stickaz_old
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 02:09 PM
how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

is it always bad? is it sometimes good? teach you anything? should you try to hit it once in a while to find your limit(s)?

example: yesterday, I bonked around mile 7 of a 10 mile jog in the afternoon heat heh, probably a hydration issue.

I believe I learned I need to drink more from the water fountain(s) at mile 3 and 5 on that route ;\)

I just cruised through the park with the water fountain at mile 5 thinking 'no problem, I'm sure there will be another soon....' heh no

Biking I almost never bonk [I guess I dont try hard enough?], and swimming I avoid 'the bonk' like my life depends on it [I'm just a sprinter, my goal in life there is to work the anaerobic stuff hard, and the aerobic stuff not much at all]

thoughts on bonking? always bad? sometimes good?


**DONOTDELETE**
()
08/11/14 02:10 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I thought a bonk was a low carb/blood sugar thing.

cramps are different.



stickaz_old
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 02:17 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

no cramp, just too burnt to continue running

my understanding of a bonk [for example] in biking is that you pushed it too hard/too quick/arent hydrated enough/arent taking in enough nutrition/need to hop off the bike and cry in the bushes for a solid 15 minutes. thats a bonk


Impulsive
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 02:22 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

After googling WTF Bonking was, it happens to me a lot but I guess depends on the exact definition. Now, when I hit the wall, I can still continue, it's just a noticeable shift from ok to struggling. Walking more often or a slower pace and definite hating life isn't uncommmon.

I can't remember a time where I've physically not been able to continue, but then almost all my cardio is 90 minutes or less.

When I do my 10-11k run with 2000 stairs, the first 1800 stairs are in a set (I'll run 180-190 stairs up and down 10 times with half of them being double stairs). I then run about 500m and there is another set of stairs and I can barely make it up those last ones (I climb them like an old man).

I mostly notice after about mile 5-6 during a morning run - legs just get achey and tired. I did a 40k bike yesterday and the wind shifted to a strong head wind (after fighting the wind for most of the ride already) and the last 10k became hell.

So perhaps not true bonking (why do I feel like this term should be in the pot thread?)




**DONOTDELETE**
()
08/11/14 02:28 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_the_wall

Oh Wiki!


Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 05:00 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

It doesn't seem to happen to me very often any more, but I can remember specific workouts earlier in my training where it was literally like hitting a wall. Seriously, where the body just says "I'm fucking done till you put some food in me."

Now that I think about it, it was almost always on the bike....and almost never running. A couple times at the end of 60 or 80 mile rides. A little due to lack of fueling....mostly because of boredom.
I never bonked at my 50 mile/9 hour run a few months ago...probably because well stocked aid stations.

Nothing wrong with training up to that point (and over) just so your body knows what it feels like.


gamby
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 06:42 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

Did it once 40 miles or so into a ride. Didn't eat enough before/during and didn't have any food left on me or any nearby place to buy more. It sucked.

I get lightheaded and headachey and that makes me lose all will to continue on. I tend to be pretty well-prepared doe.


Silock
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 06:50 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I think if you've trained your body to burn any fuel available, it won't happen like that.

I mean, I regularly run 12 miles or more during some marathon soccer sessions and have never hit the wall, even when on super low calories and fasting that day.

Now, if you're only running off of your glycogen stores and they run out, and you aren't used to it, it's going to affect you much more.


Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 07:36 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

There's a reason people hit "the wall" at mile 20 of a marathon. That's usually about 3 hours in and the glycogen stores dry up. Good reading here:

http://www.marathonandbeyond.com/choices/latta.htm

"
“Hitting The Wall is basically about running out of energy,” says Dave Martin, Ph.D., Emeritus Regent’s Professor of Health Sciences at Georgia State University in Atlanta—chemical energy, that is, stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and obtained from the breakdown, or metabolism, of energy-containing fuel. The runner’s primary fuel sources are carbohydrates (in the form of blood glucose and glycogen, a polymer of glucose stored in the muscles and liver) and fats (free fatty acids in the bloodstream and muscle triglycerides, molecules containing three fatty acids).

Fats might seem to be the logical first choice of fuel for endurance events; not only are they the most concentrated form of food energy, but even the thinnest runners have enough body fat to get them through 600 miles. Alas, it’s not quite that simple. Fatty acid metabolism requires plentiful circulating oxygen, a precious commodity when you’re running at marathon race pace. Carbohydrate metabolism, on the other hand, requires less oxygen. In fact, cells can derive energy from carbohydrates either aerobically (in the presence of oxygen) or anaerobically (in the absence of oxygen).

If you start your marathon at a reasonable pace for you, your fuel consumption ratio will be about 75 percent carbohydrates to 25 percent fatty acids, according to Martin. During the race, as carbohydrate supplies begin to dwindle, that ratio changes as your body begins to rely more heavily on fatty acids.

What does all of this have to do with hitting The Wall? Let’s start with the pace. It’s common, in the excitement of the moment, to start out at a pace that’s too fast for you. Big mistake. Your heart cannot pump enough blood to ensure a steady supply of oxygen to the muscles. At this point, your muscles have no choice but to burn glucose in the absence of oxygen. The anaerobic metabolism of glucose, as it’s called, is inefficient, yielding only about 1/18 as much energy (in the form of ATP) as aerobic metabolism. To make matters worse, among the by-products of the anaerobic metabolism of glucose are lactic acid and hydrogen ions. As these waste products continue to accumulate in the blood and tissue, they will not only make your muscles feel as though they are on fire, but they can also inactivate the enzymes that govern glucose metabolism. You’re toast.

Even if you’re racing at a reasonable pace and you’ve done a good job of carboloading in the days before the marathon, you still have only about 2,000 calories worth of glycogen stored in the muscles and liver; that’s about enough to get you to—surprise!—mile 20. If you manage to deplete your glycogen reserves, say hello to The Wall. As mentioned before, burning fatty acids requires plentiful oxygen, so as fatty acid metabolism increases, your heart must work harder to pump more oxygen-carrying blood to the muscles. It may be difficult or impossible to maintain your pace, especially if you’ve lost enough water through sweat to become even slightly dehydrated (this causes your blood to become thicker and therefore harder to pump). In addition, fatty acid metabolism itself requires glucose; as someone once said, “Fat is burned in a carbohydrate oven.”


gamby
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 08:04 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

 Originally Posted By: Silock


Now, if you're only running off of your glycogen stores and they run out, and you aren't used to it, it's going to affect you much more.


That sounds like me. \:\)

I do a Clif Bar every hour and I'm good.


It's Art
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 09:11 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

Why can't people talk like normal people?


WTF is bonking?


It's Art
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 09:43 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I did tweak my shoulder yesterday doing something stupid. I was putting some clothes in the dryer and started benching 275ish without warming up at all, nothing happened but on the car ride to my parents to go swimming I noticed my shoulder hurt and today it hurts too. I think I bonked it.

Silock
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 10:19 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

 Originally Posted By: Mrs. Ironmom
In addition, fatty acid metabolism itself requires glucose; as someone once said, “Fat is burned in a carbohydrate oven.”


Except this isn't exactly the whole story. Your body can produce glucose through means other than carbohydrate digestion -- gluconeogenesis being the main mechanism.

Didn't some low-carb guy win an ultra-marathon recently? Of course, performance is highly individualized (some people do well on low-carb, others absolutely cannot), but if you can tolerate it and do well on it, adopting a low-carb strategy seems like a surefire way to avoid "bonking."


Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 10:52 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

Yeah, people can adapt to anything... That article is geared towards the average Joe marathoner out there for 4 hours or so.


I rarely eat anything on my runs other than those that are 3+ hours in the mountains...mostly because I don't want to get loopy when I'm up in the high country far from help or where the risks are potentially dangerous.

My key to finally qualifying for Boston was to make sure I took in fuel (and salt tabs) during the race. I knew I could cover the distance without anything, but that fuel made to difference between hitting the wall at 22 miles and limping in for a 3:20, and having a super solid race at hitting my goal of 3:08.


Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 11:07 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

 Originally Posted By: Artiott Ness
I did tweak my shoulder yesterday doing something stupid. I was putting some clothes in the dryer and started benching 275ish without warming up at all, nothing happened but on the car ride to my parents to go swimming I noticed my shoulder hurt and today it hurts too. I think I bonked it.


Lol, funny. It's just a term used in endurance activities to describe the point where your body runs out of energy, usually due to lack of proper fueling before of during.
As in: "Man, I should have put that extra gel in my pocket before heading out on that 5 hour ride, cause I bonked big time!"


gamby
(Post Master Supreme)
08/11/14 11:54 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

 Originally Posted By: Artiott Ness
Why can't people talk like normal people?


WTF is bonking?


Running/cycling jargon for "running out of gas". It's the point of depletion. Some people lock up, some throw up, some pass out, some just have to sit down. Depends on the degree of depletion and the specific person.

I once saw a chick on an MS150 sitting on a curb of a rest stop crying because she hit the wall so hard. I heard her tell the EMT she hadn't eaten anything all day (and that was around 50 miles in, IIRC). She wasn't well-versed in the art of fueling.

Too much and you want to shit yourself, too little and you bonk.

Whoops--treed


It's Art
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 08:30 AM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

 Quote:
It's just a term used in endurance activities to describe the point where your body runs out of energy
I was able to deduce that from the context clues.


I'm totally just making fun of the OP here.


stickaz_old
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 10:52 AM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

How's that working out for you by demonstrating your ignorance/lack of wit again?

Ampsman in Extremis
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 11:02 AM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I've only truly bonked once, ive felt like shit and been beat to shit plenty of times but I wouldnt call them bonks.
The only time I really bonked I ended up laying down on the side of the trail about 27 miles into a 50k and fell asleep for about 20 minutes. I literally could not walk another step, I remember looking at this little hill about 10 yards in front of me and thinking that there was no way I could ever make it to that hill.
I had been sick the week before and I just pushed to hard in the first half of the race and didnt take in nearly enough calories.
I did end up getting back up and running the last 4 miles to finish the race.


Design
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 11:35 AM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

On the last marathon I hit the wall hard at mile 16. Combination of heat and a very aggressive pace. I think it's OK to flirt with the limits as long as we know what to do when we experience it.

For me... I took in extra water/fuel and eased through the rest of the race at a comfortable pace. It was a good lesson in what I could do with better training/technique.


LeBron!=GOAT
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 12:03 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?



Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 12:05 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

Lol , Full House.

Design
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 12:06 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?



**DONOTDELETE**
()
08/12/14 12:23 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I feel like dehydration isn't anything to fuck with, same with sodium issues.

Low glycogen/blood sugar, i.e Bonking, that's superficial suffering. Like it doesn't "hurt" you, but may make you miserable.



Either way, it's done, so learn a lesson, bring some food/water, or go slower(less carbs, more fat burned, and generally less perspiration/respiration losses).


and lol, "wtf is a bonking" do you even endurance bro? Bonk's been a term since like the early 90s at least


It's Art
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 02:04 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

No I don't even endurance.

Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/12/14 04:05 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I don't put dehydration in the same category as bonking. Like you said...you fuck with hydration and you can die. Not enough food and you just don't feel like doing anything other than taking a nap.

Euphoricuck
(Post Master Supreme)
08/13/14 12:45 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

regularly. not good at all.

and how the hell does no one know what bonking/hitting the wall is?

am I on a crossfit sight or someething?


The Mighty BellRacer
(Post Master Supreme)
08/13/14 02:04 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

i've bonked out pretty good on one of the first long bike rides i did. it freaking sucked.

Sir Ironpool
(Post Master Supreme)
08/13/14 02:15 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

Totally forgot I had this shirt:


DieZel
(Post Master Supreme)
08/14/14 04:27 PM
Re: how bad is 'bonking' in your workout?

I thought it said "boinking"...