Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights_ - Alex Hutchinson [14]
There are real differences, though. A recent study by Western Washington University exercise scientist Kathleen Knutzen used elliptical machines with force plates on the pedals to determine that, even at a fast stride, the forces on the lower legs were comparable to walking, and two or three times smaller than running. “That’s a real benefit if you’re prone to repetitive stress injuries,” Knutzen says. But the constrained elliptical stride calls on muscles in a different way than running freely would, much like the differences between lifting free weights and using a weight machine. That means that the elliptical will never be a perfect substitute for running—although it’s an ideal cross-training activity for injured runners whose overuse injuries benefit from a slightly different set of motions.
The elliptical also offers an opportunity to get your upper body involved by pumping the arm handles, though studies suggest that most people use the arm handles mostly for balance. Constance Mier and her colleagues at Barry University in Florida have found that using the arm handles generally makes only a small difference to calorie burning and perceived effort, and no difference to heart rate. Still, the two actions are sufficiently different that alternating between them might allow you to last longer—and thus get a better workout—when using the elliptical.
Ultimately, the elliptical is a perfectly good way to get fit. But there’s also something to be said for using your workout to develop motor patterns that you’ll use in the rest of your life. So unless your goal is to master the art of moving your feet in little ellipses, it makes sense to include some more functional activities like walking, running, or biking. “Mix it up,” Knutzen advises. “Don’t do the same thing every day.”
Do I really need specialized shoes for walking, running, tennis, basketball, and so on?
Kids everywhere have grown up believing Spike Lee’s famous pitch for Nike’s Air Jordans: “It’s gotta be the shoes!” Over the past few decades, shoe companies have poured millions of dollars into researching how shoes affect the motion of your feet and the forces transmitted to your joints, and into developing high-tech materials to make shoes more comfortable, durable, and functional. There’s no doubt that sports shoes have come a long way as a result, but how much is just hype?
For many sports, the most obvious benefit that specialized shoes provide is traction. In sports like soccer that are played on grass, cleats provide a major advantage for starting, stopping, and changing direction. Traction also has benefits in less expected contexts, like the weight room. A 2007 study found that test subjects were able to lift more weight and spend less energy doing it in shoes with good grip compared to shoes with more slippery soles.
Court sports like tennis and basketball also place very specific demands on the foot. A 2008 study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that jumping and sudden changes of direction put twice as much pressure on the heel as running in a straight line. Those forces are reflected in the structural differences between court shoes, which are optimized for lateral motion, and running shoes, which are designed to roll from heel to toe with each step. That’s why running shoes are neither comfortable nor effective for playing court sports—and it means that, if you really want to own just one pair of athletic shoes, you’ll have to make some decisions about which activities are most important to you.
But what about injury protection? The research is much less clear here. Even designs that seem to have obvious benefits—like the high-top basketball shoe as a way to reduce ankle injuries—remain unproven. There’s plenty of evidence that high-tops make your ankle feel more stable and restrict its maximum range of motion. But the few studies that have actually tried to prove a link between basketball shoe type and injury rate have been inconclusive, according to a 2008 review conducted