike, only to become winded on the first steepish climb.
Bicycling, if you really hump it (18 to 20 mph) will let you go anaerobic.
Swimming has the same effect. For some reason, I can't seem to get myself to the community pool.
I also used to go to the local high school stadium and climb the stairs with my pack on. That worked well. Of course, plantar faciitis may rule that out for you

[panopticon]

I found my calf muscles were very tight, pulled on my achilles, and that impacted my PF. I bought a foam roller for $35 and use it on a regular basis. It's made all the difference for me. I sit on the floor with my feet straight in front of me and place the roller under my ankles, use my hands to lift my hips up and 'walk' my hands so that the roller goes the length of my legs. I stop for 10 seconds or so on any tender/tight spot. I feel like a new man after taking 3 minutes to do this. YMMV.

[panopticon]

Your gym will likely have the foam rollers, you can try them out to see if it helps you.

[panopticon]

I've found cycling is a suitable cardio activity for those with PF. I bought a pair of SuperFeet shoe inserts that support my arch and put them in my cycling shoes, whose soles are extremely rigid. A wide Velcro strip on top of my shoes pushes my feet down to the inserts. My feet can't bend/move much at all, which is great.

You may want to consider slowly easing into wearing 'five finger' type minimalist shoes to help build up your feet.

[Pedaling Fool]

Cycling is good cardio, but most people don't do it correctly, because they don't spin hard enough and they allow the seat to let them get lazy.

I've even heard people say that they can't get a good workout in cycling. Ride with me and you'll see the error of your way.

[Pedaling Fool]

Inactivity Killing More Than Smoking
Physical inactivity becoming global pandemic


(Newser) – The people of the world need to get off their butts, scientists have concluded after an extensive review of global mortality statistics, which revealed that physical inactivity is killing more people than smoking. Researchers, declaring inactivity to be a pandemic, estimate that out of the 57 million or so deaths in 2008, 5.3 million were premature ones caused by a failure to engage in at least 150 minutes of walking or other moderate exercise per week, ABC (http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/story/2012-07-18/physical-inactivity-kills/56279846/1) reports. Tobacco use killed around 5.1 million people the same year.

North Americans and Europeans are global leaders in inactivity, but the rest of the world is starting to catch up, the study found. Many people fail to realize that a sedentary lifestyle, even for people who seem healthy, appears to be as bad for individuals as smoking or being severely overweight, the lead researcher warns. With the Olympics on the way, now is a "good time to remind ourselves that we were meant to be physically active," he says. "It's good for our health. We may not be Olympians, but almost all of us can walk 15 to 30 minutes a day, which would improve health."


http://www.newser.com/story/150312/inactivity-killing-more-than-smoking.html

[perrymk]

I used to judge high school and junior high science fairs. One of the kids did a presentation showing that playing the trumpet provided as much cardio benefit as jogging a mile per day. I don't recall the all the details but the message was, use your lungs however you can. I'm guessing the weight loss benefit might not be as great but at least the lungs can maintain some of their conditioning while the rest of you heals.


This is a book that helped me with PF.

The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution
by Jim Johnson
http://www.amazon.com/The-5-Minute-P...5283195&sr=1-7 (http://www.amazon.com/The-5-Minute-Plantar-Fasciitis-Solution/dp/1598585517/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335283195&sr=1-7)

This is the main stretch recommended in the book:
•Plantar fascia stretch
This stretch is performed in the seated position. Cross your affected foot over the knee of your other leg. Grasp the toes of your painful foot and slowly pull them toward you in a controlled fashion. If it is difficult to reach your foot, wrap a towel around your big toe to help pull your toes toward you. Place your other hand along the plantar fascia. The fascia should feel like a tight band along the bottom of your foot when stretched. Hold the stretch for 10 seconds. Repeat it 20 times for each foot. This exercise is best done in the morning before standing or walking.

Here is the best photo I could find of the stretch.
http://images.teamsugar.com/files/up...ot-stretch.jpg (http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/12981/42_2008/foot-stretch.jpg)

I did the stretch 10 times for 10 seconds each hold, 3 times per day. It took a couple of weeks to notice improvement, a couple of months to feel good again. I maintain with doing the stretch (as part of my full body stretch routine) doing the stretch 5 times for 10 seconds each hold once per day.

I hope this helps.

[FlyPaper]

Here's a tough one I'm having trouble answering. I'm trying to do cardio to fight the losing battle of post-trail weight gain. The problem: I've had plantar fascitis in both my feet since Fontana Dam almost 3 months ago. I know I can't take 3 ibuprofen every four hours like I was on the trail for the rest of my injury's life. I've been taking four ibuprofen so that I can run 3 miles a day, and I just know I can't do that anymore. So what now? Any ideas on cardio without the use of my feet?

I can't help with plantar fascitis, but one thing that I've learned over the years is that there are very few of us that can maintain a lifestyle that allows us to exercise our way to thinness. Thru-hiking is an exception. You're walking 12+ hours a day, sometimes uphill. But having a full time job that does not involve exercise, and having an otherwise normal life, you're probably not going to be able to add enough cardio to stay thin. Getting older makes it harder and harder to keep the weight down. It's going to matter a whole lot more what you eat (or don't eat). Good luck with the cardio, still it helps and is very worthwhile.

[leaftye]

I don't like the focus of stretching the plantar fascia. It's connected to your calf muscles, which are connected to your hamstrings, which are connected to your glutes. If those muscles are tight, they'll pull on the plantar fascia. Over stretching the plantar fascia to compensate seems like a terrible idea. Panopticon already said that he stretched one a link in his posterior chain and felt great relief. I also had pf a couple years ago, and I foam rolled my entire posterior chain. Not only did this provided relief longer than only stretching the plantar fascia, but it also allowed my feet to heal rather quickly.

[pervy_sage]

This may sound counter intuitive, but the research I have come across says anaerobic exercise in the form of high intensity interval training (aka HIIT or Tabata) would actually be more beneficial to former thru hikers than continuing to chasing the white rabbit (or blaze) of aerobic cardio workouts.

Former thru hikers have essentially made their bodies the Prius of calorie burning. After 2100 miles, a thru hiker can make it through a normal person's day on a single saltine cracker and a bottle cap of Pepsi. Their body does not know it is allowed to be a little more frivolous it's fuel. In addition, when the hiker sees the pounds starting to pile on, they impulsively start consuming less, which sets off the starvation alarm bells, immediately causing the brain to run around turning off all the lights yelling at the stomach for staring blankly into the fridge with the door open. This only serves to make the situation worse, which makes the ex-hiker exercise more and eat less, and round and round we go.

The idea of the HIIT training is to fool the body into consuming mass quantities of calories (primarily carbs) to satisfy the demands of a less efficient anaerobic metabolic process. The ex-hiker needs to convince the body to stop sparing the calories and rev up the metabolism for immediate need, not spare it for the long haul that isn't there. It has also been shown to increase the mitochondria count in muscle tissue. For those who may have slept through biology, the mitochondria are the parts (organelles) of human cells that produces most of the energy used for the cells to do work. In muscle cells, the more mitochondria you have, the more work that can be done, and the more rapidly calories will be burned.

The wonderful thing, which has been backup up by actual medical research, is the interval training can be anything so long as it gets the heart rate up into the anaerobic zone, and only needs to be done a few times a week. Stationary bikes have been used in the research, and benefits are being seen with as little as 20 minutes of workout three days a week. The intervals may involve 1-2 min of intense workout, and 3 minutes "rest" or relaxed workout, repeated over the 20 minute time period. There are different conventions for the intervals, so do your research.

The ex-hiker also needs to eat. Starving is not good. Eat, well.

Hope you find a solution to your problem.

[perrymk]

, is the interval training can be anything
Like walking my dog. Rush! Stop and sniff. Rush to the next spot! Stop and sniff. :)

[Pedaling Fool]

This may sound counter intuitive, but the research I have come across says anaerobic exercise in the form of high intensity interval training (aka HIIT or Tabata) would actually be more beneficial to former thru hikers than continuing to chasing the white rabbit (or blaze) of aerobic cardio workouts.

Former thru hikers have essentially made their bodies the Prius of calorie burning. After 2100 miles, a thru hiker can make it through a normal person's day on a single saltine cracker and a bottle cap of Pepsi. Their body does not know it is allowed to be a little more frivolous it's fuel. In addition, when the hiker sees the pounds starting to pile on, they impulsively start consuming less, which sets off the starvation alarm bells, immediately causing the brain to run around turning off all the lights yelling at the stomach for staring blankly into the fridge with the door open. This only serves to make the situation worse, which makes the ex-hiker exercise more and eat less, and round and round we go.

The idea of the HIIT training is to fool the body into consuming mass quantities of calories (primarily carbs) to satisfy the demands of a less efficient anaerobic metabolic process. The ex-hiker needs to convince the body to stop sparing the calories and rev up the metabolism for immediate need, not spare it for the long haul that isn't there. It has also been shown to increase the mitochondria count in muscle tissue. For those who may have slept through biology, the mitochondria are the parts (organelles) of human cells that produces most of the energy used for the cells to do work. In muscle cells, the more mitochondria you have, the more work that can be done, and the more rapidly calories will be burned.

The wonderful thing, which has been backup up by actual medical research, is the interval training can be anything so long as it gets the heart rate up into the anaerobic zone, and only needs to be done a few times a week. Stationary bikes have been used in the research, and benefits are being seen with as little as 20 minutes of workout three days a week. The intervals may involve 1-2 min of intense workout, and 3 minutes "rest" or relaxed workout, repeated over the 20 minute time period. There are different conventions for the intervals, so do your research.

The ex-hiker also needs to eat. Starving is not good. Eat, well.

Hope you find a solution to your problem.

That's basically what Lew is saying and after doing it I agree 100% http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUyMYHG_Vcg

But it is important to have a base established and a thru-hike is perfect for establishing that base. I agree with Lew, I don't think very many people at all go anaerobic very often, including gym rats.

[rocketsocks]

This may sound counter intuitive, but the research I have come across says anaerobic exercise in the form of high intensity interval training (aka HIIT or Tabata) would actually be more beneficial to former thru hikers than continuing to chasing the white rabbit (or blaze) of aerobic cardio workouts.

Former thru hikers have essentially made their bodies the Prius of calorie burning. After 2100 miles, a thru hiker can make it through a normal person's day on a single saltine cracker and a bottle cap of Pepsi. Their body does not know it is allowed to be a little more frivolous it's fuel. In addition, when the hiker sees the pounds starting to pile on, they impulsively start consuming less, which sets off the starvation alarm bells, immediately causing the brain to run around turning off all the lights yelling at the stomach for staring blankly into the fridge with the door open. This only serves to make the situation worse, which makes the ex-hiker exercise more and eat less, and round and round we go.

The idea of the HIIT training is to fool the body into consuming mass quantities of calories (primarily carbs) to satisfy the demands of a less efficient anaerobic metabolic process. The ex-hiker needs to convince the body to stop sparing the calories and rev up the metabolism for immediate need, not spare it for the long haul that isn't there. It has also been shown to increase the mitochondria count in muscle tissue. For those who may have slept through biology, the mitochondria are the parts (organelles) of human cells that produces most of the energy used for the cells to do work. In muscle cells, the more mitochondria you have, the more work that can be done, and the more rapidly calories will be burned.

The wonderful thing, which has been backup up by actual medical research, is the interval training can be anything so long as it gets the heart rate up into the anaerobic zone, and only needs to be done a few times a week. Stationary bikes have been used in the research, and benefits are being seen with as little as 20 minutes of workout three days a week. The intervals may involve 1-2 min of intense workout, and 3 minutes "rest" or relaxed workout, repeated over the 20 minute time period. There are different conventions for the intervals, so do your research.

The ex-hiker also needs to eat. Starving is not good. Eat, well.

Hope you find a solution to your problem.Wow Pervy Sage, that sure saved me from reading all the technical stuff, thanks for posting this, you make it make sense, good stuff here.

Not sure how I came up with John Pervy Sage, :osorry bout that, again great read!

[pervy_sage]

, is the interval training can be anything
Like walking my dog. Rush! Stop and sniff. Rush to the next spot! Stop and sniff. :)

That will work, so long as u walk fast enough to "feel the burn" between sniffings.

[pervy_sage]

As a followup, addendum, whatever...this was a short blog post I did on my pre-thru hike exercise research. Covers much of the same plus touches on specific targeted exercises. I really need to look up the research papers on the HIIT to flesh out that post.

http://psrat.blogspot.com/2012/03/sweating-with-oldies.html

[Pedaling Fool]

This is kind of interesting http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/sprint-fight-fat (article copied below). They're talking specifically about sprinting on a bike, but I don't see why it wouldn't apply to any other type activity, say sprinting in a run or high intensity weight training. I also, typically, do much more than 3 sprints during my rides, of course I save the hardest sprints for the end of the ride. Yesterday I did 30 miles and at least 15 sprints -- I was pretty beaten up by the end, especially since it was all on sun-beaten roads. But I've learned that when I do a normal ride, without sprints (which isn't very often), it is so, so easy to cruise.


Sprint to fight fat

29 June 2012


Men can significantly cut the visceral fat in their abdomen with one hour of interval sprinting per week instead of relying on seven hours of jogging a week for a similar result, according to new Australian research.

Just 20-minutes of sprints on an exercise bike, three times a week, is all that’s required, the University of New South Wales researchers found.

“Sprints are a very time efficient form of exercise,” says Associate Professor Steve Boutcher, who led the UNSW Medicine research.

“The sprint program, LifeSprints, reduced visceral fat with seven times less exercise time and has a much greater impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health than reductions of subcutaneous fat stores in the legs and arms.”

Men who participated in the research lost two kilograms of body fat, 17 per cent of visceral fat, and put on 1.2 kilograms of muscle in their legs and trunk after the 12-week exercise bike sprints program.

“Other studies using aerobic exercise, such as continuous jogging, have found that the amount of exercise needed to produce a similar decrease in visceral fat was around seven hours per week for 14 weeks,” Professor Boutcher says.

The team of researchers has previously studied the impact of the sprinting program on women, which also showed a significant loss of body fat from stationary cycling for 20 minutes, three times a week.

LifeSprints were also good for those who wanted to boost muscle mass.

“Participation in regular aerobic exercise typically results in little or no gain in muscle mass, whereas moderately hard resistance exercise over months may increase muscle mass. The amount of LifeSprints exercise, however, needed to significantly increase muscle mass appears to be much less,” Professor Boutcher says.

The research was carried out by UNSW Medicine PhD candidate Mehrdad Heydari, with body composition assessment by Professor Judith Freund from St Vincent’s Hospital’s Nuclear Imaging Department. It was funded by Diabetes Australia and is published in the Journal of Obesity (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jobes/2012/480467/ref/).

Media contact: Associate Professor Steve Boutcher | UNSW School of Medical Sciences | 02 9385 2877 |

[et_afig]

I recommend reading Born to Run. I know there are people against it, but its out there and its all valid data and examples.

I hated running, I started slowly with my minimalist shoes (Merrel Trail Gloves) and now the only thing that hurts is my calves because I was able to pound down more miles of pavement than I normally would have with regular tennis shoes.

[leaftye]

They're talking specifically about sprinting on a bike, but I don't see why it wouldn't apply to any other type activity, say sprinting in a run or high intensity weight training.

Sprinting in a run would be killer. It's almost by definition not sprinting if you can do it for 20 minutes. It's different on a bike. I don't know why. The idea makes sense though.

[Pedaling Fool]

Sprinting in a run would be killer. It's almost by definition not sprinting if you can do it for 20 minutes. It's different on a bike. I don't know why. The idea makes sense though.
Yeah, if you're going at it for 20 minutes, it is definitely NOT a sprint.

Actually, I kill myself more when I sprint while cycling. I can sprint so hard that I actually get light-headed and my heart is wanting to pound thru my chest and sometimes even some chest pain involved, try not to do that too often, but it’s easy to do.

Whereas when I’m running when I sprint, which I usually do about 3 times during a run, my heart feels like it wants to pound thru my chest, but don’t really have the other issues like in cycling. I’m sure I could if I really pushed it, but it’s just so much easier to do it on a bike. Maybe it has something to do with the speed and wanting to get that little bit more of speed out of my bike, I don’t know.

I generally agree that running is more difficult than cycling, but if you want to get your heart pounding on a bike, it’s very easy to do, very easy. The problem with cycling is that most people fall victim to the advantages of cycling, such as sitting, riding just fast enough to create a pleasant breeze, allowing your momentum to do most of the work, riding in the shade and staying out of the wind or away from hills. But if you’re a serious cyclists it can be a very serious cardio workout.

The other problem with cycling is that my cycling legs don't convert too well to running (or hiking) legs, but my running legs more readily convert to cycling legs, not perfect, but a much easier transition.