[RC] Declining fitness parameters - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: ti Tivers@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I read a paper once describing research on thoroughbreds - they analized fitness level (I think it was based upon mitochondrial density, or some similar cellular activity) on horses kept in stalls, and found that it was three weeks before they identified significant decline in this particular parameter. Steph> There are dozens of fitness parameters--that is, changes made through conditioning. Since TBs get almost no conditioning, they're not a very good model. Anyway, these changes can be tissue changes (hard tissue, soft tissue), chemical changes (fueling/neurotransmitters, enzymes, hormones)and other things like hard-wiring of neural connections, modified gene responses, etc. Basically, it's "easy some, easy go". Those changes that take a long time to achieve take a long time to go away--but not as long, ever, as it took to build them in--big mistake to let any athlete go back to "state zero". Bone changes take longer to lose than muscle fuel storage capacity, for example. The presence of neurotransmitting chemicals goes away faster than a hard-wired neural connection. Enhanced capillary density lasts longer than mitochondrial density. Luckily, most of these tie in to the numbers provided by Efficiency Score. Any professional athlete will tell you that it's nuts to think that you can do next to nothing and retain competitive fitness for more than a couple of weeks. Of course, if none of your competitors is fit, and you're not fit, then you have nothing to worry about. ti =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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