Comment by ngcc_hk | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ngcc_hk | Hacker News Reader

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Big issue of doing running.

——- read the old HN below and if not at least these

“andrewstuart on Oct 24, 2020 | prev | next [–]

On the topic of how overexercise can damage the heart by James OKeefe, a cardiologist and lifetime obsessive runner: Notably he points out that they tested people blood after doing long distance events and found that many of them had chemicals usually found in heart attack victims, indicating heart damage. Basically he says that the long term overexercise/heart damage means the heart muscle constantly has microtears which heal up and the healed tissue is scar tissue which is hard and not like normal heart tissue - much harder and less elastic. So people who overtrain end up with a heart much older than their physical age. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U728AZnV0 Transcript: https://singjupost.com/run-for-your-life-at-a-comfortable-pa... Another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g8eEYwtfSo And from another author on extreme exercise and the heart: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/extreme-...

DoreenMichele on Oct 24, 202… about walking “

A few questions about this...

Fit athletes can run quite fast at a low heart rate, that in some cases might even be lower than walking for regular people. That is to say, the runners are exerting themselves less from a cardiovascular perspective than an unfit person walking. E.g. I can run 8min/mile pace on the flat at a 120bpm heart rate (around 67% of VO2max). But I know people who have the same (or higher) heart rate by just walking or doing house work. So what exactly are we saying by pointing out that running is bad for you? High heart rates for a long period of time are bad for you? The action of running is bad for you? Something else? None of this research makes sense to me.

But why just running? What about other sports like cross country skiing, or rowing? Mountaineering? What is it specifically about running which is bad? Or are all these other sports bad too?

I had a cardiovascular age test done recently which uses pulse wave velocity [1] to determine arterial stiffness. It turns out my "cardio age" is 11 years younger than my actual age and I run at least 50 miles a week. Mostly slow, some fast. So that seems to contradict some of this research, or the pulse wave velocity test is BS?

On another note, there's so much nonsense in that linked thread above I don't even know where to start. Great timing because I enjoyed reading this hackernews thread [2] about the phenomenon that most info about a subject is wrong and you only really notice it if you are an expert or have first hand knowledge.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_wave_velocity [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40733956

My understanding that the problems occur during (ultra) endurance running style events where proper care isn't taken to keep up with hydration and dietary needs (electrolytes, etc.). Blood can thicken to such a point that the heart starts to get damaged, muscle acidity rises to the point where heart muscle damage occurs, etc.

A fit individual going for a 12 mile or less run probably won't have these problems unless they're in an extreme environment.

To your point, I'm sure you could do similar types of damage from other activities done for long periods of time if the proper hydration isn't followed.

Ultramarathon runners are not normal people.

It's like saying that strength training is bad for you because Ronnie Coleman took a load of steroids and trained through a spinal injury.

The vast majority of people are never going to exercise even remotely hard enough to cause themselves issues in this way.

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