Super Shoes?

This week, it's super shoes, yoga over stretching, and your weekly recommendations.

The Rundown

Super Shoes? “Super shoes,” so named for their lightweight, resilient midsole foam and the curved, rigid plate (often made from carbon fiber) embedded within the foam, are high-tech sneakers that companies claim help you run faster. One of the most well-known is the Nike Vaporfly line, which can sell for $250+. But should average runners buy these shoes? A new study decided to find out and the answer is: It depends on your running style.

For the study, researchers tested eight women and eight men who completed one set of four repetitions of five-minute trials on a treadmill. They ran at a 10 km an hour pace (a 9:40 mile pace), took a five-minute break and repeated the set at a 12 km an hour pace (an 8:03 mile pace).

The runners wore either the $250 Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2 (the super shoe) or the $90 ASICS Hyper Speed (the control shoe). Each runner ran twice in each shoe style, doing multiple reps at both paces.

The team found that the those who did a 9:40 mile pace improved their running economy (the amount of oxygen required to cover a certain distance) by .9 percent, on average. At the 8:03 mile pace, it improved by 1.6 percent, suggesting that the super shoes did more for the runners, the faster they ran. Five of the subjects did worse while wearing the super shoes.

Dustin Joubert, the study’s lead author says the findings shouldn’t discourage slower runners from trying super shoes. For some, the potential improvement in running economy might be worth it. Runners might expect that they’re not going to get as much of a benefit as those who run at faster speeds “but if you had the money and you’re looking for a racing shoe, and you liked the feel of the shoe, I think you stand to have some benefit from it,” he says.

Yoga Addition. A recent study set out to investigate whether the addition of yoga to a regular exercise program reduces cardiovascular risk and the results suggest that it is more effective than stretching when it comes to cardiovascular health.

The three-month pilot study involved 60 individuals with previously diagnosed high blood pressure. They were divided into two groups, with one group doing 15 minutes of structured yoga and the other performing 15 minutes of structured stretching. Both groups did 30 minutes of aerobic training five times per week.

There was no difference in age, sex, smoking rates, body mass index, resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, resting heart rate and pulse pressure between the two groups at baseline.

After three months, there was a decrease in resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate in both groups. But, systolic blood pressure was reduced by 10 mmHg with yoga vs 4 mmHg with stretching. Yoga also reduced resting heart rate and 10-year cardiovascular risk, which was assessed using Reynolds Risk score.

Lead investigator, Dr. Paul Poirier says the study “shows that structured yoga practices can be a healthier addition to aerobic exercise than simply muscle stretching.”

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