I was taught hands on the head because bending over cuts off air circulation to the lungs.
I was taught hands on the head because bending over cuts off air circulation to the lungs.
Friendly Fred from Finland wrote:
I was never taught to put my hands on my head.
When you finished a rep you just do whatever your body feels is natural.
Hands on knees is what you do when you are tired.
At the end of the race I used to put my hands over my head as I took my lap of honor
Occasionally I'd wave. Hang on, I waved the whole way around.
LetsRun.com wrote:
Today we cam across san article on Canadian runningthat linked to an interesting study from 2019 on the best way to recover from a hard workout. The study of female DII soccer players showed it was way better to put your hands on your knees than it was to put them over your head after a hard rep.
Those that put their hands on their knees saw their HR drop by 53 bpm whereas those that had it over their heads saw it only drop 31 bpm.
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-tj/Fulltext/2019/02150/Effects_of_Two_Different_Recovery_Postures_during.1.aspxhttps://runningmagazine.ca/sections/training/recover-with-hands-on-knees-not-over-head/
dumb thread. NONE of us thought putting your hands over you head was a good idea
Greg...Kinnear wrote:
LetsRun.com wrote:
Today we cam across san article on Canadian runningthat linked to an interesting study from 2019 on the best way to recover from a hard workout. The study of female DII soccer players showed it was way better to put your hands on your knees than it was to put them over your head after a hard rep.
Those that put their hands on their knees saw their HR drop by 53 bpm whereas those that had it over their heads saw it only drop 31 bpm.
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-tj/Fulltext/2019/02150/Effects_of_Two_Different_Recovery_Postures_during.1.aspxhttps://runningmagazine.ca/sections/training/recover-with-hands-on-knees-not-over-head/dumb thread. NONE of us thought putting your hands over you head was a good idea
Exactly who ya ALWAYS been teaching this?
After a high-intensity bout, you want to increase blood flow to working muscles prior to commencing the next effort.
Hands on knees, or just dropping completely to the ground, gives a "gravity assist" so muscles can more easily oxygenate and lactic byproducts can clear.
Some interval workouts involve moving to a new start line to begin the next rep.
Hands on head permits improved, if not ideal, recovery while continue to shuffle onward. It also projects a stronger image - not really a factor in recovery, but ego is part of it for some.
I was taught that it was not about the heart rate, but about breathing.
With you hands up on you head, it allows for the lungs to stay open, and you can take deeper breaths.
If you bend over with your hands on your knees, it constricts the lungs, and they cannot expand to take deep breaths.
Here's a more out there way of recovering
Alternate Reality wrote:
I was taught that it was not about the heart rate, but about breathing.
With you hands up on you head, it allows for the lungs to stay open, and you can take deeper breaths.
If you bend over with your hands on your knees, it constricts the lungs, and they cannot expand to take deep breaths.
This is so wrong.^ You have it totally backwards.
Bending over takes the torso out of the vertical axis, which means the diaphragm doesn't have to work as hard to exhale. Easier breathing.
malmo wrote:(...) But I think the most common response hard exercise is to not put your hands anywhere at all. (...)
I have tried that.
It does not work.
This seems like common sense. The HR drops when it's easier for the heart to pump blood to the head.
It's really obvious if you use a HRM and only start the next interval when it drops to say <120. Bend over, and HR starts going down fast.
Well, try it.
Bend over and take a deep breath.
Now, stand up straight and take a deep breath.
It is easier when standing straight.
It's gravity.
Laying on the ground is even better yet.
Alternate Reality wrote:
Well, try it.
Bend over and take a deep breath.
Now, stand up straight and take a deep breath.
It is easier when standing straight.
I tried, it seems easier when leaning forward.
Greg...Kinnear wrote:
under a bridge wrote:
You can always spot a Rojo thread.
lol so true. He makes it seem like EVERYONE thought they HAD to put their hands over their head. Huh?
LetsRun.com, rojo....the source of breaking news
Who the heck "taught" you that? None of my coaches ever advocated it.
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot wrote:
Who the heck "taught" you that? None of my coaches ever advocated it.
Agreed. And who stops between intervals anyway? Certainly not real runners.
3hr-marathoner wrote:
Bad Wigins wrote:
Top elites bear out this truth. Most world record setters over middle distance remain standing, not even looking winded. Don't be fooled - they're completely gassed, but they train to handle it without collapsing.
You've been fooled. Many of them are taking performance enhancers.
While there are PED's that help with this, they're not the ones you're thinking of. No matter how fit you are, pushing your energy systems to the limit will put you in the same physical state. The only difference is how you handle it.
Try it. "work" your recovery by refusing to collapse under the fatigue. That will pay off big time when you start outkicking people that are trapped in the habit of wilting.
This is also a function of venous return. Your heart has to fight more to pump blood higher when you hands are behind your head. This is the same reason why biking heart rate is lower than running heart rate. The more the heart has to fight gravity the higher the heart rate will be. I don’t know if this is really a measure of recovery.
A better measure of recovery would be to see if the next intervals after the test period were faster when hands are on knees. Did they run faster when hand were in the knees? That’s the only way to know if they recovered faster.
let me correct you wrote:
Alternate Reality wrote:
I was taught that it was not about the heart rate, but about breathing.
With you hands up on you head, it allows for the lungs to stay open, and you can take deeper breaths.
If you bend over with your hands on your knees, it constricts the lungs, and they cannot expand to take deep breaths.
This is so wrong.^ You have it totally backwards.
Bending over takes the torso out of the vertical axis, which means the diaphragm doesn't have to work as hard to exhale. Easier breathing.
The diaphragm never “works” to exhale. It contracts when you inhale and relaxes when you exhale. Is is not an expiratory muscle.
The reason that you might recover faster with your hands on your knees is that muscles which are attached to both your ribs and your arms/scapulae will act to elevate your ribs when your arms are fixed (hands planted on knees). Those muscles typically act to move your arms or scapulae because your arms are usually free. If your arms are fixed and those same muscles contract, they will tend to move your ribs instead of your arms. If those muscles are able to exert greater force to elevate your ribs during inhalation, you will be able to take deeper breaths. This is most likely why you might recover faster with your hands on your knees.
gotta stay healthy wrote:
A Satiated, Peaceful Guy wrote:
I've never heard of putting your hands behind your head to recover.
I have been running for 45 years- a lot of really good coaches- I have never heard of putting your hands up or behind your head. I can't believe that anybody thought that's a good idea or something to teach the athletes.
When you are really tired with HR near max, the 100% natural thing to do is to put hands on knees. When you find yourself doing that- that's one way to know it was a truly hard rep.
Anecdotally, I have had numerous track/xc coaches and volunteers advocate hands on head. Mostly back in the 2000s. I have asthma and specifically sports induced asthma and I would often redline or trigger an attack in the last 100m of a race, resulting in me doubling over at the finish line, hands on knees, or even on the ground kneeling trying to relax my torso to get more air. SO MANY TIMES coaches and parents would grab my arms to pull them above my head, or try to pick me up to get me to stand, saying I'd breathe better but actually making things worse. Because I was having an attack and only acting instinctively because NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE IS SCARY, I would usually swat or hit whoever was trying to help because I was panicking.
TL;DR - in my experience with asthma, bending over helps but I've had coaches tell me otherwise.