Prevent deconditioning by periodizing

Dr. Donohue
Syndicated Columnist
Published Saturday, May 03, 2008


ANSWER: Two months is too long a time without doing any exercise. It's good to take a break. It refreshes the body and restores enthusiasm for exercise. However, marathon runners note a 25 percent decline in their running performance when they take only two weeks off. In two months, you are experiencing profound deconditioning. You're essentially undoing the work you did in the pervious two months.

If you want to back off on the intensity and length of exercise, you can do so. Many take a month or so of doing less than they had been doing, but they don't forgo all exercise.



You take an occasional week off for doing nothing. For a running program, you could stress distance for a month or so, then cut back on distance and pick up the speed of your running. Or you can switch to an alternate aerobic exercise swimming or biking.

Periodization prevents overtraining, promotes muscle recovery and growth, and avoids fatiguing the nervous system.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I ride a stationary bike for half an hour a day, and I have been doing this for the past three years. In the past couple of weeks, after 10 minutes of pedaling, I get pain in my right calf. If I don't stop, the pain becomes unbearable. The pain lets up when I stop, but it comes right back when I begin pedaling again for a few minutes. Is this a muscle thing? I am 67. -- B.B.

ANSWER: It could be many things, but I think it might be a circulation thing.

Calf pain that comes on with exercise and leaves with rest strongly suggests that blood isn't getting to the exercising muscles. It indicates there's an obstruction in a leg artery. You shouldn't waste any time in finding out if this is your problem. Your family doctor can detect such a blockage without much trouble.

If you do have a clogged artery, then you know what you have to do: lower cholesterol, control blood pressure, make sure blood sugar is normal, lose weight and perhaps take medicines.

For a severely blocked artery, you might need surgery or a stent.

People with poor circulation in the legs often have poor circulation in the heart, and that is an issue that also has to be settled.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I am 14 and am just getting over mono. I feel pretty good. I'm not as peppy, but my energy is coming back. I would like to start playing baseball. How long do I have to wait? -- G.L.

ANSWER: The answer depends on how sick you were, and the only one who can give you reliable advice is the doctor who took care of you.


Mono makes the spleen get big. The spleen has to return to normal size before a person attempts to play any contact sport. Baseball isn't in the contact-sport category, but there are occasions in baseball when bodies collide. A large spleen can rupture and cause massive bleeding. The doctor needs to check the size of your spleen before you put yourself in a situation where you might expect trauma to it.

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