Category Archives: Fitness

5 Ways to Fit in Fitness During the Holidays

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The holiday season means plenty of shopping, cooking, eating, drinking and … exercise.

Exercise?

If you’re like most people, maybe not so much. Hectic schedules — coupled with colder temperatures and fewer daylight hours — prompt many people to throw their fitness routine to the curb until after the New Year.

But you don’t have to let yourself go during the holidays. Taking care of yourself, with exercise, a healthy diet and plenty of sleep, is key for good health. Regular exercise can also increase your energy levels and ease holiday stress. Not to mention being active can help keep the eggnog and stuffing from lingering on your hips. The average person gains about one pound during the holiday season, but exercise can help you ward off this weight gain.Ice Skates

Here are five tips to help you keep your exercise regime in the middle of the holiday crunch:

1. Set realistic goals. If you usually run five days per week, shoot for three or four days each week during this busy time of year. If you normally spend an hour on the elliptical, just aim for 20 to 30 minutes. Likewise, save big goals — like losing 10 lbs or training for a marathon — until a time when you have fewer obligations. Strive to maintain your weight and fitness level during the holidays and rev it up again come January.

2. Plan ahead. Map out the day and set aside time for fitness. We tend to find time for our biggest priorities, so carve out some time in your day to be active. Take a walk on your lunch break, do a workout DVD instead of lounging in front of the TV or wake up 15 minutes earlier and start your day with a short yoga sequence.

3. Multitask. Skip the gym and get in a workout while crossing off items on your holiday to-do list. Power-walk while you shop, do lunges, push-ups and sit-ups while you wait for your pumpkin pie to bake and dance while you tidy the house. Remember that some exercise is always better than none.

4. Be flexible. Planned on going to the gym but mall traffic tied you up? Sometimes even the best of intentions get thwarted. Try to find time for a shortened exercise session later in the day. But don’t sweat it if you end up skipping a workout or two. Experts say we can usually afford to cut back on exercise for a few weeks without sacrificing fitness.

5. Create new traditions. The holidays are a joyful time to catch up and celebrate with loved ones. The laughter and reminiscing doesn’t have to take place around the dinner table, though. Now is the perfect time to create new, active traditions with your family. Gather the troops and play an annual Thanksgiving game of tough football, ask your friends to join you for a local “jingle jog” 5k race and take the kids ice skating on New Year’s Eve.

How do you motivate yourself to stay active over the holidays? I always remind myself that I’ll never regret doing a workout, but I’ll almost always regret skipping it.

Sources:

http://www.acefitness.org/healthandfitnesstips/healthandfitnesstips_display.aspx?itemid=192

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-gravity-weight/201011/the-holiday-creep-seasonal-weight-gain

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/your-holiday-fitness-program

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-267–13351-0,00.html

How to Train for Your First Marathon

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Ask Coach Jenny

Q: How do I start training for a marathon if I’ve never done running before? – Jordana

A: Hi Jordana (pretty name btw). There are a lot of ways to train up for a marathon, but most only focus on the physical aspects. When going from the couch to the marathon, your body and mind need time to adapt to the demands along the way. For this reason, I recommend to go the route of slow progression to the marathon distance.

The best way to eat the elephant is one bite at a time. It is quite overwhelming to get up off the couch and think, “Okay, today is the first day of my marathon training.” It’s such a huge goal – it can overwhelm rather than inspire, not to mention it can quickly lead to burn out from jumping into too much too soon.

Rather than thinking marathon, think 5K. Find a run-walk program that guides you to get up and running a 5K in the next three months. I have a few free plans here [link: http://www.jennyhadfield.com/training-plans/] that can get you started (Zero to Running is a solid strategy to get going). This is the time to be more conservative as your body will make the most gains early in your running program.

As you complete the program, graduate to a 10K and focus on training for the next two months to build to that distance. Again, the more gradual your climb in distance early on, the less risk you’ll experience burn out and injury. Plus, with time, your mental strength develops right along side your body and detours the negative emotions that can sneak up and bite you when you jump into too much distance. Every race becomes a mini goal and gives you a sense of accomplishment on your journey to the marathon.

After you cross the line of your 10K, set your sites on training up for a half marathon. With your 10K base of training investing a solid 12-14 weeks will give you enough time to adapt, run longer and stronger. Upon finishing the half, you’ve earned your wings to train up for the marathon. At this point, if all feels well, you can continue your training from the half marathon right up to the full distance in 10-12 weeks. This gives you time to recover post half, build your distance to the mileage necessary to run the marathon distance and include a taper as well.

Other ingredients that will help in your new running journey include flexibility (foam rolling, massage and stretching), strength training and cross-training with lower impact activities (i.e. Zumba, cycling, swimming or elliptical).

Finally, be mindful of your body along the way and stay in tune with aches and pains. It’s your body’s way of communicating with you that you’re likely resting too little or pushing too hard. In most cases, a day or two of easy cross-training or rest will do the trick and heal the minor little aches.

Your goal to run a marathon is quite ambitious, so just make sure to give yourself time to complete your goal in stages. Good luck on your marathon quest.  One race at a time!

Do you have a question for Coach Jenny? Submit your question here.

Posted by Coach Jenny Hadfield | Posted in Fitness

What You Should Know About Creatine

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Creatine is one of the most widely used and well-researched supplements on the market. In fact, the creatine market in the United States alone is estimated at $14 million per year and over 50 percent of professional football players report using the supplement.

Readily available in pills, powders and sports drinks, many athletes and fitness enthusiasts try creatine at some point, so it’s worth knowing all you can about the supplement.

As always, before taking any exercise supplement, discuss it with your doctor to be sure that it will not have any negative interaction with your medications or preexisting conditions.

What It Is and What It Does

Creatine is an amino acid that is naturally created by your body. It is also available in fish and red meat. Creatine is converted to creatine phosphate and stored in the muscles, which allows your body to use it immediately.

To understand why it’s so important to have creatine phosphate readily on hand, we have to understand how muscle contractions are powered. The primary fuel for all muscle movements is adenosine-triphosphate (ATP). The problem is that our muscles can only store enough ATP for short bursts of activity and it takes a relatively long time to synthesize. To compensate for this and speed up the process, a common compound, adenosine-diphosphate (ADP) steals a phosphate molecule from the creatine phosphate. This creates more ATP for immediate use.

Because creatine supplementation gives you excess reserves of this backup fuel, it primes your body for high-intensity, short-duration exercise like sprinting or weight lifting. Since you have extra fuel available, you should be able to do more reps and run longer, subsequently getting a more effective workout.

The research on creatine is mixed, although the majority of studies show that creatine can help to improve explosive speed, strength and lean muscle mass. Creatine doesn’t appear to be useful in long-distance endurance training, however.

Dosing

According to the Mayo Clinic, many frequent users of creatine supplements ignore and exceed the recommended dosages. This is likely because serious fitness enthusiasts are either taking bad advice, or they figure they can’t get too much of a good thing.

The general recommended dose is 20 grams of creatine per day, divided into four doses of five grams each. The duration of the supplementation will depend on your goals and there are plenty of conflicting opinions out there. The Mayo Clinic recommends taking creatine for 4-7 days for enhanced athletic strength and performance. Smaller maintenance doses of five grams per daycan be taken after that.

Although traditional gym wisdom supports cycling on and off creatine, this assertion has come under fire. There is no evidence to support that cycling improves the efficacy of the supplementation or that it will prevent side effects as long as you follow the recommended dosages. Despite this evidence, many people still cycle creatine.

Considerations and Potential Side Effects

Some people seem to have no response to creatine. Recent research suggests that these people may simply have a naturally elevated creatine reserve already.

Allergies to creatine are possible and will cause a rash, itching and/or shortness of breath.

Gastrointestinal discomfort as well as bloating from water weight are both common side effects of creatine supplementation. You may also experience muscle sprains or cramps that could lead to more serious injuries.

Although creatine was linked with kidney damage in the past, this connection has been weakened by modern research but not severed. Both kidney and liver functions may be altered, so users with preexisting conditions in these particular organs should talk to their doctor first.

Creatine has the potential to alter insulin activity, but more research is necessary. If you have diabetes or hypoglycemia or are undergoing any treatments that could affect your blood sugar, you should use caution taking creatine.

Have you taken creatine supplements? Share your experience with us in the comments.

Sources

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/creatine/NS_patient-creatine/DSECTION=dosing

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dimaggio2.htm

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/creatine-000297.htm

 

Postpartum Fitness: How to Get Back in Shape After Having a Baby

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After giving birth last fall, one of the first questions I had for my midwife was, “When can I exercise again?” I ran until I was 7 months pregnant, when I had to hang up my running shoes due to health concerns. So I couldn’t wait to get moving again. (Information on keeping a safe running routine throughout pregnancy can be found here.)

But starting a fitness plan postpartum requires that you take special care. Whether you’re an athlete eager to get back into your favorite sport or you’re looking for a way to shed the pregnancy pounds, you can safely get in shape after having a baby.

Getting Started

Being active boasts a bunch of health benefits for new moms. Exercise can boost your energy, reduce postpartum fatigue, fight stress, improve your mood, strengthen your muscles and help you lose weight. Plus, you’ll be setting up lifelong healthy habits and be a good role model for your child.

Before you head to the gym, though, you’ll need to get the OK from your doctor or midwife. Delivering a baby takes a toll on your body, and it can take weeks to recover (or even months if you delivered by cesarean section or had a difficult childbirth). Rest is usually best in the first few weeks after having a baby.

Experts say that most postpartum women can do some light walking as soon as they feel up to it. In general, women who delivered vaginally can start more vigorous exercise at 6 weeks postpartum, and women who delivered by C-section can engage in more intense activity 6 to 8 weeks after childbirth. But know that every woman is different and recovery times vary. Always ask your doctor how long you should wait after the birth of your baby before resuming or starting an exercise program.

Sticking With It

Still, even if you have clearance from your doctor, wait until your body feels ready before you move from walking to more intense activities. Once you feel ready to exercise, follow these tips for success:

·         Ease into it. Doing too much before your body is healed can be a recipe for disaster. You risk injury if you jump into intense exercise too soon. Take it slow and, in time, you’ll be able to gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workout sessions.

·         Have realistic expectations. You just had a baby! You are likely sleep deprived and stressed. If you don’t have the stamina for your planned workout one day, don’t sweat it. Just take a walk instead. Remember that even a little bit of exercise is better than none. Pop baby into a jogging stroller and get going! (with luck he’ll even finally fall asleep!)

·         Stay well hydrated. Be mindful to drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise. This is especially crucial for breast-feeding women because you lose fluids during nursing sessions. Drinking enough water throughout the day can help you feel more energized and combat fatigue.

·         Plan ahead if you’re breast-feeding. In the first few months postpartum, you may feel more comfortable if you exercise immediately after nursing your baby. Note that working out will not negatively impact your milk supply.

·         Watch for warning signs. If you have bright red vaginal bleeding that’s heavier than a period, stop exercising at once and get medical help.

New moms: how do you make time for fitness? I like to multi-task; I used to lift weights and do jumping jacks while my son played on his activity mat.

Sources:

http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/116.pdf

http://www.acog.org/~/media/For%20Patients/faq131.pdf?dmc=1&ts=20121001T1136080662

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-after-pregnancy/MY00477/NSECTIONGROUP=2

The Many Benefits of a Morning Workout

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Not many of us wake up, hop out of bed with full energy and can zealously tackle our workout first thing in the morning. The natural inclination is often to put if off, generally until the end of the day, when all the other important things like work and school have been accomplished.

But is this wise? What are the benefits of a morning workout, before you go about the rest of your daily activities?

Start The Day Off Right

In a recent post, we discussed the fact that a balanced breakfast can help to set a healthy tone for the rest of your day. Morning exercise seems to have a similar effect, for several reasons.

First, numerous studies have shown that exercise can improve your sense of well-being and overall mood. For longtime exercisers, this won’t come as a surprise but it has important implications. If you exercise first thing in the morning, elevating your mood, you are more likely to eat healthier foods and enjoy your day more.

Additionally, once you experience these benefits, you’ll want to continue exercising so that you can keep enjoying them. Speaking to U.S. News, Julia Valentour, program coordinator for the American Council on Exercise, said that “People who exercise in the morning are more likely to make it a habit, as there’s less chance of scheduling conflicts that get in the way of exercise.”

Razor Focus!

Closely related to the improved sense of well-being is a heightened alertness throughout the day. Although you have to drag yourself out of bed and struggle to start your workout, once you do you’ll wake up quickly. Not only will you be able to give your workout your full attention but, by the time you get to work, you’ll already feel awake and accomplished.

A key factor to consider when discussing how to set a good tone for your day is the effect that exercise has on your metabolism. Recent research has shown that not only do our bodies burn calories during exercise, but that increased caloric burn continues for hours after. One study found that men who biked at a high intensity for 45 minutes burned an extra 190 calories over the 14 hours following the workout. Other studies have backed these findings but, they all note, that low or moderate intensity workouts don’t show the same substantial results.

Sleep Better

It may seem counter-intuitive, but waking up early to work out may help you sleep better. A quality night’s sleep is dependent, to a large extent, on regularity. We need to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Scheduling your workout in the mornings can be a valuable step toward creating a regular sleep pattern.

Research also indicates that people who exercise at night or in the evenings have more difficulty falling asleep than those who work out earlier in the day. Not only will the improved sleep help you be more focussed and energetic, but sleep plays an important part in weight loss. Several hormones that control your appetite and metabolism are regulated by your sleep patterns so creating a healthy sleep schedule can have a positive effect on those systems as well.

Avoid Conflicts

How often does your day go exactly as you had planned? Things pop up unexpectedly that force use to make last minute changes. We may have to work late, deal with some emergency or handle an errand we forgot about, and any of these things can suck up the time you’d planned for your workout. By taking care of your exercise as soon as you wake up, you lessen the chance of something else getting in the way.

What benefits have you experienced from working out in the morning? Please share them with us in the comments.

Sources

http://journals.lww.com/co-psychiatry/Abstract/2005/03000/Exercise_and_well_being__a_review_of_mental_and.13.aspx

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2010/08/10/how-morning-exercise-can-boost-your-career

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/mielke25.htm

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitness-food/exercise/story/2011-09-01/Bonus-for-exercisers-Calories-burn-long-after-workout/50224116/1

http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/lose-weight-with-morning-exercise

What is the Best Way to Recover After a Race?

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Ask Coach Jenny

Q: How do I recover after short and long races – 5K to marathon?  ~Jeff

A: Great question, Jeff! The short, sweet, tweet-sized answer is – invest one day for every mile in the race. Although this is very general, it can work in keeping things simple. So, the shorter the race, the shorter the recovery necessary and vice versa.  This is why you can race multiple 5Ks in a season with less risk than racing multiple half or full marathons in a season.

The longer answer is it truly depends on a host of variables including: your running experience, your training season, your health, stress, nutrition, race intensity, the elements, age and more! I know that’s a mouthful and quite a lot to think about, but ultimately it comes down to creating your personal recovery program and understanding that every post-race recovery is unique. That way, you tune into what works for you, learn to optimize your down time and ebb and flow with all types of recoveries.

Contrary to popular belief, post-race recovery doesn’t mean sitting on the couch watching your favorite reality TV show. It simply means getting off the structure of a training program for awhile to let things heal and rejuvenate – much like the winter season or a good night’s sleep. Our body functions in cycles and when you begin to train and race in cycles, you make the most of every season. The fun part is it allows time to explore activities you may have ignored due to training. There are a myriad of options for active recovery and here are just a few ways you could go for each race distance.

5K – 10K:  

In-Season, Post-Race Recovery:

Day 1 – Rest, massage or very light, low-impact activity for 20-30 minutes (cycling, elliptical)

Day 2 – Cross-training with lower-impact activities for 30-45 minutes at an easy effort level, plus flexibility exercises (foam rolling, stretching)

Day 3 – Easy effort run for 30-45 minutes, plus flexibility exercises

Day 4 – Cross-training for 30-45 minutes at an easy to moderate effort level

Day 5 – Easy effort run for 30-45 minutes, plus flexibility exercises

Day 6 – Rest

Day 7 – Continue on with your 5K training regimen, adding higher intensity and longer duration runs back into your regimen if all feels well. If you have any aches or pains, invest a few more days of easy effort runs and cross-training to assure recovery.

Post-Season Recovery:

Weeks 1-2:

Include easy to moderate effort cross-training, easy effort runs that are shorter and flexibility exercises, keeping the workout duration to no more than an hour. Reward yourself with a massage!

Example Week

Monday – Easy effort run for 30 minutes, plus a strength workout

Tuesday – Cross-training for 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Wednesday – Play – an activity you love to do (hike, bike, play with the kids, dance)

Thursday – Easy effort run for 30 minutes, plus strength workout

Friday – Cross-training for 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Saturday – Easy effort run – 60 minutes on a new trail, route or path

Sunday – Rest

Weeks 3-4:

Include moderate effort cross-training, easy effort runs that are shorter, a harder effort short run and flexibility exercises, still keeping the workout duration to no more than an hour.

Example Week

Monday – Easy effort run for 30-40 minutes, plus strength workout

Tuesday – Cross-training 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Wednesday – Play – an activity you love to do (hike, bike, play with the kids, dance)

Thursday – Easy effort run for 30 minutes, plus strength workout

Friday – Cross-training for 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Saturday – Alternate one week with a longer, slower run (45-60 minutes) with a shorter, harder effort run (30-40 minutes – Fartlek, which is a form of road running in which the runner varies the pace significantly during the run)

Sunday – Rest

Half Marathon – Marathon:

Longer races require long training seasons and more effort and stress on race day. Therefore, at least 3-4 weeks of low-key, unstructured activity is a great way to fully recovery mentally, physically and emotionally. Here is an example of what that might look like for a runner that normally trains four times per week, plus cross-training.

Week 1 – Keep the effort easy and activity short:

Monday – Rest, massage and very light flexibility exercises

Tuesday – Cross-training for 20-30 minutes at an easy effort, plus flexibility

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Cross-training for 30 minutes at an easy effort, plus flexibility

Friday – Rest day or light walk for 30 minutes

Saturday – Easy effort run for 30-40 minutes, plus flexibility

Sunday – Rest or light walk for 30-45 minutes

 Week 2 – Keep the effort easy, and build the activity time slightly:

Monday – Cross-training for 30-40 minutes at an easy effort, plus strength

Tuesday – Easy effort run for 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Wednesday – Cross-training for 30-40 minutes at an easy effort, plus strength

Thursday – Easy effort run for 40 minutes, plus flexibility

Friday – Cross-training for 30-40 minutes at an easy effort, plus strength

Saturday – Easy effort longer run for 60 minutes, plus flexibility

Sunday – Rest

 Week 3:

Monday – Easy effort run for 45 minutes, plus flexibility

Tuesday – Cross-training at moderate to hard intensity for 45-60 minutes, plus strength

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Easy effort run for 45 minutes, plus flexibility

Friday – Cross-training at moderate to hard intensity for 45-60 minutes, plus strength

Saturday – Easy effort longer run for 60-70 minutes, plus flexibility

Sunday – Rest

 Week 4:

Monday – Easy effort run for 45 minutes, plus flexibility

Tuesday – Cross-training at moderate to hard intensity for 45-60 minutes, plus strength

Wednesday – Moderate effort run for 45 minutes, plus flexibility

Thursday – Cross-training at moderate to hard intensity for 45-60 minutes, plus strength

Friday – Easy effort run for 40 minutes or cross-training

Saturday – Easy effort longer run for 70-80 minutes (or hold at 60 minutes if that’s more comfortable), plus flexibility

Sunday – Rest

Can Your Workout Be Destroying Your Muscles?

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If you’ve ever used any piece of cardio training equipment you’ve seen it: the “heart rate zone chart.” This handy reference tool provides you with some research-based general guidelines for where to keep your heart rate to achieve specific fitness goals.

The target zone for most people, and the focus of most exercise programs, is the “weight loss zone.”

Although there is merit to the “weight loss zone” and related programs, people often take it a step further and claim that exercising above this zone will make your body burn muscle for fuel. However, this has also led to many bodybuilders choosing to avoid cardio altogether during their bulking cycles so that they don’t risk losing any muscle.

But what’s the science at work here? Is the fat loss zone real? Is it possible to work out so intensely that you actually burn muscle?

The Fat Loss Zone

It is true that the fat loss zone exists but it is often misrepresented. Your body will not burn a higher amount of fat in this zone but it will burn a higher percentage. It’s not a matter of whether your body is using carbs or fat for fuel, because you are always using both — in different proportions — depending on the needs at hand.

According to Active.com, exercising at lower intensities forces your body to use about 50 percent of both carbs and fat. At higher intensities this mixture switches to about 35 percent fat, 65 percent carbs, but your total caloric expenditure is much higher so it will likely balance out.

For example, if you run at eight miles per hour for an hour, you burn about 860 calories and 300 of those are from fat. A lower-intensity exercise, like a jog at five miles per hour, will burn 600 total calories with 300 from fat.

Muscle For Fuel

Is there any point at which your body will start to use muscle for fuel? Yes, but you’re not likely to reach it during an average workout. Muscle is precious, used for literally everything you do on a daily basis and your body isn’t eager to destroy it. Using muscle for fuel is called a catabolic state and occurs only during periods of starvation. Interestingly, crash diets can create catabolisis by restricting the caloric intake so much that the body has no option but to turn on its own muscle for fuel.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found no correlation between exercise intensity and whether your body burns muscle or fat for fuel. The researchers concluded that, when it comes to conserving muscle, exercise intensity can be left up to you.

Can You Work Out Too Hard?

Although it’s not likely that your workout will destroy your muscles, is it possible for you to work out too hard? Of course it is. Working out too intensely puts you at an increased risk for muscle overuse and other injuries, which can put you out of commission for a while and throw off your exercise routine.

Listen to your body when deciding on the appropriate exercise intensity for you and your fitness level.

Source

http://cbass.com/FATBURN.HTM

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/The-Myth-of-the-Fat-burning-Zone.htm

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/51/2/142.abstract?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=lose+fat+not+muscle&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT

Running Through Your Performance Highs and Lows

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Ask Coach Jenny

 Q: How come some days I feel like I can run forever and then other days I feel like I can barely make a few miles? ~Andrea

 A: That’s a great question, Andrea. There are many reasons that contribute to the highs and lows, and one of the most significant is how you go about running day to day, especially if you’re training for an event.

It is easy to get caught up in running by a certain pace (ex. 9:30 per mile) now that we have all these wonderful speed-distance devices that tell you the pace as you run. Remember the days when we would have to drive the distance to see how far we ran? I do…

There is something that gets lost when we train by pace – we tune out what is going on in our bodies. When we do that, we risk over- or under-performing on any given day. Pace should be the outcome of your run, rather than the target and here’s why.

Let’s say you go for your planned run today for four miles and it is 90 degrees outside. Your plan calls for an easy-effort run but your mind is set on running at a 9:30 per mile pace, which is normally an easy effort. You end up running in a hard zone due to the heat. Your next run is a tempo workout where you run at a specific pace that is comfortably hard (8:30 per mile) but you’re fatigued due to the hot run, so that tempo pace now feels extremely hard (red zone). In time, your body fatigues and that can result in a host of challenging runs or contribute to “dead legs,” where your legs simply don’t have any strength.

Training by pace and pace alone defeats the purpose of the run. When you train by effort and how your body feels (heart rate and your breathing rate), you’re always training in the right zone on the given day. On that 90-degree day, you can still run easy by slowing your pace and running at an effort where you can still talk. This may even require run-walking intervals to keep your body cool. On the flipside, when it cools down and you have a strong day because you haven’t trained too hard – you will run stronger than that calculated pace. It all starts with tuning into your body, listening to your breath and flowing with what the day brings. When you run in the flow, your body adapts more efficiently and fatigues less.

Take this timeless challenge and let me know how it works out for you. Invest three weeks in running by your body and breath. Run hard on your hard days and easy on your easy days – but do so in the rhythm of your body rather than your watch or speed-distance monitor. It will change your life forever…

Other variables that can negatively affect your performance include:

 Sleep

The quality of sleep greatly affects your running performance. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter and then went for a run the next day? It’s hard and results in higher heart rates, lower energy levels and an overall tough run. Invest in quality sleep for at least 7-8 hours each night.

Your Cycle

This doesn’t quite apply to the men. However, as women, our menstrual cycle has a rhythm all of its own with highs and lows. The highs you may recognize as the days when you feel like Wonder Woman and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. This typically happens between days 7 and 15 around ovulation. The lows happen 7 days before menstruation and the first few days of your cycle. The great news is our bodies have a built in flow – where you can run harder around your strongest days, and ease back on the throttle and take an easy-effort week during the challenging days around the cycle. Doing so keeps in alignment with the natural flow of your body. By the way, there have been world records set during menstruation, so it doesn’t translate to poor performance.

Nutrition

You are what you eat. If you eat low quantities of fuel on a low-calorie diet or miss meals, it will instantly translate to tough runs. In the same light, eating highly processed, low-quality fuels can also have the same effect – icky runs. Keep a fuel log and begin to take inventory of what you eat. Making small changes to good, clean fuel sources will increase the likelihood of better runs more often. Stick with foods that have a short ingredient list of things you can actually pronounce – vegetables, fruits, protein sources and healthy fats.

Stress

This is a silent energy killer. It sneaks into your life and subtly zaps the energy right out from underneath you. Whether it is due to work, deadlines, family, loss or relationships, stress sucks the life out of your runs. Invest in yoga, meditation or even breathing deeply for one minute during the day. Being mindful of the stress and making efforts to decrease and manage it will greatly improve the quality of your life performance on and off the roads.

As with any old habits, remember that they die hard, so start improving your runs with small changes that you can stick with over time. It may take quite a bit of practice to break the desire to train by pace, but it will pay off exponentially in the long run – literally and figuratively.

Move to the Rhythm: Music and Your Run

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Music has long been used to direct human movement. Ancient Romans would play drums on their ships to synchronize the strokes of their rowers. Our bodies just naturally want to move along with music and this can be a powerful tool when incorporated into your training.

Speaking to the American Council on Fitness, Costas Karageorghis, Ph.D., a leading authority on music and exercise, says that “Music is like a legal drug for athletes.” He went on to explain that well-selected music can not only reduce the perception of effort during a workout, but it can also measurably improve endurance.

Music is a powerful potential exercise aid. How can you incorporate it into your workout?

Timing Is Everything

The key is to capitalize on our natural tendency to make our movements match the beat of a given song. When we run, we do so with a certain amount of steps per minute – this is defined as our pace. By choosing music that has the same beats per minute (BPM) as our desired pace, we essentially give ourselves an entertaining and easy-to-follow coach.

For this reason, it’s important to pick songs that have a very distinct beat. There are programs, generally intended for DJs, that will tell you the BPM  of a song so that you can design your own playlist. But there are also several podcasts that have done this for you.

One of the most popular free programs is called PodRunner, produced by electronic music DJ and runner Steve Boyett. Each edition of PodRunner is designed to provide you with a specific BPM so that you can easily achieve your goal pace by following the music.

Additional Research and Considerations

Although the positive effects of music on exercise are well documented and have been used for centuries, recent research has shown just how deep and powerful the connection is. These studies also point to some interesting facts to consider when using music in your routine.

A 2004 study in the Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation experimented with different genres of music on a cycling workout. The subjects were told to perform a normal workout and their exercise output was measured. What was interesting about the results of this study is that the subjects’ output increased in conjunction with the tempo of the music regardless of the genre. Specifically, the researchers looked at musical genres, such as Polka, that the subjects either hadn’t listened to before or didn’t enjoy. Performance improved regardless.

The lesson here?  Be willing to go outside of your musical comfort zone to new genres when building your playlist.

This was emphasized by a 2010 study that looked at specific components of music to find which was the most influential on exercisers. Subjects were played a song and then split into three groups. The groups heard either a percussion track of the initial song, a matching metronome track or a track with no rhythmic elements. The subjects all responded the same to the full song, the percussion track and the metronome. This study suggests that while we might enjoy all musical aspects of a song, it’s the percussion and rhythm that is the driving force of good workout music.

As with all things health and fitness, caution is necessary even when picking your workout music. A study published in the same journal in 2007 increased the tempo of music used in a chair aerobics class by 33 percent. The patients followed the music even when their heart rates increased to potentially dangerous levels. Based on these findings, it’s important not to underestimate the push you can receive from music and make sure that you don’t exert yourself beyond what you can handle based on your fitness level.

Equipment

Although music can be very useful for runners, and all endurance athletes, bringing it with you can be challenging. Many runners are sensitive to any additional weight slowing them down, so using small, lightweight devices are your best bet.

Storing these devices in your pockets can be difficult, too, since this can mess up your stride. Fortunately, armband cases are available and perfect for runners and endurance athletes. Make sure that your headphones are also comfortable and fit tightly. Few things can be as frustrating as fiddling with earphones while you’re trying to focus on your run.

Have you used music to improve your workouts? Please share your tips and experience in the comments section below.

Sources

http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/805/

http://www.djsteveboy.com/podrunner.html

Understanding Sweat

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Sweat is one of those aspects of exercise, along with exhaustion and muscle soreness, that we just learn to live with, as much as we may dislike it. Some people, though, learn to embrace sweat.

For these exercisers, sweat is a sign that they’re doing something right, that they’re releasing toxins and burning off all that fat. A lot of us may feel that we haven’t worked out hard enough if we don’t emerge from the gym dripping in sweat.

But is perspiration really an accurate measure of workout intensity? Let’s examine what purpose sweat plays and what factors affect how much we sweat to decide that answer for ourselves.

Purpose of Sweat

There are several methods your body uses to maintain a healthy internal temperature, with sweat being the primary tool.

When your body’s temperature rises, whether from external heat, exercise or a combination of the two, the hypothalamus sends an activation signal to the sweat glands that are spread throughout your skin. These glands produce the fluid we call sweat, which absorbs the heat and rests on the surface of the skin. Once the sweat evaporates, it cools the body.

Controlling Factors

Even when you aren’t exercising, your muscles are working constantly, and when muscles work, they produce heat. This heat, logically, increases when we exercise and demand more from our muscles. But more than exertion controls how much we sweat. Gender, age and fitness level all contribute to our sweat patterns, and the environment in which we are exercising plays one of the most powerful roles.

Men tend to sweat more than women and women seem to start to sweat at higher temperatures than men do. Statistically, as people age they seem to sweat less but this could be because of declining fitness levels. The more trained your body is, the fitter you are, the more efficiently it will process heat and you will sweat less.

When the air around you is cooler than your body, you radiate heat through your skin into the air. Conduction is the direct transfer of heat from contact, like when you swim in cold water. Convection is a reaction to cold air passing over your skin. Evaporation, from sweat, is perfectly suited for when the air around you is hotter than your internal temperature.

Confusion arises, though, when that hot air is also humid. In that case, sweat can’t evaporate and will just collect on the skin until it starts to drip, making it look like you’re sweating excessively.

Warnings

If you are dripping with sweat, it’s a signal that your body isn’t cooling down effectively, and that you could be in danger of overheating. To help sweat serve its purpose properly, avoid exercising in extreme heat and humidity.

Certain forms of exercise, such as Bikram yoga, are specifically performed in hot, humid environments, though. If you partake in these forms of exercise, where the point is to work up an intense sweat, make sure to stay hydrated with electrolyte-enriched drinks.

Be careful to stay properly hydrated no matter what kind of exercise you’re doing. The typical recommendations for hydration are one to two cups of water two hours before exercising, a half cup to a cup during and two and a half  cups in the half hour following exercise. Your individual hydration needs will be different, so listen to your body and drink when you’re thirsty.

Whew! Wipe your brow. So although sweat isn’t necessarily an accurate measurement of your workout’s intensity, it does play an important role in keeping your body healthy. Just don’t forget your sweat towel.

Sources

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/3598/1/If-You-Dont-Sweat-During-Exercise-Is-It-A-Waste-Of-Time.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/skin-care/information/anatomy/how-sweat-works2.htm