Galley Time

Just shipped the galleys for my training book so getting that ready was I haven't posted lately. For those of you who haven't published books, there are several stages of editing after a manuscript is turned in. 

First an editor goes through and fixes all the grammar mistakes you made (out of 100,000 words, you can bet there are a few) and they ask questions and make suggestions. All of this comes back to you as a hard copy printout and you get a week or two approve changes and add new content.

Then next step is called the galley. This is the first rough layout of the book, sans the photos. It is the authors last chance to make substantial changes. So when you ship the galleys back, your book is pretty much a done deal.

I'll get to look at it one more time in the form of proofs, which is my last chance to correct mistakes. But the catch is that no changes can affect layout. So if you add 5 words, you have to take out 5 from somewhere on the same page (usually). It's pretty much impossible to add a sentence or paragraph. 

Then it's off to the printer. And I should see a new book around July.

This really is a new book, even though it's a second edition. It went from six chapters to nine. I don't know the final page count but I'm guessing it will go from 240 pages to near 300. I've added a lot of content, took out some exercises and included new ones, and recommended roughly 40 products for training or recovery. Hopefully it will help some people have more fun!

So now that the galley has shipped, I begin collecting information for the third edition that may appear in five years. That's part of the reason I started this blog.

Cramps and Myths

The plague of many a runner, cyclist, climber, boater, and just about any other outdoor athlete, muscle cramps suck. But despite all the suffering, the cause of cramps remains poorly understood. Much of the early research, which was largely funded by Gatorade, has been debunked. Yet this weak science was the basis for a massive marketing campaign that resulted in myths that persist to this day.

It's quite likely that many of you believe that cramps are caused by dehydration. Or perhaps you've heard that they result from a shortage of electrolytes, specifically potassium. Maybe it's a lack of minerals (zinc and magnesium). Not enough stretching and massage is another theory.

Alas, all of these have been ruled out as primary causes by the limited independent research that we do have. That's right folks: None of those expensive sport drinks and electrolyte replacement potions will prevent cramps.

Perhaps the most pervasive myth is that if your muscles cramp you weren't drinking enough (insert bottled brand of over-priced salty water). But as Ross at the Science of Sport blog points out, if dehydration and electrolyte depletion were the cause of cramps, more than one or two muscles would seize up. 

In their excellent five-part series on cramps, Ross and Jonathan explain that when we sweat from heavy exercise the concentration of electrolytes in the blood actually increases. In part 4, they present examples of what happens to an athlete under different conditions of exercise and hydration. The short story is that low levels of electrolytes are the result of drinking too much water and there is no need for salt tablets or any similar product as long as you drink when you are thirsty.

As an article in the New York Times sums all this up, the leading working theory for the cause of cramps is muscle fatigue combined with an imbalance of the nerve signals. These faulty signals can result from numerous causes including too little vitamin D (needed to control excess calcium, see my post on fatigue), inadequate carbohydrates (which you can get without fancy energy bars and drinks), and a host of other factors including genetics, age, menstrual cycles, and even psychology.

The bottom line is that the sport scientists know what doesn't work, and that includes bananas (Super Bowl notwithstanding), but they don't have clear answers yet on how to prevent cramps. The best advice is build up to an event with proper training (don't run a marathon if you've only been doing 10 Ks), stretch regularly especially if you have muscles that tend to cramp (helps relax the muscle cells), and ensure adequate carbs. Of course, if you like spending money on placebos, feel free to support your favorite snake oil purveyor too.

Protein Power?

Last week, the LA Times offered up a taste test of four different protein bars. The article also talks briefly about why and when you might want to consume these things, though it doesn't mention alternatives. The Clif Builder's bar came out on top but it's a dubious distinction when the panel found that they all taste artificial, this one just slightly less so.

Clif bills the Builder's as the "only all natural protein bar" despite containing a lot of processed sugar ("evaporated cane juice" is marketing speak for table sugar), heavily processed soy (most likely from genetically modified plants), and unnecessary added vitamins and minerals (men should watch out for iron). Sure a Builder's Bar delivers more protein than normal candy bars but it's hardly natural.

By comparison, you can get the same amount of protein from eating three mozzarella sticks, a handful of nuts, half a can of tuna, or a few pieces of beef jerky. Real food. Not some amorphous blob designed by the marketing and chemistry departments. And there is no need to fear saturated fats; we'll look at that myth later.

As outdoor athletes, we need more protein than is normally recommended for desk jockies (0.36 g per pound of body weight). Particularly if you are trying to lose weight while building muscle, you should be consuming about double that (0.75 g to 1.0 g), which works out to 135 grams per day for a 180 lb. person. Besides building muscle and providing energy, a recent study showed that protein also helps curb the appetite better than fat or carbohydrate. So adding protein to your diet is a good thing. But you don't have to get it from a candy wrapper.