490BC – Pheidippides, a messenger by trade, runs 25 miles from Marathon to Athens to deliver news of a Greek victory.  After delivering the message, he collapses and dies at the age of 40.

7/20/84 – Jim Fixx, author of “The Complete Book of Running”, drops dead of a heart attack at the age of 52.  Dr. Eleanor N. McQuillen, Vermont’s chief medical examiner who performed an autopsy on Mr. Fixx, said in an interview that all three of his coronary arteries were damaged by arteriosclerosis, the underlying cause of heart attacks.

3/19/04 – Brian Leigh Maxwell, an avid marathoner and founder of PowerBar dies of a heart attack at 51 years old. 

12/19/04 – Greg Marr, Editor of Silent Sports magazine and an avid runner, dies unexpectedly while skiing at Iola Winter Sports Center in Iola, Wisconsin. While skiing, Marr collapsed as the result of a heart attack. He was only 52 years old and in excellent physical condition.

Those are just a few of the many examples and those don’t include individuals who had heart attacks but did not die.  All of the aforementioned cases were of individuals in peak physical condition, with no genetic abnormality (e.g. enlarged heart) and were avid distance runners and marathoners.  None of these cases involved an out of shape individual who ran all out on a whim and suffered a heart attack.  How do seemingly “fit” individuals drop dead at a relatively young age?  The activity they thought was increasing their life span ultimately cut it short. 

Long Distance running can induce arrhythmia
 An arrhythmia is also known as an irregular heartbeat.  When a heart beats irregularly, it can either beat too slow (bradyarrhythmia – less than 50 beats per minute) or too fast (tachyarrhythmia – faster than 100 beats per minute).⁽¹⁾  “Athletes with no discernible danger can be susceptible to arrhythmias, especially during runs of 15 miles or more. On long runs you can become significantly dehydrated, leading to changes in the blood’s levels of potassium, magnesium, and calcium.  These chemicals play a vital role in starting and conducting electrical impulses in the heart.”⁽²⁾ An arrhythmia can lead to cardiac arrest and ultimately death.  Notice the key statement above (15 miles or more), we aren’t talking about a jog around the block.

Long distance running INCREASES coronary plaque buildup
Based on the multitude of treadmills at the average gym, the idea of jogging endlessly gives the impression that you are “getting in some cardio” and that “your heart will thank you”.  Two recent studies show that is NOT the case.  One study, administered at the West-German Heart Center Essen, focused on male marathoners age 50 and up.  Among the study’s findings, while the runners had lower than average cholesterol levels and better blood pressure, they had more measurable coronary calcium buildup or plaque than the general population.  In the study, German scientists scanned the hearts of 108 experienced, male distance runners in their 50s, 60s and 70s.  The runners had completed a minimum of 5 marathons in the previous 3 years.  When the researchers studied the runners’ scan results, they found that more than a third of the men showed evidence of significant calcification or plaque build-up in their heart arteries.  Several also had scarring of some of the tissue in their hearts.  The researchers stated, “In our study regular marathon running seems not to protect runners (from coronary artery disease).  In fact, we even cannot exclude the possibility that exercise to this degree has deleterious effects on coronary arteries.”⁽³⁾

A second study of 25 middle-aged male runners, each of whom had completed the Twin Cities Marathon annually for the past 25 consecutive years, demonstrated they had significantly greater mean volumes of coronary calcified plaque than did age-matched sedentary controls.  The lead researcher, Dr. Jonathan Schwartz said, “The bottom line here is just because you run a lot of marathons and you’re very active doesn’t mean you’re protected from coronary artery calcification.  Benefits to long-term, high-volume endurance training for overall health include favorable body mass index, heart rate, and lipid panel, but these may be counterbalanced by metabolic and mechanical factors that enhance coronary plaque growth.”⁽⁴⁾  Coronary plaque reduces blood flow which can result in a heart attack and if a piece breaks off, one may suffer a stroke.  Heart attacks and strokes usually result in various forms of irreparable damage and often result in death.

Long distance running increases the buildup of scar tissue in and around the heart
A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology⁽⁵⁾ examined the incidence of myocardial fibrosis (scar tissue in and around the heart) in veteran lifelong endurance athletes.  The study involved 12 veteran athletes ages 50-67, 20 age-matched controls (non-athletes) ages 52-69 and 17 younger endurance athletes ages 26-40.  50% of the veteran endurance athletes had scar tissue in and around their heart versus ZERO in the younger athletes and the non-athletes who were the same age.  As stated in the study, “The affected men were, in each case, those who’d trained the longest and hardest.  Spending more years exercising strenuously or completing more marathon or ultramarathon (>50 miles) races was, in this study, associated with a greater likelihood of heart damage.”⁽⁵⁾  Scar tissue is rigid and can cause the heart to beat irregularly and ultimately lead to heart failure.  A recent study in laboratory rats⁽⁶⁾, showed a link between certain kinds of prolonged exercise and heart damage.  For the study, published in the journal Circulation, scientists had young, healthy male rats run at an intense pace, day after day, for three months (10 years in human terms).  The training was designed to mimic many years of serious marathon training in humans.  The rats had begun the study with perfectly normal hearts.  At the end of the 3 months, heart scans showed that most of the rats had developed scarring and some structural changes, similar to the changes seen in the human endurance athletes.  A control group of unexercised rats had developed no such changes to their hearts.

I know what some of you are saying, “I am not running marathons for a living, I just want to do one!” OR “I have ran a marathon a few times, what’s the big deal?”  Did you know that the stress placed on your body after just one marathon can produce inflammation and negative effects that last for up to 3 months!!!  Dr. Eric Larose told the 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress, “…marathon running can damage your heart.  Fortunately the exercise-induced injury is reversible over time, but it could take up to three months to completely recover.”⁽⁷⁾

Marathoner vs Sprinter: which would you rather look like?

The fact of the matter is that our bodies were not meant to run long distances for long periods of time.  At the end of the day, we are animals.  Have you ever watched the Discovery Channel or observed animals before?  If you have then, you would notice that the vast majority of the time they are resting.  Whether it is your dog, your cat or the lion hanging out in the Serengeti in Africa, the vast majority of the time, they are relaxing.  When they do move to catch pray or avoid a predator, they sprint.  This activity does not happen often or for prolonged periods, it is only when necessary.  Their “exercise” involves short intense bursts not long slow movements such as jogging.

You don’t see him jogging for hours on end

The intent of this article is not to justify being lazy or sitting and doing nothing.  Most folks in America don’t have the problem of too much exercise, but rather too little.  What I don’t want to see is you wasting your time doing distance running when you can get better results in less time, all without damaging your heart.  The best part is that you can gain muscle AND burn fat rather than look like a skinny weakling!!!  Tune in next time to find out the cardio that you SHOULD be doing.

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References:

1) Robert J Bryg, MD. “Heart Disease and Abnormal Heart Rhythm (Arrhythmia)”, Published on 3/7/09, Accessed on 3/25/11. http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/guide/heart-disease-abnormal-heart-rhythm

2) Jennifer Pirtle. “The Heart of a Runner”, Runner’s World magazine. August 2004.

3) Breuckmann F, Möhlenkamp S, Nassenstein K, Lehmann N, Ladd S, Schmermund A, et al. “Myocardial late gadolinium enhancement: prevalence, pattern, and prognostic relevance in marathon runners”, Radiology. April 2009 251:50-57.

4) Schwartz JG, Merkel-Kraus S, Duval S, et al. “Does elite athleticism enhance or inhibit coronary artery plaque formation”. American College of Cardiology 2010 Scientific Sessions; March 16, 2010; Atlanta, GA.

5) Wilson MG, O’Hanlon R, Prasad S, Deighan A, Macmillan P, Oxborough D, et al.  “Diverse patterns of myocardial fibrosis in lifelong, veteran endurance athletes”, Journal of Applied Physiology. Published online 2/17/11. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21330616

6) Begoña Benito, MD; Gemma Gay-Jordi, PhD; Anna Serrano-Mollar, PhD; Eduard Guasch, MD; Yanfen Shi, MD; Jean-Claude Tardif, MD, et al. “Cardiac Arrhythmogenic Remodeling in a Rat Model of Long-Term Intensive Exercise Training”, Circulation. 2011;123:13-22. Published online before print December 20, 2010.

7) Dr. Eric Larose. “Marathons damage the hearts of less fit runners for up to 3 months”, Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010; October 25, 2010; Montreal, Quebec.

Compared to our ancestors, we are out of shape, tired and weaker.  This is the result of having a bad diet, not getting enough sleep and not getting enough of, nor the right type of, exercise. 

Diet
In terms of human evolution, compared to our ancestors we are fatter and weaker NOT bigger and stronger.  This is due, in part, to the fact that the hunt has become too easy.  We don’t need to socialize and develop our brains to get food, we just go to the store.  When we get to the store, we choose to consume toxic foods that are fried or have artificial ingredients.  Right now, the 2-5 age demographic is the most dangerous from an overall health perspective.

We need to stick to natural wholesome foods.  We should not consume anything that is fried, artificial or labeled as “diet”.  For those who are unaware, Splenda was designed to kill ants and Aspartame kills rats.  Neither sound like something we should be putting in our bodies.

Sleep
Get 8 hours of sleep minimum and do not use an alarm clock.  Make sure the room is dark and about 65 degrees in temperature.  Every 15 minutes more of sleep we get, our IQ raises 5 points.  How do you know you are getting enough sleep?  If you need a coffee to get up then you are not getting enough sleep.  Without enough sleep, you increase your risk of obesity, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, to name a few. 

Exercise
Exercise is fundamental to longevity.  When it comes to exercise, people think that CRAZY = GOOD.  Our larger brain, as compared to our ancestors, has led to the interesting yet illogical development of conceived exercises.

Illogical 4 of exercise selection:
1) It should be new
2) It should be cool
3) It makes you sore
4) It makes you tired

A great exercise solution would be to run again.  Sprint 30-40 yards to get the nervous system going.  Run on the balls of your feet not your heels, which are to be used for braking.  It is better to use your muscles to run rather than bones & ligaments.

Importance of Sprinting (TENT)

T = Technical – it doesn’t need to be taught, it is a natural movement.

E = Energy System Development – it burns fat and fires up big muscles.  It gets your brain working; there is a cascade of chemicals secreted by your brain when you sprint.

N = Neural Stimulation – the less muscle mass you have, the sooner you die.  Your nervous system needs to fire and sprinting accomplishes that.

T = Tempering the Body – you have to temper steel to work with it and the body is no different.  Sprinting works your bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Sprinting also involves leverage.  Changing the levers makes things faster.  When your legs are bent, they are a short lever (fast).  When your legs are stretched, they are a long lever (strong).  We have to push backwards to move forwards.  We are pulling our foot back into the ground, which activates our hamstrings and our glutes.

Coach Martin Rooney demonstrating proper sprint technique

The most important technical aspect to teach is arm action.  The faster your arms move, the faster your legs move because our legs move as fast as our arms.  If you learn to run faster, your nervous system will become activated quicker and you will perform better.

Two ways to get faster:
1) Stride Frequency – take more steps
2) Stride Length – have a longer stride

Paleontologists can’t agree how the dinosaurs went extinct, but all agree that they went extinct due to an inability to change.  Eating clean foods, getting at least 8 hours of sleep and engaging in exercise that develops strength will increase your longevity, improve your overall health and help you feel more energetic.  The solutions are simple, but it is up to us to make these changes in our lives.  As a species, if we do not change then, we will suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs.

Martin had several great recommendations throughout the day.  He focused on being very attentive to details.  You need to do the basics right in order to perform at the highest levels.  As a Coach, he said that you should be really good at something before asking someone else to do it,   Mastery is making complex things simple and you can’t do what you always did to get what you want.  Martin Rooney is very energetic and engaging and he was more than willing to answer any and all questions.  If you have not done so, please try to get out and hear him speak.  You can find out more about Martin here: click here

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