On Sunday, I watched the Flora London Marathon 2008 on DVD. Thirty four thousand people crossed the finish line. Sadly I was not one of them, having failed to secure a place in the race. When I lived in London, I was able to cheer the runners on from my garden, and have dreamed of running the race ever since.

I had a friend who ran a gym and told me of the many people he knew who had permanently injured themselves as a result of running a marathon.

I also know many runners who have run marathons and done so without long term negative health effects.

So, on Sunday, I dusted off my trainers and went for a run, and as I ran, I wondered just how good is running a marathon for you?

Getting out a calculator, a pen, some paper, a sixteen week marathon training plan, and a calorie guide, I worked out the following.

• If you do a 16 week marathon training plan, you can expect to run about 600 miles over those 16 weeks.

• Running 600 miles is the equivalent of doing about 23 marathons.

• If you run at a four hour marathon pace (about 9 minutes a mile), 23 marathons will take you 93 hours

• That is about 5,600 minutes.

• 5,600 minutes of running at 9 minutes a mile will burn about 88,000 calories. • Burning 88,000 calories is the equivalent of losing 25lbs in weight.

• Training and running a marathon will help you lose between 1 ½ to 2 stone in weight!

The benefits to me of losing this sort of weight, is that it would take me down to my ideal weight. How would losing 1 ½ to 2 stone benefit you?

Are there any other benefits to running a marathon?

Yes there are. Here are just a few of them.
• Increased self esteem.

• Increased fitness.

• More social contacts.

• A lasting sense of achievement.

• Running is fun.

I really like the last benefit. I find running great fun, especially as I vary my running routes as much as possible. Varying your routes always gives you something new to see as you run.

What about injury?

I used to let the thought of injury hold me back. I have since learned that providing you are sensible, and don’t overdo it you should avoid injury. Many injuries result from overdoing the training. Another cause of injury is using poor or badly fitting equipment.

If you want to avoid injury, one of the key things to do when running is to listen to your body. Your body will know when it has almost had enough or when things are starting to go wrong, and it’ll warn you. If you feel pain, don’t ignore it – listen to it and figure out why.

Of course before starting any new system of exercise you should always consult your doctor before hand.

Running a marathon is not easy due to the time you need to commit to training. Powerfully Positive People know this, but have strategies to get past all the difficulties.

·         You need to have commitment, and want it badly enough.

·         You need to have a plan, breaking your big goals into smaller ones.

·         You need to have perseverance, pushing on to each successive goal, just like taking each step when your legs are tired and your feet are aching.

·         You need to reward yourself, patting yourself on the back each time you achieve a goal along the way.

I have shown the rewards in terms of your health, fitness, and mental health more than outweigh the effort you will have to put in to train for, and run a marathon.

Will you use a marathon to help you to achieve your health and fitness dreams?

Here are a few suggestions for creating an intense treadmill workout. If you think that a treadmill workout is boring, think again. You can make your treadmill workout as challenging as you would like. But before you begin any exercise program always consult your doctor first to see if you are suitable for intense workout.

5 methods to improve your workout

1) Dumbbells/Hand Weights

Try raising and lowering five to ten pound hand weights as you walk.. By the end of a vigorous walk, you will have given your upper and lower body a good treadmill workout. But if you are used to holding on to the side handles during your workout, start out a slow then build speed.

Walk Backwards

Walking backwards uses your legs muscles in a whole new way and improves your balance and builds your psychomotor abilities, this is something very important for any sports person. Your muscles will be stretched and worked to their max as the focus of the workout shifts to a whole new area of your leg.

Speed Intervals

For this training always start with a good complete stretch and warm up. For a complete workout, a good set will take about 20 minutes. Start with a run of about 2 minutes for 400 meters then walk or do a slow jog of 2 minutes. Rinse and repeat 5 times to get your 20 minutes. This exercise will build good cardio as well as burn fat.
Incline Intervals

This is basically similar to the interval training but with incline up and down. With the same steps as basic interval training, now when every time you are walking or jogging slowly, set your interval to the maximum. This is advance training so start off with interval training before attempting this exercise.

Toes and Heels

Slow down the speed to a brisk walk, and then go on your tiptoes for 30 seconds. Rinse and repeat for 10 sets. These exercises will effective work your calves and gluteus. There will be a slight strain for beginners, so it is advice that you start with 5 sets then work your way slowly to 10 sets.

Stay in shape with a treadmill exercise program

A treadmill exercise program does not require learning any new skill and nor is the weather or boredom able to adversely affect the person in training to stay in shape. A treadmill exercise program is best for people who prefer to exercise in the comforts of their home or for the busy person that has very little time to spare. They can directly jump on to a treadmill to ensure that they get some exercise.

The treadmill is superior to other exercise machines used indoors as it is very helpful to losing extra weight and burning calories. In a treadmill exercise program one will be engaged in running which ranges from sprinting, walking, slow to fast jogging, depending on the exercising habit of a person. A note of caution, please consult your doctor before taking on a new training program. There have been cases of people going into cardiac arrest during or after a strenuous workout.

The convenience of a treadmill exercise program is such that the person using it can do so at the pace of his or her own choosing as well as maintain a regular walking program. To begin with, the treadmill exercise program may be of only five to ten minutes duration and it may also have a warm up and cool-down period to ensure that no injuries are sustained, as with any other form of physical activity.

When on Treadmill, a person is active and breathing fast, due to the fact that the body is in need for more oxygen. This actually helps the body to clear out a lot of toxins from the body. Also during the workout or body is actively engaged in strengthening it self by burning away any unwanted weight. Lastly as our heart rate increases, blood flow is also increased to our limbs and vital organs.

While following a treadmill exercise program pay note to a few key points, such as the right footwork, proper walking form (from the waist to get better hip rotation), and arms action (swing your arms as if you are marching). Bear these pointers in mind and pay attention to your safety. Always start slow then build up speed. As with all sort of exercise, get the basics first before moving on to increase the intensity. Give your body time to adapt before subjecting it to more intensity will decrease the chance of injury and improve your results.

Below is an interview about cardio workouts done by Craig Ballantyne. This presents a great example of how cardio workouts are typically misused by exercise enthusiasts in their attempts to lose body fat. You’ll never get those six pack abs if all you keep doing are the same boring cardio routines over and over. Expand your thinking, and shrink your waistline!

Everybody assumes that you must do endless hours of cardio workouts to get ripped six pack abs. But this is simply not true. In fact, if you quit wasting so much time with boring slow cardio routines and change your workouts much more strategically, you will get those six pack abs much faster than you thought was possible!

Let’s look into how one female cardio workout fanatic finally lost her excess belly fat and revealed her six pack abs with the help of the innovative Turbulence-Training workouts!

Craig: C-J, let’s start with a bit of background on yourself and what your goals were when you discovered interval-training and strength training.

C-J:

Ok, I’m a female in my middle 30′s and your typical office professional who spends many long hours in front of the computer.

With regards to fitness and nutrition, I grew up realizing the importance of being active and staying healthy. So while I’ve stayed active for most of my life, I recently realized that I still had a lot to learn about both training and nutrition.

When I first discovered the Turbulence-Training Workouts, I was looking for an improvement in body composition. I had been introduced to weight training a year or so earlier and had made some really good progress, but had gone past that “new stimulus” effect, and really needed something different to kick my results up again and break the plateau.

Craig: How were you doing before?

C-J:

Well, during grad school and working full-time I let my fitness slip for the days and evenings tied to a computer, and the joys of eating at restaurants once or twice a day. I had gained about twenty pounds and was at my heaviest weight ever at about 160 pounds. Once I finished night school, I added exercise and nutrition back to my priority list and lost those twenty pounds, mostly from running five days a week.

The 2nd stage started when I discovered weight training. I was at about 142 pounds at the time and about 28% body fat. After about six months I lost another 8-10 pounds and 7% body fat.

So when I started the Turbulence-Training program, I had already made decent progress as I was down to about 133 pounds and 21-22% bodyfat.

Craig: What were your workouts like before Turbulence Training? Why did they not work as well? How have you since improved upon those workouts?

C-J:

Before Turbulence Training, I was a “same-pace” cardio fanatic, and I ran 3-5 miles three times a week and strength trained using a four day body part split routine. This plan worked ok for about six months or so, but then I just stalled out and the plateau set in. I’m not exactly sure what the culprit was, but I just knew that I needed a different type of workout program to try.

So when I first started strength training and interval workouts I was skeptical that such a short workout only three times per week would be good enough. I soon realized that strength training and intervals kept the intensity levels higher during EVERY workout, so the 3 days and 2 super sets were actually much more efficient than my four day body part split and three days of running. I also got on an interval training program and reduced my slower “same pace” cardio runs to about one day a week.

Craig: How have the interval workouts and strength training helped you improve your shape? What benefits and results have you achieved? What are your improvements compared to your before stats?

C-J:

I am definitely stronger, leaner, and faster than before.

Strength wise, I can finally do chin-ups and pull-ups, something I’ve always wanted to be able to achieve. I have also improved my 5k time by two minutes. I also finally have the muscle tone and athletic body shape that I have always wanted.

When compared to my before stats, I have had to throw the scales out the window and use the mirror and compliments I’ve received as my guide since I have gained a few pounds of lean (but sexy) muscle so the scale weight hasn’t changed much even though my body composition has improved. Also, my clothes have gotten looser and smaller and I’m also making fairly significant strength and speed gains. I can also actually see a visible six pack of abs now, which has always eluded me!

Craig: How do you feel in terms of energy and strength?

C-J:

My strength gains are most exciting to me, since I typically have high energy/endurance. I particularly like how my strength gains have transferred to improved running and biking.

The amount I can lift in the gym just sort of evolves, but when I can climb hills on my bike that I used to be foreced to walk, and finish 5k runs in times that were once way out of my reach, it feels pretty damn good!

Craig: What features do you like about TT-style strength and intervals?

C-J:

It is fun, time efficient, and intense. Plus it works like crazy! When I am in the gym, I know that I am making the most efficient use of my time.

Craig: Did you change your eating plan with the guidelines?

C-J:

Not a whole lot, but some. I was on a pretty good eating plan when I started TT strength and intervals, but I am constantly learning about making better food choices and looking to change things slightly here and there. Incorporating a post-workout recovery shake and getting as much variety as possible have been the biggest changes in my nutrition habits since I started the program.

Craig: What would you say to others that ask you about your workouts? Do you get a lot of comments from people?

C-J:

When people ask me about my workouts, I try to hold back some excitement so I don’t come off as a wild fanatic and overwhelm them.

I have had quite a few comments from others in my gym, either noticing how hard and smart that I am working out, or complimenting me on my progress. One woman even pointed me out and said “I want thighs like that!” to her friend. How cool is that!

It is always enjoyable to see friends or family or even co-workers that I haven’t seen in a while because they always remind me of the great progress I have made. It’s also exciting that I can show off my flat stomach now too with the sexy little six pack!

The best compliment I get now is in the form of imitation. Others want to know exactly what I do and ask me for tips to help them. They see that it works, want to know how I have done it, so they can try to apply it to themselves.

Craig: Thanks C-J! Keep up the great work with your time-saving Turbulence Training fat-loss workouts.

See below for a special free report on more effective cardio workout alternatives that will have you losing body fat much faster from now on.

The popularity of treadmills have made them the best exercising options to the people worldwide. They are not only a good investment to make but they also provide you with an impeccable workout environment. But just a good treadmill will not do wonders to you. With it you also need a good and an effective exercising plan.

With technological innovations, the new age treadmills are now equipped with more features and are more durable. They are made such that they can stand any type of rigorous running. Apart from this they have all the features that will keep you occupied. Other than just walking and running, they will give you other exercising pattern that you will surely enjoy.

So it becomes important for you to develop a good exercising plan for yourself. There are certain things that you should keep in your mind before getting involved in a particular exercising plan. The most important factor is the fun element. Following a particular exercising plan can be boring and mundane. And gradually you can loose interest. So to avoid such a situation, there are certain things that you can include while walking or running on a treadmill. For example, you can read a magazine or some book during the warm up exercising. You can even watch your favorite television show or listen to your favorite sound track. Apart from this, there are certain treadmills that come with inbuilt laptop stand where you can continue your work while exercising.

Some people are however serious about their exercising regime. So they do not like any kind of distraction. With these kind of people, some good ideas for working out are:

You should always start your exercising slowly. The stretching should be properly done.

Once you are over with your stretching, start with a normal walking on the treadmill. Then gradually, take up a faster walk. You can also have a slow jog and then a hard running. Follow it with a reverse exercising process which involves the cool-down stage.

Use interval treadmill exercise plan. This will make your fitness regime more fun and exciting.

But an interval exercising plan will not help you enough. You also need a sustained speed exercising plan. Incorporating sustained speed in the treadmill exercising plan will help you develop stamina.

Following a plan of brisk exercising will help you maintain a moderate level of good HDL cholesterol that will protect you from heart attacks.

Everybody have their personal preferences while choosing the best exercising regime for themselves, be it the sustained or interval exercising. And if you can make an exercising program that will be able to match your preferences, your whole workout time will be enjoyable. But remember not to be much rigid with your exercising schedule. Give it some flexibility. And also try to modify your exercising program with time to time.