Cons of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport

There are a number of cons to do with performance enhancing drugs in sports. Performance enhancing drugs are simply not going away - in fact they seem to be getting more popular as they get more advanced. For anyone with an interest in sport, drugs will continue to be a source of discussion and distress. Are they really worth it? Can they help us achieve our dreams? What would happen if I took them?

Running - Get Fit for Life

Fitness experts agree - Running is one of the best exercises you can do to keep in shape. The criticism is the stress on the body. The knees and leg muscles do take a beating. But. .. there are plenty of runners in their 60's and 70's who have been running for years and continue to do so. Running is simply too great of an exercise to dismiss. Here's a way to make running a lifelong exercise with minimal injuries.

Running Fast And Faster

Running fast just isn't what it used to be! When I was a kid, if I wanted to run I just sort of rushed my walking and then before I knew it I was running. If I wanted to run faster, all I had to do was try harder, and I would run faster. I could keep trying harder and harder until I couldn't try any harder and that was my top speed. Very simple really, and the sort of understanding you would expect from a kid.

What Makes A Runner?

As I was running around Doho Park in my city of Tsukuba today, I saw a man, moving along barely faster than walking pace. I went straight by him despite the fact that I was pushing a running stroller at the time and was out for a slow jog with my daughter. If I had started to walk I think we still would have passed him, but he was still technically running even at that pace. It made me wonder what makes a runner?

Why Do I Run?

Tomorrow is Monday. You have had a big week and your weekend didn't solve any of your problems. Tomorrow it is back to work and we all know how hard the Monday morning rev up can be. How about just skipping your run and sleeping in instead? In fact why do you think that running first thing on any morning is such a good idea? Wouldn't it be better for you to catch up on a little sleep instead? Well I can't speak for the rest of the world, but my experience is that any day that starts off with a run is better than a day that doesn't.

Why Go To A Specialty Running Store For Running Shoes?

I remember my first pair of running shoes. I had read in a magazine article that the way to prevent injury was to buy good running shoes, and that any good running shoe would cost between $90-$130. A light bulb went on. I could prevent injury and potentially be a better runner, all in a shoe? Off I went. My first stop was a huge multi-sport center. I breezed past the canoes, golf clubs, treadmills, and in-line skates.

Runner's Best Friend? The Bushman's Blow

If you are anything like me, if you run, then your nose will run too. That sort of sounds like how when you smile the whole world smiles with you, but when you fall, the whole world walks right over your back(at least at the start of a race). But I can't get off the track so early in an article. When I run, my nose runs and it runs even more in cold weather. I have this theory that it is because my head heats up from all of the splits, and minutes per klm calculations that I am doing (or maybe because the blood only ever reaches my brain when it bounces up there while I am running).

MRI Scans And Runners Injury Diagnosis

Yesterday was MRI day for me. I was booked in for a scan on an annoying and persistent lump in my lower leg. Since this is the next day now, and I often think of important things to after they have stopped being important, I decided to do a brief net search to see what an MRI is all about. Firstly, I guessed wrong when I assumed that MRI stands for "Muscle Right Inside" (which is where the problem with my leg is).

Climatic Nutrition for Runners

As runners we all seem pretty aware of the advantages of properly adjusted nutrition (including hydration) both while we are racing and while we are training. However do we pay enough attention to the changing nutritional demands that our climate has on our bodies? We realise that to run a marathon in 3 hours (or 2 or 4 for that matter) will cost us a certain amount of carbohydrate stored in glycogen and a certain amount stored in fats.

Running Cadence, Or How Many Footsteps Per Minute?

I have been doing a bit of research on the whole running cadence concept and I have found out some interesting results. Apparently the number of steps per minute (cadence in cycling terms) that an elite athlete will take on average doesn't vary as much as I would expect. For any elite distance runner (over about 3000m) you can predict that they will be running at about 180 steps per minute (90 left foot and 90 right foot) regardless of how fast they are running.