Fitness Myths: Comparing fixed calories per hour across various sports

How many times have you seen this kind of info? Whilst there is some truth in it, it is rather inaccurate and perhaps misleading. for example why is cycling mid-table. Would Chris Hoy agree that cycling is fairly moderate activity, akin to a brisk walk? Nonsense!

The idea of a fixed number of calories per hour (ie energy used) from complex sports is a myth. The amount of energy used / time reflects the intensity of that activity. In order words the amount of and intensity of the muscular and cardiovascular strain.

A slightly better way would be to break it down like this in categories of low / medium and high intensity bands. For example see this nice infographic. 

However a more precise way is to measure intensity more accurately. This has been perfected in cycling....because power (effort / energy use) increases with speed / resistance gradient

Similarly in rowing for example on the concept 2 rower

A new start up has also created the worlds first powermeter for running (more on this another time) see http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/01/stryd-first-running.html

Conclusion. Effort in a number of sports varies enormously. You can go for a gentle swim cycle jog or a really intense one. A really intense effort probably has a lot of hidden benefits in terms of HIIT after effect. More on that another time.

Science: When is a Calorie not a Calorie: when it is a high glycaemic index calorie!

Time for some science on When is a Calorie not a Calorie?!

Many sources state ‘‘a calorie is a calorie’’ and there is a lot of truth in that as weight loss is based around fewer calories in than expended (thermodynamic law). However some foods are rapidly absorbed giving a quick energy hit that can be useful around intense exercise (eg cyclists energy gels) but generally it not great for feeling full (satiety). Hence glycaemic index or GI. 

high-GI meals produce larger glycaemic and insulinaemic responses...a rapid peak and then rapid trough. 

The Glycaemic index is a system of ranking the glycaemic potential of the carbohydrates in different foods. It was first proposed as an alternative means of classifying carbohydrate-containing foods in 1981 and some organizations like the American Diabetes Association recognized that the use of the GI 'can provide an additional benefit over that observed when total carbohydrate is considered alone.  Some studies show that high quality foods (but similar calories) enhance weight loss although the effect is not massive

Read a really nice scientific paper on this here:

Esfahani A1, Wong JM, Mirrahimi A, Villa CR, Kendall CW. The application of the glycemic index and glycemic load in weight loss: A review of the clinical evidence. IUBMB Life. 2011 Jan;63(1):7-13. doi: 10.1002/iub.418.

Free copy: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/iub.418/pdf

In other studies a diet high in vegetable proteins and oils resulted in greater improvements in CHD risk factors (eg serum lipids and blood pressure, despite similar weight reduction in the conventional low-fat control diet) read about that here  

Jenkins, D. J., Wong, J. M., Kendall, C. W., Esfahani, A., Ng, V. W., Leong, T. C., Faulkner, D. A., Vidgen, E., Greaves, K. A., Paul, G., and Singer, W. (2009) The effect of a plant-based low-carbohydrate (‘‘Eco-Atkins’’) diet on body weight and blood lipid concentrations in hyperlipidemic subjects. Arch. Intern. Med. 169, 1046–1054.

However just because it is low GI, doesn’t mean its high quality. Strict low CHO diets are low GI (and glycaemic load) because of the restriction in carbs but this may be hard to maintain in the long term. Of course diets that deliver adequate nutrition reduce the desire to eat and impact satiety. Low GI/GL diets  replete with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are rich in nutrients and low in calories and have a higher volume per calorie and offer dietary fiber, resistant starch, and slowly available carbohydrate , all of which have been shown to offer satiation and are associated with reduced body weight. 

How about intervention studies where people are put on a low GI diet? In some but not all studies a low GI diet seems to work. Ebbeling et al.61 showed that an reduced-GL diet was more effective over 12 months at reducing both BMI and body fat in obese adolescents than a conventional energy restricted, low-fat diet. 

Ebbeling CB, Leidig MM, Sinclair KB, Hangen JP, Ludwig DS. A reduced-glycemic load diet in the treatment of adolescent obesity. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2003; 157: 773–779.

A study by Bahadori in Austrian obese adults advised to follow a high carbohydrate, low-GI diet for 24 weeks, reported significant reductions in body fat and unusually small losses in lean mass, with good adherence to the diet

Bahadori B, Yazdani-Biuki B, Krippl P, Brath H, Uitz E, EWascher T. Low-fat, high-carbohydrate (low-glycaemic index) diet induces weight loss and preserves lean body mass in obese healthy subjects: results of a 24-week study. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism 2004; 7: 290–293.

A really good review is availabe for free here: http://www.nature.com/ijo/journal/v30/n3s/full/0803491a.html

J McMillan-Price1 and J Brand-Miller1 Low-glycaemic index diets and body weight regulation International Journal of Obesity (2006) 30, S40–S46. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0803491

Conclusion

500kcal of fruit is not quite the same as 500kcal of ice cream. Theoretically there should be little difference in terms of weight gain/loss, but ice cream will make you crave more as the glucose trough hits that little bit harder and stimulates lipolysis, gluconeogenesis and hunger hormones. High GI foods will also stimulate your brain to want more! The end result is try and eat healthy not just calorie count.

 

Jacques Van Rensburg vs Morgan Spurlock,

What could you do to your body in 3-4 weeks?

In this years Tour there was an explosion of data. First Chris Froome's personal data leaked and then officially released by Team Sky. Then DimensionData collected a huge amount and released a lot on its website here http://www.dimensiondata.com/Global/Documents/Race%20in%20Review.pdf

But of particular interest, Strava the cycling app was worn by South African rider Jacques Van Rensburg who finished 51st out of 160, after 3,403.6 km (2115 miles) as recorded on Strava. His average speed over that distance was 38.39km/h (23.85 miles) with an average power output of 208 watts. His average cadence was 86 and he climbed an 45,134 metres!

Now consider that to do this incredible ride over 3 weeks he used up 74,983 calories (estimated) or the equivalent of 291 Big Macs! Finishing the tour is an amazing acheivement on its own, give anyone would have to be 1. superfit 2. relentless 3. prepared to burn 75,000 calories based on human effort alone.

By coincidence thats almost exactly the same as Morgan Spurlock, who ate only McDonalds for 30days in 2003

As a result he gained 11.1 kg (24 lb), a 13% body mass increase, increased his cholesterol to 230 mg/dL, and experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and fat accumulation in his liver. It took Spurlock fourteen months to lose the weight gained from his experiment using a vegan diet supervised by his then-girlfriend (now ex-wife), a chef who specializes in gourmet vegan dishes see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Size_Me

After the film sales of the famous burger chain decreased by $42 million in the USA. After that the fast food chain made some drastic changes. They introduced more nutritional items such as salads and fruit snacks while taking out the super-size option off its menu. Of course 95% still eat unhealthy at McDonalds.

Does this graphic sum up where we are all going wrong?

And what do they actually do? maybe thats for another post!?

Fitness Tests 101: Hang Tough!

Lets start with some simple fitness tests. One of the most simple of all is the (straight arm) hang test for grip strength. For most this is the limiting factor in their pull ups ie its hard just to hang on for more than a minute! 

The straight-arm hang test measures grip strength and endurance vs your own body weight. Sounds simple? It is but it is suprisingly difficult to hang for long. Grip strength is a very innate ability and most of us don't train it, so be prepared for a terrible initial score! Its a variant of dead-hang used in gymnastics.

Instructions. Grasp an overhead (pull-up) bar (if you dont have one you can use the top of a door but there is a tendancy to cheat in a door hang) at shoulder width. Start the stopwatch or better get someone to time you => lift your feet and time until you drop. Warning: its painful on the hands! 

Tips: try tight fitting gloves; try counting out aloud; try another 10sec at the point when you want to drop! Try holding the bar in different positions—chin up style (palms facing you), pull up style (palms facing away from you), neutral (palms facing each other), mixed (one palm in, one out).

Score:        Males       Females

Untrained: <30 secs     <10secs

Beginner: 30-60 secs    10-30secs

Good:      60-100 secs    30-60secs

Elite:        2mins or more   1min or more

My score: I managed just over 30 seconds first time, then 45, 50, 60 and 67s at weight of 76kg. Shocked how difficult this is!

Comment. Hanging trains muscles of hand and forearm, typically the most untrained of areas! For experts you can progress to one hand, or specific fingers (climbers exercise). Also try weighted handing (weight between feet. Try different bar diameters (eg using a towel, or tape or by cutting two short lengths of PVC pipe)

Welcome: Year 1 Month 1 Day 1 (27-jul-2015)

Welcome to my new fitness blog.

There is no shortage of health, dieting and fitness sites and blogs on the internet but relatively few based on science and evidence. I am a medical doctor aiming to get fit and reveal some of my experience and findings in health and fitness. The areas I want to concentrate on are

1. Science of cardiovascular health
2. Science of weight training
3. Science of weight loss
4. Health and fitness testing
5. Health and fitness technology