On Sat, 6 Nov 1999, Don Wiss wrote: > Todd Moody wrote: > > > There are still plenty of people who believe that > >distance running is the only exercise that matters. In many > >cases, such people do not eat enough protein and so as they > >punish the tissues in their legs, protein from the upper body > >must be cannibalized. The result is a person with a rather > >emaciated upper body. > > Oh! So should I go down to the bottom of the hill tomorrow morning and > check out the 20,000 marathoners and see if they have emaciated upper bodies? Yes, and you will find many who do. A classic example of this was the late George Sheehan, M.D., who logged many miles each week but had difficulty doing a single sit-up or push-up. His shoulders were rounded and his chest sunken, like a starving person. I think the stereotype of the emaciated runner is less applicable than it used to be. More runners have learned that there is value in some form of cross-training, but there are still many who have not learned it, or don't want to hear it. I live a short distance away from a park frequented by distance runners (a 5-mile gravel trail through the woods) and I get to observe this phenomenon regularly. Todd Moody [log in to unmask]