Unfortunately, most people don’t follow this advice, often citing lack of time as a major obstacle. This lack of time, along with other factors, helps drive interest in programs like CrossFit, which seeks to build both strength and endurance through short, high-intensity workouts. Yet such programs also inspire fierce debate among coaches and exercise scientists. What about overtraining? Won’t the emphasis on strength undermine endurance gains, or vice versa?

Everyday Exercise Versus Specialized Programs

Some of these critiques confuse the needs of specialized athletes with those of ordinary people trying to stay fit. There is little argument over the need for sport-specific programming for elite athletes. But for the rest of us, how much does programming matter? Is it advisable to combine strength and endurance training in a single session, or are shorter sessions focused on just one exercise modality more useful? It turns out very few studies examine this question, and those that do have generally been quite short, which is why the research discussed here is important.

Study Design

This study followed 101 men and women through 24 weeks of a combined strength and endurance program. Of 140 subjects recruited for the study, 39 either failed to adhere to the program or dropped out altogether. The subjects were in their twenties and thirties, healthy, and moderately active before the study began, but had never engaged in systematic strength or endurance training.

One group trained strength and endurance on alternate days (AD). The other two combined both in a single session, with either strength training first (SE) or endurance training first (ES).

All three groups participated in a periodized program combining moderate and vigorous aerobic exercise with hypertrophic and maximal strength exercises. Volume increased over the course of the program, with the AD group training 4-6 days per week, and the other two groups training 2-3 days per week. Total volume was matched across all three groups.

Study Results

After 24 weeks, researchers collected a number of cardiorespiratory metrics, including VO2 max, sub-maximal oxygen consumption, and power output at the anaerobic threshold. They also measured leg strength as a one rep maximum (1RM) on a horizontal leg press.

The study was notable as much for what it didn’t find as what it did. Exercise order (SE versus ES) made no difference in either peak or sub-maximal oxygen consumption. Other studies have found that strength exercise reduces movement economy, so it is possible that the workload in this program was low enough and recovery time between sessions high enough to overcome such effects. The program (AD versus SE or ES) also made no difference in 1RM improvement at the end of the 24 weeks, although in women the AD group showed a greater increase at week twelve than the ES group.

On the other hand, programming did make a difference in several other areas. For both men and women, the AD and SE groups saw slightly more improvement in power output at the anaerobic threshold than the ES group. In women, but not men, the ES group saw larger improvements in sub-maximal oxygen consumption than the AD group did. However, the mechanisms responsible for these effects are not clear, and other studies have given different results.

By far the most dramatic impact was seen in VO2 max. Here, the advantages of the AD program were clear. In both men and women, the AD group saw twice as much improvement as both the ES and SE groups. Further research is needed to understand this effect. On one hand, it’s possible the higher volume of combined sessions induced an overtraining state. The volume of the combined strength plus endurance training sessions (60-100 minutes per session) was relatively high for previously untrained subjects.

Moreover, while the intensity of the endurance program was moderate at the beginning, the strength training portion used heavy or maximal loads for most of the training weeks. The total stress may have compromised aerobic adaptations. On the other hand, it is equally plausible to suppose that the higher training frequency – and more frequent training stimuli – in the AD program forced more significant adaptations.

The Key Question to Consider

Overall, it turns out even programming for general fitness should consider the key question: “What are you training for?” Most activities of daily living do not require peak oxygen consumption, so the improvements in sub-maximal oxygen consumption provided by the ES program may be more valuable for some individuals. However, for those who seek to increase their absolute aerobic capacity and can also accommodate more training sessions per week, the advantages of the AD approach are clear.

What You Really Need to Know

Combining strength and endurance training in a single session appears to have little impact on strength gains or most measures of cardiorespiratory fitness, compared to strength and endurance training on separate days. However, this combined training does undermine improvements in aerobic capacity. The advantages of less frequent training days must be balanced against the individual athlete’s goals. 

More Like This:

• Cardio Doesn’t Kill Gains (And You Should Be Doing It)
• The Elliptical for Cardio? Smart Strength With Charles Staley
• How Do I Get Better Cardio Without Losing Strength?
• New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Schumann M, et. al. “Cardiorespiratory Adaptations during Concurrent Aerobic and Strength Training in Men and Women.” PLoS ONE 10(9): e0139279, 2015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139279

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Can I Train Strength and Endurance in the Same Session? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The relationship between weight gain or loss and body image is complex and not well understood. On one hand, having a self-identity tied too closely to a flawed body image can contribute to disordered eating. An anorexic both believes she is fat and expects she will only be worthy of love if she maintains an unrealistic and unhealthy thinness. On the other hand, valuing one’s personal appearance can help motivate healthier diet and exercise choices.

Understanding the effect of a particular weight loss intervention on body image is potentially useful, both in devising more sustainable interventions and in avoiding unhealthy or counterproductive approaches.

The Dimensions of Body Image

As Hai-Lun Chao at Chung-Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan, found, however, little data exists on the relationship between specific weight loss interventions and body image.

• Out of 149 studies on weight loss identified by a literature search, only 25 included a body image evaluation.
• Nine of those failed to include a treatment comparator group.
• Ultimately, only seven studies directly examined the effect of a weight loss intervention on body image for both a treatment and a comparator group.

Among these seven studies, there were a variety of different weight loss interventions, as well as a variety of body image assessment methods. The number of study participants varied, as did the BMI range considered. For these reasons, the authors of the meta-analysis discussed here warned that firm conclusions are difficult.

Nonetheless, they did identify several trends as worthy of further investigation. Body image has two dimensions, evaluative and investment.

• The evaluative dimension measures the individual’s assessment of their appearance – whether they are satisfied or not satisfied with their body, and whether their image reflects objective measures. An overweight person who perceives themselves as skinny and a thin person who perceives themselves as fat are both suffering from an inaccurate body image evaluation.
• The investment dimension of body image determines the extent to which the person’s self-worth is tied to his or her body image. An overly strong investment in body image can drive dysfunctional pursuit of unrealistic perfection, while a weak investment can leave the person without motivation to make positive changes.

Continued Research Is Needed

More research is needed to see how specific interventions affect these two dimensions. It does appear, though, that interventions focused on exercise or self-regulation of eating tended to improve the individual’s investment in their body image. For example, exercise might cause a person to focus on what the body can do, rather than appearance alone.

Few studies consider both the physical and psychological effects of weight loss intervention. There is enough data to make it clear that the two aspects are inextricable from each other, though. The author suggests further research should consider which weight loss interventions are associated with improved body image.

What You Really Need to Know

In summary, body image matters. If someone loses weight, but their body image doesn’t improve, they are less likely to maintain their new lifestyle. But not all weight loss interventions are created equal – some improve body image more than others.

Related articles:

• The Modern Male and Body Image: It’s Okay to Talk About It
• Tips for Cultivating a Positive Body Image For Your Female Clients
• The Real “Ideal” Body Type Is Up to You
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Chao, H­L, “Body Image Change in Obese and Overweight Persons Enrolled in Weight Loss Intervention Programs: A Systematic Review and Meta­Analysis,” (2015) PLoS ONE 10(5): e0124036. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124036.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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The study discussed here considers how that technology can help give type 1 diabetics the freedom that non-diabetics take for granted.

Exercise poses unique risks for people with type 1 diabetes.

Blood Sugar Complications

In type 1 diabetes, the patient’s pancreas produces little or no insulin. Without a natural supply of the hormone responsible for mediating blood sugar concentrations, a type 1 diabetic depends on regular insulin injections instead.

“Diabetes management involves carefully balancing insulin injections and carbohydrate consumption to maintain a blood sugar level in between these two extremes.”

Excessive blood sugar increases the risk of diabetic complications, including retinal and peripheral nerve damage, which can lead to blindness and the loss of digits, respectively. Low blood sugar is equally dangerous, potentially causing dizziness, confusion, and unconsciousness. Diabetes management involves carefully balancing insulin injections and carbohydrate consumption to maintain a blood sugar level in between these two extremes.

Exercise and Glucose

Exercise can play an important role in maintaining this balance. It burns glucose and improves insulin sensitivity. Moreover, diabetics derive the same exercise-related improvements in mental wellbeing and cardiovascular health that non-diabetics do.

Unfortunately, exercise also poses unique risks for diabetics. The glucose burned during exercise may not be replenished quickly enough, leading to hypoglycemia and its associated risks. The longer the exercise duration, the greater the risk.

“[A]ny adjustment to a diabetic’s insulin regime requires advance planning. For this reason, fear of hypoglycemia is a significant barrier to exercise among type 1 diabetics.”

While, in theory, it is possible to increase carbohydrate consumption or reduce insulin levels to compensate, doing so runs into practical challenges. There is no scientific consensus on exactly what adjustments are recommended, with estimates ranging from an additional thirty grams of carbohydrate per hour to almost double that amount.

Moreover, any adjustment to a diabetic’s insulin regime requires advance planning. For this reason, fear of hypoglycemia is a significant barrier to exercise among type 1 diabetics. It can be especially problematic when considering spontaneous activities: a hike in the woods or a bike ride with family members, for example.

Any adjustment to a diabetic’s insulin regime requires advance planning.

The ECRES Solution

The ECRES algorithm (Exercise Carbohydrates Requirement Estimating Software) seeks to remedy this problem. Given the patient’s normal diet, insulin regimen, and activity level, it estimates the insulin profile and required carbohydrate intake over the course of a day. When exercise is contemplated, the algorithm can estimate carbohydrate requirements based on the expected exercise intensity and duration, given the patient’s measured blood sugar level at the time. Thus, it allows patients to determine how to adjust their carbohydrate intake to accommodate spontaneous activity.

“The ECRES algorithm seeks to remedy this problem. Given the patient’s normal diet, insulin regimen, and activity level, it estimates the insulin profile and required carbohydrate intake over the course of a day.”

Because it depends only on information readily available to the patient – blood sugar level, insulin and carbohydrate intake, and estimated heart rate – ECRES is suitable for implementation by smartphones, fitness monitors, and other portable electronic devices and can be readily incorporated into the patient’s daily life.

What the Research Says

Previous research has validated the ECRES algorithm for short-duration exercise of an hour or less. In the study discussed here, researchers at the University of Udine, Italy applied it to long-duration, low- to moderate-intensity exercise.¹

Nine participants – five male and four female – walked on a treadmill for three hours at a “brisk” pace, estimated at 50-60% of maximum heart rate. Heart rate was monitored continuously and blood sugar at thirty-minute intervals. The participants, all of them type 1 diabetics with well-established metabolic control regimes, were given either candy or direct glucose injections as needed to maintain blood sugar at a safe level. Participants followed their normal diet and insulin regimens before the test, simulating spontaneous activity under “free living” conditions.

After the test, actual glucose consumption was compared to the glucose requirement predicted by the ECRES algorithm. The two were found to be in close agreement. Moreover, the ECRES estimate was closer to the actual requirement than other methods found in the literature. The thirty grams of carbohydrate per hour estimate would have led to excessive blood sugar levels, so higher intakes would have been even worse.

The ECRES algorithm can help predict carbohydrate intake that will maintain blood sugar in a healthy range.

Conclusion

While the researchers conceded that the small sample size and precise exercise protocol limited the applicability of their work, they concluded that the ECRES algorithm can remove a major barrier to exercise among type 1 diabetics. Rather than evaluating the metabolic consequences of exercise for themselves, they can depend on the algorithm to suggest carbohydrate intake that will maintain their blood sugar in a healthy range.

Further Reading:

• Working With Special Populations, Part 3: Diabetes Mellitus
• Weight Training Can Help Diabetics Manage Blood Sugar
• Prevent Type 2 Diabetics With Resistance Exercise
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:
1. Maria Pia Francescato, et. al. (2015) “Prolonged Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes: Performance of a Customizable Algorithm to Estimate the Carbohydrate Supplements to Minimize Glycemic Imbalances.” PLoS ONE 10(4): e0125220. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125220

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post A Promising New Exercise Solution for Type 1 Diabetes appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Similar conditions are encountered at polar research stations, and indeed one mission of the European Space Agency’s Concordia research station in Antarctica is evaluation of human performance under isolation conditions. In the winter of 2011, the station crew focused on the impact of exercise, and what they learned might have benefit for the rest of us in our own versions of stressful situations.

The Concordia Station

The Concordia station is located at an elevation of 3,233 meters (10,600 feet), 950 km (590 miles) inland from the Antarctic coast. In winter, which lasts from February until November, the local mean temperature is -65?C (-85?F). There is no sunlight at all for about seven weeks, and no true sunrise for about three months. Because of the conditions, the station is not reachable at all in the winter, even in emergencies.

“In winter, which lasts from February until November, the local mean temperature is -65?C (-85?F). There is no sunlight at all for about seven weeks, and no true sunrise for about three months.”

Previous studies have found that both Antarctic winter crews and astronauts suffer from sleep disruption, interpersonal tension, and even mood disorders. In extreme cases, these conditions can jeopardize the safety and success of the mission. While some of the observed symptoms can be treated with drugs, non-drug interventions are preferable.

Study Design

Which is where exercise comes in. In the general population, exercise is known to improve mood, cognitive performance, and similar metrics. The study discussed here attempted to determine whether similar benefits are seen under the more extreme conditions of long-term isolation.¹

Initially, thirteen of the fourteen members of the all-male 2011 winter crew agreed to participate in the study. At six-week intervals, participants submitted to EEG measurements and answered physical and psychological health assessment questionnaires. Participants also took three cognitive performance tests chosen from the Lumosity application.

The Motivation Challenge

All studies of this kind must deal with a significant challenge: bored, lonely, demotivated people are often not interested in completing arbitrary experimental protocols. They may not do well on cognitive tests simply because they don’t care, not because their cognitive functioning is actually impaired.

“All studies of this kind must deal with a significant challenge: bored, lonely, demotivated people are often not interested in completing arbitrary experimental protocols.”

Indeed, only eight of this study’s initial participants actually completed the full experimental protocol. The Lumosity tasks were chosen because they were seen as more engaging than standard psychological test instruments, and therefore more likely to inspire consistent effort by the participants.

Participants were told to continue their normal exercise routines, and could use the Concordia station gym whenever they wanted to. Based on self-reported exercise logs, four participants were classified as “active,” while four were “inactive.” Activity was measured in arbitrary “training load” units based on rate of perceived effort (RPE) times volume, an established metric for comparing activity levels across different types of activity.

Study Results

At the beginning of the study, the active and inactive groups had comparable EEG results, comparable mood indicators, and comparable cognitive results. Though cognitive performance was unchanged for both groups over the course of the study, the other indicators showed striking changes.

Accurate interpretation of EEG results is an active and unsettled research area. While some conditions – such as some seizure disorders – have characteristic EEG signatures, interpreting results from neurotypical populations is less straightforward. For example, signals in the alpha and beta frequency bands have frequently been seen as indicating relaxation and arousal, respectively. In several studies, though, including this one, the two signals have moved in parallel. The authors cautiously suggest that both alpha and beta activity should be seen as indicative of general cortical arousal.

“In the inactive study participants, both alpha and beta EEG signals rose at the beginning of the isolation period and stayed elevated for the duration of the study. Mood indicators, meanwhile, deteriorated.”

In the inactive study participants, both alpha and beta EEG signals rose at the beginning of the isolation period and stayed elevated for the duration of the study. Mood indicators, meanwhile, deteriorated. In the active group, in contrast, mood remained stable, while both alpha and beta activity drifted downward over the course of the study. These results suggest that the active group was able to reduce cortical arousal through adaption to their isolated circumstances. The inactive group, on the other hand, had no productive outlet for stress, leading to mood degradation.

Astronaut Sunita Williams circled Earth almost three times as she participated in the Boston Marathon from space.

The researchers noted that the members of the active group followed fairly ambitious, self-directed programs. One member of the inactive group did exercise, but at low intensity, and did not see the same beneficial effects. They hypothesized that the active group benefitted from the perceived autonomy and sense of accomplishment associated with their exercise programs.

While previous studies have shown cognitive impairment after long-term isolation, the cognitive results in this study did not change. It was not clear whether this was due to the use of the Lumosity tasks versus more traditional tests or whether the makeup of the study participants might have affected these results.

Conclusion

Most of us will never experience an extended space mission or spend the winter in the Antarctic. For the rest of us, maybe the lesson is that exercise can help people tolerate even extremely stressful situations. Even if it’s 85 below and you won’t see the sun for two months, vigorous exercise is a way to take control of the situation.

Further Reading:

• Exercise Is Effective Medicine for Depression
• Learning to Recognize the Signs of a Depressed Athlete
• How Deadlifts Saved My Life
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Vera Abeln, et al, “Exercise in Isolation- A Countermeasure for Electrocortical, Mental and Cognitive Impairments,” PLoS ONE 10(5): e0126356. doi:10.1371/journal. pone.0126356

Photo 1 courtesy of Shutterstock.

Photo 2 by NASA/Michael Studinger via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 3 by NASA via Wikimedia Commons.

Photo 4 by NASA via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Are You as Isolated as an Astronaut? Exercise Can Help appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

So, what’s an athlete to do? Based on what they learned, the authors of this April 2015 study suggested an easy approach to developing individual hydration plans.

The Dehydration Dilemma

Dehydration can cause significant performance degradation. In other research, loss of only 1-1.8% of body weight caused sharp performance declines.² Worse, dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion and potentially life-threatening complications. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association recommends ensuring that weight loss does not exceed 2% over the course of an event.

“Replenishing water without adding salt and other electrolytes can be as dangerous as dehydration.”

For a long time, therefore, endurance athletes were told to drink as frequently as possible. Marathoners, for example, were advised to stop at every available water station. Unfortunately, replenishing water without adding salt and other electrolytes can be as dangerous as dehydration. The body’s fluids can become too dilute, a condition known as exertional hyponatremia. It, too, can have life-threatening consequences.

So what’s an athlete to do? Is there a general rule? “Drink x amount of water per ten miles?” “Per hour?” “Per ten pounds of body weight?”

No, there is not.

Monitoring Water Balance in Endurance Cycling

In this new study, researchers recruited 26 participants in the Wichita Falls, Texas Hotter’n Hell Hundred, a hundred-mile cycling event held in August. Temperatures on race day routinely exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit. At the particular event being studied, the race day high, low, and mean temperatures were 108, 78, and 96 degrees, respectively. Humidity ranged from 58% just after the start, down to 17% in the afternoon, with a mean of 29%.

Participants were weighed before and after the race, as well as at multiple aid stations for riders who stopped. (Eight of the study participants completed the race without stopping.) Water and food consumption were monitored, as were perceived thirst, urine color, urine volume, and other parameters. The participants were all experienced endurance cyclists, and were told to follow their usual eating and drinking routines.

“Thirst is not reliable, but neither are estimates based on the athlete’s weight or fitness, or on the event distance and terrain.”

By monitoring both food and water intake, the researchers were able to calculate both weight loss and water balance. Solid food increases weight but adds little water, so measuring weight loss alone generally underestimates water loss. Over the duration of the event, participants lost 2.7% of body mass on average, or about 3.4 quarts of water over the duration of the event. Thus, most participants experienced dehydration in excess of National Athletic Trainers’ Association guidelines, sufficient to undermine performance.

Thirst Is a Lie, and So Is Everything Else

There were few correlations among the variables considered. Thirst did not predict either fluid intake or body mass change. While fluid intake did correlate with sweat loss, athletes who drank more fluids were no more successful in maintaining their overall water balance. Physical characteristics like weight and body mass index were not predictive, nor was time spent on the course. Contrary to conventional wisdom, neither larger nor slower cyclists consumed more water or experienced more severe dehydration.

“Researchers concluded that sweat-loss rate is extremely individual, and no helpful generalizations are possible.”

Instead, the researchers concluded that sweat-loss rate is extremely individual, and no helpful generalizations are possible. Rather, they suggested that a simple measurement of approximate sweat-loss rate be used to plan water intake. If the athlete exercises for an hour under near-event conditions, his or her sweat rate can be calculated from the amount of weight lost and used to plan hydration needs for the event itself. Because weight loss is not the same as water balance, this measurement will tend to underestimate sweat rate, helping to ensure the athlete avoids hyponatremia.

Though this method can be applied to any endurance sport, the researchers pointed out that cyclists are unique in their ability to carry water on the bicycle frame. Athletes with less ability to drink as much and as often as they like will need to plan water stops more carefully.

The Individual Approach

To summarize, then, it appears that most common rules of thumb for judging hydration are wrong. Thirst is not reliable, but neither are estimates based on the athlete’s weight or fitness, or on the event distance and terrain.

Instead, the best hydration approach is always going to be individual, based on the athlete’s sweat rate under race conditions.

You’ll Also Enjoy:

• Drinking to Thirst: Is It Enough?
• An Athlete’s Guide to Hydration: When, What, and How Much
• How Long Does It Take to Get Hydrated
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Armstrong, L.E., et. al. “Ultraendurance cycling in a hot environment: thirst, fluid consumption, and water balance.” J Strength Cond Res 29(4), 869–876, 2015.

2. Bardis, C.N., et. al. ”Mild dehydration and cycling performance during 5- kilometer hill climbing.” J Athl Train 48, 741–747, 2013.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Why Your Hydration Rule of Thumb Is Wrong appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

This placebo effect, as it is called, poses a significant challenge for researchers: how much of a measured benefit is due to the intervention itself, and how much is due to patient expectations?

Studies of video game learning have found that measured benefits, such as improved reaction time, almost exactly parallel the benefits that people expect to gain. Are the well-known benefits of aerobic exercise just another case of people getting the results they expect, then? Or does aerobic exercise offer measurable benefits beyond the placebo effect?

You Can’t Double-Blind a Treadmill Test

For drug evaluations, the gold standard is the double-blind clinical trial. The test group receives the medication, the control group receives a substitute with no active ingredients, and neither the subjects nor the researchers know who is in which group.

“This placebo effect, as it is called, poses a significant challenge for researchers: how much of a measured benefit is due to the intervention itself, and how much is due to patient expectations?”

Double-blind trials are not so easy when the intervention is a type of exercise program. After all, people generally know whether they are running on a treadmill or sitting and reading magazines. For this reason, studies of exercise programs will often use an “active” control, where the control group participates in a low-intensity form of exercise but is still doing something, rather than nothing. Some experiments attempt to disguise the program being followed, for example by covering barbells with plastic bags to hide the amount of weight being lifted, but that’s not possible in all cases.

Survey Measures Exercise Expectations

In order to evaluate the aerobic placebo effect, if any, researchers at Florida State University and the University of Illinois recruited 657 anonymous participants online.² After screening, a final set of 171 subjects was divided into sedentary and non-sedentary groups depending on their previous (self-reported) exercise experience.

Some participants were asked to read about a non-aerobic stretching and toning program, while others were asked to read about an aerobic running program. Then, participants were given descriptions of three kinds of cognitive tasks – reaction time, relational memory, and task switching – and asked how much the exercise program they’d read about was likely to improve performance on those tasks.

No Exercise Placebo Effect Found

The results were good news for researchers designing exercise studies, though potentially bad news for coaches and policymakers trying to encourage people to exercise. Among participants overall, there was no difference in expectations: people expected the aerobic and non-aerobic programs would offer comparable cognitive benefits.

“Based on these results, there is little or no placebo effect associated with aerobic exercise; its previously measured cognitive benefits are probably real.”

Among sedentary participants, the non-aerobic program was expected to offer more relational memory benefits than the aerobic program. Based on these results, there is little or no placebo effect associated with aerobic exercise; its previously measured cognitive benefits are probably real.

Limitations

The study does have several significant limitations:

• The participants did not actually take part in the exercise program. It’s possible that elevated heart rate, long-term weight loss, and other physical effects of an aerobic program would cause people to believe “it must be working,” and therefore expect to see benefits in other areas.
• Moreover, participants were only shown information about one of the two exercise programs. They were not offered a binary choice, asking them to choose which one would be more effective.
• Finally, participants who reported previous knowledge of the link between cognitive performance and aerobic exercise were screened out of the study. Thus, the study participants may not be representative of the population as a whole, and may not reflect the impact of cultural messaging about the value of exercise.

Conclusions

Despite these limitations, the study was sensitive enough to identify differing expectations between the aerobic and non-aerobic exercise programs. The authors concluded that placebo effects are probably not responsible for the measured cognitive benefits of aerobic exercise.

Whether this is good or bad news depends on your point of view:

• The good news is that working out probably really does help you stay sharp (at least once you catch your breath), so you aren’t just rationalizing all the effort you put in.
• The bad news is that effort matters: believing you got a good workout in isn’t enough. You have to actually do the work to get the benefits.

Related Articles:

• Why Steady State Cardio for Fat Loss Is a Bad Decision
• Is Steady State or Interval Training Better for Cardio?
• How to Read and Analyze Research Like a Pro
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. T. J. Kaptchuk, et. al., “Placebo without deception: a randomized controlled trial in irritable bowel syndrome,” PLoS One 5(12): e15591. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0015591(2010).

2. C. R. Stothart, et. al., “Is the Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition a Placebo Effect?” PLoS ONE 9(10): e109557. doi:10. 1371/journal.pone.0109557 (2014).

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Are the Benefits of Aerobic Exercise All in Your Head? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

A pair of papers from the University of São Paulo, in Brazil, seeks to answer these questions, examining both the past and current training of members of the Brazilian national judo team. The first study, a survey of 61 Olympic athletes spanning the history of Brazil’s participation in Olympic judo (1964-2008), examines differences in the training of medalists and non-medalists during the six months before the Olympic Games in which they competed.¹ The second, a review article, discussed the heart rate, lactate levels, and other metabolic parameters associated with three common types of judo-specific training.² 

Like most Olympic athletes, and like judoka in other countries, the participants in the first study typically trained in the neighborhood of 24 hours per week, spread across two 2-hour sessions per day, six days per week. The authors noted that support from the national federation and other sponsors is essential, both to help athletes meet their own financial needs and to ensure the availability of coaches, facilities, and support personnel.

Judo Training Sessions

Training sessions generally included both general strength and conditioning and judo-specific training such as technique drills (uchi-komi), throwing drills (nage-komi), and sparring (randori). The study found few differences between the training protocols of medalists and non-medalists, but did observe that the foundation for a medal is laid long before the six-month pre-Olympic period. It is likely that medalists had previously developed superior grip control and technical skills, but no data exists to verify this hypothesis. Within the six-month pre-Olympic period, the only notable difference was in the emphasis on ground-work randori – sparring on the ground. Medalists viewed this training as less relevant to judo competition, and did less of it, than non-medalists. Indeed, the authors observed, competitive judo matches are rarely decided through ground fighting.

As noted above, individual judo training sessions typically last about two hours, regardless of training level. Top athletes training for a competition may have more training sessions per week, but the format of each session is somewhat consistent. Of the two hours, typically about one-third is devoted to general conditioning, one-third to technique and throwing drills, and one-third to randori. In contrast, a typical judo match can be as short as a few seconds, and will not exceed eight minutes. Thus, the authors observed, coaches need to carefully plan training and recovery to ensure their athletes are in peak competition form.

The second paper reviewed attempts to quantify the metabolic demands of different types of judo training. The various studies considered measured heart rates, recovery rates, blood lactate levels, and oxygen uptake levels of both elite and non-elite judoka.

Uchi-Komi

Uchi-komi is the judo term for repetitive technique drills. These can be performed at various levels of intensity, from very slow movements to drill the details of a form, to rapid repetition for conditioning purposes. Typically, the athlete takes the technique just to the point of balance breaking, without actually completing the throw. After intense uchi-komi drills, study participants achieved heart rates comparable to those seen in randori. Olympic-level judoka developed lower heart rates than national-level athletes, but it was not possible to determine whether this was due to better technical efficiency, superior fitness, or both. 

Nage-Komi

In nage-komi, the technique proceeds to completion of the throw. The effort required for each repetition depends on the athlete’s skill level: more advanced judoka tend to rely more on timing and leverage, and less on brute strength. Nage-komi practice is more demanding, particularly for the person being thrown. For example, one study paired each test subject with two partners to measure the maximum number of throws that could be completed in one minute. In these studies, both heart rate and blood lactate levels were moderate for the partner executing the technique, but caloric expenditures were very high, comparable to other forms of full-body resistance training.

Randori

The third exercise modality, randori, introduces an element of competition. While in drills, partners typically take turns being thrown, but in randori both partners simultaneously attempt to execute techniques. Depending on the goals of the practice, the range of techniques can be tightly limited – say to a set of techniques used in nage-komi drills in that training session – or can be completely open, constrained only by safety considerations and competition rules. Not surprisingly, this is the most demanding of the three modalities. Study participants achieved heart rates and lactate levels comparable to those found in maximal treadmill tests.

Based on their review, the authors suggested short, intense randori or drill sessions, with longer rest intervals to improve anaerobic fitness, while longer sessions at lower intensity are more appropriate for improving aerobic fitness. The authors found that the potential for overtraining is high enough to warrant ongoing monitoring of immune function, markers of muscle damage, and other potential danger signs.

References:

1. Emerson Franchini and Monica Y. Takito, “Olympic preparation in Brazilian judo athletes: description and perceived relevance of training practices,” J. Str. And Cond. Res., 2013 Oct. 21, epub ahead of print.

2. Emerson Franchini, et. al., “The physiology of judo-specific training modalities,” J. Str. And Cond. Res.,” 2013 Oct. 21, epub ahead of print.

Photos provided by David Brown.

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A team of French, Swiss, and Italian researchers studied 25 male participants in Italy’s Tor des Géants.¹ Possibly the world’s most difficult single-stage mountain ultramarathon, the TdG covers 330 kilometers (about 205 miles) with about 24,000m (about 78,700 feet) of elevation change. The record finishing time is about 76 hours, and participants are capped at a maximum time of 150 hours. As a single-stage race, rest and recovery time count against a participant’s total time. Runners typically suffer from substantial sleep deprivation in addition to the physical demands of the race.

Because the race is so long, the brief time needed to take blood samples and perform other measurements was not a major contributor to participants’ overall time, and researchers were able to test athletes at the midpoint of the race as well as before and after. At each point, researchers measured the maximum voluntary contraction force of the knee extensors and plantar flexors, as well as central and peripheral nervous system responsiveness. They tested blood samples for creatine kinase and other markers of muscular damage and inflammation.

Of the 25 participants, fifteen finished the race. Nine of those had measurements taken at all three opportunities. The researchers themselves served as the control group, subjected to sleep deprivation but not to the race itself.

Both the mid-race and post-race results indicated significant muscle damage and maximum voluntary contraction force loss. Peripheral nervous system response was unaffected, while central nervous system response deteriorated. Based on their own findings and previous research, the researchers believe that impairment of the excitation-contraction coupling mechanism is the primary contributor to neuromuscular fatigue in such extreme events. These effects were not seen in the control group, confirming previous work showing that sleep deprivation has little effect on neuromuscular response.

Next, the researchers compared their own results to a similar study of participants in the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), a race about half as long as the TdG over similarly challenging terrain.² They found that runners at the midpoint of the TdG had suffered less muscle damage and neuromuscular fatigue than UTMB finishers, even though both groups had completed similar distances at that point.

The difference, they believe, is due to difference in pacing strategy. The mean flat terrain-equivalent speed over the TdG distance was 5.5±2.8 km/h (3.4±1.7 miles/h), compared to 7.2±1.3 km/h (4.8±0.8 miles/h) for the UTMB. Thus, the rates of eccentric contraction and joint loading are lower, reducing the rate of muscle damage. Indeed, TdG finishers had lower creatine kinase levels than UTMB finishers. The longer distance, with more elevation change, was actually less damaging for participants.

Few athletes participate in events requiring continuous effort over several days. Nonetheless, the drop off in muscle damage with reduced intensity, even with extremely high duration efforts, may have implications for recovery and rehabilitation protocols beyond the ultramarathon world.

Reference:

1. Jonas Saugy, et. al., “Alterations of Neuromuscular Function after the World’s Most Challenging Mountain Ultra-Marathon,” PLoS ONE 8(6): e65596 (2013).

2. Guillaume Y. Millet, et. al., “Neuromuscular Consequences of an Extreme Mountain Ultra-Marathon,” PLoS ONE 6(2): e17059 (2011).

Tor des Géants photo courtesy of F.cadioli (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc photo courtesy of Pierre Thomas (Salomon) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

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I’m currently preparing for my third-degree black belt in aikido. I was discussing an article about test preparation with Becca, the managing editor here at Breaking Muscle, when she noted that a lot of people might not know what aikido is or how it differs from other martial arts. This article is an attempt to answer that question.

Aikido is a Japanese martial art, developed in the 1920s and 1930s by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). Its roots lie in classical Japanese jujutsu and sword styles. Like judo, a close cousin, aikido depends on balance and timing rather than striking. Ueshiba was one of the greatest martial artists of his time. There are many stories of people who came, expecting to expose him as a charlatan, and ended up becoming his students. He was also a mystic who was deeply affected by the disastrous consequences of World War II.

This is Morihei Ueshiba in 1935, very early in the evolution of the art that became known as aikido.

(The name didn’t become official until 1942.)

After the war, the emphasis of aikido shifted. Not simply a martial art, it sought to become a means to bring humanity into harmony with the universe, a way to resolve conflict without fighting. The details of this shift are loudly debated in the aikido community. How much of the shift in emphasis reflected a real change in the art, as opposed to a practical decision in light of the American occupation of Japan?

Many classical martial arts treatises use mystical language to describe fairly mundane physical phenomena; have Ueshiba’s translators correctly understood the ideas he was trying to communicate? Ueshiba’s direct students have passed different interpretations of the art down to their students: which interpretation is “right?”

Without boring a general audience with these arguments, suffice it to say that the idea of aikido as a non-fighting martial art spread far and wide. It helped the art to attract many people who were not particularly interested in or knowledgeable about martial skills as traditionally understood. Meanwhile, the abilities of Ueshiba and his top students attracted many excellent practitioners of other arts.

Thanks to these somewhat contradictory trends, modern aikido practice is tremendously diverse, ranging from extremely physical, even destructive technique at one end of the spectrum to something akin to martially-inspired dance at the other. Anyone thinking of studying aikido should be aware that these variations exist and seek out a dojo that aligns with their particular interests.

Dojos, like mine, that lie in the middle ground tend to agree that physical conflict is best avoided. There is always someone bigger, stronger, or more skillful. Even less dangerous individuals can have friends nearby. Weapons dramatically raise the stakes, and their presence won’t necessarily be obvious.

Yet many attackers aren’t malicious so much as stupid, drunk, or mentally ill. For both ethical and practical reasons, when conflict is unavoidable it’s important to act decisively and dissipate any threat as quickly as possible, ideally without inflicting serious injury.

Most aikido techniques have both more and less damaging variations. The most graceful throws contain opportunities for devastating strikes and crippling joint dislocations. Often, an attacker may appear to “throw himself” because he chose to escape rather than face a more damaging outcome.

For this reason, aikido demonstrations can look fake. However, these less damaging options also make it possible to practice aikido at full speed, with full contact, without injury. Aikido practice is realistic enough to teach many skills that are helpful in real situations.

The first and most important of these are calm and awareness: the ability to perceive what is actually happening and respond as needed, without being paralyzed by indecision or fear. All martial arts seek to develop these qualities, of course.

However, aikido’s use of multiple attacker and weapons practice is somewhat unique. When an attacker has a weapon, the safest place to be is close to him, inside the reach of a long weapon like a sword or staff, close enough to restrict his ability to actually use a knife.

However, you can’t get there unless you’re willing to move decisively into and through the point of maximum danger. With multiple attackers, awareness allows you to place one in the path of the next, ensuring they get in each other’s way and can’t coordinate effectively.

While weapon taking and multiple attacker strategies are black-belt level skills in most aikido styles, these goals inform the practice from the very beginning, providing the rationale for many fundamental movements.

This is from a class, not a demonstration, so it goes more slowly and has good explanations of what’s going on. My teacher, George Ledyard, discusses control of space with three attackers.

Balance and timing are next on the list of aikido priorities. Most techniques work by disrupting the attacker’s posture and balance while maintaining your own. Doing this demands strong, stable posture and an ability to anticipate the moment when the attacker is in transition between one stable position and another.

Conversely, the attacker seeks to avoid or minimize disruptions of his posture, and to recover as quickly as possible when they occur. Out in the real world, these skills manifest as the ability to avoid tripping and falling, even on rough pavement or ice, and to avoid injury when falls do occur.

Any search for “real world aikido” will find plenty of stories; my favorite happened to a friend. His bicycle’s front wheel collapsed, sending him flying into a perfect roll over the handlebars. The wheel was a total loss, but he was fine.

And finally, aikido depends on flexibility and core strength. Power in aikido tends to come from a wave action initiated by the legs and core. Tension in the lower body can keep this wave from developing in the first place, while tension in the upper body will block it before it can reach the other person. On the attacking side, flexibility is the key to avoiding injury, but also gives the sensitivity needed for successful counters and reversals.

On the other hand, most aikido dojos put little or no emphasis on ground fighting. If additional attackers may be nearby, the ground is a very dangerous place to be. Most aikido dojos are also philosophically opposed to competition.

One reason is that too much concern with “winning” can impede the development of good technique. It may be possible to overwhelm an opponent with superior strength, but doing so doesn’t teach you much about aikido.

Secondly, competitions necessarily have rules, which will tend to distort training priorities. For example, ability to tolerate physical punishment is very important for combat sports, but not particularly relevant once weapons are involved.

This introduction is necessarily brief. Please ask any questions in comments. I’ll try to address them here or in a future article.

For more information:

• The best online resource for information about aikido is AikiWeb, a vast store of articles, links and discussion from all points along the aikido spectrum. I occasionally contribute to AikiWeb, most recently here.
• My principal teachers are George Ledyard and William Gleason, both senior instructors in Mitsugi Saotome’s Aikido Schools of Ueshiba organization. Links are to their respective dojos, which have videos, seminar schedules, and other information. Opinions expressed in this article are strictly my own.

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Aikido in Brief: A Short Introduction to a Large Art appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Big players have a clear advantage in such collisions, and the offensive and defensive linemen tend to be the biggest players on the team. (For readers not familiar with the game, a discussion of the offensive and defensive positions can be found here.)

Body Mass Index (BMI) Does Not Predict Health Outcomes

Recent studies have shown that body mass index (BMI) is not a good measure of overall fitness, especially in athletes. Dense muscle can allow an athlete to be heavier than average for his height without adverse health consequences.¹ Merely being big is not necessarily unhealthy.

Nonetheless, studies of retired NFL linemen have found that they are 52% more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than comparable members of the general public. One study found that 60% of retired linemen had metabolic syndrome, a collection of risk factors that includes poor blood glucose control, elevated triglycerides, and high blood pressure, among other symptoms. While we think of athletes generally as fit and healthy, is that really true of football players?

Bigger and Badder

A study at Miami University of Ohio attempted to answer that question.² It considered 123 high school and 82 college football players, of whom 74 were offensive or defensive linemen, 58 were wide receivers or defensive backs (considered “skilled” positions in football jargon), and the remainder (72) were quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, and so forth (the “athletic” positions). The study measured body fat percentage, blood pressure, fasting glucose, and fasting levels of both triglycerides and high-density lipoproteins (HDL; “good” cholesterol).

The researchers found significant differences between positions, regardless of playing level. The average body fat percentage for linemen was 24.8%, compared to 15.3% for athletic positions and 12.1% for skilled positions. 6.8% of the sample population had three or more markers of metabolic syndrome, and 92.3% of those were linemen. To put these numbers in context, though, as many as 34% of U.S. adults over twenty years of age have three or more markers for metabolic syndrome. As many as 16% of teenage boys are obese. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome among players in the study was comparable to or lower than among their non-athletic peers.

It’s also difficult to differentiate between cause and effect. Are linemen more likely to carry excess weight because the demands of the position encourage them to do so? Or do large individuals gravitate to the position because it is a good fit for their existing body type? While this study cannot answer that question, a clue may be found in the difference in obesity rates between the high school and college students studied. The average body fat percentage for high school linemen was 26.1%, compared to 22.9% for college linemen. It’s possible that the more sophisticated game at the college level places more emphasis on athleticism over sheer mass.

Nonetheless, linemen are the biggest players on the team at every level, from high school to professional. A lineman who is merely average-sized in high school may need to get bigger or change positions in order to continue to play in college and beyond, even though excessive weight gain can have clear consequences for the athlete’s long term health.

“Fit” and “Healthy” May Not Be The Same For Linemen

Most high school athletes – in any sport – will not compete at the Division I college level, much less play professionally. As the researchers emphasize, strength and conditioning coaches have a responsibility to help athletes balance short-term athletic goals against longer-term health consequences. Metabolic syndrome markers like waist circumference and blood pressure are easy to measure; they can and should be used to identify athletes who are at risk.

References:

1. Rexford S. Ahima and Mitchell A. Lazar, “The Health Risk of Obesity-Better Metrics Imperative,” Science, 341(6148), 856-858 (2013).

2. Gary D. Steffes, et. al., “Prevalence Of Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors In High School And NCAA Division I Football Players,” J. Str. And Cond. Res., 27(7), 1749-1757 (2013).

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

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In an attempt to determine what changes actually take place over an athlete’s college career, a study at the University of Texas at Austin collected pre- and post-season body composition measurements. The datea came from more than 200 female Division I athletes participating in one of five sports: basketball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, and track. Among track athletes, only sprinters and jumpers were considered, not distance runners or throwers. Measurements included height, total mass, lean mass, and body fat mass and percentage. Body composition measurements used DXA scan technology (also known as the DEXA scan), which is generally considered one of the most accurate available methods.

The athletes averaged 22.3% body fat at the beginning of their careers, notably less than the 31% body fat average for all freshman female non-athletes at the same school. However, the athletes reported about the same average BMI as their non-athletic peers. While BMI is often used as an easy-to-calculate stand-in for more accurate body composition metrics, these data make it clear that elevated BMI does not necessarily indicate excess body fat in athletes.

The table below summarizes the measurements. At this university, all five of the sports involved in this study were very competitive programs, regularly producing divisional and national championship-level teams. The authors hypothesized that the athletes had near-optimal body composition for their sports, and therefore differences between sports reflected divergent requirements. A preliminary comparison of volleyball and basketball players based on their positions supports this hypothesis. For example, basketball guards were shorter, lighter, and leaner than post players and volleyball defensive specialists and setters were shorter, lighter, and less lean than hitters and blockers.

Table: Means for body composition of various sports across multiple time points and years.

Observed = mean of all measures taken. Mean ±standard error

Some of the findings were unsurprising. For example, basketball players tend to be taller than other athletes. Others were less obvious. For example, the track athletes averaged just 16% body fat, which is notably less than the average for all athletes and near the bottom of the healthy range for women.

Very few changes were seen over the course of these women’s athletic careers. Within a single season, swimmers and track athletes lost fat mass and increased fat mass, but these changes did not persist over the longer term. Volleyball players added lean mass and kept it long-term, while basketball players added and kept both total mass and fat mass.

It’s not clear what conclusions, if any, can be drawn from this study. It is not, after all, surprising for athletes to have and maintain lower body fat than non-athletes. The data reflect changes in the athletic population as a whole, and therefore may not provide a good perspective on changes in individual athletes. There was also no attempt to correlate body composition with either training programs or power and strength measurements.

Finally, the potential for changes in the “typical” athlete over time, for instance as women’s collegiate sports become more competitive, makes comparisons across studies difficult. Overall, this study indicates possible directions for further research, but offers little guidance for athletes or coaches.

References

1. Philip R. Stanforth, et. al., “Body composition among female NCAA Division I athletes across the competitive season and over a multi-year time frame,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research., Published ahead of print, doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182a20f06

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Like most kids, De Mars said, the students there are too sedentary. When they start the judo program, they often aren’t athletic at all, much less elite. Many lack the basic fitness level that even introductory judo requires. The same is often true of adult beginners, who might be starting judo or another martial art as a more interesting alternative to a traditional gym, but with little or no recent training experience.

But, De Mars said, everyone starts somewhere. Her program uses a lot of bodyweight calisthenics and simple drills. Some, like squats and jumping jacks, address general fitness, while others are more judo-specific. The “shrimp exercise,” for example develops core strength but is especially relevant for ground defense in judo. Simple falls from the knees and basic mat work likewise develop fitness and judo skills in parallel. The goal is to push students hard enough to improve, but not so hard that they hate it and quit.

De Mars herself faced a similar situation as a beginner. As she told the story, she was twelve years old, “a short, fat kid with thick glasses.” Her mother took her to the local YMCA and told her to “join something.” This was before the passage of Title IX, a U.S. law that required gender parity in sports programs, and her options were limited. Many sports just didn’t accept girls. The available choices were swimming, track, and judo. Judo, which requires neither running nor revealing clothing, turned out to be the best fit. DeMars credits a good coach for launching a career that ultimately made her the first American to win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships (in 1984).

Kayla Harrison, the student of De Mars’ co-author Jim Pedro, Sr., started judo when she was six and has gone far beyond the basic calisthenics of the beginner program. At the 2012 Olympics in London, Harrision became the first American to win an Olympic gold medal in judo. Still, one of her two two-hour judo workouts a day focuses on drills, practicing techniques and parts of techniques over and over. The second concentrates on sparring and free practice. When training full time, she adds five days per week of running and weight training to her six days per week of judo.

With a training load that heavy, Harrison says recovery is critical. “I don’t go out. I train, I eat dinner, I go to bed. That’s pretty much it.” Eight hours of sleep is the minimum, plus naps. She gets a massage once a week, and avoids processed foods.

Additional challenges come with the need to combine her training with a heavy travel and competition schedule. When I spoke to Harrison, she hadn’t yet returned to fulltime training after the London Olympics. She’d resumed training in January, and was preparing for her fourth post-Olympics competition, the PanAm Championships in Costa Rica. Competing in the 70 kg division, down from her 78 kg Olympic weight class, she won the bronze medal and helped Team USA take fourth place overall. She described her training as “a grind, but a beautiful grind.”

“I’m very fortunate. I have wonderful teammates, and I get to do something I love.” Asked about life after judo, she scoffed, clearly focused on the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. “There’s nothing like standing on that podium. It makes it all worth it.”

Both De Mars and Harrison dismissed the importance of “talent,” in favor of characteristics like hard work and perseverance. Still, the sheer level of effort required to reach and maintain elite performance guarantees that most judoka will be closer to the Samuel Gompers Middle School students than the national team.

That’s okay. Judo has a lot to offer sixty-year-old recreational athletes, too. As Harrison explained, recreational judo can be as intense as sport judo and should be taken just as seriously. “You get out what you put into it. When I talk to groups, I try to share with them how transformative judo can be. It’s a great mind-body exercise. I hope it changes someone else’s life like it has changed mine.”

One of the life-changing aspects of martial arts for many people is the opportunity to change their relationship with fear. Adult beginners in particular are often motivated by real-world fears like a desire for self-defense skills. Martial arts training itself involves fear to some degree – fear of getting hit, fear of getting thrown, fear of injury and failure. In judo, first you are thrown, then your opponent falls on top of you to pin you. It’s the kind of thing that can make even other martial artists a little nervous.

So I asked how judoka approach the fear. The response was a verbal shrug. “We learn at the edges of our experience,” said Harrison, meaning desensitization helps people work up to more and more aggressive throws and more demanding falls.

De Mars was a little more expansive. “Everyone starts somewhere,” she emphasized. Beginners start with falls from the knees, simple drills, just getting used to the transition from standing to the ground. Mats help, too: she noted that her program at Samuel Gompers Middle School would welcome an additional crash mat.

But Harrison also noted that the word “judo” (柔道 in Japanese) means “gentle way.” The first things beginners learn are how to fall and how to protect themselves. In competition, being thrown means that you’ve lost. But drills and other non-competitive practice put more emphasis on flowing movement and safe technique. At that level, she said, judo can be practiced by anyone, both elite competitors and older recreational athletes, and anyone can benefit from it. “You can be amazed by what’s possible,” she said.

AnnMaria De Mars’s judo career includes wins at the USJA Junior Nationals, US Senior Nationals, and the US Open, as well as the 1984 World Judo Championships, where she was the first American to win a gold medal. She co-authored “Winning on the Ground: Training and Techniques for Judo and MMA Fighters” with judo coach James Pedro, Sr.

Kayla Harrison’s judo accomplishments include gold medals at the 2010 World Judo Championships, the 2011 Pan American Championships, and the 2012 Olympic Games. She trains with coach Jimmy Pedro, in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Off the mat, she is an advocate for survivors of child sexual abuse.

Profile photo of Kayla Harrison courtesy of USOC/Long Photography, Inc.

All other photos courtesy of AnnMaria De Mars.

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