On Jan 26, 12:39 pm, Lyle Bogart <lylebog...@gmail.com> wrote: > In the research I've been looking at, one of the points left unclear to me > is how much is too much. In certain of the studies, the subjects are elite > road cyclist, ultra-runners, or elite nordic ski racers. In others, the > subjects are referred to as "long-time endurance exercisers" which is, to > me, a bit opaque, though contextually I take to mean on a par with > "recreational" marathon runners.
I'd like to see some clarification there too. elite level athletes are working at higher levels of intensity for longer durations than the vast majority of recreational athletes. and the amount and type of training it takes to run a sub 3 hour marathon is very different than what it takes the recreational runner to finish 6 hour marathon. again, there's just a world of difference between these two athletes and context is key. i'll be racing elite level cyclocross next year as a Cat 2, but i do not consider myself "elite" compared to those who are actually winning the races. there's yet another world - and I mean *world* - of difference between me and those athletes and I'm under no illusion of ever being able to close that gap for exactly the reasons being discussed here - health, balance, time, other interests, etc. anyway, "how much is too much" could probably be answered (generally, at least) by a performance threshold - i.e., if one wants to compete at the top levels of a given sport, they might be flirting with "too much" given the amount of training it takes to compete at that level. or put another way, i don't think the twice a year 6 hour marathoner needs to be concerned about cardiac damage. Chrissie Wellington (elite female triathlete) on the other hand? that's just unfathomable training and it's not inconceivable that training like that isn't the best for long term health. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
