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Nov 4, 2009 11:06 pm US/Central
Good Question: Is There Really A Second Wind?
(WCCO)
For runners, it may be the most important part of a long-distance race. For the rest of us, it's the boost that comes right after we're ready to collapse. But is there truly such a thing as a second wind?
"It always happens to me," said Dick Enrico, the owner of 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment. Even though his business is named "2nd Wind," a nod to his heritage as a retailer of used equipment, Enrico said he doesn't know exactly how the phenomenon works. "Like I said, I just sell this stuff, I don't use it," he laughed.
"There is [a second wind]," said Stacy Ingraham, Ph.D., an exercise physiologist at the University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology. "It's not well understood. I've read the literature and there are only two journal articles that describe it," she said.
According to Ingraham, in athletes, a true second wind seems to be something that is largely experienced by runners. Bicyclists, for example, don't need a second wind, because they are able to coast to conserve energy. Runners don't have that ability.
Basically, "you've probably reached a level of fatigue. Elite athletes are trained, and know the relaxing mechanisms to undo the fatigue," she said.
"As they ease back into homeostasis, then all the sudden, adrenaline and endorphins kick in. Not only are they less fatigued, there's an adrenaline effect," said Ingraham.
She believes a second wind is part mental and part biophysical. The mind is required to keep fighting through the fatigue, and the biophysics of the body provides the boost of adrenaline and endorphins.
"You're talking yourself out of quitting, relaxing a bit, then moving to the next level," said Ingraham.
In many cases, the second wind can push you to a higher level of performance.
Sadly, an athlete doesn't appear to be able to train him or herself to take advantage of a second wind.
"Here's the problem, you can't control adrenaline or endorphins. You can't guarantee that's going to be the response," she said.
Still, there is interest among exercise physiologists in the military model, because the military is so good at training the mind to never give up, even in the worst circumstances.
"If you really look at how military gets soldiers, and Navy SEALS to perform, they train the mind better than anybody," she said. "You've overcome the thing that was causing fatigue. You go into relief mode. You're gonna release the endorphins."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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