Fitness myths, training truths, and other surprising discoveries from the science of exercise
Another interesting study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, posted online in December while I was away. It’s a prospective study that looked at 209 Ironman triathletes before and after a race, and tried to detect any differences between the 43 who developed muscle cramps and the 166 who didn’t. The major finding is …
Continue reading “Cramping in Ironman triathlons: not dehydration or electrolytes”
I’ve written a few times now about the “new” theory of muscle cramping advanced by Martin Schwellnus of the University of Cape Town and his colleagues, most recently last month. In a nutshell, he argues that muscle cramps have nothing to do with dehydration or electrolyte depletion, but result from “altered neuromuscular control” (for an …
Continue reading “Muscle cramps risk factors: tapering, stretching and pacing”
No, really, this is a serious blog entry. There’s an article in the May issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise by researchers at Brigham Young University called “Reflex Inhibition of Electrically Induced Muscle Cramps in Hypohydrated Humans,” and that’s what it says: The most significant and novel observation of this study was …
I just noticed, a little belatedly, that an article I wrote for the March issue of Canadian Running magazine is now available online. It describes my experiences with a home sweat analysis kit from Medion Corporation, and compares the results to a laboratory sweat test I did with Lawrence Spriet of the University of Guelph …