Potentially dangerous exercises...

[Boerseun]

I saw the "Running" thread in the Watercooler, and wondered...

 

How healthy is running, in any case?

 

In the old days, we weren't expected to survive much beyond 30. All you had to do was to breed as soon as puberty is reached, and raise at least two kids to the age where they can fend for themselves. Doubtless, birth rates were high, but so were mortality rates. If only two survived for each couple, the species would be maintained.

 

We also did a lot of running, in hunting and evading predators. But seeing as we weren't built to last much longer than, say, our thirties, it won't become apparent that running will screw up your knee joints and your spine later on in life. So, we kept on running, mostly 'cause we didn't have cars, I guess, and also because by the time spinal damage from running became apparent, we have already procreated. So, it wouldn't have been an evolutionary disadvantage if running was indeed detrimental.

 

Today, we run for fun, fitness, and competition.

 

But is it healthy, at all? I mean, humans are the only mammals to have morphed our spines into an upright position. Our hips are unique, modified for this specific purpose. Chimps and bonobos are conceivably on the same evolutionary path, but they still prefer 'knuckling' it, their hips still don't allow a 100% upright posture. But even with our greatly modified hipbones and spines, we suffer from back problems like few other spined animals! So, we're not completely there, yet. Our spines probably have a bit to go still before being 100% adapted to our posture. And this being the case, isn't it harmful to be pounding and compacting your spine, knee joints, ankles, hip bones etc. through running? Isn't cycling or swimming a much better choice?

 

Does running leave any long-term effects? Do you know of any? Do you feel any soreness in joints or in your spine after running quite a distance?

[Chacmool]

We know for a FACT that tripping over a cat is a dangerous exercise... :cup:

[Jay-qu]

well im young, ask me in 20 years I may say it was a terrible mistake! on the other hand it may not be :cup:

[ronthepon]

Now seriously, Boerseun, you can't really say that running is unlike other factors that put stresses on the body.

 

Now in the young, when growth is the primary thing for the body, running will use up muscle, will damage bones etc.

However, the body repairs the damage faster than running destroys, the nett result being increase in body muscle, stamina(the ability of muscles to use oxygen properly) and an almost nil damage to the skeleton in the... er... long run.

 

However, as you grow up, get older than 30 years of age, the body quits the 'growth' phase.

Muscle mass begins to reduce, bone density begins to reduce after about 40-50 years of age.

Now, the body cannot cope up with the damage repairing it once used to.

 

So naturally you'll not enjoy the +es of running anymore.

 

Now take my case. I took on hardcore basket ball when I was twelve. I used to strain my knees like ****. On many ocassions, they used to develop arthiritis like symptoms for months altogether.

I had to resort to playing tennis with my knees tightly straight. It used to be a problem.

 

As time went along, the symptoms began to dissappear, and I could strain my knees as much as I wanted without and problems.

 

But I am sure that had I done it at an age of...say... 45, I'd be bedridden for months, and would be strictly forbidden by the doc to play.

[somasimple]

Here is a better list =>

 

http://www.housegymnastics.co.uk/

[GAHD]

er, yeah, I'm thinking running on concrete is bad for you. Try running on grass :cup:

 

One exercise I know to be dangerous is "dead lifts"; where you find whatever weight you can lift off the ground only 1ce before needing rest, drop it to about 80% weight and then do sets of 5-8 reps. Using proper form is very important, as deadlifting puts a high degree of strain on all your joints from the neck down. For my personal form of deadlifting I include a calf-raise at the end.

 

In the end all excercise is potentially dangerous if done incorrectly for how your body is built.

[OpenMind5]

Any time you exercise, your putting alot of stress on your body. Its a work out.

It has been shown that running can make you short though. Due to running on a had surface like pavement, it really does a thing on your knees.

 

As for dangerous exercises...try curling a rabid monkey.

 

Their is always danger in doing things. There is always a chance of pulling a muscle or bracking a bone. Long term problems are out weighed by the good. Trust me.

 

-J

[cwes99_03]

If we are talking about excessive exercise, then look at women runners who stop having a period due to a loss of body fat. They also have little to no feminine form as breast tissue is largely fatty deposits.

[Mercedes Benzene]

Just like any exercise, certain precautions must be taken to avoid any long-term damage.

Running is an excellent cardio-aerobic workout, but can in fact, be very damaging to the skeletal and muscular structures of the human body.

For instance, proper stretching and warm-ups are necessary to prevent shin splints.

Also, proper footwear will help prevent injury to the foot.

 

Exercise wisely, and running can be very safe and beneficial. ;)

[TheFaithfulStone]

After reading this thread, I've decided to keep to my current policy of avoiding all exercise of anything but my typing fingers and brain.

 

Good to know I'll live to be 100!

 

TFS

[IDMclean]

Question, Just how much damage is done?

 

Let's break it down by areas, (impulse, and average force):

Skeleton (on a whole)

Parallel Joints (to the direction of force, that is from top to bottom)

Perpendicular Joints

Ankles

Knees

Pelvic

Lower Vertebrae

Mid Vertebrae

High Vertebrae

Neck

Shoulders

Elbows

Wrist

 

This is without concidering anything but bones, and cartilage. We'll ask about muscles and other such fleshy things shortly. Then we'll go on to Cardiac stress, and finally oxygen distribution.

 

I wouldn't be surprised to see triple digit forces, expecially in the Impulse Force category.

 

Anyone here happen to have the ability to gather this kind of data? I would love to know. I don't buy that running is not bad for you because you repair faster than you take damage. That seems off center, at the least given human fraility. As much as we say we're tough, we are not. We are clever creatures surely, but our physical prowess is not that impressive comparitively to other organisms.

 

I want Quantative data. I know that I don't like to run. Messes with my equalibrium and causes me to ache. I prefer power walking and maybe light jogging on grass. Foot ware is terribly important.

 

On a side note, Anyone here ever hear about the sidewalk that was destroyed by people walking on it? They at first blamed it on delivery trucks driving up on the curb, but it wasn't solved for a long time. Then a engineer came along who did more than just go, "we'll I would bet it's this or that." and then sit on it. He started calculating, meticiously, the pounds-per-square-foot of the various things that were possible suspects. It was found that the high heel wearing women were responsible. Some of the narrower high heels, with a nice 100 lb+ woman resulted in sizable force loads. Some of his calcs showed that the force distribution of some of the heavier and/or narrower high heels produced the equivilant force of an Elephant.

 

Reminds me of this discussion.

[InfiniteNow]

The thing is, the benefit of ANY exercise tends to come as a result of the damage. It's the body's repairs that make it stronger. It's consistent break down, without balanced or greater amounts of internal repair that become problematic.

 

Where's Racoon with all of his personal trainer university level physiology knowledge when you need him? :cup:

[HydrogenBond]

Humans are still part animal. If we came from monkeys maybe the ideal exercise is tree climbing. Seriously, being part animal, the bodies are designed for physical activity. The body is the only machine that works better the more one uses it. Injury is often a result of over training and not enough rest to allow recovery from the stress.

 

Running problems can be minimized by having good running shoes and running on the earth (grass, dirt, ) or on a running track. Cycling is a good low impact sport that can work as good as running. Back problems can be reduced if your stomach is strong. If the stomach is expanded or weak the back has to work harder and become more prone to injury. The first sign of lower back pain, I start doing situps. It goes away.

 

Leg joint damage is far more common in sports that require quick changes of direction, like basketball, tennis, skiing, etc.. Dangerous exercises are things like football, rugby, boxing, karate. These can cause injuries in only one treatment.

 

If you have access to a health club a good exercise routine is super setting. It may be called something else nowadays. The idea is low-moderate weight, med-high reps and very little rest between sets. The trick is to alternate between body parts so one muscle group can rest while another is working, thereby allowing no break in the action. The result is a cardivascular weight program that builds up strength, stamina and muscle tone.

 

If you want to get stronger, one day a week add an up-down routine to the supersetting. You do the same exercises, but keep increasing the weight say 10 pound at a time, do only one rep per weight, until you max out, and then go down, decreasing weight by 10 pounds until back to the beginning. Then swap exercises.

 

One low tech exercise that you can do anywhere are push-ups. What I used to do, years ago, was get a deck of cards, flip a card and do that number of pushups. If you get a low card, flip a second one and add them together. If you feel lucky flip more cards. A whole deck is something like 450 reps depending on hop you rate picture cards. Do this initially over a week's time and try to reduce it to one day. It gives you a large chest, back and arms.

 

If you want add some balance to the body, add a chin-up bar to a doorway. This works a different part of the arms and back. Doing a handstand, even against a wall, is an excellent exercise for the shoulders and back. Handstand pushups is the next level of that exercise.

 

When you are all done do a few 12oz curls with the fluid of your choice.

[Loricybin]

i skateboard. my leg muscles thank me for it, but my ankles, feet, and shin bones despise me. :hihi: i also bicycle quite a bit, and enjoy a good rock climb whenever possible.

 

personally, i don't care to try and build things like upper body strength, as long as i keep my lungs and heart in decent shape.

 

i wonder just how bad running really is for a human, though. . .

[Guest jamongo]

Running, jogging, walking all all great for the body if done correctly.

Right clothes, shoes, route etc determines if it is healthy or not.

The fact that we may have descended from an ape doesn't mean a thing.

As stated, we are supposedly still evolving so the things we do today will be factors as to what we evolve into in the future.

 

Reminds me of the story about two men walking in the forest, when they spotted a huge bear coming toward them. One man quickly bent over and took off his boots.

"That's not going to help you outrun that bear", said the other man.

 

"I don't have to outrun the bear", was the respose,"I only have to outrun you."

[InfiniteNow]

Humans are still part animal.

I am curious where you draw the distinction... for example, what part of humans is NOT animal? :shocked:

[Boerseun]

I am curious where you draw the distinction... for example, what part of humans is NOT animal? :confused:

My dentures, specs, hearing aid, artificial leg, the replacement plastic kneecap on the other leg, and my pacemaker! :D Without any of these, I would've been dead as a doornail ages ago!