Protein recommendations, Usain Bolt's flat feet, and physical activity for heart health
Exploring my curiosity for running and rehab and sharing what I learn every week.
What I’m Thinking
I. People always ask what I think about stretching.
It essentially boils down to preference.
If you like stretching, have at it.
If you don't like stretching, skip it.
II. I ran the NYC Marathon in 3 hours and 37 minutes last week.
I missed my goal.
By a lot.
And honestly, it hasn’t bothered me much.
Why?
Because I'm in it for the long haul.
I’ll get there eventually.
Long-term thinking for the win.
What I’m Reading
📖 Any activity is better for your heart than sitting
“The team modeled what would happen if an individual changed various amounts of one behavior for another each day for a week, in order to estimate the effect on heart health for each scenario. When replacing sedentary behavior, as little as five minutes of moderate-vigorous activity had a noticeable effect on heart health.”
Dr Jo Blodgett, first author of the study from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health, said: ‘The big takeaway from our research is that while small changes to how you move can have a positive effect on heart health, intensity of movement matters. The most beneficial change we observed was replacing sitting with moderate to vigorous activity – which could be a run, a brisk walk, or stair climbing – basically any activity that raises your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, even for a minute or two.’”
📖 How much protein should we consume?
“With the exception of peak power, intake of 1.6 g.kg−1.d−1 of protein appears sufficient to maximize gains in lean mass, muscle strength, performance, and aerobic capacity during both Resistance Training and Concurrent Training (resistance plus endurance training) without influencing markers of kidney and liver function, indicating this daily protein amount is effective and safely tolerated in young, healthy adults.”
“Recent research suggests that regular vaccinations against influenza and other infectious diseases such as shingles, pneumococcal pneumonia, and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough) may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias..
..It is unclear why vaccinations may slow or prevent dementia, Hotez said. ‘In some cases, they may prevent viruses from causing direct neurological involvement, especially for neurotropic viruses, or indirectly through brain inflammation that can result from pathogens,’ he said. ‘In other cases, they may stimulate innate immune mechanisms that may be protective against the sequence of events leading to dementia.’"
What I’m Liking
I love these pictures of Usain Bolt.
2 things stand out.
The scoliosis in his back.
His incredibly flat feet.
And he’s STILL the fastest person in the world.
All of our bodies have “flaws” and “abnormalities.”
Maybe they don’t all need fixing.
Thanks for reading.
See you next week.
Thank you, Scott, for reminding me about the flu shot!
I'm really fascinated by the pictures of Bolt. Often, a foot with a low arch or flat foot, which is noticeable when standing still, can appear normal when walking or running, especially within athletes. It would be REALLY interesting to see how this applies to Bolt.