Man with the hammer

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A marathon runner gets encouragement after about 40 kilometers

The "man with the hammer" is in endurance sports common name for a sudden drop in performance as a result of carbohydrate absence or hypoglycemia . Occasionally, the phenomenon is also referred to as “running in front of the wall” (after the commonly used English term for “hitting the wall”) or, especially in cycling and cross-country skiing, as “hunger branch” .

causes

The cause is that the muscles withdraw the energy they need from the blood as glucose . To prevent the blood sugar level from falling, glycogen is broken down from muscles and liver to glucose . Without food intake, the liver can only keep the blood sugar level constant for a certain period of time, which leads to hunger pangs. After that, the endurance athlete can only gain the required energy by burning the fat stored in fat cells , which results in a significantly increased load on the organism and, among other things, a considerably increased need for oxygen .

Symptoms

The drop in blood sugar levels leads to a lack of glucose in the central nervous system . This can lead to tiredness, dizziness or even loss of consciousness. Long-distance runners report a drastic increase in fatigue from about the thirtieth kilometer onwards, which manifests itself in an increasing feeling of heaviness in the legs, joint pain, a rise in body temperature and general malaise.

remedy

In addition to endurance training, in which the body gets used to the provision of energy from fat cells, countermeasures include the timely supply of suitable carbohydrates during exercise, for example through carbohydrate gels . Additional mental preparation can help overcome the psychological consequences of the break-in.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ When the man with the hammer comes , in: Die Welt, September 28, 2007
  2. ↑ check-up.ch: The myth of fat metabolism & marathon (PDF; 29 kB)
  3. ↑ a b Nis Sienknecht: The 100 best tips for racing cyclists , Hamburg Spomedis Verlag, 2008, p. 101
  4. ^ Herbert Steffny: Das große Laufbuch , Verlag Südwest, Munich, 2004, p. 63
  5. ↑ Ole Petersen : Marathon: The 4-Hour Program , Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Hamburg, 2003, p. 158