
A comparative study: tongue muscle performance in weightlifters and runners - luu
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30460755?dopt=Abstract
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frodo3212
It would be interesting to see how muscle development faired and progressed
with musicians. Opera singers, specifically. I can't think of another subset
of the population who have explicitly geared themselves toward using these
small muscles in ways which require both strength and endurance. An opera
singers' entire musculature is geared toward natural, acoustic amplification,
and their use of the tongue to manipulate acoustics via vowel sounds would
make an insightful corollary study.

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runamok
I think the whole point of this study was to see how muscles reacted to that
were unrelated to those trained by the athlete's sport.

I suppose it would be interesting but would be a bit like comparing runners
and weightlifters to sedentary people. In fact I think that group would be
better for control...

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Fricken
Interesting results. Just last night I read an article about training for rock
climbing that suggested cutting back on intensive cardio routines outside of
climbing if you're having trouble making strength gains, and I went to sleep
last night wondering how much merit there is to the claim, since I'm both a
cyclist and a climber.

Anecdotally, when cycling in the city it's usually shorter rides with high
intensity hill climbs and sprints, but after an 18 hour, 300km ride in the
country last summer, it took me weeks to get that climbing/sprinting power
back, that one big ride made me substantially weaker.

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davemp
Further off topic: high intensity workouts also have the benefit of being
short and therefore easier to do after work :)

\---

A great workout that only requires an exercise bike is:

\- 4-5min of biking, sprinting for 30sec every minute.

\- no break, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, 20 crunches

\- ~1min break, repeat the above two more times

The result should be a ~20min strength building exercise that is easy on the
joints and gets a nice heartrate/endorphin spike.

~~~
ovi256
The body-weight push-ups and squat are only a very light strength building
exercise. Sadly, you'll still be above average in fitness if you do this
workout.

~~~
mywittyname
If you keep some progression going, and don't over-eat, you'll end up with a
pretty nice physique at least.

~~~
Fricken
I think a big reason why so many have a hard time maintaining a life-long
fitness habit is because their goals are merely cosmetic. The first thing an
excercise routine needs to be is fun, and after that the rest is butter.

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notacoward
I can only think of one activity where tongue endurance is important, and I
guess it's good that runners come out ahead in that department.

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clishem
Actually, the weightlifters were better in some regards.

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notacoward
Weightlifters had greater tongue _strength_ , for which I can't think of a
benefit, but runners had greater endurance.

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clishem
Strength is actually very important if you read Taoist sexual kung fu
practices, they even had exercises for tongue strength specifically.

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curiositydriven
Jokes aside, this is actually a very interesting study. We all know that
physical characteristics are developed specifically by different activities
(endurance for runners, strength for weightlifters). But I think most people
would think this is due to local effects at the level of the muscle or
specific neural circuits for different movements. This study suggests that a
more general physical adaptation is at play, since the tongue isn't involved
in running or weightlifting.

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notacoward
It's not entirely true that the tongue isn't involved, because of breathing
patterns. If differential tongue strength/endurance is just an incidental
effect of different breathing patterns, I'm not sure there's much further to
go with this.

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scott_s
Not just breathing patterns, but during the brief but intense period of a
lift, the muscles of your tongue are engaged in a way they are not normally.

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psychometry
Potential confounders abound. I'll wait for the randomized experiment...

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dzdt
I don't find any mention of screening for steroid use. My understanding is
that steroid use is much more common in weightlifting than running. I would
have expected them to rule that out as an alternative cause of the effects
they are measuring.

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InGodsName
I am a runner and i play Hindustani flute.

I also use a technique called tonging. Good to know that i can perform a song
which heavily depends on tonguing.

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totalperspectiv
From the viewpoint of the endocrine system and how the body reacts the
different type of stresses you put on it, this makes perfect sense. A stressor
in the form of a heavy weight is going to induce a different hormonal response
than a stressor in the form of a long run. A hormonal response won't localize
to just the muscle groups involved, but affect everything, so even your tongue
gets some degree of adaptation to the stressor. Bodies are awesome.

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aznpwnzor
This makes a lot of sense. A lot of muscle strength / endurance is learned,
meaning the gains are realized through motor cortex changes rather than muscle
changes.

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wiredfool
I think this is right up the Ignobel's alley.

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crb002
ROFL. "Iowa Oral Performance Instrument". Those cunning linguists at
University of Iowa need an IG Nobel.

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jwtorres
Similar concept: [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/well/move/exercise-
sports...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/well/move/exercise-sports-
injury-arm-leg-broken-strain-sprain.html)

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julius_set
Or it could just be a side effect of weightlifters / bodybuilders eating more
than normal people and thus “working out” their tongue more?

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bunderbunder
Cue Mark Abrahams: "The medicine priiize. . . "

