home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: rec.running
- Path: sparky!uunet!news.claremont.edu!ucivax!ucla-cs!ficus.cs.ucla.edu!page
- From: page@ficus.cs.ucla.edu (Thomas Page)
- Subject: Re: Muscles and running times
- Message-ID: <1992Aug20.190856.7054@cs.ucla.edu>
- Sender: usenet@cs.ucla.edu (Mr Usenet)
- Nntp-Posting-Host: wingfield.cs.ucla.edu
- Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
- References: <2220@bigfoot.first.gmd.de> <1992Aug20.141912.9362@kth.se> <1992Aug20.140031.28731@ms.uky.edu>
- Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 19:08:56 GMT
- Lines: 15
-
- Running builds a specific set of muscles, mostly up the back of the body, ie
- calfs, hamstrings, lower back. This creates an imbalance which leads to
- injuries. One way to combat this is to use weights to exercise the opposing
- muscle groups like the shins, quads, and abdomen. This only improves a runner's
- times to the extent that it helps them avoid injury and keep them training.
-
- Running does nothing for the upper body, so runners interested in total fitness
- should probably do some form of upper body workout too. There is little reason
- to believe that upper body work will improve your running times (or hurt them
- unless you put on a lot of bulk which is unlikely). Some runners (like Steve
- Spence) believe that they can maintain form better late in a marathon if they
- have more upper body strength. There is little evidence for or against this, so
- it's just a matter of person opinion.
- Tom
-
-