Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

npr.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 151 posts

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#141

Post by Taek »

nicobn wrote: post #68
Taek wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like you discovered it already, but shin splints, knee problems, back problems, etc. are usually based in either bad shoes or bad form. There are also strengthening exercises you can do for each to make you less susceptible to them. Often times the body's limitations are caused by problems that can be fixed or worked around, allowing you to push yourself farther and harder without hurting your health.

Genuinely curious here. Can you point me to some of these strengthening exercises ?

To protect against shin splints, we spent a lot of time walking on our toes. Like, 100m on toes, then 100m on toes but with feet pointed out, then 100m on toes with feet pointed in. Then repeat all three on heels.

Note that this is a preventative exercise. Iirc if you already had shin splints this would make it worse. Those with shin splints either swam or biked, but mostly iced and rested. Running was strongly discouraged so that recovery could happen.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#142

Post by helloworld »

phaemon wrote: post #95
helloworld wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saturated fats are not associated with all cause mortality, CVD, CHD, ischemic stroke, or type 2 diabetes.... [1] The current available evidence found no significant difference in all-cause mortality or CHD mortality, resulting from the dietary fat interventions. [2] [1] Intake of saturated and trans unsaturated fatty acids and risk of all cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: systematic revie…

Not so clear cut: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2016/07July/Pages/Study-finds-link-be... (the linked article talks about these various studies; have a quick read of it)

This review is based on two observational studies that began in the 1980s -- long after health-conscious people had heard the official wisdom that saturated fat causes heart disease. So, although the researchers try hard to control for individual differences such as exercise level, it's very possible that the people who ate the least saturated fat are also the ones who engaged in all sorts of other health-promoting activities, which were not controlled for. Epidemiologists call this the "healthy user" bias.

All that said, though, I agree that the impact of saturated fat on health is hardly clear-cut. As someone else in the comments mentioned, the best advice is probably the oldest: Moderation in all things -- including moderation.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#143

Post by Someone »

loeg wrote: post #139
jfoutz wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree wholeheartedly about TV or surfing the web. Me personally, it takes about half an hour around every run, getting dressed, getting water, stretching before and after, showering and changing clothes. longer runs leave me lethargic for a while. A two hour run leaves me exhausted. A two hour run leaves me worthless for an hour or possibly three. 40 miles in 5 hours is amazing. My bare minimum around running time…

40 miles / 5 hours is 8 mph or a 7:30 pace (presumably "easy" for him/her). That's quick but not olympics level (they do more like 6:30 easy, I think). (As a much slower runner, I can maintain 7:30 for a mile or two. Just not 40. :-))

I think those 40 miles were over multiple outings in a week, but let's compare with a 26 mile marathon:

A very good but not world-level time for the marathon is 2:20 or so for 26 miles. That's more like 5:30 per mile. World record pace is an even more insane 4:41.5 a mile (http://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/dennis-kimettos-maratho...). So yes, 6:30 should be easy, if you're at that level (must be, given that I could do 10k in 40 minutes, which is around that pace, when I was a lot younger, and I'm not a running talent)

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#144

Post by blacksmith_tb »

saiya-jin wrote: post #102
bjterry wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about that. From a pure physical health perspective (i.e. discounting convenience, cost and supposed mental health benefits), there are a bunch of exercises that are strictly superior to running. They provide all of the cardio benefits of running, but without the prevalence of joint injury when you crank up the time investment. Some good examples are swimming, biking, or using a rowing machine. I'm a big…

biking is one of the worst exercises out there. sure you save joints, but your back, neck and possibly erection will suffer instead. Got couple of colleagues/friends who have health issues exactly because of biking. and if you do road biking, depending on location, you are at mercy of car drivers on narrow roads. even if 99,9% are good and paying attention all the time, sooner or later someone won't. if you do other…

I think that's a false equivalency - sitting on the bike is not the same kind of sitting as in your office, unless you get a lot more cardio in at your desk than most of us. If you're worried about your erection (or labia), saddles with cutouts are easily available (I like Terry ones myself). And clearly cars are dangerous to runners too, who often rock reflective garments, LED blinkies, etc. much like cyclists.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#145

Post by loeg »

Someone wrote: post #143
loeg wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

40 miles / 5 hours is 8 mph or a 7:30 pace (presumably "easy" for him/her). That's quick but not olympics level (they do more like 6:30 easy, I think). (As a much slower runner, I can maintain 7:30 for a mile or two. Just not 40. :-))

I think those 40 miles were over multiple outings in a week, but let's compare with a 26 mile marathon: A very good but not world-level time for the marathon is 2:20 or so for 26 miles. That's more like 5:30 per mile. World record pace is an even more insane 4:41.5 a mile ( http://www.runnersworld.com/newswire/dennis-kimettos-maratho... ). So yes, 6:30 should be easy, if you're at that level (must be, given that I co…

Right, exactly.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#146

Post by realityking »

todd8 wrote: post #129
dominotw wrote: post #116

Has anyone been able to beat knees, ankle, plantar, hip, it band issues while running for a considerable amount of time? Did you do anything different to achieve that?

I've never had the best body for running. I'm not tall (good) but too heavy (bad) and I have flat feet (bad). However, I was able to start running at age 50 and by 55 qualify to run in the Boston Marathon without injury. I ran six marathons and probably a dozen half marathons in that time, eventually at a pace in the top 20% of my age group, not that great (or even that good) but I finished my marathons and was in fa…

Please don't take Advil before long runs. Advil is taxing on your kidneys and so is endurance running. The combination of both can lead to a trip to the ER or even death if you're unlucky.

Whether it actually helps reduce injuries and pain is also somewhat questionable according to a recent 538 article[0].

[0] http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-achiness-of-the-long...

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#147

Post by justin66 »

greenspot wrote: post #75
nbschulze wrote: post #15

I ran 80-90 miles per week while in college and continued running 20-30 per week for a couple of years after until my knee stopped cooperating (I'm really looking forward to knee surgery in October). I have experienced some of the described symptoms (irregular heartbeat and etc), but wouldn't have done much differently. Honestly, this article basically boils down to 'do what your body can handle'. People are differen…

You write... > Some people can handle 120 miles per week after you... > ran 80-90 miles per week [...] I'm really looking forward to knee surgery in October) Apologies for being a bit harsh but the cause-effect-relationship is crystal clear. Extensive running puts a tremendous strain on our knees. You don't need to be a doctor, scientist or professional runner to know this. And just 20-30 miles/week over a long perio…

> Just wait till you're older and then it's pay back time.

Of course, the cardiovascular benefits of running mean you're a lot more likely to live long enough for pay back time.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#148

Post by runamok »

loeg wrote: post #139
jfoutz wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree wholeheartedly about TV or surfing the web. Me personally, it takes about half an hour around every run, getting dressed, getting water, stretching before and after, showering and changing clothes. longer runs leave me lethargic for a while. A two hour run leaves me exhausted. A two hour run leaves me worthless for an hour or possibly three. 40 miles in 5 hours is amazing. My bare minimum around running time…

40 miles / 5 hours is 8 mph or a 7:30 pace (presumably "easy" for him/her). That's quick but not olympics level (they do more like 6:30 easy, I think). (As a much slower runner, I can maintain 7:30 for a mile or two. Just not 40. :-))

Yeap, this was my average speed over all my weekly mileage. My long run would range from 7:00 to 7:30 pace and would top out at 13 to 15 miles. My easiest runs were about 8:00 and my fast pace (probably 6 or less miles per week) was from 6:10 to 6:30. I would say I did seem to run my overall mileage faster than people that would destroy me in races (which is probably why I'm injured).

The 7:30 pace had my heart rate at 145 on flat ground in cool weather at age 40 for a 13 mile run which from what I understand is the right pace.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#149

Post by wott »

maxerickson wrote: post #55
superuser2 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't quite the article's subject, but... For a very rough wedge, suppose there were some other activity which didn't have all the positive perceptions around running, which created painful and debilitating injuries requiring medical attention as a matter of course, whose participants could all expect to require specialized medical equipment to go about their lives for a period of weeks to months, several times…

Is that culture of injury actually normal? I went to a smaller but not tiny high school (~1000) and crutches were always notable, not a common thing for athletes. Maybe that coach had some bad ideas.

I guess it is normal in that the people (especially the youngsters) who run or practice other sports have a much higher injury rate than people who just walk or basically do nothing.

Also, in my experience, a vast majority of pupils and students who were injured did it during a sport activity and not because of other kinds of accidents.

Re: Is Running Good or Bad for Your Health?

#150

Post by nadezhda18 »

aws_ls wrote: post #136
nadezhda18 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

at some point in the beginning of the year, I did change my strike and it helped. I started leaning forward while running and it changed the strike to the forefoot one. But recently I developed a new kind of pain... it happens when I bend my knees. The worse part it now hurts even if I cycle longer than 10 min! :( I guess I will keep digging on this subject. Thanks for your advice anyway!

Don't lose heart. It takes time. In my 30s, I used to barely do 400m of relatively brisk running. And I'd mentally resigned to looking at running as a thing for the young. Until a wise friend told me about the book 'Born to run'. It was in 2009 Nov/Dec. The book is a fantastic & entertaining read, despite based on Scientific facts. So I recommend it to every body, whenever this topic comes up. Keep on gifting it to f…

These are great suggestions! I loved reading them because I do like to run and think it is good for health.

I will keep trying and adjusting.

BTW, do u run on snow? Jogging is my favorite winter activity hehe. I run up to -25C (-13F).

I am curious to hear if you have any experience running in winter.

Post reply on HN