A new study from Tel Aviv University has found that ‘endurance exercises,' like a Central Park jog or a spinning class, can make us look younger.
The key, exercise, unlocks the stem cells of our muscles.
Prof. Dafna Benayahu and her team at Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine say their findings explain for the first time why older people who have exercised throughout their lives age more gracefully.
They have discovered how endurance exercise increases the number of muscle stem cells and enhances their ability to rejuvenate old muscles.
The researchers hope their finding can lead to a new drug to help the elderly and immobilized heal their muscles faster.
*It is my contention, no mater what the stated reason given, the number one reason people come to your class is so they will feel that they look better. It may be beneficial to remember this when you communicate the benefits to your class.
“Today was the hardest recovery ride ever! I complained the entire way and had three different plans to abort and shortcut the ride throughout the route.”
That’s an actual comment sent to me by a former student of mine. The rider is dedicated, committed and strong. And the statement raised so much conflict in me, I felt obliged to write another post about the all-too-real dangers of overtraining. (Please see my earlier post, “Endurance Exercise and Heart Damage”.)
Being able to ride long distances makes you feel like a cyclist, regardless of how fast you are. Riding long gives a feeling of accomplishment. It’s the kind of training that can easily become overtraining because the conditioning increases your ability to endure whatever happens on the bike. Aches, pains, bad weather, lousy traffic are all part of it. You get tough. The tougher you get, the more you ignore the signs that it’s time to let the miles go.
Many of my students have graduated from my classes to the road. Some have gone on to become accomplished cyclists. Several have gone in the direction of riding long distances.
If you’ve never racked up a lot of miles, it’s important to understand that there’s a “buzz” to it. Each week, you end up riding many more miles than are good for you, but it’s gratifying to have finally reached the point where you can ride that many miles. All the training has culminated in considerable ability; you don’t want to let go of the conditioning. Couple that with the resilience you had to develop and, before you know it, you’re no longer getting stronger. You’re doing whatever you can to keep yourself from breaking down.
This kind of overtraining syndrome can be hard to discern. The intensity isn’t high, a day or two of rest helps you feel better, and there’s a mindset that this is what it takes to get strong on the bike. It’s difficult to know when you’ve crossed the line.
Dr. Philip Maffetone talks about three stages of overtraining. He calls Stage 1 Functional Overtraining. It may include a seemingly minor plateau or a slight regression in trainingperformance. While that may be noticeable in a professional athlete receiving close observation, it’s likely to be overlooked in the situation I’m describing.
Maffetone refers to Stage 2 as Sympathetic Overtraining. The sympathetic part of the nervous system becomes overactive, which results in a classic overtraining sign — increased resting heart rate. This is discussed by cyclists and indoor-cycling instructors all the time. I can say from experience is that it’s easy to keep training through this.
Stage 3 is Parasympathetic Overtraining. Chronic overtraining has led to more serious hormonal, neurological and mechanical imbalances that parallel adrenal dysfunction. Eventually the sympathetic nervous system becomes exhausted, and most, if not all, hormone levels are significantly reduced, including cortisol. Believe it or not, this is not an uncommon state for many of our students who like to ride long distances. At this point, negative feelings increase, such as depression, anger, fatigue and irritability. Ratings of perceived exertion increase, as well. (Consider the statement at the beginning of this post.) Serious injury is possible, as is an increased likelihood of crashing. Yet getting on the bike for another ride is still within reach, still feels accessible.
My question for discussion is: What can be done with students in this state? I know from experience they don’t want to hear anyone tell them to stop riding so many miles. They know from experience that their conditioning will lose its edge and they’ll detune. That’s hard to accept. The ego is engaged here because they’ve reached a level of conditioning that makes them proud of their training.
I’ve often tried to intervene — to little avail — with students going through this. A coach of mine once told me that life is the only real coach when it comes to ego, and that everyone needs to go through significant downturns and trauma to learn life lessons.
I’m interested in what the rest of you have experienced.
The question I asked was “how many of you are training for something?”
Over 80%, of a full class with 50 bikes this morning, raised their hands indicating that they were training for something… I wasn't specific as to what, only are you training? Even though this wasn't my class (I was the Sub for a Sub) I know many of them and know that they are all telling the truth. For each of them, what they're “Training” for is a little different:
Steve is scheduled for his first Ironman in June. Steve's “Training” is to find the time he needs to develop his fitness, while balancing the needs of his family and work.
Susan plans to ride her first Minnesota Ironman. It's not a Triathlon, but a large charity ride on the last Sunday of April each year. The weather is normally not pleasant – it's typically miserable 🙁 Susan is new to riding outdoors and she is “Training” to have enough endurance to finish with her girl friends, who have much more experience than she does.
Neal is excited for a week cycling through France with 9 of his friends. Neal's “Training” is focused on dropping the 30 pounds he gained after foot surgery.
Randy is determined to hear a “nice pull” as he rotates off the front of the “A” group this summer. Randy's “Training” is to demonstrate that he has the fitness to stay with the “A” group, even though he is 63 years old.
Are you talking to your class as training endurance athletes?
My favorite is to say to my class “I came here believing you all are training endurance athletes…. It's up to you to prove that I'm wrong.”
What words and actions do you use during your class that communicate your belief in them?
[firstname], teaching an endurance PROfile is all about keeping them engaged and focused. Listen as Master Instructor Janet Toussaint explains how she does it in her ride called The Endurance Connection.
Here's your Spotify PRO/Playlist! We have made every attempt to replicate the original playlist. In some instances the tracks specified were unavailable in Spotify. When necessary we have substituted individual songs of similar length and tried to maintain the Instructor's intent. Here's the Deezer Playlist
Serotonin is a brain chemical with different functions.
– It’s a neurotransmitter that’s targeted and enhanced by several antidepressants.
– It’s the precursor of melatonin, the “sleep hormone” and anti-inflammatory.
– It affects satiety and modulates general food intake and carbs specifically.
– It’s a vasoconstrictor.
– At high levels, it can make us lethargic.
– It plays a role in energy expenditure and motor activity.
Exercise can raise levels of serotonin. Typically, that’s considered beneficial because serotonin is often referred to — somewhat mistakenly — as a “happiness” hormone.
But among athletes, increased serotonin is known to exert a negative influence on endurance training by bringing on fatigue. Various studies over the past decade or so have shown this to be true in both human and animal studies.
The connection between serotonin and fatigue during endurance exercise is more pronounced in high-intensity (“exhaustive”) training.
Red Ginseng
Red (panax) ginseng has been promoted as an ergogenic aid for endurance athletes. Having never tried it, I can’t vouch for its effectiveness.
Tests on animals, however, suggest that the mechanism behind the ergogenic benefit of ginseng lies in its ability to suppress brain levels of serotonin.
The side effects of red ginseng vary and may include anxiety, headache, insomnia, nervousness, or dizziness. If consumed with coffee, it can cause irregular heart rhythms. Anyone taking meds for hypertension should avoid red ginseng.
Peony Root
Other animal studies show that peony root (paeonia radix) works similarly. It reduces fatigue by blocking the synthesis of serotonin during exercise.
The drawbacks of peony root are stomach upset, rashes in sensitive people, or its ability to slow blood clotting. That may lead to negative interactions with anticoagulant meds — either prescription drugs like Coumadin or over-the-counter items, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen (Naprosyn).
Acupuncture and glucose
Still other animal studies have shown that acupuncture at selected sites or glucose injections in the brain can improve treadmill running by suppressing serotonin synthesis and release.
So the serotonin/fatigue connection in athletes and animals has been shown time and again.
Protein To the Rescue
When I long ago learned of the connection between exercise-induced serotonin and fatigue, my first thought was of protein. A combination of mid-ride protein and starch would tend to block serotonin synthesis, I figured.
Sure enough, research supports that.
Protein added to a carb supplement has been shown, for example, to enhance running endurance capacity in football players toward the end of a game.
Experiments on rats trained on a treadmill and given free access to food and a choice between water and a water/amino acid solution showed that the rats preferred the amino acid solution when made to run on the treadmill. Tests revealed decreased brain serotonin in those rats. This suggests an ergogenic benefit of the amino solution.
How Can You Use This Info?
Fatigue has multiple symptoms that may occur simultaneously. For best results overall, a few basic workout guidelines should help.
Stay hydrated, of course, always. Dehydration produces severe fatigue (and worse).
Don’t overdress. Hyperthermia can increase perceived effort and derail endurance efforts.
Add protein to your fuel mix. Preferable types would be fairly easy to digest, such as organic pea protein powder. It could easily be added to the recipe for Dr. Joan’s Potato Goo, described in a previous post.
Wishing you excellent results with your endurance workouts in the year ahead!
This explains everything* 🙂
