Exercise characteristics and exercise value of special sports

The core feature of specialized sports is the targeted strengthening of specific movement patterns, energy supply systems, and neural responses. Its core exercise value is much higher than that of generalized leisure fitness. It can directionally improve sports performance, improve specific physiological indicators, and even optimize cognitive functions. However, it also has the risk of injury bound to movement characteristics and cannot replace the role of comprehensive basic exercise.

A while ago, I accompanied a friend who had been running marathons for five years for a physical examination. When he got the report, the physician was stunned. The resting heart rate of a 35-year-old was 41, and the carotid artery wall was as smooth as a college student in his early 20s. This is the most intuitive value of specialized endurance sports - the action pattern of a marathon is long-term aerobic exercise in a fixed posture. The aerobic energy supply accounts for more than 90%. What is repeatedly stimulated is the cardiopulmonary function and blood vessel elasticity. If you just walk for half an hour every day, you will not be able to achieve this effect after 10 years of training. Of course, when it comes to marathons, some people will definitely jump out and say "running hurts the knees." This matter has indeed been quarreling in the sports medicine community for almost 20 years: one group used clinical data to say that runners who run more than 40 kilometers per week are 2.3 times more likely to wear their patellar joints than ordinary bodybuilders. ； The other group used the results of a 12-year follow-up survey to argue that as long as the movements are standardized and the running volume is gradual, the incidence of knee arthritis in long-term runners is 32% lower than that of sedentary people. In fact, both sides are right. The problem is that many people rush into the marathon after just half a year of training without supporting the training of core and lower limb strength. Of course, the knees cannot bear it.

A few days ago, I played a reaction game with my badminton women's singles friend who retired from the provincial team. It was a test where the screen turned on and I pressed a button. My average reaction time was 0.32 seconds, and hers were within 0.18 seconds every time. It was so fast that I thought she was cheating. This is the characteristic of skill-specific sports. Badminton is never as simple as swinging the racket. The entire game involves practicing emergency stops and turns, dynamic visual tracking, and decision-making + action output within a few tenths of a second. After practicing for three to five years, not only the explosive power of the lower limbs and rotator cuff strength are much stronger than ordinary people, but the latest "Journal of Sports Medicine" research also said that the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly who have played badminton for a long time is 47% lower than that of their peers. These are benefits that are difficult to obtain from general fitness. But if you go to the sports rehabilitation department, you will find that the number of badminton enthusiasts receiving tennis elbow and ankle sprains is nearly 40% higher than that of other sports. There are also many old golfers who have played for more than 10 years. The shoulder on the side holding the racket is obviously 1 to 2 centimeters higher, and the spine also has slight compensatory scoliosis. This is a side problem caused by unilateral force exertion and repeated sudden stops in special movements.

I played in an amateur basketball league for the past two years. In order to improve my performance, I did not practice anything else for three months. I spent every day in the gym practicing switch runs and changes of direction. During that time, I ran the entire court for four quarters without gasping for breath. The speed of changing directions was much faster, but soon after I was happy, I started to feel pain on the inside of my knee. It hurt. I went to the rehabilitation department for a check-up and found out that I only stimulated the quadriceps and hamstrings from running back and forth every day. The adductor muscles on the inner thighs couldn't keep up. The patellofemoral joint hurt due to muscle imbalance. Later, I honestly added two months of core and lower limb balance training. To be honest, at that time, I fell into the misunderstanding that "specialty is omnipotent". I thought that as long as I mastered the movements required for competition, I forgot that specialization is inherently "partial". If you focus on one movement and practice to death, the weak areas will only become weaker and weaker.

I met a 38-year-old brother before, and his physical examination showed that his bone density was low. The doctor said that if it continues to develop, he will develop osteoporosis. He later practiced powerlifting for three years, repeatedly practicing the three fixed movements of squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Last year, he checked again and found that his bone density was higher than that of a 20-year-old boy. This is the characteristic of strength-specific sports. Heavy-weight resistance training in a fixed action mode stimulates bone density more than twice as much as lifting weights in an ordinary gym. Of course, some people say that powerlifting hurts the waist. Indeed, I have seen many people who blindly push the weight and lose their waist. But now the rehabilitation department will also use squats and deadlifts in correct movement patterns as rehabilitation training methods for chronic low back pain. The effect is much better than massage and hot compress. In the end, it still depends on how you practice.

Nowadays, many people have either a mythical attitude towards special sports. They think that practicing marathon can prolong life, and practicing badminton can make you superhuman.； Or it’s just demonization. Whenever someone hears about someone who practices long-distance running, they say they will have to replace their knees sooner or later. When someone hears about someone who practices powerlifting, they say that their lower back must be bad. In fact, to put it bluntly, sports specialization is a precise tool. If you want to improve your heart and lungs, practice endurance sports, and if you want to improve your reactions, practice confrontation sports. But you can’t expect marathon training to help you increase your upper limb strength, nor can you expect playing badminton to help you increase bone density. Only by combining it with some basic comprehensive exercise and making up for your own shortcomings can you fully enjoy the benefits of special sports and minimize risks. There is really no need to argue about who is better and who is worse.