Another Way To Improve Your Running Economy

Small, quick steps

I wrote a few days ago about how to improve your running (or cycling) economy by inhaling carbon monoxide. Despite it being easier than training at altitude (and legal) compared to injecting yourself with illegal drugs, it can go terribly wrong if it's not done in a laboratory.

Well, I just read another article about improving your running economy, and it's a much easier way compared to the last article.

The researchers investigated whether a short training program of running 15 minutes for 10 days to increase cadence (or step frequency) to 180 steps per minute (90 strides / minute) will improve running economy.

The subjects were divided into two groups and they did training at the laboratory for 12 consecutive days. Running economy tests were done on day 1 and 12, followed by a maximal oxygen uptake test (day 1 only).

One group of runners completed a 10-day training program to increase cadence (or step frequency) on days 2-11. This consisted of running 180 steps per minute for 15 minutes at a self selected pace.

The control group completed the same runs without the step frequency training.

Oxygen consumption was significantly lower  for the group that did the cadence training but not the control group. The cadence training runners also had a faster cadence (7%) subsequently as well as a shorter step length (3.7%). Hear rates were 5.1% lower as well.

Seems like a much safer way to improve running economy to me than trying to inhale carbon monoxide from your car if you can't do it in a laboratory.

In the same way, cyclists can similarly improve by using a smaller gear to achieve a high pedaling rate.

As with all things pertaining with new training, do allow for time for your body to adapt to the new technique.


Reference

Quin TJ, Dempsey S et al (2019). Step Frequency Training Improves Running Economy In Well-Trained Female Runners. J Strength Cond. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003206.

Here's How To Improve Your Running Economy

Inhaling carbon monoxide?

I've been watching the Tour de France the last few days, especially the climbing stages and of course memories of previous doping cases come to mind. Erythropoeitin (EPO) was the drug of choice then and blood doping subsequently after a reliable test was developed to test for EPO.

So I was pretty shocked to say the least when I read about how you can possibly increase your haemoglobin (Hb) levels without taking EPO and without training at altitude.

Researchers in the following study got subjects to inhale carbon monoxide (CO)! Yes, you read correctly, inhaling carbon monoxide followed by running on a treadmill.

Twelve soccer players were recruited for their study. They were all non smokers, living at low altitude and had never trained at altitude previously. Their running economy, VO2 max and total haemoglobin (tHB) levels were measured before and after the 4-week training program.

They were randomly assigned to two groups. One group inhaled CO (1mL/kg body weight for 2 min) before all training sessions and a control group that didn't inhale CO before training. Both groups participated in a 4-week treadmill running program five times weekly.

I would not be writing this article if the results were not desirable. EPO hormone levels in the group that inhaled CO before training increased from 1.9 to 2.7 mIU/mL four hours later. After the 4-week training period, tHB, and VO2 max levels improved significantly by 3.7 and 2.7 percent respectively while there were no significant differences in the other group.

The researchers concluded that there was a sharp increase in the EPO hormone after inhaling CO, especially four hours later (that's very fast). The 4-week treadmill running program also improved total haemoglobin levels, VO2 max and running economy thereby suggesting that moderate CO inhalation could possibly be a quicker, cheaper, less dangerous and more convenient way to improve endurance performance in athletes.

Now I know what you're thinking (like my posed picture above). It could all go terribly wrong if you're not careful!


Reference

J Wang, Y Ji et al (2019). A New Method To improve Running Economy And Maximal Aerobic Power In Athletes: Endurance Training With Periodic Carbon Monoxide Inhalation. Front. Physio. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00701.

You can read the full article here.

Runners Who think They're On EPO Run Faster

The real deal- EPO or erythropoietin

I was looking for a picture on EPO so I asked my friend (who's a doctor) if she could take a picture of a vial of EPO from her clinic for me. She said she does not sell any evening primrose oil in her clinic. I said no, not evening primrose oil but erythropoietin (EPO).

Why did I need a picture of EPO? Well, my next post is on runners and EPO of course. We've all read about the performance enhancing effects EPO, how can shave seconds and even minutes off best marathon times. Please read on if you're interested.

Scottish researchers studied a group of runners whose average 10 km personal best time was around 39:15 minutes. Over a few weeks, these runners competed in 3 km races in a indoor 200 meter track,

During a week of the study, the runners were given OxyRBX to self inject. They were told OxyRBX contain small amounts of EPO - a known blood booster than increases endurance performances.

The runners were actually injecting themselves with saline, which of course does not have any performance enhancement qualities.

Guess what? When these same runners raced at the end of that week (in which they thought they were injecting themselves with EPO), the runners finished their 3 km race an average of 9.73 seconds faster (or about 5 seconds faster each mile).

This 1.2 % improvement is a statistically significant improvement and of clear sporting relevance. How significant is this? At the 2012 Olympics, the difference between the gold medal and fourth place was less than 1 % in all track events from 1500 - 10,000 meters for both men and women.

Almost all runners who had expected to see positive changes when injecting themselves with OxyRBX recorded a marked improvement.

This differs from those runners who did not expect much improvement whose performance improved less markedly. The runners reported lower levels of perceived exertion during the race that followed their week of "doping".The runners also said they pushed themselves harder during the races at the end the "doping" week.

Some runners also reported increase confidence in their abilities after the injections, this has been shown to increase willingness to exert extra effort in challenging tasks.

If you sincerely believe that adding a new element to your training (increasing your weekly track and hill workout, speed work etc) will improve your running, it can be a self fulfilling practice as it can increase your motivation, confidence and then better results. No need to dope.

Reference

Ross R, Gray CM et al (2014). The Effects Of An Injected Placebo On Endurance Running Performance. Med Sci Sports Ex. DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000584.

*A big thank you the Dr GL for the EPO picture.