What makes great Olympians (Part I)

The world record speed in the marathon continues to improve for both male and female athletes. The current men's record speed in maraton is equivalent to a record speed of 10,000 meters after World War II. Today, championship-winning athletes run four times as far away at about 5 minutes per mile.

Why could it be like that? Is it simply that humans have better physical or anything else hidden behind the windy speed on the track?

Michael Joyner is anesthesiologist from Mayo Specialist Hospital, his passion for research has expanded to the science of training. He said that the combination of many factors led to new world records in athletics as well as other sports. He argued that the improved record was not necessarily due to genetic factors, but rather from longer, more intense training, as well as advanced health care regimes and the participation of advocates. worldwide.

In the process of exploring world records of sports such as athletics (one mile, 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters) in competitions that took place over the past 125 years, Dr Joyner said there was a contribution. part of the basic elements. Before World War I, athletes did not practice daily. They practiced about 3 to 4 times a week, they didn't have to worry that they practiced too much or were overwhelmed by practice. Until the 1920s, athletes trained more often. In the 1950s, especially in Eastern Europe, athletes exercised regularly every day for several hours in a row.

By the 1960s, athletes from many other countries competed more than ever. Until then, most of the winners of the championship came from Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada. However, since that time the developing countries' competitors have been able to compete. From the 1960s onwards, some of the most successful athletes come from Ethiopia and Kenya in East Africa. .

Dr Joyner said: 'We are going from a place of about 1/5 to 1/6 of the world's population participating to the place with the number of giants participating in the Olympic Games'.

Does this mean that we have reached a period of stability in terms of speed?

'At some level, we have reached physiological stability. In general, champions today do not practice hard with more times than the previous generation athletes. What we are seeing is the use of better quality racetrack, sports shoes as well as improved medical care for sports. People also participate longer, so there will be higher competitiveness leading to more quality races and races dedicated solely to setting world records. '

Achievement physiology

The combination of many factors leads to new world records in athletics and other sports.(Photo: iStockphoto / Tomas Bercic)

In endurance sports such as long distance running, there are 3 physiological factors that determine performance: maximum oxygen absorption (also called VO2 max), laclat threshold and race performance.

The maximum amount of oxygen consumed is the body's maximum oxygen consumption in peak performance. It is also considered a measure of athlete's fitness level. Normally, the higher the VO2 max in the period of peaking, the more positive the effect on the heart, which means that the heart will become bigger. In an experiment conducted with two young men, one was an athlete and the other was not an athlete. Athletes usually have a VO2 max value of about 70 to 85 ml of oxygen per kilogram in a minute compared to the value of 45 in the other.

The VO2 max ratio we usually have over a period of time depends on the lactate threshold. This quantity is considered to be an indicator of maximum performance in athletes' steady state in endurance sports.

Dr Joyner said: 'The lactate threshold is related to the ability to perform in a sport such as a 10,000-meter race, long-distance races or a bike-time test. The following physiological and biochemical mechanisms are complex and controversial. But this is a relatively accurate indicator of when the system controls and regulates the body's physiological function in equilibrium. '

Confusion and lactate threshold

High-intensity exercise can make the acidic rate increase faster than the body's metabolism . For athletes, this is very good because during the production of shaking acid, energy for muscle is also created. However, according to Dr Joyner, there are some misunderstandings about lactate ratio. Detail:

Lactate is not synonymous with reducing blood oxygen. 'The first confusion is that somehow humans do not have enough oxygen when creating acidic shaking. This may be true because the shaking acid is derived from the lack of oxygen, but most cases of athletes have a lot of oxygen and so are their muscles. '

Lactate escapes the muscle for about 15 to 30 minutes after exercise and does not hurt you. 'The second mistake is that it is in the muscle for a long time. You may hear things like this person hurt or not today because he has too much acid in his muscles accumulated from yesterday's activity. We may have a high rate of acidity in the muscles, but it will disappear in about 15 to 30 minutes after exercise. Therefore, acidic acid will not accumulate in a long time. '

Oxygen breathing does not enhance lactate ratio. "Oxygen breathing has no support, there is no evidence to prove this method works."

Performance running

According to Dr Joyner, the ability of muscles to use oxygen well and the ability of good muscle metabolism of glucose to not produce much acid in the skeletal muscle (contributing to fatigue) is important for the level of expression of athlete. However, the speed achieved at the lactate threshold is also important. It is called running performance. Runners with good performance can produce higher speeds for the amount of oxygen taken. Legendary Olympic champion Frank Shorter has an exceptionally good performance, which partly contributes to his success. Lance Armstrong also made significant improvements in performance when he returned to the bicycle race to beat cancer. It also helped him to win the Tour de France 7 times.

Most of the world's top motivators have a high VO2 ratio . 'All of those athletes have a strong' motor 'and have a high lactate threshold because they have been working hard for a long time. Their muscles have adapted to the ultra-fast running without releasing much of the shaking acid.

'For example, when cycling, when Lance Armstrong returned after winning cancer, his lap was much more effective. You can exert more energy than the oxygen you take. This is the same as when the runner can achieve faster speeds than the energy gained. If you look at athletes running, cycling and sailing, you can see that they all have a high VO2 ratio. They all have healthy 'motives'. Their skeletal muscle has been designed to not produce too much acid. So the question now is who is the most efficient person. '

What makes great Olympians (Part II)