Does running destroy your knees?
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just google sprinters vs marathon runners - and look at the difference in appearance.
Oh not that old chestnut again.
That assumes that the only training that they do is running, rather than having a cross training and resistance training plan that optimises their build for their sport.
I've never met a competitive sprinter who didn't lift. They all knew the value of leg day.0 -
I am an overweight runner and I have never had a problem with my knees. Do you know who does? My mother, who was obese and inactive for a quarter-century. She's finally buckled down and lost enough weight so that she can be scheduled for the first of two knee-replacement surgeries. Running didn't screw up her knees for sure. I don't think she's run for so much as a bus since she was in her forties.
Most of the people I know who say "Oh I can't run, running kills my knees" either have a pre-existing injury, haven't been fitted for shoes, tried to do too much too fast, or simply like making excuses.
I am in no way saying that running is the only/best way to work out. I also like to dance and practice yoga, and have gone through periods of heavy weight lifting in the past. It's not for everyone, but for some reason, people love to dog it.0 -
just google sprinters vs marathon runners - and look at the difference in appearance.
Oh not that old chestnut again.
That assumes that the only training that they do is running, rather than having a cross training and resistance training plan that optimises their build for their sport.
I've never met a competitive sprinter who didn't lift. They all knew the value of leg day.
Indeed, and equally marathoners will have a resistance plan as well, it just has different objectives.0 -
No running doesn't ruin your knees, being overweight does. I run almost everyday and my knees are fine. They used to hurt a lot more when I was heavier. Get the right shoes and in the beginning take a lot of walk breaks. Doing too much too soon gets you injured.0
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42 years old...just hit my 3 year running mark. Only time my knees hurt is when I don't keep up with my stretching or I break form and get sloppy on a long run/race. Otherwise, my knees and legs are strong and healthy!!0
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I want to run too but I know at the moment I am too heavy. Losing weight has significantly helped my knees and I now have no pain in them, whereas 3 months ago it hurt just to get up from a chair. I am walking at speed (power walking) and gradually building up speed and length of walk. As I lose more weight I plan to transition to walk/run 30seconds walk 30 seconds run to build up gradually until I can finally run (probably won't be until the end of the year). I would not run while very overweight because you can injure yourself more easily and it is more wear and tear on your knees. Spend money on good shoes, I use Asics with gel which cushions the impact but all brands have their equivalent , warm up and cool down and also spend a good 5-10 minutes stretching properly afterwards, it really makes a difference and helps prevent injury.0
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just google sprinters vs marathon runners - and look at the difference in appearance.
Oh not that old chestnut again.
That assumes that the only training that they do is running, rather than having a cross training and resistance training plan that optimises their build for their sport.
I've never met a competitive sprinter who didn't lift. They all knew the value of leg day.
I would also argue that a specific body type is predominant in specific sports, particularly at elite levels, because is advantageous to that sport. Elite swimmers tend to have longer arms which are an advantage. Swimming doesn't cause longer arms.
I can and will run a marathon, my body type is closer to a sprinter than a marathoner. I am never going to look or be an elite marathoner regardless of how many I run.0 -
2nd - long distance running is not good for you - endurance running is not something we were 'built' for
So we're not persistence hunters? We don't have physical advantages in our legs and cardiovascular system that lean towards suggesting that we're extremely well suited to long steady runs? (Design of our achilles tendon as an energy saving device, ability to sweat as we do for cooling.)
So Daniel Lieberman is totally off?
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/new_scientist/2013/06/daniel_lieberman_long_distance_running_we_evolved_endurance_and_dislike.html
The fact that we are one of about three species (not including some of the dogs that we've bred) are even CAPABLE of running a continuous marathon without dying.
Or run further than a marathon without suffering mortal danger.
What's interesting is that we can do this because the animals we ate couldn't. We'd run them to death over the course of several miles, and several hours. We can still do that. I know guys that just dream of the perfect shot to fell an elk, I personally would rather run one down, that would be a hunt.
ok I was wrong - good share! learned something myself.0 -
I want to run too but I know at the moment I am too heavy. Losing weight has significantly helped my knees and I now have no pain in them, whereas 3 months ago it hurt just to get up from a chair. I am walking at speed (power walking) and gradually building up speed and length of walk. As I lose more weight I plan to transition to walk/run 30seconds walk 30 seconds run to build up gradually until I can finally run (probably won't be until the end of the year). I would not run while very overweight because you can injure yourself more easily and it is more wear and tear on your knees. Spend money on good shoes, I use Asics with gel which cushions the impact but all brands have their equivalent , warm up and cool down and also spend a good 5-10 minutes stretching properly afterwards, it really makes a difference and helps prevent injury.
This is a great point.
You should be able to walk briskly for 30 minutes before starting a beginning running plan.0 -
just google sprinters vs marathon runners - and look at the difference in appearance.
Oh not that old chestnut again.
That assumes that the only training that they do is running, rather than having a cross training and resistance training plan that optimises their build for their sport.
I've never met a competitive sprinter who didn't lift. They all knew the value of leg day.
Sure? and I know marathon runners that lift?
I see your point but there are tons of other moving parts there as well - diet, sleep.. my word bro - nitpick much?0 -
ok I was wrong - good share! learned something myself.
No worries man, it's truly mind blowing what we're capable of, and how varied we can be.
We have folks who at an elite level can run over 100 miles in a go. Then we have cats who can deadlift almost 1,000# at a go.
I'd be curious to see if there was any other animal that has such physical variation as what we're capable of.0 -
I see your point but there are tons of other moving parts there as well - diet, sleep.. my word bro - nitpick much?
Well if you're going to come out with an overly simplistic comparison to substantiate nonsense, you're likely to find that it gets challenged.0 -
No - we were Born to run .. we evolved that way --- we didn't evolve to be overweight - which puts more strain on many parts of our body.
That is just patently untrue. If we evolved to run, as you claim, we would be at least as fast as another animal that evolved to run: The cheetah, who routinely hits 50mph or so, and can hit bursts up to 70mph.
The fastest human recorded was about 28mph or so (Usain Bolt). And, the injury threshold is 25-26 mph.
Research shows we evolved for long distance, constant walking, with short bursts of speed for hunting. There was a lone study that may show we evolved for running, but again, that's a lone study and a conclusion of 2 researchers. Not the general consensus.
lulz
Please post reasearch
What? Research that shows the injury speed is 25-26mph? Or that the fastest human is only a fraction as fast as other land animals who actually evolved to run?
OK, so this is just your opinion then.
So how long can a cheetah run for without stopping?0 -
The act of running itself will not destroy your knees. However, if you choose to run irresponsibly (as I once did) without regard to joint pain and for the mere goal of racking up miles, then you could end up with sore/injured knees. Some of it can be traced back to form, but mostly it is just running for the mileage.
I never suggest running to people who are well above average in weight. If you choose to run, break into it easy, allow your joints a good chance to adapt. The forces placed on the body while running can be up to 5 times that of walking. Always wear good shoes. Stride can be a highly individual thing, but in my experience heavy heel strikers seem to have the highest percentage of knee issues.0 -
No - we were Born to run .. we evolved that way --- we didn't evolve to be overweight - which puts more strain on many parts of our body.
That is just patently untrue. If we evolved to run, as you claim, we would be at least as fast as another animal that evolved to run: The cheetah, who routinely hits 50mph or so, and can hit bursts up to 70mph.
The fastest human recorded was about 28mph or so (Usain Bolt). And, the injury threshold is 25-26 mph.
Research shows we evolved for long distance, constant walking, with short bursts of speed for hunting. There was a lone study that may show we evolved for running, but again, that's a lone study and a conclusion of 2 researchers. Not the general consensus.
lulz
Please post reasearch
What? Research that shows the injury speed is 25-26mph? Or that the fastest human is only a fraction as fast as other land animals who actually evolved to run?
OK, so this is just your opinion then.
So how long can a cheetah run for without stopping?
Long enough to catch me. :sad:0 -
http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/animal-kingdom-top-marathon-runners#slide-1
Note the humans have domesticated half of these.0 -
No - we were Born to run .. we evolved that way --- we didn't evolve to be overweight - which puts more strain on many parts of our body.
That is just patently untrue. If we evolved to run, as you claim, we would be at least as fast as another animal that evolved to run: The cheetah, who routinely hits 50mph or so, and can hit bursts up to 70mph.
The fastest human recorded was about 28mph or so (Usain Bolt). And, the injury threshold is 25-26 mph.
Research shows we evolved for long distance, constant walking, with short bursts of speed for hunting. There was a lone study that may show we evolved for running, but again, that's a lone study and a conclusion of 2 researchers. Not the general consensus.
lulz
Please post reasearch
What? Research that shows the injury speed is 25-26mph? Or that the fastest human is only a fraction as fast as other land animals who actually evolved to run?
OK, so this is just your opinion then.
So how long can a cheetah run for without stopping?
A few hundred yards.
http://animals.pawnation.com/far-can-cheetah-run-before-rest-2587.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CheetahLong enough to catch me. :sad:
That's kind of the point of cheetah evolution. Their hunt to kill rate is like 50% - which is pretty good.0 -
ok I was wrong - good share! learned something myself.
No worries man, it's truly mind blowing what we're capable of, and how varied we can be.
We have folks who at an elite level can run over 100 miles in a go. Then we have cats who can deadlift almost 1,000# at a go.
I'd be curious to see if there was any other animal that has such physical variation as what we're capable of.
That's kind of the point I think - we are flexible. Humans evolved to be capable of doing lots of things. We can walk all day, we can run, we can climb trees, we can swim, we can lift things, we can make things. We may not be as good at walking as a horse, or as good at running short distances as a cheetah, or as good at climbing as a monkey, or as good at swimming as a dolphin, or as strong as an elephant... but we can do all those things well enough to enable us to survive. Plus that making stuff - that's pretty neat.
To say we didn't evolve to do something we are obviously capable of doing is simply wrong.0 -
If one wanted to persistence hunt a cheetah, we wouldn't have to work hard. They have poor heat management, and light muscular structure. We'd easily kill them from heat stroke.0
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1) Running doesn't ruin your knees; but being stupid about running will.
2) Cheetahs are actually not the apex predators some would think (they are daily out-competed, have to kill fast, and move on before stronger animals get in). They can sprint very fast for very short distances, and if they miss their kill, they are in trouble because they have used so much energy. Its all give and take in the evolutionary arms race.
3)If humans weren't meant to run, we would have the muscle structure of the other primates, instead of a muscle structure that more closely matches a horse. We evolved to run. We sweat, antelope don't. They have a heat transfer problem. We can take more than one breath per stride, they can't. On a hot day, it takes persistence hunters 3-5 hours (at about a 9-10 minute mile) to run a deer to death. Is it all that weird that marathons are so popular?
edited for clarity0
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