News

  • Sep 06, 2017

    Fat but fit people have an increased risk of heart disease

    In the past, it was thought that exercise canceled out some of the negative aspects of being overweight. People carrying those extra pounds found some comfort in the thought that as long as they exercise, being chubby isn’t a liability. Wrong. A recently published study found that being overweight or obese increases the risk of coronary heart disease by up to 28 percent, compared to people with a healthy body weight. And it doesn’t matter if the overweight person begins with healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol numbers – it’s just a matter of time before being overweight catches...

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  • Aug 30, 2017

    Don’t Get Fooled Again #7 – Consuming ketones in a drink immediately promotes body fat burning. Or does it?

    In my seventh installment in the Don’t Get Fooled Again series, today’s statement is about ketones. Ketone drinks are all the rage right now. Before the actual statement where you decide true or false, recall that ketone bodies are produced by low calorie diets, or fasting or low carbohydrate diets (endogenous production of ketones.) They are produced because the body metabolizes fat stores and the result is ketones that can be used as an alternate fuel source to glucose or blood sugar. With that brief background, here is the statement: Consuming ketones in a drink (exogenous ketones) promotes body fat...

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  • Aug 23, 2017

    Don't Make Counting Carbs a Farce

        Not everyone makes counting carbs a sham, but some people do. Let me explain. A question from David: Q:  Hey Gale, I know you don’t push calorie-counting or carb-counting, but for me counting carbs helps me stay on track. I recently read a post from an endurance coach that advocates keeping carb count between 50 and 100 grams per day, depending on the athlete. He says he enjoys alcohol and includes his near daily consumption of wine or liquor in his carb count to be sure he stays low-carbohydrate and ketogenic. I thought you said alcohol shuts off...

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  • Aug 19, 2017

    My Dog Saved Me from an Assault

    Shelby loved to sit in my office chair.  I was running with my first dog, Shelby, on a local running path. We left the car in the lot of a nice complex that has ball fields and all the gorgeous park amenities and ran west. When we were heading back towards the parking lot, I noticed two men sitting in lawn chairs beneath a big cottonwood tree. What made the situation seem unusual to me is the tree was located next to the running path in gravel and weeds. About 100 yards away is a grassy green park with several...

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  • Jul 27, 2017

    How does Garmin calculate percent grade?

    On a recent mountain bike ride, a couple of us with Garmin devices began to wonder how percent grade is determined by the device. Through a local contact, I was able to go directly to the design source, Jared Bancroft, PhD – Sensors & Algorithms Team Leader. Here is what Jared told me: Grade is responsive to the slope of the trail or road.  It relies on the distance as determined from GPS and the barometric altimeter sensor.  Basically, it’s a ratio of the change in altitude over distance traveled. The longer the distance, the more averaged the grade is. ...

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  • Jul 27, 2017

    Do you want to get faster?

    Do you want to be a faster triathlete, cyclist, swimmer, mountain biker or runner – or get faster or more competitive at any sport? If your answer is “yes,” let’s take a look at what it takes to compete vs complete. Can I be a competitive athlete? What defines a "competitive athlete?" For the purpose of this column, a "competitive athlete" is defined as someone looking to improve his or her performance to a new level. Examples include stepping up the speed, stepping up to a new distance and aiming for more than event completion. There is nothing wrong with...

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  • Jul 18, 2017

    The cholesterol and calorie hypothesis are both dead – it is time to focus on the real culprit: insulin resistance

    My interest was piqued when I read the title of the column, The cholesterol and calorie hypothesis are both dead – it is time to focus on the real culprit: insulin resistance, published by a pharmaceutical journal. I thought, “Great, more advice to pop pills and ignore lifestyle changes.” I was wrong. The column is an opinion-insight piece. There are a few key points from the column that are worth summarizing here: We often assume all obese people have, or will have, diabetes and that all diabetics are obese. Obesity and diabetes often correlate, but they are not always present...

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  • Jul 18, 2017

    What is crash training? How can you use it to your advantage?

    (Click on image to enlarge.)  Crash training is a term that I believe has cycling roots, though I can’t trace the origin. I prefer the phrase “big-block training,” but crash training is more common. Traditionally, a big-block training week is one that is high volume, relative to the athlete’s current training schedule. Training is some 50- to 100-percent above the athlete’s normal weekly volume. Often, cycling teams will have a spring training camp to focus on riding, team building exercises (formal and informal), distribute new kits and begin to plan strategy for the season. Cycling teams intend for this big-volume...

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  • Jul 13, 2017

    Research on the best time of day to workout and get the most bang for my buck

      Q:  Hey Gale – Do you know of much research out there regarding exercise and "time of day".... for instance: like is a 6-mile, 1-hour run at *5am* the equivalent benefit to the same run done at *5pm* -  assuming all other variables are the same?  Just wondering if you had any insight on the topic. With limited time in my day I'm always curious about what can give me the best 'bang for my buck'! – TM A:  Hey TM,  I am not aware of any studies that say one time of day is "best" for fitness gains. For many, morning is good because after work it is often hot...

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  • Jul 03, 2017

    In order to safely (and legally) pass a cyclist, a Ford F150 truck MUST cross the centerline

    Over the past week, several of us cycled some of the best spots in Colorado. For the most part, motorists were generous, passing us with well over 3-feet of clearance. It wasn’t until the last day, about 2 miles east of Georgetown, that a Ford F150 black pick-up truck passed us too close. I’m pretty sure the person intentionally buzzed us while we rode along the frontage road. This particular road has a limited shoulder, probably around 12 inches. Ron Kennedy happened to be running video of the incident and the fisheye lens on his camera seemed to make it...

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