Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with endurance

Many, many delicious calories

Captain Rayford Steele, Tribulation Force — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:12:40 -0800

Please give me your best long-distance hiking / bicycle touring / <insert other adventurous endurance activity> food recipes! The watchwords here: densely caloric, easy to prepare (ideally in a single pot over a white gas cookstove), delicious and made from ingredients that are readily available in small, out-of-the-way groceries. Bonus points for recipes featuring lightweight, easily luggable ingredients.

Help me gorge!

FatherDagon — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:07:43 -0800

How best to prepare for a donut-eating competition this weekend? So my roommates signed me up for a donut-devouring competition at the semi-local Fractured Prune this weekend. I don't have any driving need to win first prize donut-glutton or anything, but I'd like to make a decent showing and not get knocked out after a measly 8 donuts. Anyone know of some things one could do to prepare for the event, five days from now? Switch to eating one gigantic meal a day, to stretch the stomach? Do a bunch of calisthenics right before the event, to drive up my hunger? I'm figuring there's no healthy way to approach a donut-eating contest, but things that minimize the anti-healthiness would be nice too.

Getting in shape for a dance?

abdulf — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:51:46 -0800

I have about a week to get in shape to do a 6 minute choreographed dance. What exercises will help me with endurance? I have been drafted into dancing at a close relative's wedding. I am concerned I will not be able to keep up. I've been told to "get in shape" for the dance number.

I have no dance experience. I am 6ft, 230 pounds, and pretty pudgy. That's not to say I don't exercise. I am active and do olympic style weight lifting, full court basketball, and jogging among other things. What I'm concerned with is the extra weight I carry.

I have not seen the actual dance so I can't practice that. I am supposed to learn it in a day. I've been told it's the kind of dance you'd find in a Bollywood film.

What kind of exercises, besides the actual dance, would increase my agility and stamina to successfully dance at a high tempo for about 6 to 9 minutes?

On a related note, how do you keep your cool when performing in front of fairly large audience (600)? Dancing and performing are way outside my comfort zone.

How do humans find the strength to endure?

desjardins — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 06:04:38 -0800

I'm looking for writings about human psychological endurance in the face of extreme hardship, whether that hardship is by choice or circumstance. Examples inside. I watched a show recently about space exploration, and it briefly touched on the psychological strength the astronauts must have in order to survive in such isolated and confined conditions.

Awhile ago, I saw a documentary on a ten year old African boy who had become responsible for his entire family since his mother and brother developed AIDS. He lived in the face of crushing poverty and provided food for his family by walking barefoot for miles each day to sell [something, I don't remember what] at a market.

Certainly there are many examples in the news every day - people in war zones, people coping with natural disasters, etc. There are also those who put themselves in dangerous or high pressure situations, such as mountaineers.

I wonder how the people in these examples process their suffering. How did they find a reason to go on? How do they have the resilience to come back from hardship? What is the difference between those that mentally survive and those that crack under the pressure?

Fear of Catabolism

gmodelo — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 15:07:04 -0800

Is running 3+ miles 4 or more times a week hurting my muscle mass gains? I'm alternating jump rope in 1-2x a week with it for 30 minute sessions. The real question is: do any of you have experience with making terrific muscle gains accompanied by good fat loss? I know we gain, as well as lose, muscle and fat in tandem when we're in an anabolic state. What about you guys?

I am estimatedly around 16% bodyfat right now, looking to bring that down without losing (or while building more) muscle. My nutrition is great; only natural foods (occasional sweets, but never regularly, I don't like them much), good protein and carbohydrate sources, as well as moderate saturated fat intake. I shoot for around 60-20-20 macronutrient breakdown, but definately not always on target with that.

I also drink 1-2 cups of coffee a day (with honey), and unfortnately chew around 1/2 can of tobacco a day. Are these greatly affecting my results?

Color me Griswold

Toekneesan — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 17:27:49 -0800

Heading to the Big Easy for a couple of weeks around X-mas. Driving ~1,800 miles from PA with a 2 and 3 year old. Suggestions on making it bearable for them, and us? I fly a bit and can't imagine exposing my little monkeys to modern air travel. Especially around the holidays. I've decided to do it over three days and two nights. Three six hour legs. Borrowing a friend's minivan rather than trying to do it in our Ford wagon. Borrowing the in-laws portable DVD player to keep them distracted. Wondering about driving at night. Though if they sleep while we drive, when do we sleep? Anyone else tried something this sketchy? Advice, anecdotes, warnings?

how do get more people to participate in my adventure racing site?

dolface — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 18:08:19 -0800

i'm trying to increase participation and membership in the (free) adventure racing website i built, what can i do that i haven't already done? we have no income, so any expenses are out of pocket, and we'd like to keep them minimal.

here's what we've done so far:

a regular ad in the 'activity partners' section of the local cl

regular announcements on the local AR yahoo group (i've talked with the list owner, and he's assured me that and we're not stepping on his toes)

gotten listed in dmoz

free 'adventure racing 101' clinics at local sports stores

'adventure racing 101' presentations at triathlon clubs

a booth at adventure races and triathlons

reasonably slick postcards left at gyms/REI's/similar places

branded t-shirts and socks given to race directors to award as prizes

semi-regular social events

semi-regular training events (usually free, but some have had a nominal fee < $20)

an adventure racing team that does pretty well at regional races (top 3)

other stuff, but this list is getting too long

so, am i missing anything, or doing anything i shouldn't? i'm not trying to make money, i'm just trying to get more people into the sport.

Gel, GU or?

fixedgear — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 06:28:33 -0800

What sort of fuel should I use for long-distance cycling events? Yes, there is I'm getting started riding brevets. No major problems on the two 200K rides I did this year, but I'd like to try some longer distances next spring.

I came from a running background and have sucessfully compleetd three marathons, but three and half hours is not the same as ten or prehaps much, much longer on the bike. I just drank fluids on long runs and races, but long endurance cycling needs way more calories.

I'm interested in liquid/gel type calorie sources. Eating enough solid food is difficult, though a banana or fresh baked scone from a bakery is great for variety. What products have worked for you? What didn't work? From what I've read, simple sugars are pretty bad in terms of absorbtion rates and insulin spikes.

Ultrarunners can chime in here, too. No support cars or drop bags on the shorter events, so anything has to be carried on the bike with the exception of more water picked up a c-stores, etc.

Needed: High Endurance Stethoscope for Rigors of Wilderness

vanoakenfold — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 02:13:54 -0800

I need an ultra-high quality stethoscope that can endure the rigors of third-world country medical usage. I local church charity is sending a bunch of items to a Cambodian doctor and one thing he needs is a stethoscope. Can anyone recommend a really good one, irrespective of price range, that is known to be able to stand up to potentially harsh weather conditions, lengthy exposure to sunlight without cracking, and the like?

Duration of the Bedroom Mamba?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Nov 2005 19:35:23 -0800

I'm wondering how long, in people's experience, the act of heterosexual sexual intercourse takes. When I mean this, I specifically this without any reference to fun stuff like foreplay and so on.

I am curious, basically, as to how long, in people's experience, the actual portion of the sex act that involves penetration and thrusting to climax takes for them. I realize it involves individual endurance, as well as differing acts that may cause greater or more rapid excitement, but I'm thinking more of averages and rough spans.

The question is a bit graphic, I know, but I'm curious -- movies often refer to how long men endure before climaxing either in comic or exaggerated fashion, without any real sense as to what the average is.

(Assume for the sake of this question that we're speaking of natural endurance, without involvement of Viagra or other substances or toys.)

(I specify heterosexual not due to any inherent homophobic opinion, but simply because (a) that's my own preference and (b) the respective acts are different and thus probably have differing answers.)

Increasing Stamina

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 10:37:20 -0800

Heave ... oh. There is no SI unit short enough to measure how little stamina I have in sex. This is frustrating for myself and my partner. What can I/we do to increase my endurance? Only having sex post-refractory period has worked but probably is not a viable long-term strategy. I have only recently become sexually active--will this work itself out?

Weight-loss Tracking

dagny — Thu, 03 Jun 2004 22:11:36 -0800

Any good exercise/weight-loss diaries out there? I'm working out these days, and would like to track my progress (if any!) both in terms of weight loss, endurance training and weight lifting. Any suggestions? Online services or downloaded software are both fine.

What are the pros and cons of Team in Training?

dicaxpuella — Fri, 21 May 2004 16:08:09 -0800

Anyone have any experience with Team in Training? (more inside...) I'm seriously considering registering for a fall event and was wondering if anyone had any experiences good or bad and if they had any problems with the huge fundraising commitment. Any info would be appreciated!

The science of the "second wind"

Slimemonster — Thu, 11 Mar 2004 20:27:31 -0800

About a week ago, I started jogging a mile a day and already I've noticed I've been getting kind of a second wind maybe 2/3 of the way in and my time has been going down quite a bit. Does anyone know the reason or the science behind the body getting used to being pushed? Also, does anyone know the proper breathing techniques for runners? I have some unreliable information saying it should all be through the nose. Need a second opinion.