I’ve Found Relief for My High-Arched Feet!

It’s been awhile since I’ve recommended a product in this blog, but I want to tell you about a terrific athletic shoe insole I’ve just discovered that caters to people like me who have high-arched feet.

Until recently I’d not given much thought to my high-arches since my days as a young ballerina when they were a desirable thing. I remember my ballet teacher commenting that I “had a dancer’s foot”, noting my curved arch and my even-lengthed toes. Now, many years later, my high-arched feet are not as friendly as they used to be. How could they be after running thousands of miles?

High-arched feet tend to have problems because they are more rigid than feet with normal arches or low arches. Furthermore, high-arched feet tend to supinate, or turn outward, which can lead to orthopedic problems with the hips, knees and low back. I’m fortunate not to suffer from any of those, although my left foot in particular tends to supinate and I have to replace my running shoes every 5-6 weeks because after wearing the outside of my left shoe down to the nub my left hamstrings start to act up. Furthermore, the plantar fascia on the bottom of my feet tend to tighten up at night or after a long run and I’m constantly stretching them out to counteract this. I also keep a golf ball under my desk to massage the bottom of my feet when I’m at my computer and I’ve found that applying Traumeel or Topricin  homeopathic foot cream to the soles of my feet before bed helps as well.

I’ve never been one to wear orthotics or insoles as I thought I didn’t needed them. I wear a neutral running shoe and because I have to wear a 7mm heel lift in my right shoe (because of a leg-length discrepancy resulting from scoliosis) most insoles are too thick to wear along with the lift. Furthermore, I was under the misconception that because my arches were already pronounced I didn’t need any arch support. In fact, I mistakenly believed having arch support in my shoes would only exacerbate my arches.

After doing a little research for a client, however, I discovered RunPro Insoles specifically designed for high-arch profile feet. From the first few steps I found them really supportive without being hard and uncomfortable. I also like the fact that they’re not at all bulky so they fit nicely in an athletic shoe. They even made an older pair of running shoes I’d been wearing feel new again. After trying them in my cycling shoes (what a difference!!) I ordered two more pairs so I don’t have to switch them back and forth between all of my athletic shoes.

At $50 per pair they’re not cheap, but if you’re a physically active person with high arches that are causing you discomfort you may find RunPro Insoles are worth it to keep your feet happy.

Be Well,

Carolyn

Harnessing Cycling Saddle Soreness

After a 5-week break from cycling, I recently resumed riding. In addition to my quads being out of cycling shape, I experienced the kind of  saddle soreness that I hadn’t had since I first started riding. While I attributed this mostly from the time off the bike, it led me to a closer investigation of saddle soreness – both in terms of causes and preventatives.  Saddle soreness is one of the biggest complaints of all levels of riders -from beginners to experienced distance cyclists. Chief causes of chafed cheeks and sensitive sits bones include:  poorly fitting shorts, improper sitting position on the bike, lack of lubrication and poor hygiene. Fortunately you don’t have to live with a battered behind. By taking a few preventative measures and investing in some fanny-friendly equipment you’ll be sitting pretty for miles to come.

One of the keys to preventing saddle soreness is choosing a good pair of cycling shorts with a chamois (a padded, synthetic insert) suited to your body shape. Because everyone’s anatomy is different, you may need to try several brands and styles to find one that’s comfortable for you. This is one reason why is crucial to “break in” your gear before a long ride or race. Women should choose a chamois with a seamless “baseball” cut preferably make of Coolmax or another synthetic that works to wick moisture away from the skin.

Whatever shorts you choose, leave your drawers at home. Bicycle shorts are designed to be worn alone without underwear. Underpants aside, however, some cyclists protect their assets by placing other things between their skin and their shorts. One rider I know wears a Speedo swimsuit under his shorts and a female rider I know survived a 300-mile bike trip through Italy by wearing feminine hygiene mini pads attached to the chamois of her shorts. With frequent changes it helped keep her dry and friction-free.

Speaking of hygiene….maintaining personal hygiene is essential for preventing saddle sores. Wash your crotch with a mild soap and dry it (a hairdryer set on a low heat works great) before and immediately after every ride. Also, don’t sit around in your dirty, sweaty cycling shorts after riding. It’s the fastest way to multiply bacteria which thrive on hot, moist areas. Wash your shorts (and yourself) thoroughly to remove sweat, bacteria and any greasy lubricants.

Speaking of lubricants, in addition to choosing proper cycling shorts, you might try a chamois lubricant such as Bag Balm, Chamois Butt-R, SportSlick, Body Glide or even good old Vaseline. Apply to your raw areas after you ride or as a preventative measure. If butt discomfort continues to plague you, examine the way you’re riding in the saddle. If you’re straining to reach your pedals, you may be repeatedly rubbing your skin and bones against the saddle nose. If so, consider lowering your seat. Furthermore, make sure your seat is level, with the saddle nose neither tilted up nor down. Also, be sure to place your “sits” bones in the widest part of the saddle and pedal with your waist and your elbow slightly bent. I’ve personally found that saddle soreness becomes less of a problem the more a person rides. This is probably due to both the fact that the stronger your legs get, the less heavy you sit in the saddle,  and the tougher your skin gets after many miles in the saddle. This is another reason to be consistent with your cycling training.

In addition to altering the position of your seat, you may want to consider investing in one of the many saddles designed to prevent saddle soreness.Finally, consider investing in a suspended road or mountain bike which buffers your butt by reducing the bounce factor on rough terrain. Even riding with suspended seatposts can help reduce saddle soreness. If, despite your best preventative efforts you’re still suffering (and laying off the saddle  for a few days isn’t an option), clean your sores and patch them with a non-stick medical pad such as Spenco’ s Second Skin. This will get you through your ride until you can take time to let your body heal. For the future, you may want to ask your doctor to prescribe a topical antibiotic to have on hand for emergencies.

Be Well,

Carolyn

Mouth Wide Shut: Adventures in Nostril Breathing – Part 2

In my previous post I wrote about my past experience with nostril breathing during aerobic exercise and my decision to give it a go again thanks to my fiance’s positive experience with it.

The benefits were not immediately apparent. On the contrary, I actually found myself slowing down in my runs – especially on hills and inclines. But my patience (this time) eventually paid off and after about two weeks I noticed I was able to run longer with less effort and – best of all – with far less joint pain or muscle fatigue at longer distances. I really cannot explain the fact that in the past month I’ve managed to run a 45 mile week, a 50 mile week and a 60 mile week, the last of which included a 2 hour 5 minute run! This mileage is almost double what I’ve been able to run the past 3 years due to injury. Training wise I’ve done nothing differently in the past month except nostril breathe during my runs (and my bike rides and spinning workouts) about 85% of the time. Furthermore, I’m running the same routes 3-4 minutes faster than I was a few weeks ago without making a conscious effort to do so.

Warming up takes a little longer in the unusually cold weather we’ve been having lately – the first mile or so I tend to run slower and my nose runs a bit as it warms up, but the pace gradually increases to where I’m running faster and longer. Another unexpected side effect of nostril breathing is that my mouth doesn’t get as stiff when I’m running in cold weather. I guess keeping it closed keeps it warmer.

Switching to nose breathing throughout the day has allowed me to maintain a state of relaxed alertness even in stressful situations as long as I remember to switch to breathing through my nose. I find my energy levels much more even throughout the day, my muscles less sore, my sleep more sound. It’s also made me more in-tune with my body – perhaps I’m listening to my body more now that I’m not talking as much.

I finally succumbed to a head cold this week after everyone around me had been sick. Nevertheless, I’ve been able to maintain my training while reducing the duration and intensity of my workouts. Nostril breathing with a stuffed up nose is more challenging, but I’ve found that it also helps clear out the sinuses.

As I look back 18 years ago:  between 1995 and 1996 I ran 5 marathons trying to qualify to the 1996 Olympic Marathon Trials. Each race was slower than the last and each race took more out of me. Perhaps if I’d had more patience in applying Douillard’s advice back then I would’ve run faster races with less effort. I did eventually qualify in for the Trials 2000, but it might have happened sooner if I’d kept my mouth shut!

Anyway, if you want to see if nose breathing can help you achieve peak performance – or you want to feel better when you’re exercising, or you’re just curious, – I encourage you to give it a try. But be patient…..the benefits are worth the wait.

Be Well,

-Carolyn

Mouth Wide Shut: Adventures in Nostril Breathing – Part I

Eighteen years ago when I was a competitive marathoner and a graduate student in exercise physiology, I picked up a rather unorthodox new book called Body, Mind and Sport, by John Douillard. One of the book’s chief doctrines was that of employing nostril breathing (also known as diaphragmatic breathing) instead of mouth breathing during aerobic exercise. The author believes that nostril breathing is beneficial not only for yoga, but also aerobic activities such as running or cycling. The book contains several testimonials of professional and amateur athletes who made great gains in their fitness and performance after switching to nostril breathing.

Douillard believes it’s possible for anyone who trains using nostril breathing to achieve the effortless “Zone” of peak performance. Indeed there’s some evidence that breathing through the nose during aerobic exercise is beneficial. Apparently it increases CO2 saturation in the blood which allows the body to maximize its ability to absorb oxygen from inhaled air. Nostril breathing can also help warm the air entering the lungs (great for the cold weather workouts this winter). Douillard also asserts that the nose provides a better filtration system, resulting in cleaner air and fewer allergens being absorbed by the lungs. Perhaps most importantly, Douillard asserts that nose breathing has a calming, stress-reducing effect on the body, which, over time, translates into a lower state of perceived exertion during high intensity levels of exercise.

At the time I picked up Douillard’s book back in 1994,  I was a young, somewhat impatient, impetuous athlete focused on racing marathons and qualifying for the 1996 Olympic Marathon Trials. As intrigued as I was by Douillard’s premise, I didn’t stick with the concept after the novelty wore off. Furthermore, I just didn’t see how it was going to translate into a faster marathon for me. As much as I felt good doing it during my training runs, I wasn’t convinced that nose breathing would work during a race and I didn’t want to risk experimenting with it during competition.

Fast forward 18 years and today my main goal is to run for pleasure and without pain – and to keep up with fiance,” Chris”, on our weekend runs together. So several weeks ago when he asked me what I knew about nostril breathing I said I remembered reading a book about the subject. Miraculously I was able to find Douillard’s book on my shelf. Chris became very enthused as he read the book and even more excited about nostril breathing as he began applying it during his runs and bicycle rides. I was surprised by his quick assimilation of it and as during our runs together I consequently became more aware of the sound of his breathing and his lack of dialogue (hey it’s hard to nostril breathe and carry on a conversation simultaneously).

Despite my skepticism, in the “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” spirit I decided to give “aerobic nostril breathing” another try.

In my next post, I’ll tell you what happened this time. In the meantime…

Be Well,

Carolyn

Tandem Adventures Part I: Bend, OR

Anyone who reads my blog regularly may wonder why I haven’t written in awhile. Well….I was a little busy in September – away much of the month. The adventures began with a week-long visit to Bend, OR to compete in the  National Masters Cycling Championships  – and what a week it was! My fiance, Chris, and I have been riding tandems together for 2+ years and since January have been more competitively-minded with our training after purchasing a road tandem. But, we had never actually raced together when we showed up for the National Championships. Fortunately there were no qualification standards, but needless to say, I was a bit nervous about our lack of experience. We arrived in Bend the week after Labor Day. After picking up our race packets and  submitting our bike for inspection, we were ready for our first event the following day – the 24-mile time trial. Despite some technical issues (our front wheel kept breaking spokes) we arrived ready to race.

(Don’t worry – I always wear a helmet while riding – this was just for photo ops)

Basically this consisted of pedaling as fast as possible in an out-and-back mostly flat course with a few rolling hills. Each tandem team started the race alone with the clock and then the next team started exactly 30 seconds later. For an hour and seven minutes I felt like a hamster on a wheel pedaling my legs off with my head down, my helmut jutting into Chris’ back, my only view the white line of the road. Fortunately, we had ridden part of the course the day before (before having to turn around after breaking yet another spoke) so I’d seen enough to know that the bucolic countryside was lovely, which made keeping my head down a little easier. Despite the fact that we averaged 23 mph – faster than we’d ever ridden before, we found ourselves being passed by most of the tandem teams who started behind us. I must admit that as competitive athletes not used to being beaten so badly – it was a bit demoralizing for us. Our egos were somewhat assuaged by the fact that after the race we had a chance to mingle with some of the other teams only to discover that their tandem bikes weighed about half of what ours did and most of the teams consisted of  veteran racers.  I must admit, too, that we hadn’t trained for a time trial per se. The training we had done included more endurance riding with a lot of climbing. We had only recently began “sprinting” during some of our rides. Had we the chance to do it over again, I would train for the time trial more specifically. Still, we vowed we would make a comeback two days later in the 52-mile road race at Mt. Bachelor.

As we arrived at the Mt. Bachelor Resort parking lot we had just under 30 minutes to get ourselves and our bike prepared for an arduous 52-mile tandem road race. The race official announced that the opening 3.9 miles would be a neutral zone and the pace car would then green light the field signaling that racing could begin. This is typical of many road races to ensure a smooth, safe start. This was extra reassuring for me (as the “stoker” positioned in the back of the bike) in that the opening 14 miles featured a high- speed descent where we topped out at 50 mph (yikes!).

With 8 other tandems in this race making up a fairly intimate peloton of high- level teams made up of Category 1 and Category 2 riders, we knew the pace would be swift. Such was the case after the terrain flattened out and then rose to the first climbs. As we rounded the first turn Chris leaned back and said to me “be ready for this turn and the quick break away”. Sure enough as the pitch of the road increased so did the pace. The leading tandems began an early attack which revved up the pace of the entire field to a level that felt unsustainable. Thus some spreading out followed. It was like “now you see em, now you don’t”!

Despite our frustration over being dropped, as endurance athletes we knew the race was far from over. We eventually lost sight of the entire group except one tandem that had a half-mile gap. If we could just catch them we knew it would not only put us back in the race, we would have a shot at not finishing last. So we stepped up the intensity and mounted an attack. We noticed them looking back periodically and sensed their counter attack. We didn’t seem to be gaining much ground, but after ten minutes or so we had closed in enough to where we recognized them from Wednesday’s time trial, in which they had beaten us by about 4 minutes. So we rode together, sharing small talk and swapping the lead position. Eventually we dropped them and continued on our mission to catch anyone we could that had likely fatigued trying to keep pace with the leaders.

By the time we reached the final 10 k ascent there were two more tandems in view. They were from different heats: one that started before us, younger and both males. This was no time let up! We dug deep. Painfully deep, caught and passed them like they were standing still. We crossed the finish line at a respectable pace. Our average speed for the entire course, with 52 miles and 3000′ of elevation gain, was 19.9 mph. The competition out there pushed us to a new level, and that really felt good. We mixed it up some of the nation’s most experienced tandem teams… And hung in there!…Wait til next year – we’ll be back.

Next up – a few hair-raising tandem adventures in Paris….stay tuned.

Be Well,

Carolyn

Core Training Made Simple

Strong abdominals not only give a slim, fit appearance, they are also your spine’s main support system and are vital to good posture.  When contracted, the abdominal muscles unload pressure from the spine. But strong abdominals are only part of the equation – a strong torso also includes strong back and gluteal (buttocks) muscles. The concept of “core exercise” involves the functional training of all of the torso muscles through their full range of motion. The emphasis is on developing trunk stabilization rather than “washboard abs”.

As you age, the loss of muscle tone, hormonal changes and overindulgence can lead to an accumulation of fat around your midsection. Despite what the infomercials claim, abdominal exercises alone won’t reduce excess abdominal fat – no matter how many you do. In fact, if you have a lot of abdominal fat, building your stomach muscles without losing the fat on top will only make your belly appear bigger! Your best bet is combining aerobic exercise (minimum of 20 to 30 minutes, three times per week), strength training for the entire body and a balanced, , low-glycemic, nutritious meal plan. Furthermore, skimping on sleep raises your level of cortisol – a stress hormone that increases insulin levels and signals your body to store excess calories as fat.

Suggested Exercises:  Start with 10 repetitions of 2 or more of the following exercises. In addition, pull your abdominals in whenever you think of it – “zipping up” the abdominals as though zipping a snug pair of pants.

Reverse Crunch

Lie flat on the floor (on a mat or in bed) with your lower back pressed downward, arms by your side. Cross your ankles and lift your legs keeping your knees bent. Slowly lift your hips one to two inches off the mat. Hold and squeeze your ab muscles, keeping your shoulders and head on the mat. Lower your hips with a controlled motion.

Clamshell

Lie flat on the floor (on a mat or in bed) with your lower back pressed downward, hands behind your head.  Cross your ankles and lift your legs keeping your knees bent. Slowly lift your hips one to two inches off the mat and at the same time lift your head, neck and shoulders off the mat, making a “clamshell” shape with your body. Hold for a moment as your squeeze your abdominal muscles and then lower your body to the floor.

Bicycles

Lie flat on the floor (on a mat or in bed) with your lower back pressed downward, hands behind your head. Bring your knees up to a 45-degree angle. Slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion (bending and straightening the legs) as you alternate touching your left elbow to your right knee and your right elbow to your left knee.

Standing Bicycles

Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped behind your head and elbows pointed out to your sides. Straighten left leg as you lift right leg, knee bent, and thigh parallel to floor.  Keeping knee lifted and steady, twist torso toward the right. Return to the start and repeat on other side then alternate back and forth.

Standing Side-Winder

Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped behind your head and elbows pointed out to the sides. Lift your right leg to the side, with your knee bent, your thigh parallel to the floor.  Keeping your knee lifted, bend your torso to the right side, bringing your elbow and knee toward each other.  Keep alternating sides.

In a future post I will discuss core training with an exercise ball  – in my opinion one of the best ways to work the trunk muscles safely and effectively.

Be Well,

Carolyn

The Three Keys of Fitness: Part III: Intensity

This is the third and final installment in my series on the three keys to optimal training. After incorporating the training principles we covered in parts one and two, hopefully you’ve now been exercising consistently and you’ve added variety to your program. You’re now ready to push the envelope by raising the intensity in some of your cardio and strength workouts.

Training at high intensities increases aerobic capacity and raises your anaerobic threshold, your body’s ability to dissipate lactic acid at higher levels of exercise. High intensity aerobic interval training also burns more calories per minute compared with moderate-intensity, continuous aerobic exercise. Think of your body as a car. Low-to-moderate intensity, sustained aerobic exercise is analogous to freeway driving at 55 mph in “cruise control”. Interval training, by comparison, is akin to” around-town driving” where you speed up and slow down, going up and down hills — which requires more energy (i.e. calories). Recent research also suggests that higher intensity training also elevates the metabolism longer after exercise compared with continuous, moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. By substituting one or two higher intensity interval sessions per week for your longer, moderate-intensity aerobic workouts, you’ll take your fitness and your training to a higher level.

Interval training provides one of the most effective and efficient means of increasing your aerobic conditioning. Originally evolving from sports conditioning, interval training is defined as performing repeated bouts of high intensity exercise interspersed with intervals of relatively light exercise. Contrary to popular belief, the “interval” is actually the intervening active rest period in between the bursts of speed or other increases in intensity. The faster, more intense segments are called repetitions or “reps”. The intervals and the reps should be approximately the same duration. Principles of aerobic interval training can be applied to any form of cardiorespiratory exercise, from cycling, to swimming, to inline skating.

If you don’t have access to a heart rate monitor, use the “talk test” to gauge your intensity level when interval training. During the repeats (the hard efforts), and breathing should be somewhat labored and speaking difficult. During the recovery intervals you should remain aerobic but your breathing should return to a more comfortable level and you should be able to talk (though not sing).

Raising your intensity level in the weight room is also critical to increasing your power, and your performance, particularly if your sport is more anaerobic and strength-oriented. This is usually managed in one of two ways (or ideally both): by increasing the amount of weight you lift to failure while decreasing the number of times you lift it and/or add new and increasingly challenging strength exercises every three to six weeks. Using a combination of free weights and machines and then constantly mixing that combination is another effective technique.

Another benefit of adding high intensity training is in maintaining your conditioning as you age. Exercise physiologists used to believe that aerobic capacity automatically declines about one percent per year after age 35. But research suggests that this declines results from reduced activity and especially reduced exercise intensity level. Furthermore, some of the most dramatic gains have been shown in older populations. A few final words of caution:   pushing yourself in your workouts is an important means of challenging and increasing your fitness level. Be sure, however, that you have been performing consistent, quality aerobic and strength workouts before pushing yourself to the next level.

Be Well,

Carolyn

The Three Keys To Fitness: Part II: Variety

This is the second installment in a series on the three keys to optimal training. In the first installment I spoke of the importance of consistency, but once you’re exercising on a regular basis, you need to mix things up –  for variety isn’t just the spice of life, it’s the key to a challenging, well-rounded training program. It’s important to train your entire body, not just the muscles specific to your main sport. By incorporating a variety of fitness activities into your schedule, you’ll keep your body and your mind fresh and healthy.

Remember when you learned to swim? After 10 minutes you were completely exhausted. Then, after much practice you could comfortably do lap after lap without stopping because the physical demands of swimming diminished the more skilled and fit you became. In general, the more your body gets used to the same physical activity, the less energy (i.e. calories) you require to perform that activity. Likewise, in learning something new, you demand more of your neuromuscular system. As kids we were constantly learning new skills, but as adults we tend to stick with what we’re comfortable with, moving the same way every day. We need to bring back some of that excitement and challenge into our lives by regularly taking on new physical challenges.

Triathletes are arguably the fittest athletes in the world because they truly are balanced when it comes to their training program. Their sport demands that their bodies be fit for three very different activities that challenge a variety of muscle groups. As a result, their entire bodies are fit and adaptable. If they held a “Survivor” competition among athletes of different sports, I believe triathletes would win hands down. Probably because of the variety in their training, triathletes are also able to enjoy fairly long careers without mental burnout or serious injuries. But you don’t have to be a triathlete to benefit from cross training – and here are a few more reasons why you should vary your training program:

1. You can prevent injury and enhance post-workout and/or post-race recovery by working different muscle groups. Cross training is particularly useful the first few days after competition. Performing a different activity can help loosen sore, stiff muscles without taxing them further.

2.You can avoid mental burnout. No matter how much you enjoy it, training hour after hour for your sport grows tedious if that’s all you do. By incorporating a variety of activities into your training program, you’ll stay fresher both mentally and physically.

3. You can achieve a higher level of overall fitness by working neglected muscles while giving overused muscles/joints and ligaments a break. For example, swimming does little for your quadriceps muscles, so combining it with some spinning classes, which focus on the leg muscles, makes a great combination.

4. You can avoid overtraining. With a varied program you’re less likely to overtrain; however, it is possible to over- cross train as well, so beware of over-exercising in general.

Most of us would be bored if we ate the same meals every day, so why do we allow ourselves to train the same way day after day? Why not bring your sense of adventure to your training by trying a new skill or activity every six months. You’ll be surprised at how much fun you’re having; you won’t even know you’re working out! Now in my mid-forties I really enjoy the challenge of maintaining a level of fitness in a variety of activities so that I’m able to go for a run, practice yoga, take a long bike ride or a dance class, swim laps or lift weighs without feeling beat up the next day. It keeps my mind stimulated as well.

Now once you’re become comfortable and efficient in your sport and you’ve incorporated cross training into your fitness program,  the next step is to raise the intensity in some of your workouts. We’ll tackle that important subject in the final installment of this three-part series.

Be Well,

Carolyn

The Three Keys to Fitness: Part I: CONSISTENCY

This is the first in a three-part series of posts focusing on the three key components of optimal training for fitness and competition: Consistency, Variety and Intensity. In this first part the focus is on consistency, which is the key to maintaining your conditioning and preventing injury.

Consistency is all about balance. It doesn’t mean an all-out effort seven days a week, nor does it mean getting away with a “weekend warrior” fitness program. The biggest threat to consistent training is injury, which is usually the result of either overtraining or inconsistent, under-training. In fact, you’re better off exercising just three days a week, week after week, than seven days one week followed by a week of no or little training. Inconsistency also decreases motivation, for sporadic training doesn’t produce desired results, giving you little incentive to continue.

The older you are, the more important it is to exercise consistently. Indeed, we don’t typically find the “weekend warrior” syndrome among young people. Instead, it strikes those who work at a desk all week then hit the court or the field for an all-out match on the weekend, expecting their bodies to respond like they did in their younger years. As a result, they end up hurting ourselves, sometimes seriously.

One of the best ways to ensure you maintain regularity in your training is to enlist a reliable partner. You’re more likely to show up for a workout when you feel responsible for someone else’s fitness as well as your own. Whether training with a partner motivates you out of a sense of obligation or camaraderie, a number of research studies have shown that exercise adherence significantly increases when exercisers pair up rather than train solo. Furthermore, having someone to pace yourself with can really bring out the best in your training. Often you’ll find that your partner is tired when you’re energized and when you’re dragging, your partner helps pull you through. A little friendly competition can lead to a lot of quality workouts.

Consistency is integral to achieving goals in all aspects of life. Most of us wouldn’t dream of treating our work in the haphazard way we maintain our fitness, or we wouldn’t stay in business. Approach your training in the same business-like manner you do your job. Write your workouts down in your daytimer and keep a log of your goals and your progress. Exercising should be about as habitual as going to work. Moreover, the more consistent you are with your training, the less it will feel like a job. Don’t let your fitness routine become routine, however. In my next post I’ll focus on the importance of incorporating variety into your program. Stay tuned and stay consistent.

Be Well,

Carolyn

No Challenge No Change

We used to say “no pain no gain” when it came to exercise, but today we know that it isn’t necessary to hurt yourself to get stronger and fitter. On the other hand, improving your fitness does require that you venture beyond your comfort zone – even if it’s just a quick trip!

Exercising aerobically at higher intensities benefits your cardiovascular system by increasing your aerobic capacity and endurance. Research also suggests that higher-intensity aerobic exercise not only burns more calories during the activity, it keeps the metabolism elevated longer afterward. Hence, by substituting one or two higher intensity interval sessions per week for your low-to-moderate-intensity aerobic workouts, you may elevate your cardiovascular fitness while decreasing your weight.

Training Interval training is defined as performing repeated bouts of higher intensity exercise interspersed with intervals of comparatively light exercise. For example, when walking on a treadmill you might raise the incline and/or the speed for 1-3 minutes to push yourself and then lower it for 1-3 minutes for an active recovery, repeating this pattern for several minutes. Be sure to warm up and cool down for at least 5-7 minutes before and after your interval session. Click here for some additional ideas for incorporating interval training into your workouts. When performing aerobic interval training, gauge your intensity level by taking the “talk test”. During the hard efforts, you should be able to talk but hear your breath in your speech. You should not, however, have enough wind to sing! During the recovery intervals you should remain aerobic but your breathing should return to a more comfortable level. If you’re new to interval training, try just a few minutes once a week during your regular aerobic workouts and gradually build up from there. Eventually you’ll find that your regular workouts feel easier as your cardiovascular fitness level increases.

In addition to pushing the envelope aerobically, if your goal is increasing muscle mass and muscle strength you must apply the principal of progressive overload. This is managed by increasing the amount of weight you lift to fatigue while decreasing the number of times you lift it. Keep in mind that you don’t need to add a lot of weight at a time. Incorporating small, incremental increases – one pound at a time – is a safe, effective way to build stronger muscles, tendons and bones without risk of injury. For each exercise you do, pick a weight that you can lift at least eight times, but not more than 12 with proper form. Perform one-to-two sets and be sure you incorporate rest days between strength sessions.

If you’re having trouble pushing yourself on your own, try a group exercise class. You may find you work harder and longer when someone else is giving the orders and others are working hard alongside you. Or, alternatively, consider pairing up with an exercise partner – preferably one who will push you a bit, but no too much.

Pushing yourself in your workouts is an important means of challenging yourself to increase your fitness level. Be sure, however, that you have been performing consistent, quality aerobic, strength and flexibility workouts before stepping things up to the next level and then do so very gradually. Finally, always check with your physician before increasing the intensity of any aspect of your exercise program.

Be Well,

Carolyn